About this journey to Edinburgh?

[Sweetpea302]

More of an "Am I being ridiculous" rather than AIBU...

We have been invited to a wedding in Edinburgh over the winter and need to start booking travel for it from the West Country (near Bristol). I have a grand romantic idea that this would be a really lovely journey to make on the train - kick back, eat lots of snacks and watch beautiful countryside and interesting cities as we swoosh past.

I've just looked into travel costs though and its considerably cheaper to fly rather than travel by train, and also takes a fraction of the time. I'm now wondering whether I'm just being a bit ridiculous to even think about spending MORE money for a longer journey? I'm also starting to have visions of endless journeys, train delays and uncomfortable seats...

It would just be me and my fiancé; no children.

Has anyone else done this (or a similar) journey? What would you guys do?

Oh, and if you've made it this far then tips on what to see when we're in Edinburgh would be great!

[AngeloftheSouth84]

I have a grand romantic idea that this would be a really lovely journey to make on the train

Hahahahahaha. Have you been on a train in the last couple of decades?

[lazycrazyhazy]

I get your romanticism!

We have also done Bristol to Edinburgh by train - overnight in a bed, not sure that service runs now.

Just wanted to check you are looking at the super advanced prices. If you buy a "2 together" rail card and are flexible about time of day you travel you should get a good price. I think 12 weeks ahead is the optimum time. You can usually recoup the rail card price on the first journey as they save you 30% on the total. It lasts a year so you can use again and again whenever you travel together.

There is nothing quite like arriving in Edinburgh by train IMO and I have arrived by plane several times. Don't forget to factor in the cost (time and money) from airports to and from the cities though of course flying will be faster.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Just to correct survey's otherwise excellent post - you don't need to go through customs or passport control when you fly from England to Scotland, we're still the same country

[Toomanycats99]

We have just come back from Edinburgh. Taxis aren't much too and from airport £17 with über. Castle was good. Royal yacht Britannia really worth a visit.

[OnlyRose]

Good thinking OP, Bristol to London then London to Edinburgh is by far the best option for the train journey.
I second what mornington said about the Christmas markets, they get hideously busy, especially at the weekend.

[indigox]

I'd fly, its easy enough getting from the airport to the city centre.

[Sweetpea302]

I'm now looking at going via London, standard class there and First Class Virgin from London. If we can't do that then we might just fly. This thread has been SO helpful, thank you!

GoodMorning1 Glad to have helped 😊 (Well, not helped, but got the ball rolling). I'm looking forward to the trip more than the wedding now...!

[thekillers]

You are booking too early for cheap train prices. Set up an alert on the website.

[GoodMorning1]

This thread has got me planning my next trip to Edinburgh!

[Sah2241]

The train is ok but if you're only there for a few days I would fly and make the most of your time in the city. If you like walking and the outdoors, climbing Arthur's seat is a good shout if it isn't too cold, and walking through Holyrood Park to Duddingston village and treating yourself to a pint at The Sheeps Heid was one of our favourite Edinburgh pastimes! The Water of Leith is also lovely to walk along through Dean Village. For food, there is a lovely Californian style restaurant called Calistoga which is a bit hidden away but good food and good wine. I've not been but a few friends have said good things about Purslane in Stockbridge. I also love cocktails at Bramble or Montieths. But loads of options around, you can't go too far wrong! Have a great trip.

[romany4]

I do the train from Leeds to Edinburgh. I always travel first class so I get leg room, comfort and a free meal and drinks for the journey. I book early too so first class is only slightly more expensive than a normal return would be. Much more relaxing for me just jumping on at Leeds station rather than dragging to the airport

[swirlywind]

I have taken the train many times from London, never had a delay or overcrowding, though I avoid main commuter times. The scenery is beautiful in the later stages, particularly if you sit on the coast side, though remember it will get dark early in winter! Advance fares can be pretty cheap, and compare favourably to flights once you add in travel to home airport, luggage costs etc., though bus from Edinburgh airport to city centre is very easy and quick. If you can get a couples railcard it will make a big difference and probably pay for itself immediately.
The National Museum is great and very central, good loos! Also very nearby is Greyfriars churchyard, which apart from the Bobby connection also has lots of Harry Potter references and great views of the castle and rooftops. You can walk straight through it to Grassmarket for the aforementioned fab ice cream.

[thepondstakemanhatten]

I find this so strange because I literally just got back from Edinburgh a few days ago! I flew from Bristol airport and all was lovely, no delays or hold ups at all. The tram also stops at the airport and can take you all the way into the city. It was so quick and easy on the plane I'd definitely recommend it!

[madcapcat]

Not RTFT so don't know if others have already suggested these but Victoria Street, the Grassmarket and William Street are all good for little independent shops.
Walk along the beach at Portobello and go for a (pricy but lovely) bacon roll at The Beach House or a pint and a music session at the Dalriada.
Climb Arthur's Seat and go down the other side past Duddingston Loch and into The Sheep Heid for a pint.
Walk up the Royal Mile (including walking down some of the closes to see what Old Edinburgh architecture was like, and then down the Mound steps across Princes Street and down to walk along Heriot Row (where RL Stevenson amongst others lived) and look at some of the New Town architecture.
One of my personal favourites is the Covenanters Prison in Greyfriars churchyard, (very central - just across from the museum) just because it's such a grim (openair!) place to have been imprisoned in

[Ookmybanana]

I think you would be on Cross Country trains if going directly to Edinburgh. They aren't exactly the Orient Express and are pretty minging by the time they get to their destination, so perhaps not the lovely experience you are after (first class is marginally better)
Plenty to do in Edinburgh as others have said. Castle, the National Museum of Scotland is awesome (and free).

[53rdWay]

Edinburgh to London is just about bearable when it's an express but there's always delays.

Ha, another good lesson in taking everyone's experience as just one among many I suppose. I've never been delayed by more than 10 mins on that train journey, and that only rarely, but flying out of London City I have been delayed every single time. It is a total pain.

[Auldspinster]

Oh and the Magnum on Albany Street has lovely grub.

[LittlePear91]

I agree survey, the east coast is beautiful from further south than Newcastle, just suggested there as it's fairly easy to fly to and where I'm most familiar with!

Flying one way and train/combo the other is a great idea!

[morningtoncrescent62]

This may be an unpopular view, but I would give the Edinburgh Christmas market a miss. It was lovely in its early days, really magical and special. These days it's a massively crowded nightmare of the same overpriced tat you get everywhere with mile-long queues thrown in. After you've queued for the best part of an hour in the cold and wet for your gluhwein you'll stand elbow-to-elbow trying to drink it while being jostled from all angles. Don't do it!

[paradoxicalInterruption]

I'd just go up the West Coast - far less faffing - save the Newcastle idea for a time when you can spare more time and go off into northumberland too.

I'd definitely wait till the prices come down - book early - upgrade to first class and enjoy it.

[Sweetpea302]

I got very excited at the idea of getting the train one way and flying back - but it only refuces the train cost by £1!

I've definitely taken on board (ha! Terrible unintentional train joke!) your comments about it being too early to book cheap tickets on the train. I had no idea about this. I'll call the train company and ask when the cheap tickets will be released.

I've just messaged my OH to tell him that we're clearly going to have to move to Edinburgh as there's no way that we'll fit everything into two days...

[Auldspinster]

I'd fly. Edinburgh to London is just about bearable when it's an express but there's always delays. The tram from the airport to the city centre only takes about 25mins and the airport bus about half an hour.

The scenery on the East Coast Mainline is beautiful though.

[surveyhare]

I like LittlePears idea.

You could also fly one way and train it the other.

[surveyhare]

Train, train, train! Because:

1. Unlimited baggage (so long as you can carry it!) Although some train companies are starting to introduce limits, but I've never seen it being enforced yet.
   
   
2. All the romantic stuff you said about eating food, chatting, reading books. watching the nice scenery. I've just looked and from Bristol you can go up the east or west coast to Ed. I've got no experience of the west coast but the views on the east coast route are beautiful from Darlington onwards (not Newcastle as a PP suggested, although this is just my opinion). There's the view of Durham, the Angel of the North, going over the bridge at Newcastle, the Northumbrian coastline, the backs of tenements as you arrive in Edinburgh. I've been lucky in the past to be on train where the conductor announced all of these (and the border crossing) over the tanoy to make sure we didn't miss them - he must have been bored that day! From York onwards the train stations themselves are beautiful - all Victorian and (imo) much prettier than train stations in other parts of the country.
   
   
3. As someone else has said, you absolutely cannot beat arriving at Ed. via Waverley Train Station. It's one of the most romantic places in the world.
   
   
4. Door-to door journey time might not be dissimilar to door-to-door on plane by the time you factor in getting to/from the airports, checking-in in time etc. Edinburgh Airport isn't in Ed., it's in the middle of nowhere! On a direct train you'd be spending that time sitting watching the view and reading your book. On a plane journey you'd be spending it moving from car park to check-in-queue to passport queue to plane to customs to queue for the bus or tram - what a faff!
   
   
5. Door-to-door cost might not be dissimilar by the time you factor in cost of getting to and from the airports, extra costs for luggage, and buying expensive water in the airport after passport control make you throw away the bottle you brought.
   
   
6. As a few people have said, cheap tickets will be introduced approx. 12 weeks before the date of travel. If you're still five months away that's why they're coming up expensive. Work out when exactly they will be released (ring the train company and ask - they'll tell you). I sometimes log on at 7am on the day they are released.
   
   
7. You can get a 'Two Together' Railcard which will save you a third on advertised prices (even the cheap ones). Do check the restrictions though - you can;t use it on journeys that start before 9:30am on weekdays. You could also look at the Split Ticketing website to see if that makes things cheaper.
   
   
8. You could end up say next to an annoying/loud person on the plane and in the airport waiting lounge just as much as you could on the train. The last time I flew half the plane was drunk, the queue for the one loo that wasn't out of order was the length of the plane's aisle (literally!), the person in front of me put loud music on their phone and told me I was rude when I asked them to turn it off (and the flight attendants seemed too scared of them to ask them to turn it down), and half the plane refused to put their seat belts on for the landing. It was worse than anything I've ever experienced on a train.
   
   
9. Planes get cancelled/delayed too.
   
   I'll think of some more in a minute....!
   
   Most of what I would suggest doing in Edinburgh people have already said, but a few more:
   
   Karen's Unicorn is a lovely Chinese restaurant. The Stand Comedy Club is good. Broughton High Street is nice and is close to the station. North Bridge/South Bridge and all the roads that follow on from those two are good for vintage clothing shops and charity shops if that's your thing.
   
   Someone already mentioned it, but Mary King's Close is excellent so I thought I'd second it!
   
   Don't go to the Elephant House - a cafe were JK Rowling used to write. It used to be amazing - you could buy a drink and sit with a book or a board game for hours and the food was lovely - but then they decided to cash in on the Rowling connection and it's become a tourist trap where they overcharge for crap food and pressure you to leave quickly.
   
   We've booked an apartment through Dickins before and were really impressed.