Planetarion Forums

JetLinus · 2 Nov 2003, 16:47

From Nov 18th to 27th, I'm going to be in UK (hopefully). There are cheap flights from Germany, all going to London Stansted (STN). But I'm going to visit a friend at Warwick University (near Coventry), so I need to get there.
Basically it would be easier to fly directly to Birmingham, but those flights are more expensive.

How do I get from London Stansted to Birmingham? Apparently there is a direct train connection, but I can't find it...
The other way would be via London. But prices from Stansted to London SUCK. And then I would have to use the subway (prolly getting mugged there), and then get to a train to Birmingham...

Any ideas? Can anyone explain www.qjump.co.uk to me? I think it didn't quite understand me when I was looking for train from Stansted to Birmingham :-(

It's all so damn expensive in UK, why don't you have something like DB (Deutsche Bahn)? :-/

mbushell · 2 Nov 2003, 16:49

taxi dude

JetLinus · 2 Nov 2003, 16:49

learjet maybe?

Ebany · 2 Nov 2003, 17:31

Try using www.thetrainline.com I havent tried Qjump, so I dont know how versatile it is, but trainline has always been able to find trains anywhere I want.

I just tried it, and there appears to be a direct stanstead-birmingham train once an hour or so. Are you planning to then get another train out to Warwick or will your friend meet you in Birmingham? From what I can gather if you are going to go by train you will have to buy another ticket as the reccommended routes from stanstead to warwick are all via London.

As for the price, it seems avoiding London does take some £9.40 off the price, so it would be worthwhile, plus the underground can be complicated if you dont know what youre doing there. I cant say I ever had any nugging problems, but it could be easy to get lost and miss you connection. Some of the stations are veritable rabbit warrens.

Hope this helps.

JetLinus · 2 Nov 2003, 17:48

Thanks for that link, just tried it, and at least I found something ;-). But is it right, that it's SO expensive? More than 30 pounds for a return-ticket? Wow!

My friend is gonna pick me up in Birmingham, he said. He's probably going there by train, if he doesn't get a ride by a mate.

I know I'll probably have to buy some more tickets for various sections of my trip...

I've used the London Underground before, and I'm pretty sure I would manage. I mean, it's not like there aren't any other tourists around and that. I could ask somebody or just read the maps and stuff...

Another problem is, that most cheap flights either start and leave very early in the morning, or late in the evening. Either way is not perfect. One problem would be getting from Stansted to Birmingham at 19:40 or so, arriving there at some 23:00 ish. Or, getting to Stansted on my way back by 8 or 10 o'clock, which I think won't be really easy as well.

Thanks very much, I'm afraid I'll have to fly directly to Birmingham.

Ebany · 2 Nov 2003, 17:56

Sadly trains over here ARE that expensive, its one of the common complaints within the country. It recently cost me £35 or so for a return from Durham to Leeds, which isnt all that far considering. The rail system in this country isnt very good and its expensive. We all know it and we just have to put up with it, although almost every government tries to claim it will do something about it.

They dont though.

A2 · 2 Nov 2003, 18:07

There is a direct connection from London Stansted to Birmingham New Street (the one in the city centre) and it's run by Central Trains. From there it's an easy change to get to Coventry. I think the ticket is about £13 (but that might be wrong)

Use www.nationalrail.co.uk and go to "Plan your journey" to get train times.

SYMM · 2 Nov 2003, 19:24

or www.thetrainline.com
But whatever you do, don't go to Warwick (the town), Warwick Uni is about 20miles away, with no decent transport connection.
Cov station is about 15mins on the bus, and wave as you go past me

JetLinus · 2 Nov 2003, 21:59

Well, thx to all, but it's just RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I ain't gonna pay more for a single train connection than for two flights!
Also, why does it take like 3 hours for less than 100 miles? Pfff!

It did work out though, as my mate apparently owns an 18 year old VW Polo which I didn't know. He wasn't sure wether it would make it to Stansted or not, but he decided to give it a try now.

So, HEY, I'm going to be picked up

And with that money I save (fuel costs subtracted) we gonna get drunk ;-)

Ragnarak · 2 Nov 2003, 22:06

i know it's not what you want but if that train stops at leamington would be a hell of a lot closer to warwick than birmingham....

my mates live in leamington and go uni at warwick uni, it's within a few miles i think

Proteus · 2 Nov 2003, 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetLinus

Well, thx to all, but it's just RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I ain't gonna pay more for a single train connection than for two flights!
Also, why does it take like 3 hours for less than 100 miles? Pfff!

If you want decent public transport, don't come to England.

SYMM · 2 Nov 2003, 22:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragnarak

i know it's not what you want but if that train stops at leamington would be a hell of a lot closer to warwick than birmingham....

my mates live in leamington and go uni at warwick uni, it's within a few miles i think

leamington is close, yeah. Further than cov, but there are regular buses...or if his mate has a car its ideal....but too late now it seems

Bloomers III · 2 Nov 2003, 22:48

i think Michael Howard will improve public transport

JetLinus · 3 Nov 2003, 00:02

my mate actually lives in leamington ;-)
"royal leamington spa" that is

which i didn't find on a map initially, coz I forgot that royal

Ragnarak · 3 Nov 2003, 00:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetLinus

my mate actually lives in leamington ;-)
"royal leamington spa" that is

which i didn't find on a map initially, coz I forgot that royal

can't you get train straight there then?

I know when my girlfriend gets train from reading to birmingham it goes via leamington...

Sturge · 3 Nov 2003, 00:23

Does the virgin mainline train go through where you want to go?
If so, book 7 days in advance, and buy 2 single, and it's alot cheaper, as in, £9 each way

JetLinus · 3 Nov 2003, 00:46

Well, yeah, I've seen that, but thats only £8.50 from LONDON.
Then I need to add those prices from Stansted to London and back, which is 32€ by train (total), or £12 by bus (total again). (45min train, 75min bus).
Also, booking 7 days in advance, well, it would take some effort to do it from Germany and then collect the tickets wherever and stuff.

And it STILL doesn't solve my time problem: Either get to Stansted by 8am in the morning (or 9 maybe), or get to Leamington (well Birmingham is ok) starting at 7:45pm....

I'm glad I finally got that offer to get picked up, and remember, the savings go in booze ^^

Bob The Scutter · 3 Nov 2003, 07:38

www.gobycoach.com

the national express are bound to do something, and its not all that expensive. i got a coac h from Grimsby to Cardiff changing at Birmingham, return ticket for £34. the distance travelled from Grimsby to Cardiff is probably over 150 miles. down point being it took 8 hours... although its still good value

Bob The Scutter · 3 Nov 2003, 07:45

here, did some research :P

Outward journey, 2 choices...

option 1: 1 change during the journey, lots more stops though.
http://www.nationalexpress.com/enq/t...30JG5736640013

option 2: 2 changes in journey, less stops and it reduces your journey time by a whopping 5 minutes. and whatever you do, youll be arriving at Warwick Uni on the same bus from either route :P
http://www.nationalexpress.com/enq/t...30JG3401340013

return journey, only 1 this time, highly inconvienient time of departure if youre like me
http://www.nationalexpress.com/enq/t...15HJ5736654174

however... ive only based these on the fact you said 18th and 27th november, so thats the dates of those coach journeys. but if like i said you go to that website, on the first page just type "Stanstead" and "Warwick" itll come up with all your options and stuff, just a drop down menu from where you can select your destination such as the University, and it goes to campus or something..

hope it helps

JetLinus · 3 Nov 2003, 09:10

Hey, thanks, that coach thing is really nice! I might consider it for my journey back. It seems at least to be the cheapest alternative for me. Mhhh, takes 5h 25min though. Quite a lot, considering the raw distance isn't that great.
And still, 32 pounds seems quite expensive to me. When I look on the map, I can't believe that it costs that much to get there.

Maybe I'm just spoilt by the German system, as it's quite cheap for moderate distances. I.e. from my city to an airport about 120km away (or is it just 100km?), it's only 8€ per journey, and I'll only pay 6€ as I get 25% off for being on "duty" (civil service). I might add, it just takes 1 hour, direct connection. But it's maybe that I'm just very lucky. Also, it gets a LOT more expensive for greater distances though...

I was probably not being realistic about how expensive travelling is :-/

Bob The Scutter · 3 Nov 2003, 09:37

heh, your services are well looked after. ours are shite, ever since it was privatised the railways sucked. the coaches are about the only thing that doesnt get moaned at and that provides a decent service, bad thing being the time it takes to travel

Bob The Scutter · 3 Nov 2003, 09:39

other than anything thats already been said, how about trying to find a national car hire service? you know, so you can drive away from the airport.. and give the car back when you get to warwick if they have their services there too. that way you wont have to pay for a car all the time youre there, and you can get soem good deals. problem is finding one, and then seeing if it has a place where youre going

JetLinus · 3 Nov 2003, 12:02

Question is, if they allow me to drive. I'm 19, being able to drive for 1 year and 5 months now.
BUT, driving in UK? On the other side? Sitting on the RIGHT in a car? Wuuuuuuh, that would be scary! And I've recently seen pictures of those wild bad magic roundabouts... Well, I think better not.

Leaves the planning to my mate. He says he could organize a car, at least for one trip, so I'll gladly accept his offer. Maybe he uses his girlfriend's car or whatever, we'll see. Hopefully I won't get forgotten at Stansted Airport ;-)

lokken · 3 Nov 2003, 14:26

believe Central Trains run direct from Stansted to Birmingham New Street (avoiding London)

Ste · 3 Nov 2003, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetLinus

It did work out though, as my mate apparently owns an 18 year old VW Polo which I didn't know. He wasn't sure wether it would make it to Stansted or not, but he decided to give it a try now.

I have the same car

except it's 20 years old...
Mine seems much more reliable though...

JetLinus · 3 Nov 2003, 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ste

I have the same car

except it's 20 years old...
Mine seems much more reliable though...

A mate and me (different mate this time) once made trip to Munich (about 600km), with a 19-year-old VW Golf (or even Golf II) Diesel. It was quite fun, once the engine overheats, you need to turn up the heating inside the car to cool it down.
But we made it, and no pieces of the car got lost... \o/

Bob The Scutter · 4 Nov 2003, 08:16

heh, my car (Fiat Uno 60 DS from 1989 or something) also a diesel as youll guess from the 'D'.. i went to Leeds festival in it, only a journey of about 85 - 90 miles.. no problems on the way, but then some stuff happened when i was at the campsite on my way back in the car park after a visit to Tescos.. anyway on the way home it over heated badly, steam coming out of the bonnet, and it cused the radiator to burst. i stopped on the M62 to call the AA out otherwise id have been screwed so i might have done most of the damage myself travelling 15 miles with no water heheh, although it had to be done to avoid a £100 something bill from some random breakdown company on the campsite.

but when i went to down to London, i had no problems what so ever... 200 miles each way, and nothing... i hate the way my car works, its too un predictable. like now, the battery is flat, that came out of nowhere

NEWSBOT3 · 4 Nov 2003, 10:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob The Scutter

e. like now, the battery is flat, that came out of nowhere

probably came from all of its current being used up really.

JetLinus · 4 Nov 2003, 12:21

Update:
Just booked the flights, arriving Monday Nov 17th at 21:55 in Stansted.
Which means, I'm quite dependant on my mate picking me up, and if he doesn't for some reason, I'm pretty screwed (although he WILL, and I've got a sleeping bag with me ^^).
Departure is on Wednesday, Nov 26th, 19:10 from Stansted. So I might use that National Express (well, it ain't express, innit?) to get there... We'll see, thx so far

Ste · 4 Nov 2003, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetLinus

A mate and me (different mate this time) once made trip to Munich (about 600km), with a 19-year-old VW Golf (or even Golf II) Diesel. It was quite fun, once the engine overheats, you need to turn up the heating inside the car to cool it down.
But we made it, and no pieces of the car got lost... \o/

You know what - I have been in that exact situation. Although that was cos I didn't check my oil for about a year...
At the moment the gasket has gone so I have smoke coming from my engine whenever I drive...
Shouldn't cost too much to fix, provided I find the part and someone to do it...