^^^ Good call

Drew, I would have thought the fastest and more scenic once you reach Scotland!) route would be to go Southampton to London and then take the train London to Edinburgh (c 4h 20m for that part). Get an uber in London to transfer stations.

For the LNER service London to Edinburgh you are guaranteed a seat and can book seats together in standard class and it is perfectly fine, however I agree the sentiment that in your position I too would book a first class as it is that bit nicer and less chance of getting some drunken passengers disturbing your journey than in standard class (although that is not that common an occurrence in my experience and I am on trains down to England and back a number of times each month).

@jkbarnes given that @Thegreyman 's location is listed in Edinburgh and travels regularly to England I reckon he knows of what he speaks in his thoughts above! Worth noting!

By the way, the rail journey was Southampton to Birmingham, then change trains to Edinburgh

Hmm. Sounds like they are sending you up the West Coast Main Line? The scenery is very good once you are north of Preston, bur unless you have an interest in the Industrial Revolution, or are a fan of W.H Auden's "Night Mail", I wouldn't recommend this route to a tourist. Even if these do attract, I'd hesitate to describe Birmingham, Crewe and Wigan as "scenic". And I live in Wigan.
As @Thegreyman suggests, London - Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line will take you through more places that will resonate with a visitor: York, Durham, Berwick-on-Tweed etc.

Whatever you choose to do, enjoy the planning - it's part of the journey.

I’m not a regular traveler, maybe once a month or so and I’m going against the the grain here but I find trying to book a train ticket on line a mine field, you need to be a mathematician to work it out. Once got on the wrong train from London to Peterborough after buying my ticket online, boy was that a costly error
I go to the station, go to the ticket office, talk to a real person, they tell me my options and what platform to go to, I buy a ticket job done
It may be a few quid more expensive but is totally stress free

Just got off the phone with my travel agent and feel much better. She has recommended NOT using the group she was working with for those quotes because the price made no sense nor could they giver her answers to our questions. We’re booking the hotel separately from the train.

When I mentioned the offers of assistance from a number of you to assist with train tickets she said to absolutely take you up on it because she had no other contacts to work with for train tickets.

Over the coming weeks I’m going to reach out to a few of you via direct message about train tickets.

Thank you all for the feedback, suggestions, and offers to assist. This forum is a gem!

You've had some great advice here already so I'm not going to add too much more. I will say the Southampton -> Birmingham -> Edinburgh train (in my case I did this journey from Reading -> York) can be quite busy. The advantage is there's only a single change though, so it's easy.

Going into London opens up many more train times & options for you but could potentially add an hour journey time. On the plus side, the London stations have first class lounges which Southampton doesn't. They're nice to have but not that glamorous so I don't know how much of a plus you'd consider this. (I... don't. For me the first class upgrade bonus is mostly the free drinks & food and also quieter carriages) I'd agree with earlier posters though, consider just getting a taxi from Waterloo to Kings Cross or Euston. Budget half an hour for that journey in the middle of the day.

There are some weird things about train travel in the UK. There are different train operators (companies). If you travel via Birmingham you'll use Cross Country. If via London you'll use either of Avanti West Coast (currently using them every other week for trips up North from London), LNER or Lumo (that one is new for me - never used them). Links there to their first-class details pages to help you see what you get.

You'll see split ticketing on sites like Train. I'd be wary of going the Split ticketing option for someone unfamiliar with train travel here, as it may require you to change seats mid-journey.

Someone also suggested SeatFrog. This is like doing an auction for a first class upgrade against other passengers, using an App. It's a much cheaper way of doing it but as it's not guaranteed and you have to do it last minute, probably not ideal for you. (I use it for my travels as I can't expense first class travel, so am much happier paying £19 for a first class upgrade from my pocket than £90!)

You've got time and plenty of offers of help on here. But feel free to post travel dates once the tickets are available and I'm happy to offer suggestions as are others here.

^^^good point about the first class lounge you can use at the station if you have a first class ticket.

For London to Edinburgh I would only use the East Coast route as faster and more reliable. Of LNER or Lumo, the latter do not have a first class service (set up as a budget offering with only one class of service). The way to go is with LNER then you can access their first class lounge at Kings Cross as an added bonus.

Thegreyman wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2024 9:18 pm ^^^good point about the first class lounge you can use at the station if you have a first class ticket.

For London to Edinburgh I would only use the East Coast route as faster and more reliable. Of LNER or Lumo, the latter do not have a first class service (set up as a budget offering with only one class of service). The way to go is with LNER then you can access their first class lounge at Kings Cross as an added bonus.

I’ve already bookmarked their website and set up an alert for when tickets become available. In the meantime, I’m going to start picking people’s brains about the logistics I need to be aware of and thinking about in getting fromSouthampton to Edinburgh. Per your recommendation, I’m definitely going to look at the East Coast route with LNER as being the most scenic journey. Part 1 will be Southampton to London then part 2, London to Edinburg.

Again, thanks all for the feedback!

Oh, and my wife has put in a request to see a pygmy hippo at the Edinburgh Zoo!

“Pygmy Hippo at the Edinburgh Zoo” sounds like a niche live album of a 60s psychedelic rock band.

I don’t have much to add on the rail travel but it sounds like it’s shaping up to be a wonderful trip.

timepieces_and_bags wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2024 10:24 pm “Pygmy Hippo at the Edinburgh Zoo” sounds like a niche live album of a 60s psychedelic rock band.

Yeah, it sounds like it could be an early Floyd album!

I don’t have much to add on the rail travel but it sounds like it’s shaping up to be a wonderful trip.

I think so! We’re excited. The hotel was booked today - seven nights at The Scotsman Hotel. The last major detail to be nailed down is the airfare home.

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2024 10:09 pm Oh, and my wife has put in a request to see a pygmy hippo at the Edinburgh Zoo!

As per our messages, im happy to assist in your travel arrangements buddy, but I draw the line at odd small animals thatay be real, or only available at hogwarts....

Good luck though.....
Happy wife, happy life!
(Hemce why im single )

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2024 10:07 pmPart 1 will be Southampton to London then part 2, London to Edinburg.

This bit is easy. Southampton Central to London Waterloo is a direct train with South Western Railway taking an hour and 20. Depending when you travel in the day, you should have lots of options; they go every half an hour. (I've taken this train many a time from WInchester!)
Just had a quick look; travel at half-ten in the morning (off peak) non-splitsave tickets, without travel card, are £18 per person standard class and £26.40 each in first class. (this is booking in advance) Set up an alert here: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/tra ... ce-tickets to be reminded when they go on sale 12 weeks in advance.

First class looks nice but the Southampton to Waterloo journey isn't listed as having a first class option on that route, so I'm a bit confused why they're selling first class tickets there. (I never travel first class on trains less than 2 hours so can't comment on first class on this route)

So I think work backwards from what time you want to arrive in Edinburgh, figure out which train you then have to take from London to achieve that, add 30-40 mins for taxi from Waterloo to Kings Cross/Euston then you know which train you need to get from Southampton to Waterloo.

Do note that peak travel times (departing before 9:30am) on trains in the UK can be (are) eye-wateringly expensive. My commute is 4 times the cost of the same train an hour and a half later...

monkeymax wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2024 11:25 pm

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2024 10:07 pmPart 1 will be Southampton to London then part 2, London to Edinburg.

This bit is easy. Southampton Central to London Waterloo is a direct train with South Western Railway taking an hour and 20. Depending when you travel in the day, you should have lots of options; they go every half an hour. (I've taken this train many a time from WInchester!)
Just had a quick look; travel at half-ten in the morning (off peak) non-splitsave tickets, without travel card, are £18 per person standard class and £26.40 each in first class. (this is booking in advance) Set up an alert here: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/tra ... ce-tickets to be reminded when they go on sale 12 weeks in advance.

First class looks nice but the Southampton to Waterloo journey isn't listed as having a first class option on that route, so I'm a bit confused why they're selling first class tickets there. (I never travel first class on trains less than 2 hours so can't comment on first class on this route)

So I think work backwards from what time you want to arrive in Edinburgh, figure out which train you then have to take from London to achieve that, add 30-40 mins for taxi from Waterloo to Kings Cross/Euston then you know which train you need to get from Southampton to Waterloo.

Do note that peak travel times (departing before 9:30am) on trains in the UK can be (are) eye-wateringly expensive. My commute is 4 times the cost of the same train an hour and a half later...

This is excellent! Thank you! I was already leaning towards not getting 1st class for this first leg as it’s so short. You’ve sealed the deal on that, I think. I’ll set that alert up.