Spec me cheap rail fares, rail cards etc please

SexyGreyFox

SexyGreyFox

SexyGreyFox

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Joined
29 Mar 2003
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Stoke on Trent
I've dropped down to two days a week at work and Mrs Sexy is retiring so she said months ago that we're not going to waste life and we're going to travel around and see more of the country.
She's just suggested going to places on train and we've just looked at Senior Citizen & Two Together railcards.
I'm after the cheapest deal for over 60s and what's daft is that Senior cards are £30 each but Two Together are £30 for both with all the same benefits!!

So any suggestions how to do these trips for the cheapest money please?
 
some inital thoughts :
the key differance could be this :
The only time you can't use your Two Together Railcard is at morning peak times, i.e. before 09:30 Monday to Friday.
vs
seniors - except for journeys within the London and South East area during morning Peak hours

but the Two togeather offeres benefit in you can use it with anyone 16+ so its not limited to your other half.

you could try the flex tickets or advanced ticket purchase you can get really cheap tickets
example Birmingham to london would cost £46 on same day purchase but if you book in advance you can get it down to £18 route dependant but still a savine. down side you have to tavel at those times.

To be honest depends were you are, were you want to go. trains are great in many ways but nothing like getting in a car and going. train scheuldes are also altered post covid so its not likeley to be the same as remembered before.
Plus trains can e crowed, you might not get a seat on busy days, after a long day walking ect.

might help : https://thetrainhacker.com/uk/senior-train-tickets/
 
Thanks Emo, some great advice.
We've now gone past the age of driving everywhere and the suggestion of train journeys sounds a lot better for us.
 
uber soldat said:
Not going to waste life.....spend lots of life on train...does not compute.
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OK spend it traveling in a car to a new town/city, what would you do Mr Expert, sit on your arse all day?
Honestly this forum pees me off sometimes, we're an old couple who want to visit places we've never been and some idiot wants to have a go at you because you may do it once every couple of months.
 
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SexyGreyFox said:
OK spend it traveling in a car to a new town/city, what would you do Mr Expert, sit on your arse all day?
Honestly this forum pees me off sometimes, we're an old couple who want to visit places we've never been and some idiot wants to have a go at you because you may do it once every couple of months.
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Calm down grandad, nobody's having a go, if you want to spend your time hanging around train station platforms waiting for the next train in 50 minutes time that's your prerogative.
 
uber soldat said:
Calm down grandad, nobody's having a go, if you want to spend your time hanging around train station platforms waiting for the next train in 50 minutes time that's your prerogative.
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You do realise you can turn up 5 minutes before it departs and then spend a quarter of the time traveling compared to driving on a motorway?
Obviously you like to waste your time.
Also once every two months it might be an experience to wait on a train station for an hour because I've never done it.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
OK spend it traveling in a car to a new town/city, what would you do Mr Expert, sit on your arse all day?
Honestly this forum pees me off sometimes, we're an old couple who want to visit places we've never been and some idiot wants to have a go at you because you may do it once every couple of months.
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Par for the course sadly.

Have you looked in to student discounts? The tickets don't have to be in your name, so if you have someone n the family who's got student discount then they can buy the ticets for you. There are also loopholes to get student discounts on anything, but it's been years so I don't even know if they still exist. Could be worth a look?
 
SexyGreyFox said:
OK spend it traveling in a car to a new town/city, what would you do Mr Expert, sit on your arse all day?
Honestly this forum pees me off sometimes, we're an old couple who want to visit places we've never been and some idiot wants to have a go at you because you may do it once every couple of months.
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I read that as a comment in jest about how unreliable our train services are, and that with the number of delays/cancellations you might be spending a lot of time on trains/at the station.

As for the two together railcard, I imagine that'll work the same way as a groupsave ticket - i.e. you'd always have to travel together. Meaning if you needed to go somewhere on the train on your own you wouldn't be able to use it.

As for cheap tickets, the usual advice applies. Travel off-peak, for long journeys see if breaking the journey down into multiple single tickets is cheaper. Advanced tickets are generally the cheapest, but it's invalid on any other service than the one it's booked for - so you need to be on a fixed schedule with your plans.
 
Diddums said:
Par for the course sadly.

Have you looked in to student discounts? The tickets don't have to be in your name, so if you have someone n the family who's got student discount then they can buy the ticets for you. There are also loopholes to get student discounts on anything, but it's been years so I don't even know if they still exist. Could be worth a look?
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No students in my family now.

It looks like the Two Together is the best option at the moment.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
No students in my family now.

It looks like the Two Together is the best option at the moment.
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Don't give in that easily!

According to this 5 year old article, there are courses for as little as £4 which will allow you to register as a student and get the associated discounts, could a bit of a faff but it'll definitely be worth it over the next 12 months,

EDIT: https://www.gogroopie.com/deal/1iu94wo1z16/Introduction_to_Microsoft__New_Features__Online_Course
 
uber soldat said:
Not going to waste life.....spend lots of life on train...does not compute.
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you can be producive on the train. its time you decied how to spend.
open its the only time in the day i sit and read.
do a cross word, write a book. its only wasted if people let it be wasted. and honestly one person waste is another boon.

perhaps you've done a lot of travel on train and thats cool.
but for some it really is a novelty. take up North were they have little or no trains. a train ride IS a novelty.
in the US not every one has seen the sea, to some thats jus bezar.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
So any suggestions how to do these trips for the cheapest money please?
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Tried to send you a PM but it seems you don't have it enabled, if you want some info then let me know and start a 'Conversation' with me if you can and I'll forward what I already typed. :)
 
board the train at a station without barriers...attempt to avoid any ticket sellers (conductor??) throughout the journey, upon arrival at your chosen destination say you got on at the last station you passed that doesn't have barriers, bonus if that station doesn't have any barriers :p
 
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