Rover tickets on the UK rail network

[velcrostripes]

One of the benefits of the current Covid crisis is that there are very few people travelling by train .
For those of us who enjoy rail travel as a pleasure in itself , now will be remembered as a golden era .
Yesterday , I bought an East Midlands Day Ranger at Peterborough station and set off to cover as much as of the permitted routes as possible , passing towns I'd never heard of and doing a real Portillo enjoying the sheer majesty of some of our Victorian stations , which are empty , so you can gawp at leisure .
Downloading the National Rail app on your phone means you can organise your changes on the go , so as to not waste time
No football crowds , no crowds of shoppers , no screaming kids and during the week , hardly any commuters .... Bliss .
There is no catering on trains or stations either , so take your own haver rations or nip out of stations to grab a sandwich ... Or a pint .
The ticket cost me £40 , and I went to Matlock , Crewe ( the Borough Arms is still fantastic ) Nottingham , Derby ,down to Nuneaton , Leicester , Melton Mowbray and Newark Castle.
There are various rover tickets advertised , just have to look .
The daddy of them all is called the All Line Rover , and allows travel over the entire network for 14 days

National Rail Enquiries - All Line Rover (14 Days)

The gateway to Britain's National Rail network. A portal into UK rail travel including train company information and promotions; train times; fares enquiries; ticket purchase and train running information.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

£539 if you have a Forces or Over 60's Rail Card

 

[Ravers]

We did something similar in Japan.

If you’re a tourist in the country, you can get a rail pass that basically entitles you to unlimited free rail travel (with a few minor restrictions). I think it was about 200 quid for a fortnight.

The bullet trains are epic. You can do the equivalent of London to Edinburgh in just over 2 hours. It opens up the entire country for exploration.

We were in Hiroshima one day and just on a whim decided to have dinner in a town that’s 160 miles away. We were there in under an hour.

Also the entire network, trains and stations, is spotlessly clean. See phot below of the gent’s bog in a busy city centre train station.

Compare and contrast to your average gents bog in a U.K. station.

Having experienced how rail travel can be done, I weep at the state of it in this country.

Overpriced, usually late, not enough space for luggage, shit overpriced food and most of the time you have to sit on the floor outside the bogs because there aren’t enough seats.

Brilliant.

 

[GreyArea]

I did the same as Ravers on my big 50th Walkabout, spent about £120 on a week's rail pass for the Japanese railways and was just astonished at the service, punctuality, cleanliness, rolling stock, in fact just about everything about the Japanese Railways

This was in 2017 and usually you had to apply for the railpass before you came to Japan but they had a trial period where you could buy one in Japan on production of your passport, flight ticket and paid by credit card (I think). I bought mine in Tokyo and combined it with a three day trip to Hakone south of the city. It was the best thing I did in terms of transport and just like Ravers I used it to visit several cities that would have been too far out of the way on my limited budget at the time. If you ever travel to Japan it's the first thing you should buy and you'll be able to roam all over the country.

 

[velcrostripes]

@Ravers : Which is why I emphasize this sort of thing is to be done now , there is literally hardly anyone about , and it's bliss .
I hadn't been on a train on the network for literally years before this , no point .
BTW for the less honest or financially challenged amongst you , I went through an open barrier at Peterborough and rode trains for over 7 hours without being asked to produce a ticket once , and at stations where I went out the barriers were also open , all to do with Covid

 

[RumRationReject]

Also the entire network, trains and stations, is spotlessly clean. See phot below of the gent’s bog in a busy city centre train station.

To be fair, that's not all the fault of the train companies - much is down to the "Great British Public" who have no respect for other people's property or environment - cf Bournemouth beaches, NT properties at al in recent weeks.

However I take yr point.

 

[dingerr]

So to improve things we need to nuke a couple of cities to pull the country into line.

I vote Manchester and Manchester, with Manchester as second option if Manchester is a no go on the day

 

[Bacongrills]

£539 to spend 14 days on a train ?


Let me think about that.
No.

 

[Just_plain_you]

The ticket cost me £40 , and I went to Matlock , Crewe ( the Borough Arms is still fantastic ) Nottingham , Derby ,down to Nuneaton , Leicester , Melton Mowbray and Newark Castle.

You really do know how to live the high life!

 

[Toastie]

Crewe ( the Borough Arms is still fantastic )

That’s a decent walk from the station. Agreed though, well worth it. There’s another place (name escapes me) just behind the cop shop that specialises in continental lagers.

National Rail Enquiries - All Line Rover (14 Days)

The gateway to Britain's National Rail network. A portal into UK rail travel including train company information and promotions; train times; fares enquiries; ticket purchase and train running information.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

£539 if you have a Forces or Over 60's Rail Card

 

[olafthered]

We did something similar in Japan.

If you’re a tourist in the country, you can get a rail pass that basically entitles you to unlimited free rail travel (with a few minor restrictions). I think it was about 200 quid for a fortnight.

The bullet trains are epic. You can do the equivalent of London to Edinburgh in just over 2 hours. It opens up the entire country for exploration.

We were in Hiroshima one day and just on a whim decided to have dinner in a town that’s 160 miles away. We were there in under an hour.

Also the entire network, trains and stations, is spotlessly clean. See phot below of the gent’s bog in a busy city centre train station.

Compare and contrast to your average gents bog in a U.K. station.

Having experienced how rail travel can be done, I weep at the state of it in this country.

Overpriced, usually late, not enough space for luggage, shit overpriced food and most of the time you have to sit on the floor outside the bogs because there aren’t enough seats.

Brilliant.
View attachment 499180View attachment 499181

I did the same as part of a group from my sixth form when we had all finished and at 18 it was one of the formative experiences of my life. It had been planned for 2 years, with exchanges with Japanese schools so we stayed with them in most cities we visited, I am still in touch with one of my host/guests. Anyone who hasn't been to Japan, I highly recommend it, but travel round, don't just do Tokyo.

 

[Dan Gleebles]

I did the same as part of a group from my sixth form when we had all finished and at 18 it was one of the formative experiences of my life. It had been planned for 2 years, with exchanges with Japanese schools so we stayed with them in most cities we visited, I am still in touch with one of my host/guests. Anyone who hasn't been to Japan, I highly recommend it, but travel round, don't just do Tokyo.

My grandad went there, he thought the food was a bit shit, but found the place quite captivating overall.

 

[olafthered]

My grandad went there, he thought the food was a bit shit, but found the place quite captivating overall.

As it happens I took a day out on the trip to visit my great uncle. I was the only one of my family who had ever visited to that point. My sister has now aswell.

He hadn't moved at all. Likely due to the Japanese artillery shell that he cushioned the landing of.

 

[velcrostripes]

The Borough Arms does loads of Belgian bottled beers

 

[velcrostripes]

£539 to spend 14 days on a train ?


Let me think about that.
No.

You can travel the entire length and width of the country ,on any train that you like ( no peak time restrictions ) getting off and sightseeing ( and staying ) wherever you please .
A 7 day pass is also available
Seriously , what's not to like , especially now when the trains are virtually empty ?

 

[Joker62]

I think you need to get out more @velcrostripes

 

[Filthy_contract]

you have to sit on the floor outside the bogs because there aren’t enough seats.

Only if you are Jeremy Corbyn.

 

[velcrostripes]

I think you need to get out more @velcrostripes

It's what I did !
I just ... like trains , OK ?

 

[LeoRoverman]

We did something similar in Japan.

If you’re a tourist in the country, you can get a rail pass that basically entitles you to unlimited free rail travel (with a few minor restrictions). I think it was about 200 quid for a fortnight.

The bullet trains are epic. You can do the equivalent of London to Edinburgh in just over 2 hours. It opens up the entire country for exploration.

We were in Hiroshima one day and just on a whim decided to have dinner in a town that’s 160 miles away. We were there in under an hour.

Also the entire network, trains and stations, is spotlessly clean. See phot below of the gent’s bog in a busy city centre train station.

Compare and contrast to your average gents bog in a U.K. station.

Having experienced how rail travel can be done, I weep at the state of it in this country.

Overpriced, usually late, not enough space for luggage, shit overpriced food and most of the time you have to sit on the floor outside the bogs because there aren’t enough seats.

Brilliant.
View attachment 499180View attachment 499181

A Ravers. But the point is the railways here are not for general use it's moot but it's a fine one. Ours were never built for passengers, who are both a nuisance and a hindrance. In France of course they are determined to match the Japanese but SNCF is perennially Bankrupt. Of course the main aim is to compete with air travel which is fine and dandy until you come to a great splosh. We now live in confusing times with the Thunbergs et al demanding a rapid change for the benefit of the planet, without realising that in the future that all travel will be virtual. arf arf.

 

[green_slime]

I recall a train ticket when I lived in Germany. 13DM and you could travel on all local trains over the weekend. Went from Cologne to Berlin and Munich using them. Fantastic value and made use of the network on quite times.

(this was over 20 years ago mind you, some details might have changed..)

 

[Toastie]

The Borough Arms does loads of Belgian bottled beers

Loads of everything.

If you’re ever over this way again, one stop up from Crewe is Sandbach (about 8 minutes) and a 10 minute walk into town for The Beer Emporium which now has a bar out back. Buy an open rather than day return.

ETA a Northern Rail Rover covers from Crewe up to Manchester and across towards Sheffield etc. either via Huddersfield or via Oldham. Both take you over the High Peak area and go through great scenery but imho, the latter (out of Victoria rather than Piccadilly) is the prettier run.