looking for transport from hereford to sunderland

timeless

been looking at the fares and they are pretty extortionate at the moment.. and the bus times lm getting quoted are like 27 hours for a return journey..

l know its not going to be a short journey depending on the mode of transport but theres no way l can afford anywhere near 100 for a return journey (looking at advance tickets doesnt even change the price from what lve looked at, and ticket splitting if l miss a train isnt exactly ideal either as l barely have the funds to visit family as it is).

regardless lm just looking into the possibility at the moment and cant seem to find anything that wont cost me an arm and a leg.

elverson

What times and dates and prices have you found so far?

timeless

to be honest, lve been looking into next month, towards when the kids start school again (thinking that would be cheaper) that said lm mostly thinking about it rather than have concrete plans yet, and the main prices lve seen are closer to £137, tho l did read something about split tickets but the problem l find with those is if l miss a connection l could face having to actually purchase a ticket with money l cant spare.

that said l did look into other methods like plane tickets which are quite reasonable up till you add luggage (even if its an extra bag), while the flight time is more desirable than a 5/12 hour trip by train or bus (the longest bus trip l found was 27hrs!! and even then a return was in getting on for £100).

the other worry is taking things like laptops with me, l do banking online etc and knowing what the security checks are like from a previous trip l took l dont fancy someone going through my financials that l do on my laptop...

elverson

Which specific price and date?

agrinnall

What is the purpose of your travel? Do you need to take luggage with you? If not then flying may be a suitable option (although I doubt if the door to door journey time will be much less than going by train). Not sure where your previous trip was but no UK airport security will want to look at the content of your laptop except in the most exceptional of circumstances (and then you probably should be more concerned about the rubber gloves and the cavity search!).

Voyager2002

A couple of comments:

I have often flown with a laptop, and have never had anyone inspecting the data on my machine; never. That is simply not an issue. I would also ask whether you need to bring your computer for a short trip.

Ticket-splitting works well for me: as you point out, there is a risk that a delay to one train could mean that the ticket for your onward journey is invalid, so leave a reasonable amount of time between the two legs of your journey. If a train is seriously delayed then station staff are helpful: I have had two experiences when station staff simply endorsed my onward ticket to make it valid for the onward journey, even though they probably should not have done so.

KeithP

timeless wrote: »

...tho l did read something about split tickets but the problem l find with those is if l miss a connection l could face having to actually purchase a ticket with money l cant spare.

If you miss a connection due to a delayed train, then you can use the next available train for your onward journey - even is you are using Advance Singles for a specific train.

timeless

well if lm taking a week trip lm going to need cloths to wear, and even if lm taking a trip to get away for say 5/7 days l still need some access to information on my laptop as much as l hate it, its something l will need with me because be it friend or families computer there is no way l will do my banking etc on anyone elses computers but my own as if something happens (virus etc) then its my own fault.

elverson

Let's try again. Which date do you want to travel and what is the train fare you have found?

daveyjp

First random search for next month and I am quoted £60 return.

Robin9

Flying from Hereford ?

By the time you've driven to Birmingham, Manchester or Cardiff you are halfway to Sunderland.