Leamington Spa to London Advice

[park hill]

Next week (~8:30am Friday), I'd like to travel from Leamington Spa to Twickenham with a break at Oxford for about an hour, followed by a return journey on the next day (Saturday) with a break in central London for a few hours.

I don't know where to begin with ticket options - should I get singles, a return, use BOJ, or split the journey up, go via marylebone, paddington or reading with SWR? I am also aware of split savings between Leamington Spa and Oxford. Does anyone have any advice about what should roughly be the cheapest option?

I am happy to get any specific train on the Friday but I'd like more flexibility on the Saturday.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@park hill. Welcome to the forum. Just to be clear, are you saying that you want to return from Twickenham to Leamington Spa via Central London on the Saturday?

 

[park hill]

@park hill. Welcome to the forum. Just to be clear, are you saying that you want to return from Twickenham to Leamington Spa via Central London on the Saturday?

Thanks! Other way around. It's a return from Leamington Spa to Twickenham via Oxford on the outbound, then London on the return.

 

[jfollows]

You’ve both said the same thing in the last two posts.

Note that “any permitted” Leamington-Twickenham tickets are also valid via Euston, if you want full flexibility for the return trip. £70.20 for an off-peak return as long as you can comply with its Friday morning restrictions. If this is too much for flexibility then I suggest you have a go with this site’s ticketing site. Also there’s a £50 “via High Wycombe” ticket which would, however, potentially be a problem via Oxford first, I haven’t checked.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Also there’s a £50 “via High Wycombe” ticket which would, however, potentially be a problem via Oxford first, I haven’t checked.

Sadly the via High Wycombe tickets can't be used via Oxford.

Leamington Spa - London Terminals tickets are routed via Banbury, however, and they can be used via Oxford. The OP could then use Contactless to Twickenham.

That said, Chiltern are affected by Engineering Work on Saturday and Sunday, with fast buses between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Bicester (direct along the A41) and stopping buses between High Wycombe and Bicester.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Is the £70.20 Off Peak Return (Route "✠Any Permitted") from Leamington Spa to Twickenham, valid via Oxford, and - if it is - also valid for a same day break of journey at Oxford on the outward leg? Or would a one-way change of route excess to route "via Oxford" potentially costing, I reckon, an extra £1.35 be required by the OP on Friday?

 

[jfollows]

Is the £70.20 Off Peak Return (Route "✠Any Permitted") from Leamington Spa to Twickenham, valid via Oxford, and - if it is - also valid for a same day break of journey at Oxford on the outward leg? Or would a one-way change of route excess to route "via Oxford" potentially costing, I reckon, an extra £1.35 be required by the OP on Friday?

Yes, it’s valid the same as Leamington-London, which includes Oxford.
Yes, it’s valid for break of journey.
The only “gotcha” will be early morning validity, which I have not checked. But, for example, not valid on Cross Country before 09:30 could be a problem.

 

[redreni]

Yes, it’s valid the same as Leamington-London, which includes Oxford.
Yes, it’s valid for break of journey.
The only “gotcha” will be early morning validity, which I have not checked. But, for example, not valid on Cross Country before 09:30 could be a problem.

Is it valid to go Leamington > Oxford > Reading > Twickenham?

And if so, if the OP can't complete his outward journey to London on the Friday, can he do so on the Saturday or would he need to use contactless for that leg?

 

[jfollows]

Is it valid to go Leamington > Oxford > Reading > Twickenham?

And if so, if the OP can't complete his outward journey to London on the Friday, can he do so on the Saturday or would he need to use contactless for that leg?

It will be the shortest route, therefore valid, and on arrival at Twickenham the outbound half is used, leaving the return valid via London which includes one central London underground journey. All the other valid routes are via London, as implied by the maltese cross.

To amplify this, in case of confusion:

A Leamington-Twickenham ticket will always be valid on direct trains or by the shortest route, no need to consult the routeing guide, and I'd expect Leamington-Oxford-Reading-Twickenham to be the shortest route.

Otherwise, validity is defined in the routeing guide as via LONDON, which means any valid routes Leamington-London plus any valid routes London-Twickenham.
As well as the shortest route to London (presumably Marylebone) there are mapped routes Leamington-Paddington via Reading and Leamington-Euston. And Marylebone is a mapped route as well anyway.

The ticket includes cross-London transfer in the price also. Which can be used for a single journey between terminals or a single journey to somewhere else in central London, followed by paying for a separate journey later.

A Leamington-London ticket isn't valid via Reading-Twickenham-Waterloo because it's not the shortest route nor is it a mapped route. But the ticket we're talking about is a Leamington-Twickenham one.

Although all that may just end up being more confusing!

 

[Haywain]

A Leamington-Twickenham ticket will always be valid on direct trains or by the shortest route, no need to consult the routeing guide

Subject to being routed 'Any Permitted'

 

[Dirty_Mac]

For the outbound journey this seems the best: https://beta.trainsplit.com/ticket-...9be51f3bf5&outId=99144&returnId=0&fareSetId=4

For the return, a super off-peak from Euston to Coventry/Kenilworth + an anytime single to Leamington Spa seems the cheapest (£26.20 and £23.30 respectively). That means using contactless while in London. Otherwise, a super off-peak single Twickenham - Leamington via High Wycombe is £43.20, while the same journey splitting at High Wycombe and Bicester North is £41.90, netting you a savings of £1.30.

Hope this helps!

 

[jfollows]

Subject to being routed 'Any Permitted'

Indeed.
Interestingly I calculate (NRT mileage table)
Leamington-Reading-Twickenham 100.5 miles
Leamington-Marylebone-Twickenham 100.0 miles (omitting any distance for the cross-London journey)
so it's within 3 miles of the shortest route if not actually the shortest route.

 

[Belperpete]

Note that “any permitted” Leamington-Twickenham tickets are also valid via Euston, if you want full flexibility for the return trip. £70.20 for an off-peak return as long as you can comply with its Friday morning restrictions.

According to BRFares, Avanti are the fare setter for this ticket, with restriction code 2C, which explicitly says the Euston restrictions do not apply on Fridays . It does have a restriction not valid on trains arriving at Reading before 0940. So provided the OP catches a Reading bound train toward Oxford that isn't scheduled to arrive at Reading before 0940, he should be okay? It does include the Cross Country restriction 2V not valid before 0930 for journeys to/via Birmingham, but as the OP won't be travelling to/via Bhm that presumably won't apply?

As has already been pointed out, this ticket allows the breaks of journey that the OP wants in Oxford and London. And is flexible, so the OP isn't tied to particular trains. So, unless I am missing something in the restrictions, it seems the obvious choice?

This kind of ticketing flexibility with breaking journey is something that I do very frequently, and can save a lot of money compared to buying individual tickets for each leg. Of course, it will all come to and end if the LNER ticketing scheme is rolled out nationwide.

For the outbound journey this seems the best: https://beta.trainsplit.com/ticket-...9be51f3bf5&outId=99144&returnId=0&fareSetId=4

That link doesn't seem to work for me. However, unless it gives a fare less than £30, I don't see the point of buying these split tickets compared with the 70.20 all in one return fare already suggested. And from my perspective, anything involving advance tickets would have to offer a significant saving for me to give up the flexibility that a standard ticket offers, particularly when breaking journey mid way.

 

[Dirty_Mac]

If an off-peak return does work then that's the best