cumbria coast rail line

donnajunkie

hi,
does anyone have experience of travelling on the cumbrian coast rail line? is it reliable etc? i hope to travel from the north east to eskdale in the lakes. as i have a bus pass i will get as far as carlisle on the bus. i havent been on a train for over 15 years and then it was only local trains here in the north east. so i plan to travel from carlisle to ravenglass and then onto eskdale by train. any advice? is the operator northern rail reliable? is it easy to find the right train and platform at carlisle train station?

laird

The Cumbrian Coast line is reliable, like any transport it can have its moments but you will get to your destination.
At Carlisle you can buy your ticket to Eskdale including the narrow gauge rail journey from Ravenglass.
Carlisle has monitors which will display the platform number, simply walk to that platform and await the arrival of your train.

donnajunkie

thanks.
will i be able to get a return ticket right through to eskdale that allows me to travel back a few days later. i ask because some info i have seen elsewhere gives the impression that the ravenglass/eskdale part of tjhe journey would only allow a through return ticket if both journeys were made in the same day. what i mean is it seems they may only allow day returns and not period returns on their train.

Miseryschild

donnajunkie - you can get an open return which allows you to return within 1 month but i would ask as sometimes buying 2 singles for the days/times you want could end up cheaper. Ask the person at the ticket office which would be the cheapest way to do what you want to do.

HTH
~MC

donnajunkie

according to northern rails( or was it national rail) website a single just to ravenglass is £11.60 and an open return is £13.10. it also says that to travel on the ravenglass/eskdale train to add another £6.20. the issue is all the literature is targeted towards getting people to go there on a day trip from carlisle. so it is unclear if they will allow a period return on the ravenglass/eskdale train. i know a period return is ok travelling between carlisle and ravenglass.

lyndhurst25

Hi,

according to the Northern Rail website "Buy a through ticket to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway and you'll save £3.00 adultand £1.50 child off the cost of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway full line return fare, allowing one day’s unlimited travel on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway. The through ticket is available with any Cheap Day Return, Standard Day Return or Saver Return ticket to Ravenglass." With a period return (i.e. the Saver) travel on the R&E Railway is only allowed on the outward travel date of the ticket, so you wouldn't be able to use it to get back from Eskdale to Ravenglass on the following day for instance.

Another money saving solution (that I have just taken up myself) is to join the R&E Railway Preservation Society (https://www.rerps.co.uk). It costs £16 per year and members are entitled to free travel on the line (except on a few "special event" days e.g. Thomas he Tank Engine day). Considering that an adult return ticket costs £10.20 and a single costs £6, this gives you a considerable saving if you travel more that once during a year.

With regards to your train from Carlisle - you can download the full timetable from the Northern Rail website. I think that most trains will be going through to Barrow-in-Furness as their final destination. Just remember that there are no trains on the Carlisle to Ravenglass line on Sundays.

Have a nice holiday!

alanrowell

Why not take a bus to Whitehaven, then another to Ravenglass - which is where the "Eskdale" train stops

donnajunkie

the buses down that way are very bad timetable wise. i dont get to carlisle until 11.55am(10.55am if i am lucky) and the number 300 bus to whitehaven wont get me there until 2pm which is half an hour after the number 6 bus to ravenglass sets off from whitehaven. the next number 6 bus after that is due in ravenglass at 4.20pm which is a bit too late when still having to catch the train to eskdale. i will be in ravenglass for 2.20pm if i go by train.
i would prefer to go by bus because i have a bus pass but it isnt practical. i will get as far as carlisle by bus. my journey starts in teesside. i get a bus to newcastle and then another to carlisle. my first bus of the day is at 7.30am.