I'm going to be really lazy here and save myself reading back... when is this trip?
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I'm going to be really lazy here and save myself reading back... when is this trip?
April, one of the weekends and it'll e in Birmingham
Cool, sounds good to me :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Norman Bates
About an hour and 10 mins.
Thats not too bad :)
I can get to Birmingham in an hour and a half from Bristol, never realised that! I should be free any week in April, barring any commitments I don't yet know about. :)
Shall I add you to the list then?Quote:
Originally Posted by StarsOfCCTV
Sorry for late reply - yes please. :)
Done
We need dates in April people
I'd be better with the end of April, my flatmate said she might be having a birthday party on the 4th or the 11th :rolleyes: so I'm not sure about the beginning of April but I have nothing planned for the rest of April.
Do we have a meeting place?
I'd be better off with the end, too. (18th onwards!)
Still birmingham
I think the end might be better for me too
Sorry I should have been more specific I meant like a train station in Birmingham. :p
New Street Station is pretty compact and it's not easy to get lost so I would say we meet there
Yeah I like the sound of New street, plus Ive been there before
Compact?! It's huge! I think it's the worst 'big' station I've been to, including London ones! (Okay, maybe I just have a dislike of NS!)Quote:
Originally Posted by Abigail
Just we need to decide on an end: Victoria Sq side (small entrance, very compact, not many people) or the main concourse... but that can get *very* busy!
Can we not meet outside of somekind of shop or something like that?
I've never been to Birmingham before...as long as it is an easy place to find, wherever we meet.
Yeah thats what I mean we need to make its easier, so it would be good to have a shop still in the station
Is Birmingham Station easy to get to from the airport. maybe we could swap mobile numbers. A weekend would suit me more than a weekday if it's going to be after the 18th.
Outside M&S Simply food? All you have to do is go through the ticket barriers, bear left and it's round that side?
New St is about 15 mins away from the airport, with trains about every 15 mins at least!
Are most people arriving by train?
Yep train for me
By foot!
I'll start a poll in March to see how everyone is set
Well there's the main concourse where the escalators/steps/lifts down to the platforms are then once you go through the ticket barrier there's the waiting room and drop off entrance to the right and shops to the left. Its not hard to get lost if you say meet under the departure boards or in the waiting room.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tori
I posted a link a few pages back to Birmingham airport train links.
Oh gosh just did a train search to see what it be like if i came. I could get a train for 10hrs which would get me there at 9ish. Or one for 5 hrs that would get me there for half 12. and then last train home is at 4ish in the evening. Will cost around £62.
I don't want to travel on my owwwwwn :crying:. Are Kirsty and Dave going? One of them could meet me in Cardiff :p
Lea, have you looked at prices with a railcard? You save a 1/3 and if you go on the East Coast website you can save even more if you split the tickets.
Now you've confused me :lol: How do I get a railcard? And ermmm East Coast? Splitting tickets?????
You can get a 16-25 railcard online or at any station. It costs 24 pound and lasts a year.
East Coast is one of the websites you can buy tickets from. It is always cheaper to buy tickets at least a week in advance online. Don't bother signing up to the national rail website as you can't buy tickets on there. What I love about East Coast is that you can choose your ticket by price. Each train is given a set price between two distances and it varies depending on the destination and number of stops. The more stops, the cheaper it is (takes longer).
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7315/77881970.jpg
As you can see for a journey between Newcastle and York, you can book in advance and pay 4.65 or buy on the day for 26.40 for a single.
Splitting tickets works most of the time but it depends when you travel. Basically you find out all the stops you must make on a journey then work out if it will be cheaper to stop at extra or different stations. For example, Stoke on Trent to Newcastle you can go three ways:
1. you change at Manchester. You can choose to get a direct train to Newcastle from there (more expensive) or go to Leeds, Doncaster or York and change again for Newcastle.
2. Change at Crewe and get a train direct to Newcastle
3. Change at Birmingham and get a direct train.
So you could do:
Stoke on trent > Manchester > Newcastle
Stoke on trent > Manchester > Leeds/Doncaster/York > Newcastle
Stoke on trent > Manchester > Doncaster > York > Newcastle
Stoke on trent > Manchester > Leeds > York > Newcastle
Stoke on trent > Crewe> Newcastle
Stoke on Trent > Birmingham > Newcastle
It often works out cheaper to get individual returns (e.g. Stoke to Manchester return, Manchester to York return) or just buy single tickets. Once you find out how many stops you have to take, you can play around and find out the cheapest route. Different operators charge different prices. Virgin are always a few quid cheaper than the rest.
Travelling off peak (after 9.30am) will be cheaper too.
This applies for everyone, regardless of if you have a railcard or not. I highly recommend railcards as you save a third on all journeys and there's one for almost everyone (family, 16-24/young persons, disabled, forces family, senior)
There are 2 sides to the station, it's normally very busy with lots of people waiting round... plus 3 different sets of departure boards!Quote:
Originally Posted by Abigail
Lea see if you could get a cheap flight over. That's what I'm doing instead of spending 6 hours on a train.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyLea
I'm hoping I can make this as I want to go to uni in Birmingham anyway and I'm 18 now so hopefully my parents won't be objecting too much.
Yeah we really need to start thinking about dates again
I'm a no go guys. Funds are not going to well for me :crying: Maybe if we do it another year :)
Yeah, if I'm coming I'll need to look into a rail card because it looks like my fare will be £85 without one!Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbie
I'm still up for it if we have dates arrange so I can book a ticket and arrange child care.Anytime between 2 April and 19 April would suit me.
I have the 1st to the 18th off for the April half term. I have no definite plans as yet other than revision which I can fit in on any days... first come first served lol.
I'll have to check my diary but I think I'm free first couple of weeks in April.