Travelling by train would have cost close to £400 in total - that's $507 US or $756 AUS.. The very high cost quoted is down to the fact that we wanted to make a late booking. If we had booked a month ago, the cost would have been much cheaper.
The train from Sheffield to London St Pancras takes around two hours and ten minutes but a National Express coach takes double that amount of time. However, the cost of two return tickets on the bus was only £60 - that's $76 US or $113 AUS so that is what we have gone for. After all, £400 is quite outrageous - it represents over £1 per mile of rail track.
I will be able to get plenty of reading done aboard the bus.
It is now one in the morning and the coach departs at 11.00 am so I had better get to bed pretty soon. If you haven't already done so, I hope you will still read my post about "Mr Bates Versus The Post Office" - just below this blogpost.
You are closer to London than I am to Melbourne. That is a crazy amount of money for a short trip.
ReplyDeleteYou have lots of transportation and choices. We have no buses or trains. We have to have car to go anyplace.
ReplyDeleteWith those prices I would choose the bus too! And I would take my kindle which weighs much less than a decent sized book and currently holds over 300 books, so I wouldn't have to worry about finishing a book and having nothing else to read.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels, and enjoy the little one!
ReplyDeleteWhile not nearly as quick but still quite comfortable, Merlot's trip described above from her nearest station would cost AU$10.60 if it was a same day return. Along with the scandal in your previous post, so are your train fares.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought our train fares were high!
ReplyDeleteUsually, when my sister and I book our train trips to and from Yorkshire, we know well in advance when we can and want to travel, so our bookings aren't all that expensive i comparison. But in your case, I would have gone for the bus, too.
As for reading on the bus, I can't do that, it makes me queasy when I don't look out of the window, same with any type of car. Only trains allow me to read without feeling sick.
Public transport is free in Ireland for people over 66. That's if you live near a bus route.
ReplyDeleteWe loved the national coach going to London last month and will use them again, as you say loads of reading time, for us just over 2 hours.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the ride. We are taking the train from Washington DC to New York City soon, about 200 miles each way. The two seats, advance purchase round trip where $112.
ReplyDeleteI hope it's a lovely trip.
ReplyDeleteI can't read on a moving vehicle as it makes me carsick.
ReplyDeleteHope you have an enjoyable journey and a fun weekend, Neil!
Have a good trip.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your visit.
ReplyDeleteThat train fare is ridiculous. Dave and I bought same-day return fares to Pevensey and they were only £20 per person each way (roughly £80 total).
ReplyDeleteThe cost of the train tickets really surprised me. Like you, I would be able to get plenty of reading done on the bus. Alas, my husband gets carsick trying to read, so he'd probably rather make the drive. (in which case I would feel rude reading and ignoring him)
ReplyDeleteLiving out here in rural America, busing is an option but not a very desirable one. It is always full of drug addicts, broke criminals and more riff raff. In fact, a recent story highlighted how many bus terminals are closing up altogether making it harder to travel by bus between cities here.
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip!
At those prices I would choose the bus too and take my kindle along for the ride.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who lives and the other end of Yorkshire to you and whose first granddaughter was born in London last February, after almost a year of travelling up and down, I share your pain.
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