Travelling with frozen expressed breast milk - how?

[ElmMum]

Going to Scotland next week on the train and need to take a stash of EBM.

Journey is approx 7.5 hours door to door. If I take frozen EBM in a picnic-style cool bag (with those ice pack thingummies), presumably the EBM will slowly thaw on the journey. If I then whack it into the fridge when I arrive, how long will it be okay for?

Or is there a better way to transport EBM than a picnic thing? Can't see any gizmos that keep EBM frozen outside the freezer, IYSWIM.

Any ideas?

How much are you wanting to take? I would think if you kept it in a thermos flask packed with ice it would stay solid for longer than in a picnic cool bag - I've taken frozen juice in a thermos before and it was still rock solid 7 hours on - not even slushy round the edges!

As for defrosting, not an expert on EBM per se, but I think the normal rule is to treat it as fresh from the moment it thaws. There is some confusion over what that entails with EBM, I think the latest advice is max 8 days in the fridge - personally I don't think I'd have the courage to leave it that long - particularly if it had been previously frozen, but I'm sure you'd be safe with 48 hours plus.