Getting To Thurso By Rail Cheaply

[koiman]

The wife and I want to go to Thurso on the northernmost coast of Scotland by rail from Preston.
We have fixed dates.
Up on 28th feb after 9am.
back to Preston Sunday 3rd Mar.
I cannot find a decent deal.
How good are you guys on the system ?

[mushroom25]

no return train possible 3rd March, although you can arrive 04h40 monday by use of the sleeper (it's quite expensive).
4th no good to you?

[koiman]

No, we need to get back by midnight Sunday, I'd even consider overnight Saturday if the price was ok.

[mushroom25]

Megabus Preston to Inverness dep 04h35 arr 12h00. £34.00
Stagecoach X99 Inverness-Thurso dep 14h25 arr 17h47, fares from £7.

Rtn, dep Thurso 13h12 arr inverness 17h03
Megabus Inverness to Preston dep 18h55, arr Preston 01h55 Monday. Fare £35.00

[mushroom25]

cross-post, sorry. there's no night trains saturday/sunday.

[mushroom25]

sorry more - if you leave Thurso at 16h29 saturday, you can be in Glasgow around midnight, then on to Preston at 09h37 sunday.

Best fares could be if you break it into sections - for example, Preston to Glasgow can be had for as little as £10 each way, on the right trains.

[murraymints]

€132.60 leaves Preston just before 11am Two changes Edinburgh and Inverness arrives Thurston 9.40 pm. Long long journey by train..

[koiman]

We wanted to do it by rail, I'm not prepared to go that far by road. Do trains not go to or from Thurso at weekends?

[murraymints]

Thurso..^^^

[koiman]

Thurston, sorry

[murraymints]

Return 12.22 from Thurso arrives 4.44am in Preston....Sun afternoon/ Mon am

[vakayu]

Is it Thurso you are going to north east Scotland?

[murraymints]

My predictive thingy does not like Thurso....lol...

[mushroom25]

best you could manage for a sunday trip is to bus it from thurso to inverness (dep 09h55 arr 12h56) then train from Inverness via Haymarket (Edinburgh east end) dep 13h30 and arr Preston 19h15. There are trains from Thurso on Sunday but only in the afternoon and there's no connection to England except by sleeper from Inverness.

[murraymints]

There is a train from Thurso Sun 12.22 arrives Inverness 16.04 leaves Inverness 20 26 arrives Preston 04 40 long horrid journey...I'd drive !

[Buenchico]

As others have indicated, there's only one train from Thurso on a Sunday, at 1222. It arrives in Inverness at 1604, which is too late for a 'same-day' return to Preston.

The last departure (out of just 4) on a Saturday is at 1629, arriving at Inverness at 2010. Onward travel from there would leave you stuck overnight in Glasgow, arriving at 1156 in Preston.

You seem to be trying to do the impossible. Sorry!

[DTCwordfan]

some of us may say, "Go to Thurso - No, it would get on your Wick"