Llandudno to andover or there abouts

[cris r]

Hi anyone out there know an easy route from Llandudno to Andover. I can not decide what would be the easyest travel arrangments train or coach i dont fancy the long drive I did it once and it took seven hours ( road accident ) I said i would not do that again as I have a bad back. I can not seem to find a coach service and was wondering if anyone knows of one.
Trains seem to take me the long way around through London then on the tubes i would probably get lost. any ideas would be gratefull thanks chris x

[Buenchico]

The quickest rail route is via Llanduno Junction (or Chester), Euston & Waterloo. Typical journey times are between 5 hours 50minutes and 6 hours 15 minutes.

The rail route with fewest changes (and avoiding London altogether) is via Manchester Piccadilly and Basingstoke, with a typical journey time of around 7 hours 15 minutes.

Check for details here:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
(NB: To force National Rail's website to offer you the '2 change' route, as well as the 'London' route, make sure that you put a tick in the box marked 'Include slower trains')

National Express offer one coach service per day, changing at London Victoria (where you have 1½ hours to wait). The total journey time is 12 hours 5 minutes:
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm

Megabus doesn't serve North Wales at all (or, indeed, Andover).

The closest airline route is the Eastern Airways service from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Southampton but it seems unlikely that it would help you much.

Chris

[dzug2]

Another 2 change route is via Newport Gwent and Salisbury - if the connections work out it should be well under 7 hours. No through tickets for this route though - you'd need to buy a local ticket when you got to Salisbury

[cris r]

Many thanks for all that information it helps a lot xx

[DTCwordfan]

In the words of the man from St Just down here, "You want to go from here to Andover. If I was you, I wouldn't start from here."


In the eyes of the Welshman at the train station, "I want a round ticket please."

"Where to Sir?"

"Here, of course."

[Buenchico]

You might struggle to find direct trains for each of the sectors on Dzug's suggested route. Travel from Llandudno to Newport seems to always require a change at Llandudno Junction. Travel from Newport to Andover also seems to involve a minimum of 1 change (at Salisbury).

Ticketing from Llandudno to Andover is likely to show 'Any Permitted' as the route. If so, you'd probably be able to use a through ticket on Dzug's route. (I spent several years running a railway station and, despite many conversations with the Ticket Office boss and Revenue Protection Officers, nobody ever seemed to know exactly how 'Any permitted' should be defined. However a woman who had a ticket from Hampshire to Essex managed to travel via Birmingham without anyone challenging its validity!).

Chris

[dzug2]

My route started at Llandudno Junction, Chris - so maybe I was cheating.

The journey planner says no trains available - the usual euphemism for it thinking it's not a valid route. But cheap advance singles (to Salisbury) seem readily available.

[WELSHYORKIE]

Is there anybody who can drive you down? Is it a one off journey or are you returning?

[SeaJayPea]

The Trainline do have another option. Going out on a weekday, leave Llandudno Junction at 10:25, change at Wolverhampton, then to Basingstoke, thence to Andover. The return journey is different - Andover - Basingstoke; Basingstoke - Birmingham International; BI - Llandudno Junction. Takes 6.5 hours going and slightly less for the return. There's an off-peak return ticket available for £102.10. I've searched on leave Tuesday next week, return a week later, but the fares seem to remain steady, whatever day you travel.