Taking a child to university by train and what to buy there?

[Boxingshibes]

Anyone taking their dc to uni by train?
I'm trying to figure out how much stuff we can take by train and how much we'll need to buy once we're there.
So far - clothes/personal stuff by train
Everything else - buy at Tesco/dunhelm/ ikea once we've seen the accommodation.
Trying to explain to dd we cant buy bedding/kitchen stuff now seems to be going in one ear and out the other!!!

We will getting train (south to north). Plan is to carry what we can and then buy stuff in uni town. I will try to do click and collect ahead of time. This thread has made me feel so much better as most people are aghast at the thought of attempting uni drop-off by train (car hire not an option to us). Hope everyone's journeys go smoothly and remember to check if you can do Delay Repay if train arrives late!

I also need to remember to take my stuff, I've booked a hotel for 3 nights.
We thought we wouldn't get the keys till the Saturday so arrive Thursday night, buy stuff Friday and move Saturday then I go home Sunday. It now looks like she can get keys on the Friday. So panicking a bit.

Lumo officially allows only one small and one medium bag per person, so two or three big bags each might be pushing your luck.

I know, I'm hoping if we arrive early enough in London we can put bags at each end of carriage. I know it's bad.
Maybe post some stuff instead.

You could try doing what I did with my dd this time last year - book a man with a van. It cost me about £250-300 (forgotten exactly how much). We had everything ready to go prior to his arrival (you pay extra for loading/unloading/waiting etc). In the van it went along with us too as his passengers. An hours drive later (70 miles) he got it all out onto a suitable spot outside my dds halls and we carried it all into reception where I sat with it whilst she ferried it all to her room, followed by hours of her organising it and me "helpfully" sitting/lying on her bed making "helpful" suggestions. At teatime I came home on the train. All sorted.
The way we did it meant we could shop for most of what she needed beforehand which was easier because we live a short walk from eg Dunelm and The Range - where she is at uni shops like that are 3+ miles away. We agreed having everything right from day one would be much easier than her trekking about a city she didnt know looking for stuff.
Edit to add....... just realised I think your dd has picked a uni the opposite end of the country from where you are? Eeeek!

By back pack I mean a school bag sized one, not a D of E type of back pack.

You say north from Edinburgh. Are you heading to St Andrews, Dundee or Aberdeen? If St Andrews then remember it is a bus for the last 12 miles though a taxi might be easier on this occasion. Same with Dundee and Aberdeen - though not as far the trip from Station to hotel with luggage might be better by taxi. Not sure about Dundee but you might have to manhandle the luggage a fair distance from the train after a long journey if taking the bus. Taxis can be busy when trains come in especially if you change onto a train coming up from London in Edinburgh rather than ScotRail

It might be hard to buy the stuff locally at St Andrews as it is a very small town and you might need to take the bus into Dundee (40 mins away). None of these places have an Ikea but large supermarkets are actually generally better than Ikea for student stuff anyway.

We got a basic UniKitOut box on one occasion; the duvet wasn’t particularly great (though serviceable) but the rest of it was fine/good. Get a lighter coloured duvet if you go this route as the colour ran.

If ordering parcels have a look at drop-off locations - often local convenience shops - if the halls doesn’t handle parcels. Large halls often have Amazon boxes but these don’t take larger items and fill up quickly in the first few weeks.

There are several student centered send systems out there - they are good. Plus for next year there are several student summer storage companies as well.

You can pay for next day delivery - was only a bit more. We sent them once we got back - but you could get them picked up from nearby family or work out how to picked up before you leave and get delivered while you are there - as you are there three days.

The reception desks at the halls took the bags in and signed for them they just had to then get them across to rooms by themselves - so we sent in batches. DS sheffield uni refused usual parcels only hall I've every come across that made parcel devlivery a pain - we sent things to nearby post office -but even they took in the cases after we had a word.

I would have thought getting keys on Friday is better TBH - get what you can carry in her rooms soon as possible then go shopping to get anything missing.

We've still ended up buying bedding pillows duvet up there as even with vacuum packing they took up too much space.

Lumo do have luggage restrictions and they seem to be quite hot on them.

i used them to go up to Newcastle and they had signs up like Ryanair do,

DS has got into Monday to Friday catered halls and we're going up by train. I have ordered a starter kit to arrive at halls so that it's there on moving in day. This is much cheaper than hiring a car.

He will probably just have one large suitcase which I will bring back with me. Anything else he can order when he's there.

4 weeks to go! Need to buy the train tickets.

He will probably just have one large suitcase which I will bring back with me.

You raised an important point there - halls rooms can be pretty small with no real
space to store one suitcase let alone multiple ones.

You can also just order things to their dorm to be delivered.

Lumo are the only rail operator I've heard of ever enforcing their luggage policy, they're the Ryanair of the rail world and I'd stick to the rules if you want to be sure of getting your bags on board!
Onboard Train Luggage Policy | Lumo
The in-post (and other company) parcel lockers can be useful for sending clothes, you can send quite a large box for a few £.

If you are travelling at a popular student move-in day, there will be loads of students with too much luggage. Storage space on the train is at a premium!

DD didn't have a problem as she put her single suitcase in the rack and had plenty of space for her backpack in the overhead shelf - she travelled first class.

Anyone with too much luggage can put it in the guard's van - they are really used to accommodating this.

International students do this all the time. My dd did it for St Andrews. She didn’t need much as halls were catered. They had a huge building full of free stuff that international students had left behind so she didn’t need to buy kitchen equipment even years later. Your student can order anything they need to be delivered too

make sure bags are distinctive- easy to mix up on trains. Try and keep them in your sight. Echo what others have said- local dunelm etc will be ransacked.

Check what uni has in terms of passing on to new students. Glasgow has an eco shop open daily and stall at freshers giving stuff away free. They have an instagram. They have so much stuff often excellent quality and barely used. If it’s a university with lots of wealthy international students or students there for an exchange semester they will often leave the lot. The charity shops near uni were full too eg expensive winter coats just left behind.

We flew. Local John Lewis. Just ordered some things in advance - duvet, pillows, towels and shopped when we arrived. DC not a fan of shopping so I did the second shop. Didn’t buy too much crockery or pans, but lots of the more local students and those driving brought lots of kitchen things. Picked up a second hand bike and a 2nd year student on the same course donated all the text books.

If you are staying for 3 days, you'll have plenty of time to get stuff there. Just pack clothes, other personal stuff and favourites (eg favourite mugs). So much better to see the room before you shop. When my son did his year abroad, we did one Ikea trip and got him all he needed; bedding, towels, bath robe, lamps, cushions, plants, kitchenware and clothes airer.