Train to Glasto

[DeclarationOfWar]

I'm coming from Manchester to Glastonbury and I've used the train once before and didn't get charged too much but if I remember rightly I had to change at Cheltenham and then another train which seemed to go everywhere, before getting to Castle Cary.

Does anybody have any methods on keeping costs down, or tips on when to book the train tickets - should I book them as soon as possible or later?

Any help/advice/stories much appreciated

[Ed209]

book them online as soon as possible. There will be a limited number of advanced tickets at the lowest price. First come first served. Then you're paying top whack.

[eoinca]

Yeah, book them as soon as you can. I think its 3 months before that they go on sale.

[coma girl]

Go on trainline website and they will allow you to set up an alert that will email you when the tickets go on sale. Don't buy from trainline though as they charge fees.

Also look at spliting your journey up into sections and buying seperate singles for each stage, i.e. in your case a ticket from Manc to Cheltenhan and then one to CC. Its a bit of a faff but can save you a fortune. I use trains a lot and I usually manage to get cheap tickets. I also have a railcard but this might not be worth it for you depending on your circumstances.

Look on moneysavingexpert.com, that site has lots of tips and tricks including a guide on where to split your journey.

Remember that advance tickets tie you to a particular train so if you miss it the ticket won't be valid for the next one.

Edited February 6, 2013 by coma girl

[j...rox]

Castle Cary on the way back is anyone's guess. I wouldnt buy an advanced for your return journey as if you miss it through bus delays for the shuttle from the site to the station (almost inevitable) they will make you buy another ticket which will be more expensive altogether.

[Homer]

Use the Megatrain (if available).

Edited February 6, 2013 by Homer

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I've never used it, but this site has been recommended to me for booking cheap train tickets. Might be worth a shot.

http://www.redspottedhanky.com

[Ovechkin]

Train tickets are so expensive in the UK :S and if you need anytime return on monday thats like 100 £ some heads should roll

(in before lesson of supply and demand)

maybe they'll update this website soon, hopefully before they release the train tickets: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/Glastonbury/Glasto_2011.html

Edited February 6, 2013 by Ovechkin

[eoinca]

Castle Cary on the way back is anyone's guess. I wouldnt buy an advanced for your return journey as if you miss it through bus delays for the shuttle from the site to the station (almost inevitable) they will make you buy another ticket which will be more expensive altogether.

[Bobs]

Follow the rules and you'll be fine.

To the person who suggested splitting the journey up, ticket wise, I couldn't emphasise how cricial doing this is, we drove down, BUT, I'm a regular train traveller and just look where your train is meant to go, and book onto the same train... Someone mentioned you were going from Manchester... I assume the. Route would be like

Manchester - New Street

New street - Bristol temple meads

The castle Cary afterwards?

So book to New Street

Then book to Sheewsbury for example then onto Bristol, then of required one more stop before castle Cary... You'll save £50 easily!

[eoinca]

The last few years we've left stupidly early to get back to London but this year we're going to Bristol for a night before going home and just wondering what the queues are like in the afternoon? Are they worse/better?

Say if we wanted to get a train at 2 or 3 o clock, what time would we want to be at the bus station to guarantee getting to Castle Cary in time?

[pie_and_a_pint]

Follow the rules and you'll be fine.

To the person who suggested splitting the journey up, ticket wise, I couldn't emphasise how cricial doing this is, we drove down, BUT, I'm a regular train traveller and just look where your train is meant to go, and book onto the same train... Someone mentioned you were going from Manchester... I assume the. Route would be like

Manchester - New Street

New street - Bristol temple meads

The castle Cary afterwards?

So book to New Street

Then book to Sheewsbury for example then onto Bristol, then of required one more stop before castle Cary... You'll save £50 easily!

[mungo57]

www.splityourticket.co.uk

[Dukeicon]

If you are going to get a return ticket then just buy an open return ticket. You can get a return train whenever you want bar peak times.

[sparkythetortoise]

I'm coming from Manchester to Glastonbury and I've used the train once before and didn't get charged too much but if I remember rightly I had to change at Cheltenham and then another train which seemed to go everywhere, before getting to Castle Cary.

Does anybody have any methods on keeping costs down, or tips on when to book the train tickets - should I book them as soon as possible or later?

Any help/advice/stories much appreciated

[Sketchead]

Is that Glastonbury Express going to run again this year? I got one from Stoke last year and it went to Castle Cary (I think), then they put us straight on a free coach from there. It was ideal.

[DeclarationOfWar]

Anybody able to find out how much the train is likely to cost before the tickets go on sale on Wed?

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

Train tickets are so expensive in the UK :S and if you need anytime return on monday thats like 100 £ some heads should roll

(in before lesson of supply and demand)

maybe they'll update this website soon, hopefully before they release the train tickets: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/Glastonbury/Glasto_2011.html

[DeclarationOfWar]

RIght guys, I desperately need your advice. I've had Glástowátch RT me on twitter with information on it all but on Wednesday morning, will there definitely be cheap advance tickets up on the website? On the RedSpottedHankey app the cheapest I've seen is 62.50 return from Manchester (off peak)

Edited March 25, 2013 by DeclarationOfWar

[DeclarationOfWar]

Is TrainLine the best site to book through?

[markeee]

Is TrainLine the best site to book through?

[coma girl]

Remember that trainline and other 3rd party booking sites charge fees so I'd always double check how much you'd be charged if you book directly with the train companies who don't charge fees.

[llloydy]

RIght guys, I desperately need your advice. I've had Glástowátch RT me on twitter with information on it all but on Wednesday morning, will there definitely be cheap advance tickets up on the website? On the RedSpottedHankey app the cheapest I've seen is 62.50 return from Manchester (off peak)

[carlosj]

I checked on both trainline and redspottedhanky for a ticket from Kings Lynn to Leeds the Wednesday after Easter (yeah, not Glastonbury), and RSH didn't show all the trains that trainline did, and was also more expensive. I don't think either charge, except for credit cards. They're both on quidco, so I'll get some cashback down the line too.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets may help with timing your purchase and working out split tickets (which is just seeing the start and end point of a journey and buying tickets for each stretch to make it cheaper) This link also has one comparing the booking sites for costs etc.

As a guideline, you can put in details for the maximum period in advance and see what the prices are for that date, as a comparison for what the real ones will be. I find that's reasonable unless it's a holiday period or a commuter train.

hth

[she bangs the drums]

RIght guys, I desperately need your advice. I've had Glástowátch RT me on twitter with information on it all but on Wednesday morning, will there definitely be cheap advance tickets up on the website? On the RedSpottedHankey app the cheapest I've seen is 62.50 return from Manchester (off peak)

Edited March 26, 2013 by she bangs the drums