-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
North Wales Day Ranger
- Thread starter polskism
- Start date
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Yes, the North Wales Rover - see here for an (unofficial) map and explanation. It is a day ranger, despite the name!
Chester to Bangor would require the "all zones" version, which is valid as far as Holyhead in the west and Shrewsbury in the south (as well as the entirety of the Cambrian line). It's also valid on certain bus services.
Chester to Bangor would require the "all zones" version, which is valid as far as Holyhead in the west and Shrewsbury in the south (as well as the entirety of the Cambrian line). It's also valid on certain bus services.
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 12,466
£42.00 for the North Wales "all zones rover" ticket compared with £42.40 for say an Off Peak Return from Chester to Holyhead. (There isn't an Off Peak Day Return unless you restrict yourself to travelling with Avanti).
ChrisC
Established Member
Those prices makes the 4 Days in 8 Explore North and Mid Wales Pass look extremely good value.
krus_aragon
Established Member
One can get a slightly cheaper unrestricted fare with off peak day returns by splitting at (e. g.) Llandudno Jn: £16.80 HHD-LLJ and £16.80 again for LLJ-CTR, for a total of £33.60 return. Only good for one round journey, though.
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 12,466
The Off Peak Day Return (from Holyhead to Llandudno Junction or vice-versa) is, however, subject to peak hour travel restrictions, if travelling midweek. Also, I can't see an equivalent any operator Off Peak Day Return product as available between Llandudno Junction and Chester.
krus_aragon
Established Member
Ah, yes thanks. I forgot those evening restrictions had been added in recent years.
Llandudno
Established Member
- Joined
- 25 Dec 2014
- Messages
- 2,271
It’s an excellent ticket.
But it’s shrouded in secrecy, there’s no marketing or promotion of the product, it’s valid on virtually every bus service, even though most bus drivers have no clue what ticket you are showing them!
Needless to say you can’t buy at unstaffed TfW stations or from TfW ticket machines.
If you board at a TfW unstaffed penalty fare station that has a ticket machine it’s advisable to buy a ticket to a staffed station where staff should discount the price of the rover ticket by the cost of the single ticket…?
Farigiraf
Member
AFAIK the Ffestiniog Round Robin ticket is also valid in virtually all of North Wales, and it's cheaper than a Nth Wales Rover if coming from England. Don't know how the directional restrictions (if there are any) work on the non loop parts e.g. Aberystwyth and Holyhead.
http://www.railrover.org/pages/ffestiniog-round-robin.html
http://www.railrover.org/pages/ffestiniog-round-robin.html
Last edited:
There are no penalty fares applicable to any journey that can be made with this ticket.
Mainline421
Member
Most of those are card only so just bring cash.
gray1404
Established Member
The card only ticket machines on the North Wales line have started issuing those promise to pay things, which I dont think are even enforceable.
nwales58
Member
Cambrian from unstaffed stations is still in the easy-to-use customer-friendly good old world. Pay on board is fine, only the bigger stations have machines anyway. No penalty fares.
It's frustrating when visitors are panicking about no mobile phone data preventing buying from Trainline.
It's frustrating when visitors are panicking about no mobile phone data preventing buying from Trainline.
Willie Bee
Member
My wife and I are having a few days in Liverpool soon and I was thinking about making a day trip to Llandudno during our visit. I think we would need to take a Merseyrail train to Chester first.
I had never heard of the North Wales Rover, so maybe I should investigate further. We have railcards too.
Where would folk recommend visiting .. say, the top 3 destinations covered by this Rover ticket
I had never heard of the North Wales Rover, so maybe I should investigate further. We have railcards too.
Where would folk recommend visiting .. say, the top 3 destinations covered by this Rover ticket
The All-zones ticket is the only one with Railcard discount (a 2-zone one is half the price but pretty restrictive (unless you want to go to Llangollen from Chester - optional visit to the preserved railway thence to Corwen!).
Llangollen would be one of my suggestions, Llandudno another (with the Great Orme tramway, and perhaps combined with Conwy), but with an All-zones you could get to Caernarfon or into Snowdonia (via Betws-y-Coed on the Conwy Valley line if the connection works). You also have the options of the Cambrian Coast via Shrewsbury, but TBH starting from Liverpool that's rather far for a day.
(Your ticket would be valid from Bidston via Shotton BTW but there's little advantage in that option.)
I've done it more than once, when the Festiniog timetable was less complicated, and always uphill - unfortunately Friday is the one day when that circuit doesn't work: you'd have to take the 1450 to Tanybwlch, walk downhill to the Oakley Arms, and catch the 1611 T22 bus to Blaenau - or do the steam journey downhill.
Last edited:
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
Liverpool-Llandudno Off Peak Return is £18.80 with most railcards, which is good value when the same fare is £16.55 from Chester.
No time restrictions. No break of journey though, so no use for hopping on and off on the way.
There is an Off Peak Day Return at £15.00 with time restrictions (not before 0930 or return 1600-1830), which does allow break of journey.
You can travel on the hourly TfW service from Lime St to Chester, as well as the 4tph Merseyrail: similar journey time, fewer stops, better views.
It's then hourly Chester-Llandudno, on the train which originates at Manchester Airport.
I'd say Llandudno is the nicest destination on the coast, plenty to see and do, decent shops and good scenery along the way.
It's a bit of a trek from the station to the Great Orme tramway, but great views up there on a good day.
greatormetramway.co.uk
For wider travel from Liverpool , there's also the Coast and Peaks Rover, covering Liverpool and Manchester to North Wales and across the south Pennines (4 days in 8, railcard price £63.85, not before 0900 M-F).
railrover.org
No time restrictions. No break of journey though, so no use for hopping on and off on the way.
There is an Off Peak Day Return at £15.00 with time restrictions (not before 0930 or return 1600-1830), which does allow break of journey.
You can travel on the hourly TfW service from Lime St to Chester, as well as the 4tph Merseyrail: similar journey time, fewer stops, better views.
It's then hourly Chester-Llandudno, on the train which originates at Manchester Airport.
I'd say Llandudno is the nicest destination on the coast, plenty to see and do, decent shops and good scenery along the way.
It's a bit of a trek from the station to the Great Orme tramway, but great views up there on a good day.
Great Orme Tramway
The Great Orme Tramway is Britain’s only cable-hauled public road tramway and has been delighting visitors from near and far since it opened on July 31st 1902.
greatormetramway.co.uk
For wider travel from Liverpool , there's also the Coast and Peaks Rover, covering Liverpool and Manchester to North Wales and across the south Pennines (4 days in 8, railcard price £63.85, not before 0900 M-F).
GB RAIL ROVER GUIDE - Coast & Peaks Rover
How to find rail rover and ranger tickets on the national rail network. Rover and ranger tickets are cheap tickets for rail travel
railrover.org
Willie Bee
Member
That seems a good idea
Staying near Liverpool Central we could get the 09:30 Merseyrail train to Chester, arriving at 10:10 which would give us 1hr 40 minutes to have a quick look in Chesyer, before catching the 11:52 train to Llandudno (with a change at Llandudo Junction)
2 1/2 hours would be OK for a quick look around Llandudno, before getting the 15:42 train home .. just before the restrictions kick in.
If the weather is great, we could even stay longer and leave later, say at 18:42
Chester station is a 20-30 min walk from the city by the way . I can however recommend the cafe next to llandudno station before hitting the town . I would stay after the peak as their is plenty to see and do on a nice day . Sit on the right from chester for the sea views towards the wirral coast.
Willie Bee
Member
Thanks .. yes, we would probably stay late if the weather is good and make a decent day out of the trip.
Great tip about the cafe
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 12,466
Is that "Molly's Cafe" on Augusta Street?
Willie Bee
Member
Could we just buy these tickets on the day from a ticket machine, or ticket office (if there is one at Liverpool Central)
I could even walk to Lime Street from the hotel to get them there, if need be. Last year I did that, when I wanted to buy two Saveaway tickets for my wife and I
At least we can see what the weather is like before deciding on a day trip to Cheser / Llandudno
Willie Bee
Member
Great .. many thanks !
My wife has never been to Wales, so she is looking forward to the trip, as I am too
No doubt we'll be buying more fridge magnets
gray1404
Established Member
If you are buying normal tickets then Liverpool Central should be fine. Especially if you are getting a 09 30 train and it does not leave Liverpool Central until then. It will leave Lime Street before 9.30am you see.
If you are buying a rover or ranger ticket I would suggest you use Liverpool Lime Street as Merseyrail are not the best at being able to issue anything complicated (and if they do it can take a while for them to work out how to do it or fob you off with an excuse or tell you you need to goto Lime Street for that).
If you choose to book your tickets online and pick them up from the station you'll need to use the manned ticket office if you use Liverpool Central rather then the machine.
Willie Bee
Member
I'll be getting the Off-Peak Day Return at £15.00, so will probably just take the short walk to Lime Street from our hotel (Premier Inn Liverpool One near LVC) leaving my wife to get ready, then head back.
That way I can pick up a few extra steps, for the daily step challenge
gray1404
Established Member
Good stuff. You'll have no problems getting that at Liverpool Central if you ended up there any case. Also be aware of the weekday return restriction in the evening on that ticket: for journeys starting between 16.00-18.29.
Also Plus Bus is available for Llandudno for just £1.95 with a Railcard and you can visit Conwy and get the bus upto the top of the Great Orme in Llandudno. See https://www.plusbus.info/llandudno
Willie Bee
Member
Yes, we are big fans of the PlusBus scheme
The bus to the top of the Great Orme would be good, but it only runs every hour .. judging by some of the reviews, an hour up top isn't that great. A friend went up last year, mainly to ride the cable car .. he got to the top, had 5 minutes there and came straight back down again.
Maybe we could take the bus up, then the cable-car down.
For £1.95, a real bargain .. although not as good as the PlusBus in Edinburgh .. bus AND tram travel for £2.95
Oh yes, the Liverpool, Saveawy ticket was great too .. bus, train AND Mersey ferry for £6 I think it was