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Travel Information
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.
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