Cheap rail fares

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Had to wait 5 hours for a train there back in 1976,
It was the end of our Duke of Edinburgh expedition,we missed the previous train by 5 minutes
We got burnt to a crisp,no shelter,no shop,gawd we were bored.

would have been quicker to walk back to Rannoch Station... (assuming you were going south that is). love the place - stayed in the independant hostel when it was in the actual signal box - fanastic. back up to that area in March, but sadly no walking, my bad leg is not up to it and won't be for some time (years) to come... but plenty of cycling... and loads of opportunities for photography...

trust me - Crewe station is definitely worse ... views are awful and it is so very cold there.... only kids could get bored in a place like Corrour! (used to do DoE when working in boarding school as well as having done bronze, silver & gold myself)

 

[Leaway2]

http://www.splityourticket.co.uk/

 

[Pennine-Paul]

We were meeting up with the rest of the school trip in Fort William,
then we were walking up Glen Nevis,we got eaten alive by midges there
Aaaaaarghhh!!
Walking back was not really an option,one our party on the D of E got taken
ill on the first night and had to be airlifted off by helicopter,turned out he had gastroenteritis
from drinking water from a peaty loch without boiling it first.The second day we managed
just 10 miles so had to do nay on 30 miles on the 3rd day to catch up,leaving us a short
10 miler on the last day to the finish at Corrour.The thought of doing another 25 miles or so
to Fort William or we could crash out at the station which was we ended up waiting 5 hours for the train

 

[Brandane]

Strathclyde have a good scheme but unfortunately travel is limited to within Strathclyde region, so of no use whatsoever to the OP!.........

Daytripper ticket

The Daytripper ticket gives you unlimited travel for one day by rail, Subway, most buses, and some ferries in the Strathclyde region. Tickets are valid after 9.00am on Monday to Friday and all day at the weekends and on Glasgow public holidays.
Price: £19.80 for two adults and up to four children or £11.20 for one adult and up to two children from any staffed rail station, SPT Travel Centre or online.
How to use: Daytripper tickets can be bought in advance or on the day. Simply rub off the year, month, date and day when you start your first journey. Remember to seal down the plastic cover or your ticket will not be valid!

 

[tribanjules]

just been and looked :

The Dutchflyer is a partnership between Greater Anglia train services and ferry operator Stena Line offering you an attractive alternative to airline travel with competitive fares.
From just £39* single, Dutchflyer is the affordable and comfortable way to travel from London or East Anglia to any Dutch city in Holland with an inclusive combination train and ferry ticket.

 

[Maz]

Browser: I take it you've got a family railcard, right? I have one and it makes the adult fares a lot cheaper and kids fares are really cheap (booked in advance). e.g. B'ham to Wembley stadium was £15 rtn for me and my 13 y/o was £2 rtn or something trivial.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

just been and looked :

The Dutchflyer is a partnership between Greater Anglia train services and ferry operator Stena Line offering you an attractive alternative to airline travel with competitive fares.
From just £39* single, Dutchflyer is the affordable and comfortable way to travel from London or East Anglia to any Dutch city in Holland with an inclusive combination train and ferry ticket.

Oh dear God! It really does say "any Dutch city in Holland."

Presumably to differentiate between the Dutch cities in Holland and the French, German or I don't know, Russian, cities in Holland. Or are they worried you might use it to travel to a Dutch city in Azerbaijan?

 

[Davidc]

Trainline now charge booking and card fees. That's why I stopped using them.

Some of the operating companies just charge for the tickets, and will sell tickets for any route. (e.g. first Great Western and South West Trains)

As DZ and others say there are also some offers which are exclusive to individual companies.

 

[Arch]

Oh dear God! It really does say "any Dutch city in Holland."

Presumably to differentiate between the Dutch cities in Holland and the French, German or I don't know, Russian, cities in Holland. Or are they worried you might use it to travel to a Dutch city in Azerbaijan?

I don't imagine this is the reason, but isn't 'Holland' only a part of The Netherlands?

And actually, I read a book about enclaves in Europe, and I seem to remember there is a town that is Dutch, but within Belgium (or vice versa)

 

[Davidc]

Oh dear God! It really does say "any Dutch city in Holland."

Presumably to differentiate between the Dutch cities in Holland and the French, German or I don't know, Russian, cities in Holland. Or are they worried you might use it to travel to a Dutch city in Azerbaijan?

There are many Dutch cities in Belgium as well as in the Netherlands (Also referred to as Flemish, both are correct).

What Arch says is right, Holland is the southern bit of the Netherlands, but the (cheap and good) service isafaik to the Netherlands.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I don't imagine this is the reason, but isn't 'Holland' only a part of The Netherlands?

And actually, I read a book about enclaves in Europe, and I seem to remember there is a town that is Dutch, but within Belgium (or vice versa)

yes but you can go anywhere in the Netherlands on those tickets. iirc none of the Dutch enclaves within Belgium can be described as a city.

edit and the dutch enclaves are inside belgian enclaves inside the Netherlands. weird.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

There are many Dutch cities in Belgium as well as in the Netherlands (Also referred to as Flemish, both are correct).

What Arch says is right, Holland is the southern bit of the Netherlands, but the (cheap and good) service isafaik to the Netherlands.

When in conventional modern English usage did we start referring to the Flemish towns and cities of Belgium as Dutch? I may have missed the memo. Dutch cities exist only in the Netherlands. Plenty of Dutch-speaking cities in Flanders sure, but for now still Belgian cities in Belgium. Surely?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Here's a jolly little map

 

[Browser]

Browser: I take it you've got a family railcard, right? I have one and it makes the adult fares a lot cheaper and kids fares are really cheap (booked in advance). e.g. B'ham to Wembley stadium was £15 rtn for me and my 13 y/o was £2 rtn or something trivial.

Err, no, not yet, I'll have to have a look at them though as I read somewhere that if you spend more than £80 a year on train tickets they are worth it, and I can see us doing that if myself and No.1 son start trying to journey further afield by rail.
Short, well not 'rant' exactly but grumble; Why can't the govt see that if the railways were invested in and or made cheaper to use, people would use them more? Or is it that because they don't carry anywhere near as much freight as they could, the cost of infrastructure maintenance is loaded more upon the passenger-carrying companies, hence the high passenger ticket prices? As said before I'd love to go off rail-hopping for a day and so would Browser junior, but the costs thus far looked at prohibit such travels, so I'll have to look harder.
Thanks for all of the replies thus far, plenty of food for thought

 

[Davidc]

When in conventional modern English usage did we start referring to the Flemish towns and cities of Belgium as Dutch? I may have missed the memo. Dutch cities exist only in the Netherlands. Plenty of Dutch-speaking cities in Flanders sure, but for now still Belgian cities in Belgium. Surely?

Since the advent of modern English. In the same way that we can refer to Dutch or Flemish Gables. (Belgium was a part of the Netherlands until 1830).

The Dutch cities of Belgium are not enclaves, they are the majority. Belgium's population is 80% Dutch (Flemish) speaking and most of them live in cities.

Clearly in colloquial English we all refer to Belgian cities. A railway company needs to be more accurate in order to avoid disputes, which is likely to be the reason for the careful and precise wording.