Edinburgh to Aldershot

maggiesoup1

3 adults (all 50+) need to get to Aldershot mid January for a funeral. Can anyone advise alternative ways of getting there. Fly to London then train? Is that much faster than train to London then train to Aldershot?

I'm afraid none of us travel by train or to London so no idea of how long the journey will take or the cost.

We can travel off peak.

Thankyou for any help.

agrinnall

Are you just going for the day or staying for one or more nights?

Quickest is probably fly to Heathrow and taxi to Aldershot, but it's unlikely to be the cheapest. You could find out what the taxi fare would be and compare it to the cost of a cheap hire car for the day, that would give you flexibility on getting back to the airport.

By train you'd have to come into Kings Cross, get across London to Waterloo and then another train to Aldershot (possibly with a change at Guildford). Journey time is 6 - 7 hours so it might not be possible to do it there and back in one day.

dacouch

Or Gatwick and then train from the station and change at Guildford

marlot

You can avoid London.

There are a number of nearby stations which are a shortish taxi ride to Aldershot. Top of my list would be Farnborough, Farnborough North, Ash and North Camp.

If you want to travel by train, you could change at Reading - that line goes to Farnborough North, Ash and North Camp if I recall correctly.

Or you could fly to Southampton, and catch the train direct to Farnborough.

Or fly to gatwick and catch the train to towards Reading - alight at Ash or North Camp.

Both Southampton and Gatwick have railway stations right next to the airports, so are probably easier than Heathrow.

BikingBud

Edn>LGW, Easy Jet, can be less than £50, quite a few per day so day return possible. On 17 Jan 3 adults can get return for £125.

Gatwick to North Camp is very easy and a taxi to Aldershot, town centre, might be £10-15. try a local taxi firm to check.

Taxi to LHR we were quoted over £70 one way from local firm, coming-out and on the meter expect to pay much more.

Train all the way would be much more expensive and take much longer.

maggiesoup1

Hi Biking Bud, could you explain the mode of transport from Gatwick to North Camp please?

BikingBud

Direct train takes about 55 mins see:trainline.com

jbuchanangb

Looking at the flight times, I suppose you would arrive Gatwick 07.50, and then the first train to North Camp direct isn't until 10.03, so you should look at going to Aldershot instead on the 09.10 change at Guildford arriving Aldershot 10.17.
If that isn't early enough you'd have to come the day before. Impossible to return same day with Easyjet because of the ridiculously long check-in times.

There are two opportunities to get back to Edinburgh in the late afternoon by train:
dep Aldershot 16.34 arrive Edinburgh 23.15
dep Aldershot 17.04 arrive Edinburgh 23.29

If you book in advance for a specific train the cheapest advance single is £57.50 each.

agrinnall

You really need to answer the first question that I asked, as going there and back in the same day will require very different transport to what might be possible for a longer trip.

maggiesoup1

agrinnall wrote: »

You really need to answer the first question that I asked, as going there and back in the same day will require very different transport to what might be possible for a longer trip.

Everything is a bit up in the air at the moment as we don't have a date for the funeral. I think we will stay overnight as it will be too much of a rush, and emotionally difficult, to do it all in a day.

googler

In terms of time taken, I've found by air EDI-LHR or to London City to be roughly equal to the Edin Waverley to London KX train time.

Train has many advantages and is my favoured; no long check-ins, no security checks, can take your own snacks, as much variety of refreshing drinks as you like, access to your luggage mid-journey if needs be ..... just turn up 10 mins before departure and climb aboard.

This may well differ if you live in Ratho or Kirkliston, right next door to the airport ...

My inclination would be to travel down the afternoon/night before, to KX, and transfer to a hotel near Waterloo by tube. Then on the day, all you have to do is jump on train, Waterloo to Aldershot (with the possible change in Guildford mentioned above)