Getting here
When travelling to Scotland from within the UK why not make your journey part of the experience by using public transport? There are plenty of organisations out there to help you plan your journey.
By train
Frequent services run from most parts of England and Wales to Edinburgh, Glasgow and other major towns. Although bikes can usually be carried on trains it is advisable to check in advance and book a place, as space is limited.
The main cross-border train operators are Cross Country, National Express East Coast and Virgin Trains. For timetable information or to book tickets use National Rail or the individual train operators. You may not be able to book your bike through every operator’s website so call their telesales number if necessary.
National Rail
Information on UK national rail services, including timetables and real time travel information.
www.nationalrail.co.uk or tel: 0845 748 49 50.
Cross Country - www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk or tel: 0844 811 0124.
National Express East Coast - www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com or tel: 08457 225111.
Virgin Trains - www.virgin.com/trains or tel: 0845 000 8000.
Railcards
Information on railcards that can help save you a third on train travel can be found online at www.railcard.co.uk
Traintracker
Live train times for today and train timetables for the next three months, tel: 0871 200 49 50.
The Trainline
Company offering online train ticket buying service, visit: www.thetrainline.com
By coach
Travelling by coach offers great value for money although journey times tend to be a little longer than by train. You can catch a direct coach from most UK cities to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. Some operators will carry bikes if they are packed flat and suitably wrapped but it varies from company to company so you need to check before booking your tickets.
National Express is the UK’s main long-distance coach operator but Megabus also operates some routes across the border.
National Express - www.nationalexpress.co.uk or tel: 08705 80 80 80.
Megabus - www.megabus.co.uk or tel: 0900 160 0900.
By ferry
If you’re visiting from Northern Ireland there are regular ferry crossings to the west coast of Scotland and most operators carry bikes. Stena Line operates between Belfast and Stranraer and P&O Irish Sea operates between Larne and Cairnryan or Troon.
Stena Line - www.stenaline.co.uk or tel: 08705 70 70 70.
P&O Irish Sea - www.poirishsea.com or tel: 0871 66 44 999.
