Just A Minute

Hello Miriam,

First of all, I'm keeping this on the group mailing list rather than having a private email discussion so that others can chip in and correct me or offer better suggestions.

Generally speaking you can get the best train fares going direct to the train company as they can offer special fares. In this case the major train operator is Virgin at http://www.virgintrains.co.uk. The decent thing here is that they offer a service where you can buy a ticket and print it out at home. That can be cheaper and would mean you can print your tickets before you leave home and save having to collect them in London. Look at the bottom of their website for e-tickets.

There is another company running trains from London to Manchester - London Midland at http://www.londonmidland.com. They don't run many trains (I think three a day each way as compared to two per hour for Virgin) and they're slower but they're cheaper.

Whatever you do, check the ticket conditions. Most cheap tickets are for the booked train only. Look for tickets containing the word Advance for this sort of ticket. If you miss your train, you have to buy another (more expensive) ticket so you need to be sure you can make the train before booking it. Off-peak don't pin you to a train but have restrictions on when you can travel. Open tickets get you on any train but are expensive. Standard class is fine for most people but if you fancy pampering and a "free" meal then First Class is an option.

The rail journey you need is London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly. Once in Manchester, you can get the tram from underneath Piccadilly station to Harbour City and then it's a half-mile walk to the Lowry.

This sort of thing can be confusing and intimidating for those of us who are used to the system so please don't be afraid to ask.

I was a Mancunian (someone from Manchester) around 25 years ago so hopefully a more recent citizen can advise on the best place to go.

I suspect this might be the start of a rather long topic but I - and I'm sure many others - will be delighted to help. If nothing else to get you away from London for the day and see some more of the country!

Cheers

kJ

--- In just-a-minute@..., "delmelza" <delmelza@...> wrote:
>
> Some thanks has to go to Dean who kept telling me Not to Give up
> ( so many thanks Dean- I needed the Push)
>
> What I could use is help in Which site to buy my train ticket-I have 2 bookmarked- any advice on which one is better? or somewhere else?
>
> http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/p/home/show
>
>
> http://www.thetrainline.com/buytickets/?href=http%3A%2F%2Fanswers%2Eyahoo%2Ecom%2Fquestion%2Findex%3B%5Fylt%3DAnt6MiwEhxG7nKgL6RcDLc7f7RR%2E%3B%5Fylv%3D3%3Fqid%3D20080619050413AAPbzjt&T2ID=1082_200861920565
>
> I have the info into which station in manchester and told of the Tram into Salford. I was thinking of coming into manchester a couple hrs early- any suggestions of what to see without having to go too far from the train station?
>
> I hope you manage to get a ticket!
> Miriam