Travelling Around Britain - An Overview

Travelling around Britain can potentially be an expensive business, but there are ways to get around without taking up too much of your budget and there are a couple of downright cheap ways to travel within Britain.

The key to getting your travel cheaply in most cases is to book ahead wherever possible. Often, it's possible to pick up bargain tickets when they first go on sale, and they get progressively more expensive as the bus, plane or train fills up. Even if you decide to travel the next day, tickets may well be cheaper bought that day than if you roll up to the ticket office on the day of travel. 

Probably the cheapest way to travel is by Megabus - http://uk.megabus.com/ This bus/coach service provides extremely low cost travel to many parts of Britain, and has also extended its routes to include European destinations such as Amsterdam, Paris, and Brussels. It may not be the most comfortable or quickest way of getting around, but the fact that it is mainly used by students shows it's great for those with a limited budget. Many routes have overnight journeys, so there's a saving on accommodation there. To benefit from the best prices, book as early as possible. Prices start at £1 a journey and then go up as the cheap ones are sold. Leave it late and you could be paying a lot more, though this will still be significantly less than using rail.

Following close on Megabus' heels, National Express are a long-running company with a much more extensive web of routes. They are also serve most airports, so you may find that the very first transport you use in Britain is National Express. http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx They tend to be more expensive than Megabus (though not always, so it's worth checking. It's also worth comparing journey times & whether you need to change buses en-route) but go to many more destinations. They also put on extra services for major events such as Glastonbury festival. If you are in the country for a while, family, senior, and young persons coachcards should get you a third off the regular price.

A new entry into the British coach scene is one that's familiar to those in North America - Greyhound. http://www.greyhounduk.com/ I've not been on them yet myself, but their buses look new & comfortable and the deals are good. Their service is currently quite limited, though.

The easiest way to travel around Britain is by rail. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ Despite the moans of the British public, the railway system is relatively clean, quick, and manages to reach most towns. It's been going since the 19th century, so there's been plenty of time to lay down tracks! On the downside, it can be expensive, the fares can be confusing, and trains can be crowded, particularly in the routes into London. Travel during rush hour and you're guaranteed a headache! The further you get from London, the more pleasant the experience, and some routes such as the Settle to Carlisle line are worth it for the journey alone. 

Once again, try and book ahead as early as possible, and try to get return journeys as these are almost always significantly cheaper than buying two single journeys. Railcards are useful to those in the country for a while and who fulfil the age requirements. The real expert in travelling around Britain by train is The Man in Seat 61 - http://www.seat61.com/ .

There's also the option of air travel within Britain, particularly for the longer journeys such as London to Inverness or Aberdeen. Flights can be surprisingly cheap if you use budget airlines such as Easyjet http://www.easyjet.com  or Ryanair http://www.ryanair.com .