Manchester and London in May - Travel Advice

[ninawd]

Hello,

A friend and I from the States will be in London in May and have tickets for the 5pm perf of Hail to the Thief in Manchester on Sunday, May 4. I believe the only two public transportation options to/from Manchester from London are British Rail (that will cost more than the show tickets!) and a 4+ hour bus trip. Am I missing anything? Or is it possible there could be ride shares closer to the performance? 

Thanks for your insights...and anything else on the radar to see in London in early May? We already have tickets to The Brightening Air at the Old Vic.

Nina

[BurlyBeaR]

Welcome.
Discounted rail tickets go on sale nearer to the time of travel. We have several travel experts on the forum who will hopefully give advice.

We also have a rail discount scheme called Railcard which discounts off peak rail travel by about 30% you buy the railcard for a year and then get discounts when booking. You didn’t mention your age (there is a young persons card and a senior card) but there’s a railcard for two people travelling together www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

The railcard might only cost in if you are travelling by train more than just the Manchester trip. 

[djdan14]

It is possible to fly from manchester to London and even cheaper than trains in some cases.

[Phantom of London]

Use the train every 20 minutes from London Euston in just a shade over 2 hours. If you see a evening performance then you will need to stay overnight.

[BurlyBeaR]

Just checked a random Sunday in December to see what the advance purchase fare is - it’s £87 per person for a same day return. With a railcard it comes down to £55 but you would have to factor in the cost of the railcard £30 bringing each person’s fare up to £70.

Flying wouldn’t work, last flight (BA Manchester to Heathrow) is 19:50 abd it’s no cheaper than the train anyway. 

[TallPaul]

Something to bear in mind is that Sunday 4 May will be the day before a bank holiday, when Network Rail (the company responsible for the track and signals) often schedules some of its more complex engineering work.

[BurlyBeaR]

Oof. 😣

[properjob]

Some things that may help.

Advance tickets are cheaper than fully flexible tickets but restrict you to that particular train. It is way, way too early for you to be able to book them for May. In fact the train timetable is not confirmed for May yet. You can sign up here for alerts for when London to Manchester advance tickets are released. www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/tickets-and-savings/ways-to-save/ticket-alerts

If you might be travelling on trains to other places outside London a Brit rail pass might be good value for you. They are only available to people who live outside the UK so I have no experience of them. www.britrail.com/

[Dr Tom]

You're probably best to stay in Manchester on the Sunday night. Hotels will be cheaper than London, and you'll have more travel options on the Monday. If you really want to save money, there used to be an overnight coach from Manchester to London, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Flights may be cheaper in some cases, but please take the luggage costs into account (many of the cheapest fares don't include luggage).

You can also look at split ticketing for the rail journey. A ticket to Crewe, then a separate ticket to London, is often a lot cheaper. It does make for a slightly longer journey. As others have said, it will be too early to book discounted tickets.

Do check what's on at the other theatres in Manchester as well, including the smaller Hope Mill Theatre. There are loads of show options in London, but it all depends what dates you have available (many shows don't run on a Monday) and your preferences.

[ninawd]

Thanks SO much for all the info and advice. Obviously too soon to book anything so I deeply appreciate any update info over the next few months.

[jake]

I live in the North West and frequently go to London for theatre etc.  I don't know how much you were quoted for train travel, but it really isn't that unusual for me to pay more to get to London and back than it cost for my theatre tickets.  On the other hand, fully flexible 'Anytime' tickets can be furiously expensive so if that was the price you saw I'm not surprised you're looking for better value. The good news is that I've never paid such a fare (well over £200 each for a return) and don't know anyone who has paid it out of their own pocket (they're pretty much expense account fares).

Others have mentioned discounted 'Advance' fares and if you're organised enough to get these when they go on sale and can commit to specified trains that will be the best way to go - especially if you can get one of the Railcards mentioned.  If you need more flexibility or can't get it together to book at the optimum time, it's worth planning to travel 'off peak'.  Unlike 'Advance' fares - which are literally only valid on the train you book - Off Peak tickets can be used on any train that suits you as long as it's not during Peak period.  Which basically means you can't travel before 0930 or in some cases (and unfortunately I think both London and Manchester are such places) between 1400 & 1900. If you're travelling on Saturday or Sunday, though, these restrictions don't apply so you can take any train on those days (and I think Avanti extended this to Fridays, but whether that will be true next May is anyone's guess).  Off peak fares are very much cheaper than fully flexible 'Anytime' fares (can't say exactly but they're easily less than half the price).  I usually pay just over £70 return off peak with a railcard so it would be about £110 without.  Which, of course, means that if you can get a railcard (I think you can just buy a 12 month one over the counter at a station) the savings on your one journey will more than cover the £30 cost of the card.

As mentioned above, your biggest problem could be the Bank Holiday.  Trains to Manchester go from Euston and Railtrack have a habit of closing that station down for the whole weekend on Bank Holidays, subjecting travellers to dreadful 'rail replacement buses'  or even leaving them to find their own way by a circuitous route.  Even if the station isn't closed you'll be very lucky not to be slowed down by maintenance work and track speed limitations so you'd be well advised to set out early.

Finally, make a note of the 'Delay Repay' scheme.  UK trains are notoriously unreliable so if your train is delayed make sure you don't discard your ticket.  You can usually claim 25% of the fare back for a 15m delay, 50% for a 30m delay and 100% for an hour or more. If you've paid a lot of money for your ticket, the compensation is not to be sniffed at even if, obviously, you'd rather arrive on time.