Trivia: Which major UK town has the least direct route from London?

[NYCSubway137]

No. Hull's been a city since 1897, Inverness since 2000.

I thought they were officially classified as towns.

 

[Steddenm]

Can I include an Irish town on this...

Dún Laoghaire to London is...

Either...

Dún Laoghaire - Rosslare Europort (IÉ)
Rosslare Europort - Fishguard Harbour (Stena)
Fishguard Harbour - Swansea (TFW)
Swansea - Paddington (GWR)

Or...

Dún Laoghaire - Dublin Connolly (DART)
Connolly - Dublin Port (BUS)
Dublin Port - Holyhead (Stena)
Holyhead- Euston (AWC)

Or according to Irish Rail....

Dún Laoghaire - Dublin Connolly (DART)
Dublin Connolly - Belfast Lanyon Place (IÉ)
Lanyon Place - Belfast Port (BUS)
Belfast Port - Cairnryan (Stena)
Cairnryan - Ayr (BUS)
Ayr - Glasgow Central (SCR)
Glasgow Central - Euston (AWC)

 

[si404]

Is the Dún Laoghaire - Holyhead ferry not running?

Anyway, the going via Dublin Port isn't much of a detour - though obviously going via Rosslare is somewhat, and Glasgow very definitely is!

 

[xotGD]

Cape Town to London via Dubai on Emirates. Not only a big dogleg, but via a different continent!

 

[daodao]

Is the Dún Laoghaire - Holyhead ferry not running? …

The Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire ferry service ended in 2014.

 

[philthetube]

Belfast to Liverpool is and that would be a lot shorter.

 

[mmh]

Is the Dún Laoghaire - Holyhead ferry not running?

Anyway, the going via Dublin Port isn't much of a detour - though obviously going via Rosslare is somewhat, and Glasgow very definitely is!

Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire ferries stopped about five years ago, they're all to Dublin now. Google's public transport planner will sometimes send you from North Wales to London via Ireland and Scotland in the early hours of the day. Perhaps planners will be more likely to at the moment due to the slow and infrequent rail connections from Holyhead to London.

 

[adrock1976]

Belfast to Liverpool is and that would be a lot shorter.

Hold on a minute here:

When I did geography classes in primary school many years ago, I am absolutely sure that Liverpool is north of Holyhead, and Belfast is north of Dublin last time I looked at an atlas.

I have done a very quick straight line measurement on Google Maps, with Liverpool - Belfast being 145.5 miles (rounded to nearest quarter mile) and Liverpool - Dublin being 134.75 miles. Holyhead - Dublin is 67.25 miles and Holyhead - Belfast is 103 miles.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Auckland well somebody did say "major town" and nowhere did it mention "in the UK!"

 

[SouthWalesSam]

I always find Bude a pain to get to, although that does twist the rules quite a bit! It's still seems to be in the ticketing database and the bus is included in the National Rail part! But then again no tracks for a while!
Just checked and it's still in Trust!!

 

[xotGD]

Auckland well somebody did say "major town" and nowhere did it mention "in the UK!"

I guess the 'direct' route would be via the centre of the earth!

 

[317 forever]

Auckland well somebody did say "major town" and nowhere did it mention "in the UK!"

You've just reminded me that BISHOP Auckland is a significant town without a direct train to London.

 

[bearhugger]

You've just reminded me that BISHOP Auckland is a significant town without a direct train to London.

Hmm, quite fancy getting an Azuma zippng past the NRM at Shildon.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Every day's a school day! Direct train from Scarborough to London?!

Only runs on summer Saturdays though

Or not as the case may be!

 

[al78]

I guess the 'direct' route would be via the centre of the earth!

No. Australia is not half a world from the UK.

Interactive Map Shows Where You'd Pop Up If You Dug Straight Through The Earth

Interactive Map Shows Where You'd Pop Up If You Dug Straight Through The Earth

www.iflscience.com

 

[si404]

No. Australia is not half a world from the UK.

And Auckland is not in Australia!

Anything over 114.6 degrees (2 radians) off is reached shorter by going into the centre, turning, and heading back to the surface (2 radiuses). Basic geometry.

Auckland's Andalusian antipode being just over 1000 miles from London suggests that digging straight through without turning in the centre, and then turning northwest on reaching the surface in the Pacific is going to be less distance than staying on the surface - about 3000 miles less by my reckoning (~8000 miles vs ~11000 miles).

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Belfast to Liverpool is and that would be a lot shorter.

Doesn't this ferry route now run from Belfast to Birkenhead, not Liverpool?

 

[Djgr]

Doesn't this ferry route now run from Belfast to Birkenhead, not Liverpool?

Indeed it does. The ferry terminal building is about 100 metres from the Wallasey boundary.