EUROPE - BRITAIN : Discovering Britain with BritRail

by Ursula & Eldrid Retief







And you thought Harry Potter was the only one having fun – travelling all around Britain on his trusted Firebolt broomstick in search of its incredible countryside and many attractions, its quaint villages and historic cities.

Well, we don’t have broomsticks, but we have often visited Britain with BritRail FlexiPasses - and over the years we’ve had the same freedom to travel as Harry has.

Without question, Harry’s broomstick notwithstanding, the most convenient and economical way to explore Britain is with BritRail’s network – over 19,000 daily train departures and access to 2,500 fascinating destinations in England, Scotland and Wales.
 
A BritRail FlexiPass allows you to travel on as many trains as you like on each of any 4 days during a 2-month period (or for longer stays there are 8-day and 15-day passes). The pass includes the Airport Express trains to/from London and Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

The choice of BritRail passes is huge. For instance, if you’re making London your base, as so many tourists do, a 2-day BritRail London Plus Pass (including 2 Airport Express vouchers) is ideal for London-based travelers wanting to take day trips into the countryside, but returning to a London hotel in the evening. It is totally flexible for short or long stays, allowing you to use your rail travel days non-consecutively, if you wish. 

Popular and varied destinations like the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, the Royal seaside resort of Brighton and the cathedral city of Salisbury are easily accessible with the BritRail London Plus Pass ... so is Jane Austen’s Bath – as elegant as it ever was during its Georgian heyday – and Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon – one of Britain’s most iconic tourist destinations – and many more. Check out the interactive map on www.BritRail.com to see the big picture.
 
London’s international airports have rail stations conveniently located within their terminal complexes. Non-stopping Airport Express trains to (and from) London leave frequently – every 15 to 20 minutes. With the BritRail London Plus, it doesn’t matter whether you are using Heathrow or Gatwick or Stansted Airport or a combination of airports, your vouchers will speed you to (and from) London with no hassle and much more quickly than those buses that stop at every hotel en route. Heathrow is just a quick 15 minutes from London’s Paddington Station, Gatwick is 30 minutes away from London Victoria and Stansted is 40 minutes from London’s Liverpool Street Station.
 
A BritRail Pass  - either the Consecutive Day variety or the FlexiPass - is the ideal means of exploring even the furthest reaches of Scotland. We were heading for the west coast of Scotland to board the Hebridean Princess for a cruise of Scotland’s dramatic Western isles, and we toyed with an overnight sleeper to make the 400-mile plus journey between London and Scotland. That journey provides precious minutes of daylight for sightseeing and saves on the cost of a hotel room, no mean saving these days. 

A BritRail exclusive – the Caledonian Sleeper Package – adds to your savings. Your trip can originate in either London or Scotland and the special package price includes both the travel ticket and the sleeper. A most civilized way to travel, your morning wake-up call includes complimentary tea or coffee. A toiletry pack is also included in the price. The air-conditioned sleepers are equipped with everything you need for a relaxing night’s sleep: a comfortable bed, a sink and an electrical socket for shavers.  
 
BritRail’s website http://www.scotlandrailways.com/ includes information and booking access to a plethora of rail travel products like the Caledonian Sleeper package, the BritRail Pass and the specialized Scottish Freedom Pass, which is valid for rail (Scotland has some magnificent scenic rail journeys), bus and ferry travel through Scotland, its Highlands and Islands. 
 
We opted instead for Virgin Trains from London to Glasgow – all part of BritRail's network. We boarded an early morning train to Glasgow (on our way to Oban on Scotland’s west coast). Just outside Euston we were delayed for about 30 minutes. We realized we might miss our connection to Oban. No fuss. There was another train from Glasgow to Oban later. In the meantime we sat back and enjoyed the first-class service, superb breakfast, constantly fussed over by the staff.

As the train pulled into Glasgow Central an announcement from the train manager asked those passengers who had missed their connection to Oban and Fort William to meet at the end of the platform. There were 9 of us (six headed for Oban, three for Fort William). Up rolled three taxis, two for Oban and one for Fort William to carry us at no cost onwards to Oban, 96 miles away! 

Just part of the BritRail service!

Photos courtesy BritRail





SCRIBBLES ETCETERAS

The BritRail 'Classic' Pass takes visitors anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales. You can hop on and off the trains every day that the pass is valid (on consecutive days). The BritRail FlexiPass also allows you to travel throughout England, Scotland and Wales - at a more leisurely pace. You can stop for extended periods between journeys, using the pass on non-consecutive days. BritRail Party 'Classic' Pass and the BritRail Party FlexiPass offer a 50% discount for 3 to 9 people traveling together. There are also BritRail Youth Passes for those under 26 years and the BritRail passes for Seniors – those 60 and over.  And the bet kept secret of all is the BritRail Family Pass - 'Classic' or Flexi - which allows one child aged 5-15 to travel free when accompanied by an adult or senior BritRail Pass holder.




Information on accommodation, events and attractions throughout Britain is available at VisitBritain



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