# Bike by train to Lands End



## e-rider (9 Feb 2009)

I'm intending to do the LEJOG later this summer.

I want to transport my bike to Lands End by train from Norwich.

Everyone is telling me something different about taking bikes on trains!

Is this journey possible by rail?


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## e-rider (9 Feb 2009)

cheers, yes paddington to penzance via bristol I think.


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## Bodhbh (9 Feb 2009)

The simplest way I've found is to use:

http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com/

Despite the name you can book throughout the UK and tick-a-box to make bike reservations with your ticket on the all the trains that need it (if you can't reserve it's generally because it's a local train and you don't need to).


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## andym (9 Feb 2009)

It really shouldn't be a problem - most of the trains on these routes are older models with proper guards vans.

PS don't forget that you can take your bike on the tube outside of rush hours. I'd say the Hammersmith and City line is marginally easier than the Circle Line.


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## e-rider (9 Feb 2009)

Cheers - I had planned to cycle across london from Liverpool St. to Paddington; although I've not checked the distance or route - I'm sure if I'm ready for LEJOG I can manage a few miles across london - probably end up crashing or getting the bike stolen before even starting!


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## e-rider (9 Feb 2009)

I've just tried the national express website and it said (for the norwich to penzance trip) that " there are insufficient or no places available to reserve bikes for this journey" - this was a train in April - tried it just to see what happened! Not a good sign - I'll ask next time I'm near my local train station and see what they say.


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## Kirstie (9 Feb 2009)

It depends on the route.
Travelling from Brum I took a Cross Country train to plymouth and then a local train to Penzance. There was no bike booking required on the local train. Because of a lack of bike spaces on Cross Country services (there are two per train, so book as early as you can), my mate had to take a different train an hour later and change at Exeter St Davids onto another train to penzance. Both of these required bike space bookings - one was Cross Country trains the other was Great Western I think.

Either way it was a nightmare, but it is possible to do.


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## andym (9 Feb 2009)

From Norwich, I'd go via London.


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## Will1985 (9 Feb 2009)

Definitely go via London - my flatmate's wedding is down there at the end of the September so I am probably going to take the train there and ride back to Norfolk.

I spent 5h30 standing on trains and snowy platforms this morning coming back from Norwich after the train broke down. It has to be one of the most distant places to anywhere by train or car  The only benefit of the Brum route is not having to haul your bike across the city to another station to get the train to Penzance...just a couple of platforms.


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## pw2389 (9 Feb 2009)

tundragumski said:


> I'm sure if I'm ready for LEJOG I can manage a few miles across london



As long as you're confident of not getting (too) lost, then that's what I'd do.

Even at off-peak times it's usually a right pain trying to take a bike on the tube and some lines don't allow bikes in the central London zone (not sure about Hammersmith & City).


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## andym (9 Feb 2009)

Both the Hammersmith and City and the Circle Line are fine outside rush hours (I wouldn't have recommended them otherwise). 

But it is definitely feasible to ride across town: I'd go Bishopsgate; Poultry; Cheapside; Newgate Lane; Holborn Viaduct; Holborn, Gray's Inn road; Sidmouth Street then follow the bike route that leads from there past Tavistock and Gordon Squares and on to Tottenham Court Road then left onto Howland Street. Then New Cavendish Street;Marylebone High Street; Crawford Street; Edgware road and then Sussex Gardens and on to Paddington. 45 mins give or take.


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## HeartAttack (9 Feb 2009)

tundragumski, any idea on what sort of time frame you will be looking to do this ride? Just I have offered to do the ride for a local Norwich charity and we maybe looking at support vehicles.

Though we did have a laugh at the idea of Norwich-Lands End-John O'Groats-Norwich all by bike, 2000 odd miles, but I didn't say no as if the support is in place I see no reason why not


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## Bodhbh (9 Feb 2009)

tundragumski said:


> I've just tried the national express website and it said (for the norwich to penzance trip) that " there are insufficient or no places available to reserve bikes for this journey" - this was a train in April - tried it just to see what happened! Not a good sign - I'll ask next time I'm near my local train station and see what they say.


Might be worth sanity checking it by running the journey in 2 parts either side of London and making sure the tube portion isn't making it throw a 'computer says no'.? Otherthing are any parts of the journey liable to be in rush hour, arriving in london before 10am and leaving between 3pm and 7pm? Hrmm so much for me saying it was simple.


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## vernon (9 Feb 2009)

Bodhbh said:


> Might be worth sanity checking it by running the journey in 2 parts either side of London and making sure the tube portion isn't making it throw a 'computer says no'.? Otherthing are any parts of the journey liable to be in rush hour, arriving in london before 10am and leaving between 3pm and 7pm? Hrmm so much for me saying it was simple.



If the journey is in several legs, there might be a leg of the journey with a train operating company that does not do reservations which makes booking a cycle on the trip an impossibility.


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## User482 (10 Feb 2009)

You don't have to go via Bristol - you can do Waterloo to Exeter instead.

When I took the train from Bristol to Penzance, I wasn't able to make an advance bike reservation for the Plymouth-Penzance part of the journey (Bristol to Plymouth was fine). Fortunately, the train had bike spaces, or I'd have been well and truly screwed.


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## andym (10 Feb 2009)

The National Rail Enquiries website gives details of the cycle policy for the train company operating the train. For National Express East Anglia it gives the following number for cycle reservations: 0845 600 7245. For FGW the number is 08457 000 125.

http://nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/tocs/LE/details.html

http://nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/tocs/GW/details.html


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## Morrisette (10 Feb 2009)

User482 said:


> You don't have to go via Bristol - *you can do Waterloo to Exeter instead.*
> 
> When I took the train from Bristol to Penzance, I wasn't able to make an advance bike reservation for the Plymouth-Penzance part of the journey (Bristol to Plymouth was fine). Fortunately, the train had bike spaces, or I'd have been well and truly screwed.



Take a sleeping bag, enough food for a week and three long novels and settle down for a 5+ hour journey at walking pace through southwest England if you take that route!


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## e-rider (10 Feb 2009)

thanks for all the advice - the route will definitely be; norwich - london - bristol - penzance. 

HeartAttack - I'm not sure what you are asking me. I plan to do LEJOG in 11 days of riding; later in the summer this year and without support ie. just with my 2 ortlieb back rollers!

The rail journey takes 8.5 hours, but as you can see from this thread - getting your bike on the train is not simple!


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## User482 (10 Feb 2009)

Morrisette said:


> Take a sleeping bag, enough food for a week and three long novels and settle down for a 5+ hour journey at walking pace through southwest England if you take that route!



3.5 hours according to the trainline. I also see that there's a direct Paddington - Exeter train at 2 1/4 hrs. Much quicker than changing at Bristol...


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## andym (10 Feb 2009)

User76 said:


> A quick look, and the train journey is going to be fraught and at least 8hrs 35min long.
> 
> Europcar will hire you a small car (megane etc) from Penzance train station, you drop it off the next day in Norwich and it will cost you £65, you diodn't mention if you would be on your own, but obviously the cost reduces if you are.
> 
> ...



Erm, how many hours driving? 7? 8? or more?

There's nothing fraught about the train journey at all (and it's also very comfortable). There are a number of direct services from London to Penzance. He has to make two phone calls to book the bike on to the trains.


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## e-rider (10 Feb 2009)

Yes, there are indeed several direct trains from london to penzance everyday - very useful information - thanks andym. That's makes the journey easier. 

Norwich to London - cycle across London - London to Penzance

That sounds better!


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## e-rider (10 Feb 2009)

Anyone know how far in advance I can book the tickets? Really looking forward to LEJOG now.

Just to clarify, I'm doing it un-supported but with 2 mates - each using panniers; and staying in B&Bs and YHAs along the 1000 mile route that we mapped using Bikely.com (great site)


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## andym (10 Feb 2009)

tundragumski said:


> Anyone know how far in advance I can book the tickets?



I think you can book tickets 3 months in advance. Though I don't know whether that also applies to the bike places.


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## Brains (10 Feb 2009)

Took my bike Paddington to Bodmin and back, no resiervation, no problem


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## pw2389 (10 Feb 2009)

andym said:


> I think you can book tickets 3 months in advance. Though I don't know whether that also applies to the bike places.



Yes, it's 3 months. The First Great Western website rejects any attempt to go beyond this period (as I found out when doing some investigations a week or so ago). Don't know about the bikes but common sense would suggest that it would be the same (yes, I know, common sense doesn't always apply!)


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## User482 (11 Feb 2009)

As far as I know, bikes can't be booked on-line - you need to phone up.


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## Bodhbh (11 Feb 2009)

User482 said:


> As far as I know, bikes can't be booked on-line - you need to phone up.


The national express east cost site lets you tick a box for bike reservation along the route and sure enough when you pick up your tickets at the machine in the station there's all the relevant bike reservation tickets. However, I'm not sure how well it copes with things like bus replacement services, routes through London etc.

I've tried to phone up for bike reservations a 3-4 times and been bounced from pillar to post like it's some highly unorthodox request more than once, although other times no problem.

The other thing is pop down to a station with an advance booking desk and can at least chew the cud with a human being, check different routes etc., and there's no danger of booking a ticket and then not getting the reservation.

I think you must get away with it most of the time without one even when required, looking back think I've only been asked to show a reservation ticket once. Once thing I suppose turning up and hoping for the best if just going off for the weekend on a whim, another if you're planning a LeJoG looking foward for it for weeks and then don't get on the train.


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## Morrisette (11 Feb 2009)

User482 said:


> 3.5 hours according to the trainline. I also see that there's a direct Paddington - Exeter train at 2 1/4 hrs. Much quicker than changing at Bristol...



Yes that's better, done that route loads of times (though not with a bike). I've only been on the Waterloo-Exeter service once and it took longer than any three and a half hours! It was cheap though. I was heading for Ivybridge, which is on that line, so no changes but it took a looooooooooong time.


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## cyclingphil (11 Feb 2009)

The best route is Norwich - Liverpool Street and Paddington - Penzance (direct). Book each portion seperately to take advatnage of the cheaper fares available. Use National express east coast website as this is the only website that allows you to reserve a bike space. Also tickets are sent free first class.

To to get the cheapest fares you can book about 10 weeks in advance. For example a single fare Paddington - Penzance is normally £80. the cheapest advance single tickets are only £15. Today you can book cheap tickets up to 29th April. you can still book normal singles after that date but he chaep tickets are not yet available. So you need to keep trying until the cheap fares become available for your chosen date 
Hope this helps


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## andym (11 Feb 2009)

User76 said:


> now that has to be a joke???????
> 
> Do a quick search on this forum, there are lots of stories of bikes being overbooked and not allowed on despite reservations.



I've travelled regularly with a bike on the London to Bristol line and several times on the London-Norwich line. I've also travelled regularly all over the south east. I've only once not been able to get on a train because the guards van was full (I didn't have a reservation).

I've been a regular on various cycling forums for a long time. So far as I can see the people who make the most noise about how difficult it is to use the train are the ones who rarely if ever do so.


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## mds101 (11 Feb 2009)

It is usually about ten weeks for early booking, but if there is any works on the line, I think they can hold back for a while longer. This tends to feel like they are trying to stop you doing the ride and are out to get you personally. I don't think they are, i think it isn't always easy to manage a rail network.

I struggled and worried about it all last year trying to sort it all out over the internet and phone (going from Nottm.). In the end I went to speak to a person at a train station, got a really good service, the man was happy to go through various options . Just don't go in at peak time if you're going to be there a while. I think it only cost about 20 quid in the end and about 35 back from JOG....after reading horror stories about getting back from JOG it turned out to be quite easy, I just had to be a little flexible and add a day on...but then that gave me an extra day, so didn't really matter.


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## Albertina (12 Feb 2009)

I am coming to the UK from down under and am looking for some pleasant routes to cycle in south west UK - eg Devon. I am looking for some advice please? What is LEJOG? 
Noticed the tip on train riding with bikes. Good to read all this stuff.


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## andym (12 Feb 2009)

Albertina

*L*and's *E*nd *J*ohn *O*'*G*roats (ie the far South West to the far North East).

Have a look at the National Cycle Network map here:

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/webfiles/general/sustrans-map-2009.pdf

for example the NCN 2 along the south coast. Don't ignore Dorset.



> It is a shame though that is so difficult to use trains as a family. Go on give it a go. Trains in the South West frequently do not have guards vans I don't know if you have a family, but try and book 4 people (2 of them, 9 and 6), one with a trailer bike on a train and come and see us in Sunny Somerset
> 
> It was very different when trains had big guards vans, but in this neck of the woods they are mostly those tram like slidey door things



SpongeBob/Maggot

Yes I can appreciate the difficulties and this was one reason I would go via London rather than take the CrossCountry services. I have to say I had mixed feelings this morning about the announcement of a new fleet of new trains to replace the good old 125s. I very much doubt that the cycle carriage facilities will be as good as the old guards vans.


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## WJHall (16 Feb 2009)

And the funny thing is, that when introduced, the 125s were the first trains on which cycle carriage was banned, harbinger of a general move towards no cycle carriage.

The fact that they now have so much more cycle space than anything else, not to mention a couple of mail compartments in the engines presumably not currently used for anything, is a useful reminder that there are rarely real technical reasons why the internal space on an existing train cannot be rearranged to provide cycle and luggage accommodation. The recent rearrangement of the 158s by opening out the cubby holes is another good example.

As to whether those who make most fuss about the difficulties of carrying cycles are those who do so least often, this is probably true. My daughter takes her cycle on trains all the time. I can no longer really bother to try, once off the local branch line it usually seems too likely to go wrong, and there always to be some new rule, some possibility of meeting an unhelpful member of staff. The sort of person who is quite happy to operate a train with a hundred empty seats, but not to find space on it for one bicycle.

Then again, there are those members of staff who will offer every assistance getting four bicycles onto at train with space for two only...

WJH






andym said:


> Albertina
> 
> *....* I have to say I had mixed feelings this morning about the announcement of a new fleet of new trains to replace the good old 125s. I very much doubt that the cycle carriage facilities will be as good as the old guards vans.


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