Edinburgh to Southampton (No not as a day tour 😉)

[pinkpanther52]

Ok I will be letting the train take the strain 😉 when I come down from Edinburgh to join my cruise at Southampton.

 

I will be arriving at Kings Cross and time wise I think the Train from Waterloo to Southampton would work better as it is at the weekend -Saturday coming down and Sunday on the way back. I had looked at National Express but they do not appear to have as many coaches on at the weekend.

 

A private car is not an option but for all the locals in the know would this appear a reasonable plan.

 

Thanks

 

Oh it wil be May this year 2019 if that makes a difference.

 

 

[Bob++]

The choices are coach, train or flight, and each has pros and cons.

 

The simplest (and possibly cheapest) is to use Cruise Connect - http://www.intercruises.com/cruiseconnect/index.php/home as there are no changes en route. Unfortunately, they do not connect to all cruise lines.

 

The train is fairly straightforward, but there is that bit in the middle getting across London with cruise luggage. The Bakerloo line takes you straight there, or you could opt for a taxi.

 

Flybe have frequent flights to Southampton Airport and it is a fairly short taxi-ride from there to the dock. If you look at prices, you need to beware of added charges for luggage. The only way is to run a dummy booking right through.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Bob++

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, Bob++ said:

The train is fairly straightforward, but there is that bit in the middle getting across London with cruise luggage. The Bakerloo line takes you straight there, or you could opt for a taxi.

 

Good luck with the Bakerloo Line for that!

 

On the Tube, I think I'd suggest the Victoria Line from Kings Cross to Green Park, and then the Jubilee Line to Waterloo. KX is now step-free, and there's at least one easy step-free route when changing at Green Park (take the escalator up to ticket hall level, do not go through the gates, but take the correct escalator back down to the other line). At Waterloo, getting from the Jubilee Line to the National Rail concourse is probably the easiest of all the Tube lines.

 

I could easily do that with my usual cruise luggage (one suitcase weighing about 20 kg), but if "cruise luggage" means much more than that, then a taxi is probably easier.

 

Aren't there one-change train itineraries that involve Cross-Country to Southampton? That might be easier than the two-change cross-London shuffle, even though there are fewer alternatives.

[pinkpanther52]

1 hour ago, Bob++ said:

The choices are coach, train or flight, and each has pros and cons.

 

The simplest (and possibly cheapest) is to use Cruise Connect - http://www.intercruises.com/cruiseconnect/index.php/home as there are no changes en route. Unfortunately, they do not connect to all cruise lines.

 

The train is fairly straightforward, but there is that bit in the middle getting across London with cruise luggage. The Bakerloo line takes you straight there, or you could opt for a taxi.

 

Flybe have frequent flights to Southampton Airport and it is a fairly short taxi-ride from there to the dock. If you look at prices, you need to beware of added charges for luggage. The only way is to run a dummy booking right through.

 

Thanks Bob

 

I did look at Flybe but there highly restrictive hand luggage policy and dire financial stability made me think twice 

 

A coach journey from Edinburgh using intercruise is not an option for me and the option from London is about 1000% more than public transport.

 

I think I will send my luggage on so only a wee suitcase to worry about 

[pinkpanther52]

26 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

Good luck with the Bakerloo Line for that!

 

On the Tube, I think I'd suggest the Victoria Line from Kings Cross to Green Park, and then the Jubilee Line to Waterloo. KX is now step-free, and there's at least one easy step-free route when changing at Green Park (take the escalator up to ticket hall level, do not go through the gates, but take the correct escalator back down to the other line). At Waterloo, getting from the Jubilee Line to the National Rail concourse is probably the easiest of all the Tube lines.

 

I could easily do that with my usual cruise luggage (one suitcase weighing about 20 kg), but if "cruise luggage" means much more than that, then a taxi is probably easier.

 

Aren't there one-change train itineraries that involve Cross-Country to Southampton? That might be easier than the two-change cross-London shuffle, even though there are fewer alternatives.

 

Thanks Globaliser

 

That sounds ideal Luggage should not be a problem I think I will ship it ahead.

 

Yes you would think a one change using cross country would work but scoping it out it is a 8 hour journey and leaves me 4 minutes to change trains in Wolverhampton 🤔 I think that is because it is a weekend!!

[Globaliser]

10 minutes ago, pinkpanther52 said:

Yes you would think a one change using cross country would work but scoping it out it is a 8 hour journey and leaves me 4 minutes to change trains in Wolverhampton 🤔 I think that is because it is a weekend!!

 

Yes, if it's a bad timetable day, then London would be a better option. On the random days that I looked at, the overall journey time would be about the same as going via London (6¾ hours), but weekends are obviously potentially "challenging" for any number of reasons.

[fabnfortysomething]

1 hour ago, pinkpanther52 said:

 

Thanks Globaliser

 

That sounds ideal Luggage should not be a problem I think I will ship it ahead.

 

Yes you would think a one change using cross country would work but scoping it out it is a 8 hour journey and leaves me 4 minutes to change trains in Wolverhampton 🤔 I think that is because it is a weekend!!

 

we did cross country trains from Southampton to  North East England-direct but torturous long journey stopping many times

I would suggest LNER trains Edinburgh to Kings Cross then getting taxi across London to do next train journey to Southampton which will be much easier with luggage than battling the tube

may be worth pricing out cost of taxi across London versus sending luggage on ahead

[pinkpanther52]

Thanks fabnforty

 

I was thinking of sending my luggage as I travelling on my own and it is also the schelping it up to the train station in Edinburgh, minding on the train and schelping to the hotel in Southampton etc etc.

 

A taxi in London May be cheaper but I think the extra cost is worth not having to haul my luggage about 🙂

[scottbee]

On 2/4/2019 at 10:55 AM, pinkpanther52 said:

 

Thanks Globaliser

 

That sounds ideal Luggage should not be a problem I think I will ship it ahead.

 

Yes you would think a one change using cross country would work but scoping it out it is a 8 hour journey and leaves me 4 minutes to change trains in Wolverhampton 🤔 I think that is because it is a weekend!!

 

If you're shipping your luggage ahead, FlyBe is cheap and fast from EDI to SOU airport

[tartantiara]

You can get a train from Edinburgh to Southampton with only one change at Newcastle, we were looking to do this but changed to a cruise from Dublin instead 

[Alaskanb]

Have you looked at flying to London and then taking the bus to Southampton. Looks like there are several options for that. 

Are you staying the night in Southampton pre-cruise?

 

[Bob++]

4 hours ago, tartantiara said:

You can get a train from Edinburgh to Southampton with only one change at Newcastle, we were looking to do this but changed to a cruise from Dublin instead 

There are some direct trains from Newcastle to Southampton, but they are few and far between; none on a Saturday that I could see.