Expert: Michael - 4/4/2010

Question
Hi
My friends will be flying in to Gatwick from Bulgaria on 10/05/2010 and will landing at 8 am.They have to travel in to Stafford,but never been in the UK before and have to go in to Littywood Farm ST18 9DW in Stafford.Please,could you help with advice for the best/cheapest/ way possible.Thank you

Answer
Hello Rusanka,
Thank you for your question.

Stafford is quite some distance from Gatwick Airport, so almost certainly the easiest route is to take a train. This will mean taking one train from Gatwick Airport to Reading, and then changing there to the cross-country service direct to Stafford City Centre. Once they reach the city, I would suggest a taxi for the last stage of the journey, as Littywood Farm is quite a distance out of the city, so public transport will not travel directly there.

From Gatwick Airport train services leave to Reading once an hour, with services leaving just after the hour (usually at 3 or 7 minutes past), so they should be able to reach the 0907 hopefully. This takes around 75 minutes to reach Reading. From there, the services to Stafford also leave once an hour. This would mean that taking the 0907 from Gatwick would arrive at Reading at 1023, with the next service to Stafford leaving at 1111 and taking just over 2 hours to reach Stafford, arriving at 1329.

The cost of the tickets for this journey will depend on whether they are booked in advance or not, and also on the return journey time. For example, if tickets are booked in advance, it may cost £21 each way. If all journeys are considered 'off-peak' (which is quite likely) then the return cost is likely to be £57.20. However, if the return journey is considered to be at peak time then this cost may rise considerably.

You, or your friends, can look at train journey times and fares buy searching at
http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/

I hope that you find this information useful.

Michael