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Travel Information
Here is some information about travelling to Wales and the Welsh
Borders of England:-
Travel by train...
- The Trainline - Train
times, buy tickets and reserve seats for any train operator in
mainland UK (may not give the best or cheapest route). Service
provided by Virgin Trains.
If you need to reserve a ticket for your bike, you may have to
go direct to the train operator's website.
- National
Rail - The gateway to Britain's rail network. Lots of info
about all the train operators.
- Thames Trains -
Train operator between London (Paddington) to Hereford via Oxford.
Apparently, you don't need to reserve bike space between Oxford
and Hereford (check this).
- First Great Western
- Train operator on the line between London and South Wales. They
have now introduced a special reservable bicycle fare of only
£1 (£2 return). It enables you to guarantee a place
for your bike on the new on-train racks, situated in the guard's
van adjacent to coach 'A'. There are 6 spaces on each
First Great Western service. Reservations must be made at least
2 hours before departure - space is subject to availability, so
you are advised to book as far in advance as possible. See their
bicycle
page for more info. This is 2002 info, so please check for
yourself.
- First North Western
- Train operator for North Wales line and the NW of England. Useful
for trains between Manchester airport and North Wales.
- Arriva
Trains Wales - Train operator for all local trains in Wales.
Arriva also operate trains in the Welsh Borders.
- Railways in Wales
- Contains some interesting info about routes, train operators,
and tourist attractions along the line.
- UK Railways on the Net -
Useful general site, with train news and links to all UK train
operators.
- The Bike/Rail
Page - A to B Magazine's UK bikes on trains info page. Regularly
updated with bike restriction details for all the train, ferry,
and rail-link bus operators.
- Off-line Rail Info - If you don't want to buy train tickets
on-line, phone (UK only) national train enquiries on 0845 7 48
49 50.
- Eurostar - Operate trains
through the tunnel linking the UK with mainland Europe. Is it
true you still can't take an un-boxed bike on this train?
I seem to remember they made a pledge to carry 2 bikes on every
train.
Travel by bus...
Travel by boat...
- Stenaline Ferries
- For ferries between the UK and mainland Europe, plus ferries
between Wales (Fishguard or Holyhead) and Ireland (Rosslare or
Dun Laoghaire).
Travel by air...
Best international airports for North Wales and the northern
Welsh Borders are Manchester (nearest), Birmingham, and London
Heathrow.
Best international airports for South Wales and the southern
Welsh Borders are Birmingham, and London Heathrow.
All three airports have good rail links to Wales and the Welsh
Borders. There is also a small airport at Cardiff, but with limited
international flights.
Useful travel sites...
Interactive map...
- Map
Quest - Interactive map currently set on Wales and Welsh Borders
(if our settings do not work, go to mapquest.com
and start again).
Travel Tip...
Bikes that move around when you travel by train or ferry can
get damaged. Recycle your old inner tubes into useful elastic
bands which will keep your bike immobile by holding the brake
levers on.
Cut across the inner tube every 1cm with a pair of scissors,
to produce really strong elastic bands. Slip one of these on each
end of your handlebars. When you need to leave your bike with
the brakes on, you simply stretch the bands over the brake levers
too [void leaving the brake levers held on for longer than
necessary].
I take no responsibility and give no guarantees
or warranties, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy
of any linked sites. |
