Expert: Alun Hill MCIJ - 6/29/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

My partner and I are planning a trip to the UK next month, and are planning to travel by public transport, mostly by train.  We're starting in london, travelling to manchester, and then on to the highlands, thinking Oban because we'd like to be by the sea, as well as close to walking trails.  Can we get an overnight train from Oban back to London in order to catch our plane back to the US?  We have rail passes for those days as well.

ANSWER: Sounds like a fun trip!

Whilst you must check train times as they can change, especially on a weekend, there's a train from Oban at 18.11 to Glasgow Queen Street, arriving 21.31

You'd need to cross to Glasgow Central - a few minutes walk - and get the 23.40 overnight train to London Euston, arriving at 06.43

Do take a look at www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest train times / for your specific days of travel, please - but do come back and let me know where I csn help further!

Alun Hill, MCIJ

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: awesome, thanks!  my follow-up question is this:  with our rail passes, how do we book in advance?  i'm worried that the overnight train will be full by the time we get to the UK.  

also, any advice you have about what to see & do in Oban would be great.

Thanks!

Answer
Whilst it's unlikely the train will be full, it's easy to book a seat / sleeper online.

If you have Britrail passes, you can do it with wherever you bought your pass from or online here:
http://www.britrail.com/tickets-and-reservations

If you have a different pass, just let me know, of course!

I don't know anyone in the press office at Oban (and note that the tourist office is temporarily on the ferry's pier), but their site is at
http://www.oban.org.uk/

It's a very small, but very beautiful place, so what you do will very much depend on what you're interested in, but if you love the freshest seafood, you're in the best possible place in the UK (and possibly the world!).

Enjoy the UK!


Alun