Hello!
I am about to buy a 15 Day Use Global Pass but need some help on UK travel.
I think I am ok from London to Paris / Amsterdam / up to Scotland but I can’t seem to work out the UK - I tried to do one of those ‘Plan your Trip’ searches but all I could find in the UK that I want to go to is Bath and London.
Has anyone used the Global Pass to go to Oxford / Cambridge / Brighton or anywhere near the Lakes District?
Thanks so much!
Cheers
Best answer by BrendanDB
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+7
You can take every train you want in the UK with the pass you have.
The overview on the website only gives the most popular -very touristic- options. I have travelled to many, more obscure and lesser known locations in the UK with passes, and almost everything goes :). It’s one of the countries where a pass is a real pleasure to use.
If you need to reserve seats on trains, do so on https://www.gwr.com/your-tickets/seat-reservations. Reservations in the UK are free, although many trains don’t require them! On longer distances it’s recommended though.
The QR code doesn’t work well with ticket gates, but just show it to a member of staff and they’ll let you in or out.
When are you going? For which dates did you look for?
It might be possible that the train times are not yet uploaded in the rail planner app. The schedule changes on december 11th. You can also check on the GWR-website or any other UK train operator to check where you are going, if you’re confused with the rail planner app.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the reply!
I have left it very last minute and going next week. Do you know if there is any risk of me not being able to use to use this pass from London to Paris for example? I am trying to find tickets online before I buy it to make sure I will get a spot but it seems hard to confirm, it would be disappointing to buy it and then have to purchase additional tickets (I know you have to pay to reserve on top)
Thank you for the link to the reservation website!
Cheers
Anna
There is a limited number of pass holder seats on the Eurostar and on popular departures and during high season those sell out weeks, and sometimes months in advance.
The best place to see the availability of passholder seats and make reservations on the Eurostar is
https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish
Press "later trains" and eventually you will find the next available connection.
If you have a mobile pass you need to generate a Pass Cover Number in order to make the reservation at b-europe. You do that here in the PCN generator:
https://community.eurail.com/news-and-announcements-39/pass-cover-number-generator-is-live-5653
For the-not unlikely-case you cannot get any pass-seats on this €*, usually the cheapest ´next best´ soltuion will be the BUS (Coach for brits), mostly as FLIXbus, als BlaBla. it may even be similar priced to the surcharge for passes.
Also be aware that GB is plagued with many strikes, esp in transport on for trains the upcoming weeks.
+7
Should Paris-London be fully booked, try Lille-London. It will mean an extra interchange in Lille, but often helps for last minute travel wishes. Fridays and sundays are usually very popular, with a higher risk of being fully booked.
Also be aware that for Eurostar you need to be well in advance in the station for passport and security checks. About 45 minutes, best time is indicated on your reservation once you have it.
If that doesn’t work out, the ferry Calais-Dover also takes foot passengers at some sailings.
Thank you SO much everyone, this is so incredibly helpful!
I am in Aus so bloody useless with any local knowledge. Absolute legends!
Buying the reservations for Eurostar on the spot could be a problem even in autumn, but buying it a few days in advance is mostly no problem (only for the Amsterdam-London train I found nothing available even one week before (but it was for a Sunday). Brussels-London one week ahead booked was no problem (compared to summer where it was booked out weeks in advance!)
If you buy a return reservation, then b-europe is better, otherwise better buy it via interrail.
No booking fees will be charged bought at a station.
Welcome to the UK. Just a few points to help:
Rail strikes, currently there are no new strikes announced but up to date info here
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/industrialaction.aspx
The UK rail network is operated by a multitude of companies but a useful planner is trainline.com, but most of the operators have websites that will cover all operators.
The three most likely long distance operators for a visitor are LNER for London to Edinburgh and beyond. GWR for London to the west (Bristol and Cornwall) and Avanti West Coast for London to Glasgow. Check their route maps for all cities covered.
One other operator worth looking at is Cross Country trains who link these 3 without returning to London.
If you have any specific journeys in mind simply let us know and we will advise on sensible options.
All long distance trains from these companies are reservable and at busy times a reservation is essential and freely acquired from their websites or on the day at stations.
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