Castleford > Bristol via train

Johntea

Work are sending me on a course 2 weeks today (17th February - 22nd February) and I need to get the train travel sorted.

Ideally I want to have a through train from Leeds, i.e. Castleford > Leeds then Leeds > Bristol Temple Meads since I'll be carrying luggage and a laptop.

The outward journey (On the 17th) I want to plan so I get to BTM for around 8 - 9pm and the return (On the 22nd) I want to plan for around 6pm to get back into Leeds for 10pm allowing me to get the last train to Castleford home at 10:30pm.

I have had a quick look on the National Rail journey planner but for the 'direct' trains (i.e. Castleford > Leeds > Bristol) the combined journeys come to just short of £140!!! :eek: Not that I'm paying but I'm not sure work are prepared for such a bill! (Especially since they also have to cover a 30 minute taxi ride once I get to Bristol...).

There are some very cheap advance fares, but they are at quite bad times and involve travelling Castleford > Sheffield > Birmingham > Bristol which involves lugging around luggage everywhere!

Is there any way to save a bit on the route I have planned or am I derailed (:rotfl: )

Nile

Hello Johntea

I'll move your thread to the 'Travel, Trips & Holidays' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

chalky_bertie

Virgin Trains have a price of about £80 for the return journey. Starting at Wakefield Westgate and then to Bristol there are option to get you there for 5pm and leaving at 12pm for the outgoing and then returning 6pm to get back into Wakey at about 9.30pm.

If you catch the train from Cas then if it stops at Kirkgate and goes no further then catch the little free bus that goes round the town and will drop you off at Westgate.

Leeds was about £5 dearer, but if you can be more flexible in your times and then do 2 single fares you can get it for as little as £63.

Johntea

chalky_bertie wrote: »

Virgin Trains have a price of about £80 for the return journey. Starting at Wakefield Westgate and then to Bristol there are option to get you there for 5pm and leaving at 12pm for the outgoing and then returning 6pm to get back into Wakey at about 9.30pm.

If you catch the train from Cas then if it stops at Kirkgate and goes no further then catch the little free bus that goes round the town and will drop you off at Westgate.

Leeds was about £5 dearer, but if you can be more flexible in your times and then do 2 single fares you can get it for as little as £63.

Thanks for the tip - Wakefield does seem to offer a lot more faster options with cheaper prices too! And with a 10 minute journey time from Castleford to Kirkgate it beats Leeds! (The Free City Bus doesn't run on Sundays but I'm sure work won't mind paying a few quid for a short taxi ride )

chalky_bertie

Johntea wrote: »

(The Free City Bus doesn't run on Sundays but I'm sure work won't mind paying a few quid for a short taxi ride )

Didn't know that but then very rarely go to town on Sundays. Good to know though.

Hagar_uk

Johntea wrote: »

Work are sending me on a course 2 weeks today (17th February - 22nd February) and I need to get the train travel sorted.

Ideally I want to have a through train from Leeds, i.e. Castleford > Leeds then Leeds > Bristol Temple Meads since I'll be carrying luggage and a laptop.

The outward journey (On the 17th) I want to plan so I get to BTM for around 8 - 9pm and the return (On the 22nd) I want to plan for around 6pm to get back into Leeds for 10pm allowing me to get the last train to Castleford home at 10:30pm.

I have had a quick look on the National Rail journey planner but for the 'direct' trains (i.e. Castleford > Leeds > Bristol) the combined journeys come to just short of £140!!! :eek: Not that I'm paying but I'm not sure work are prepared for such a bill! (Especially since they also have to cover a 30 minute taxi ride once I get to Bristol...).

There are some very cheap advance fares, but they are at quite bad times and involve travelling Castleford > Sheffield > Birmingham > Bristol which involves lugging around luggage everywhere!

Is there any way to save a bit on the route I have planned or am I derailed (:rotfl: )

Seriousy if work are sending you on the course, why worry about the costs and trying to get it down. Select the easiest route for you, and just expense that. no decent employer will worry about stuff like that as long you don't go OTT and book firstclass. Guess between the cost of the course, hotel all your food and drink expenses the travel costs will be minimal

jaynemcc1

Air Southwest have flights from Leeds Bradford to Bristol. The price is dependant on the number of seats available. Might be worth having a look!

M4RKM

or, take the pleasant (laughs) stroll from kirkgate through to westgate station, it should only take about 20 mins to get that far.....


nice to know there are some locals on here.....

Johntea

A spanner has been thrown into the works!

National Rail and Trainline give me totally different journey options!

I'm confused now and can't be getting a thing wrong with the travel or it'll muck up the point of going on the Sunday!

chalky_bertie

Why bother with them both. When I looked for you I went straight to Virgin Trains. They were also offering upgrades to FC for £10 on the outward journey.


Flying seems a great option but it's not the best airport to get to is it.

Best to decide quick beofre it all changes price.

Johntea

Well in the end I managed to get a return for £82.60 :T

It does involve 3 trains to get there, but then it is 2 trains back (i.e. straight from Bristol to Leeds, you can't really get much better there!).

Hopefully it all goes well next Sunday (XC even managed to reserve my seats!)