Universities on a decent train line from the South West!

[Stugs]

Dd was thinking about applying to Lancaster but it's a 5 hour drive or an absolutely hideous 6 or 7 hour train journey with 3 or 4 changes including getting across London. Sadly that rules it out as she will want to come home a few times a term (please no dismissive comments about this there's a good reason!).

She will apply yo Bath but it will be very much the aspirational choice - A* A A and she's more AAB. Doesn't fancy Exeter. Bristol doesn't do the course. I'm being lazy and asking here if there's anywhere further away that has a good rail connection to Bristol or Exeter???

Don’t change hospitals - it’s bad enough when DD changed GP surgery, unbeknown to me. It’s a nightmare now when she needs to see them when home, as she does regularly.
Your DD definitely doesn’t want to be carrying bags across London.

If you're not on the direct line to Bristol, you'll be on the direct line to Exeter, Newton Abbot, or Plymouth surely? Plymouth has brilliant links, so does Exeter and Newton Abbot. Why is she opposed to changing twice?

I get why you're asking about trains but do you know how expensive they are these days?

I live in Birmingham and had to get to Exeter, couldn't take the car. The train was £120. The coach was £30.

If she's a student coaches will be much more convenient for regular trips home - can she afford several hundred pounds a term for travel? Yes there's railcards but they only take 1/3 off.

Wales? Cardiff?

Southampton and Portsmouth?
Both will need changes and might be on shitty local stoppers but the stations where you change are far easier than having to tube across London or change at Birmingham.

But also with the Elizabeth line its so easy to get from paddington to Liverpool st or Stratford for loads of onward train options. Far easier than the regular tube with luggage. Yes it's more changes but not as painful as some other options.

Plymouth Marjons for Sports Science.

Plymouth Uni for Psychology (and possibly Marjons but not sure)

Are you South West train line, Surrey is on that, and I don't know whether you can then change before you get to Waterloo

I think thinking ahead about illness needs is very important when choosing a uni, I support students with disabilities and illnesses (as part of being an academic) and of course if you think there are going to be extra calls on someone's energy, time and so forth, you would do well to take that into account, unless there's one perfect uni, which there never is. I think you are wise to keep her a reasonable train distance from you, partly to facilitate her independence in getting there herself but also because if she only has weekends and say one weekday to return, a very long journey, either way, will eat into that.

If she was trying for Oxbridge or wanted a very specific course in one place, I'd perhaps put that as the priority, but it she likes a few different unis and many offer something similar, then I would take into account accessibility for sure, it just seems sensible. Many students in the SW go to Bristol or Bath so they can go home on weekends get their washing done and see their mums, so staying near to medical care seems pretty sensible.

Afraid I am just fascinated by the puzzle of thwre is in SW and also 2 changes from Bristol. Are you in Dorset, like, Bournemouth or something? I obviously don't know the train network as well as I thought I did!

A few ideas:

• Winchester
• Southampton
• Bournemouth
• Chichester

I’m a little puzzled too as to where you are however you could look at Cardiff. I think there is a direct train from Plymouth. If there is a change needed at Plymouth to get there it’s a an easy change.

For some reason OP doesn't want to say where they are. If you're not on a mainline then won't you have to drive part way to pick her up anyway? Probably easier for her to go with her choice of Lancaster and transfer hospitals tbh.

Lancaster is a fantastic campus uni and a brilliant and affordable place to live if she decides to stay, as many do. It could serve her very well in the future.

Are you giving her the absolute worst journey you can find on trainline OP just to put her off? There's no reason for her to go to London or change loads of times from what you've said.

I think this is good advice.

if she has an illness where she might need your help or the hospital specialists help urgently I would be thinking about both complexity and length of travel. Especially if she isn’t set on a specific course or university.

If you can get to Salisbury on the line (and I think many of rhe SW trains do go that way) there’s a line that runs from Portsmouth through to Cardiff, via Southampton and Bath. Lots of universities on that route.

Reading
oxford brookes
Bournemouth
Southampton
Winchester
Portsmouth
Cardiff
Swansea

I do feel for her (and you OP), Dd has multiple chronic illnesses and stayed at home rather than go away to uni as she just wasn’t well enough to leave. We are only ten mins from our home town uni so she went there even though she could have gone to a better uni.

She’s applying to Cambridge for her Masters though which will be a big step for her as she’s still not very well and in and out of hospital.

hope it works out for your dd.

Yes there's a direct train from Plymouth to Cardiff. But it stops everywhere. You can change at Bristol (temple meads or parkway) to get to Cardiff instead

Thank you so much. Good luck to your dd. I think I might try and persuade her just to go to Exeter if she gets in and do a masters somewhere else. That's a really good idea actually. Thank you

Southampton, Portsmouth Winchester and Chichester
Swansea, Cardiff, Cardiff Met University of South Wales

Birmingham surely?

Cardiff.

Swansea.

Possibly Reading?

Reading Uni
Surrey Uni - train to Reading, change train to Guildford. University is about a 15 min walk from the station.

London?

We're in the SW. Eldest DD went to Reading. Nice and easy direct route on the train. DS went to Sussex which was a massive pain both in train journeys for him and for us doing the pick ups. How about Royal Holloway? Mainline to Reading and then one change to Egham.

I travel quite a bit on the SW-NW/NE axes, directly and via London, and completely get that cross-country train services are slow and changes across London can be exhausting with escalators and subway tunnels etc., particularly if you have a lot of luggage.

My advice (which my teenage DC follow when travelling solo) is to see if you can make travel between London terminii more bearable; if so, it opens up more possibilities. Services to and from London are usually quicker, more comfortable and more frequent than cross-country services and, with some sensible planning and flexibility, separate fixed tickets for each leg (and using a student rail card) can often actually be very cost effective. With the money saved, you then treat yourself to a taxi from, say, Paddington or Waterloo to, say, Euston, St Pancras or Kings Cross. You have to think in terms of the total costs and the total hassle saved. It does work out better than you might think and I am not one to spend more money than I have to.

Alternative 'hacks' (if travelling light) are to use the Circle Line platforms alongside the mainline platforms at Paddington to get to Euston Square or Kings Cross/St Pancras; or to walk from Waterloo through the side streets to Blackfriars and then use Thameslink to Kings Cross St Pancras. Obviously none of these suggestions may work as well for your DD but I offer them as an alternative way of looking at the problem. I hope that helps.

I'd definitely look at Reading, i did some Psychology modules there and thought the department was pretty good. It's also quite sporty. It is brilliantly connected for travel though the campus is a bus ride/cycle ride from the station.