Yaffa Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 (edited) Virgin is having two sales: a. West Coast Network From midnight tonight (Wednesday) until 11:59 on Monday 27th November: up to 52% on selected tickets e.g. between London and Manchester £5 one way between London and Birmingham £11 one way. Dates are from 18th December to 14th January, excluding 22nd-23rd Dec and 25th-27th Dec. That should hopefully still include travel for Nutcrackers and other performances. There will also apparently be child and first class tickets. b. East Coast Network Available now until 11.59 p.m. tonight (Wednesday). Tickets are available between 6th Jan and 2nd March, excluding the week of half term (10th-18th Feb) and 24th-25th Feb. Might work for some audition dates. Further details of both sales at:https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/virgin-trains There are some other good travel deals around - before you book you might want to check out the moneysavingexpert.com list at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/travel-and-days-out No connection to any of the above - just passing on the info Edited November 22, 2017 by Yaffa for clarity 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola H Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 sometimes the half price sale is an opportunity to make a trip a bit special by booking first class rather than standard ... I can't comment on VTWC in either class as i'm in the wrong places to use the WC line , but VTEC first is nice , and the catering offer is decent . the VT first class lounge at king's cross is also open a decent amount of time ( 7am to half past 9 in the evening - there's only three east cost services leaving KX after this time ) and the VTWC first class lounge at euston is open until 11 pm in the week ... the EMT offering at StP is a bit lack lustre in comparison , but then again EMT's ' main line' first clas offering is bit lack lustre which is odd given that WC and EC despite Virgin branding are Stagecoach TOCs ' under the bonnet' ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 A family member is a fan of using the West Coast First Class because you can get some very good bargain fares (compared with Standard Class), and they often include a meal and glass of wine en route. Or at least, that's what I think it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 2 minutes ago, alison said: A family member is a fan of using the West Coast First Class because you can get some very good bargain fares (compared with Standard Class), and they often include a meal and glass of wine en route. Or at least, that's what I think it is. What you get depends on the day of the week, length of journey and a few other things. Updated details are at: https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/experience/first-class Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 Before booking a ticket via the Virgin sale, you might want check out other cheap train tickets at: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets and also to see if you can get the same Virgin ticket cheaper using the 10% Virgin Money discount. From an earlier post I made about this (NB: The Virgin Money lounges are not the same as the Virgin First Class Lounges): ...Also, if you want to buy a West Coast Mainline ticket which is not covered by the sale, and there isn't a better deal on the Virgin app or a railcard etc. - you can currently get 10% off many such routes if you're a member of Virgin Money. (To join Virgin money, you can just set up a £1 savings account.) There's no further railcard or other discount on such tickets. More at: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2016/09/30/travelling-on-virgin-trains-without-a-railcard-heres-a-quick-trick-to-get-10-off-west-coast-routes/ Membership of Virgin Money also gets you free access to stocked Virgin Money lounges with free wifi at Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Norwich, Sheffield and London (two -at Haymarket and Eagle Place). You do have to be a UK resident (not just a UK citizen) to join Virgin money - I found that they are very strict about that - but members can bring a guest into the lounges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I booked myself a bargain trip to Opera North a couple of days ago thanks to the East Coast sale. £11 each way between London and Leeds. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 On 22/11/2017 at 11:45, Nicola H said: sometimes the half price sale is an opportunity to make a trip a bit special by booking first class rather than standard ... I can't comment on VTWC in either class as i'm in the wrong places to use the WC line , but VTEC first is nice , and the catering offer is decent . the VT first class lounge at king's cross is also open a decent amount of time ( 7am to half past 9 in the evening - there's only three east cost services leaving KX after this time ) and the VTWC first class lounge at euston is open until 11 pm in the week ... the EMT offering at StP is a bit lack lustre in comparison , but then again EMT's ' main line' first clas offering is bit lack lustre which is odd given that WC and EC despite Virgin branding are Stagecoach TOCs ' under the bonnet' ... I booked VTWC first class as a treat on my birthday earlier this year to attend a matinee in Buxton. Sadly through circumstances beyond their control (fatality on the line at Milton Keynes) I ended up being diverted onto EMT from St Pancras, where there is no such thing as free catering in first class... which is the only reason I paid for first class in the first place... I've done VTWC first class (weekdays) a few times before, and yes, the catering is decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 4 minutes ago, RuthE said: I booked VTWC first class as a treat on my birthday earlier this year to attend a matinee in Buxton. Sadly through circumstances beyond their control (fatality on the line at Milton Keynes) I ended up being diverted onto EMT from St Pancras, where there is no such thing as free catering in first class... which is the only reason I paid for first class in the first place... I've done VTWC first class (weekdays) a few times before, and yes, the catering is decent. The catering is not worth it at the weekend unless anything has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 That's why I specified that I've done it on weekdays... I rarely bother with first class at weekends unless I'm booking at a time when there's hardly any price difference between first and standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 4 minutes ago, RuthE said: I booked VTWC first class as a treat on my birthday earlier this year to attend a matinee in Buxton. Sadly through circumstances beyond their control (fatality on the line at Milton Keynes) I ended up being diverted onto EMT from St Pancras, where there is no such thing as free catering in first class... which is the only reason I paid for first class in the first place... I've done VTWC first class (weekdays) a few times before, and yes, the catering is decent. Sorry to hear about this... I've found Virgin's Complaints Department to be quite understanding and gave a voucher even for circumstances outside their control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I didn't bother as it wasn't their fault. It would have seemed selfish to moan about not getting a free bacon roll when somebody died... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 I see that Virgin are to lose the West Coast line as of December. What this will mean for cheap tickets and offers remains to be seen, I guess. The service is being taken over by TrenItalia. Might be worth booking BRB Nutcracker performances before the 8th, or whenever the date is. Or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) On 19/08/2019 at 19:04, alison said: I see that Virgin are to lose the West Coast line as of December. What this will mean for cheap tickets and offers remains to be seen, I guess. The service is being taken over by TrenItalia. Might be worth booking BRB Nutcracker performances before the 8th, or whenever the date is. Or not. Who knows what will actually happen, but amidst all the promises, it was good to hear that they're planning to run the Euston-Manchester service later in the night - though I heard it's likely to be only on weekdays and starting from next year... Edited August 22, 2019 by Yaffa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Yaffa said: Who knows what will actually happen, but amidst all the promises, it was good to hear that they're planning to run the Euston-Manchester service later in the night - though I heard it's likely to be only on weekdays and starting from next year... Liverpool left out again!! I used to be able to come to London for the evening! (Although they are investigating the possibility of 2 trains an hour, which will be an improvement). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) 21 hours ago, Jan McNulty said: Liverpool left out again!! I used to be able to come to London for the evening! I do hope that going down to London for the evening will soon become a reality from many places. Even better if they could bring back the possibility to catch a train down to London for a weekday morning meeting without spending hundreds of pounds. Oh well, we can dream... Edited August 23, 2019 by Yaffa 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 On 22/08/2019 at 19:33, Jan McNulty said: Liverpool left out again!! I used to be able to come to London for the evening! (Although they are investigating the possibility of 2 trains an hour, which will be an improvement). Is there a link for this (& will it go via Stoke). Twice I’ve had to take the car to Manchester recently when going to a show there because there is no train that leaves after the finish time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 https://www.hs2.org.uk/where/route-map/#8/52.453/-1.488 When I went to see Rambert at Mayfield Depot in July I found it more convenient to park up at The Lowry and get the tram the rest of the way. The car park (although it seems expensive) is considerably cheaper than the ones in the centre of Manchester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Echo your thoughts Yaffa on being able to get to London for a weekday morning without paying extortionate prices! I even investigated a really early morning time ...pre rush hour ...to see if it would be cheaper then but no it's extortionate from 5.30 in the morning right up to 10 pm!! I am lucky in that if I need an early start in London .....any time before 11.30 ....I can go up.the night before and stay for free with friends but I wish I didn't always have to do this. There is no justified reason in my view why the early morning prices are SO expensive.....they could for example at least release a few cheaper tickets for that time on a first come first served basis every day...so many a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now