Traveling inside UK from London
January 4, 2010 5:15 AM Subscribe
Will be visiting London again - in either September or October. I need to know the best (least confusing) reasonably priced way to travel to Whittington Castle in Oswestry, Shrophire - there will be 2 adults in my party.
Looks like the nearest train station will be Gobowen, leaving from London Euston this should take ~3 hours, usually with a single change at Birmingham. You can buy tickets ahead and get time options at national rail enquiries. It could save you signficiant money if you can book far enough ahead. Standard off peak seems to be ~£55 return per person. It's a short jaunt from Gobowen to Whittington Castle, which appears to be about a mile away, taxis should be available if you don't want to walk it.
There appears to be only a single national Express coach per day, leaving at 3.30pm and arriving 5 hours later, and returning with an 8am departure time. ~£40 return per person. You will likely need to spend 2 nights in the town if you want to see anything.
You might also consider hiring a car if you are comfortable with the idea of driving.
posted by biffa at 5:44 AM on January 4, 2010
There appears to be only a single national Express coach per day, leaving at 3.30pm and arriving 5 hours later, and returning with an 8am departure time. ~£40 return per person. You will likely need to spend 2 nights in the town if you want to see anything.
You might also consider hiring a car if you are comfortable with the idea of driving.
posted by biffa at 5:44 AM on January 4, 2010
Best answer: You can get from London to Shrewsbury return, two people for around £44 in total.
That is based on travelling off peak (after 9.30 in the morning and catching a 17.47 return from Shrewsbury). I used this site. You can play about with the variables as you wish.
I can't actually input September dates because tickets can only be booked 12 weeks in advance (I think). These tickets are saver fares - you can't start mucking about with dates and you need to book them as far in advance as you can because they are limited in number.
If you book nearer the time, or want to travel at a peak time, rail fares can go up horribly. Buying tickets on the day will almost certainly mean a cost of £200 for the pair of you.
Once at Shrewsbury, you can either catch a cab (not especially cheap) or the number 70 bus, which will be a few pounds each. The bus takes about 40 minutes and leaves about twice an hour.
I'd advise going by train because it's a lot shorter than driving and a lot less hassle.
I believe National Express run one coach a day to Oswestry, and possibly more than that to Shrewsbury. The coach will take a fair bit of time longer than the train, but may be a cheaper bet if you're unable to book well in advance.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:48 AM on January 4, 2010
That is based on travelling off peak (after 9.30 in the morning and catching a 17.47 return from Shrewsbury). I used this site. You can play about with the variables as you wish.
I can't actually input September dates because tickets can only be booked 12 weeks in advance (I think). These tickets are saver fares - you can't start mucking about with dates and you need to book them as far in advance as you can because they are limited in number.
If you book nearer the time, or want to travel at a peak time, rail fares can go up horribly. Buying tickets on the day will almost certainly mean a cost of £200 for the pair of you.
Once at Shrewsbury, you can either catch a cab (not especially cheap) or the number 70 bus, which will be a few pounds each. The bus takes about 40 minutes and leaves about twice an hour.
I'd advise going by train because it's a lot shorter than driving and a lot less hassle.
I believe National Express run one coach a day to Oswestry, and possibly more than that to Shrewsbury. The coach will take a fair bit of time longer than the train, but may be a cheaper bet if you're unable to book well in advance.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:48 AM on January 4, 2010
Train is probably the simplest.
London Euston to Birmingham New Street, and then Birmingham New Street to Gobowen (which appears to be the closest station to Oswestry).
As you are buying in advance, provided you can be specific about the dates and times, you should be able to take advantage of cheap advanced booking tickets. e.g. from thetrainline.com
You can't yet book for September, but picking some dates for just a couple of weeks' time, you could do the whole journey (for both of you) for less than £40.
posted by saintsguy at 5:48 AM on January 4, 2010
London Euston to Birmingham New Street, and then Birmingham New Street to Gobowen (which appears to be the closest station to Oswestry).
As you are buying in advance, provided you can be specific about the dates and times, you should be able to take advantage of cheap advanced booking tickets. e.g. from thetrainline.com
You can't yet book for September, but picking some dates for just a couple of weeks' time, you could do the whole journey (for both of you) for less than £40.
posted by saintsguy at 5:48 AM on January 4, 2010
Transport Direct is useful for travel around the UK, it'll tell you what public transport will be able to get you there and can tell you some of the costs.
posted by kg at 2:28 PM on January 4, 2010
posted by kg at 2:28 PM on January 4, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Looks like the nearest train station is Gobowen.
Its a 3.5 hr ride on the wrexham and shropshire line from London. Tickets cost £48 per person round-trip.
posted by vacapinta at 5:42 AM on January 4, 2010