Expert: Michael - 2/16/2010

Question
I will be flying in to Gatwick from Jersey as part of my trip from Oz and want to visit family in Staffordshire (not sure exactly where) then travel down to Wiltshire to stay with a friend.  Which would be the best (& cheapest) way to do it please?  I arrive at Gatwick on 03/09/2010 at 14:10. Thank you.

Answer
Hello Sue,

Thanks for your question.
I'm afraid that without knowing exactly where you need to get to, it's hard to give precise advice, particularly at Staffordshire and Wiltshire are both rather large and rural counties. This means that while it's likely you can get close to your destination by public transport, the last stretch is likely to need either your family/friend to meet you at a nearby large station, or a taxi service.

Firstly, travelling from Gatwick to Stafford, in the centre of Staffordshire, can be achieved in about 3 hours by train. Service leave Gatwick four times an hour, into London, where you would need to take an underground train across to London's Euston station to pick up the direct service to Stafford. The total journey time could be as little as 2½ hours, but the ticket cost is a rather large £100. A similar service also runs to Stoke-on-Trent in the north of the county if that is easier.

The same destination could be reached by coach, but taking over twice as long. In this case there is a coach from Gatwick to Birmingham, and a further service on to Stoke. The total journey time is about 6 hours, but the cost would be reduced to just £38. It's important to note, though, that there is only one connection  that afternoon that would get you to Stafford. The next service would leave you waiting overnight at Birmingham for several hours.
Again there are services to Stoke-on-Trent, roughly hourly, but the last leaves Gatwick just before 5pm if you want to be in Staffordshire that night. Journey times tend to be slightly longer to Stoke.


Your journey from Staffordshire to Wiltshire will be different, and again is rather difficult to be precise about in the absence of more detail. There are relatively few large towns in Wiltshire, so it is likely that you will need a taxi for the final leg of your journey. For the purposes of illustration I have selected Salisbury as a destination, as it is a city and one of the furthest points in the county.

From Stafford, it would be possible to take a direct train to Bristol's Temple Meads station roughly every two hours on weekdays, and taking approximately 2 hours to reach Bristol. From here there are several services which leave and pass through Wiltshire. Presuming travel to Salisbury, you could reach your destination after travelling for a further hour or so, bringing total journey time to about 3½ hours. Notably, despite being a longer journey, the costs are lower than the journeys through London, with a single ticket costing about £65, with the possibility of even cheaper fares if booked well in advance.

Again, there is an option to travel by coach, and again it would require a considerably longer journey of around 7 hours. This journey would cost around £40, so arguably wouldn't be worth the extra difficulty.

For your reference, you can look up train journeys, times and fares at the National Rail website at www.nationalrail.co.uk and coach times & fares at www.nationalexpress.com

I hope that the information I have been able to give is useful. If you would like to contact me again when you know more details of your intended destinations I would be glad to offer any further advice that I am able.

Enjoy your travel!

Michael