BritRail Passes

Trip from Hub Cities

Suggested Short Trips from Hub Cities

A great way to see Britain, and make the most of your BritRail Pass, is by using one of several cities as your hub. There are many beautiful and interesting cities that are both destinations in their own right and serve as excellent bases for day trips. The fast and frequent ‘go as you please’ BritRail network makes this travel strategy both possible and practical.

USE AS YOUR HUB CITY:

USING LONDON AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency* Departure Station
Bath 1 hour 20 minutes Every 30 minutes Paddington
Birmingham 1 hour 21 minutes Every 30 minutes Euston
Brighton 50 minutes Every 30 minutes Victoria
Brighton 50 minutes Hourly Bridge
Dover 1 hour 40 minutes Every 30 minutes Victoria / London Bridge/Charing Cross
Ely 1 hour Hourly Kings Cross
Exeter 2 hours 40 minutes Every 30 minutes Paddington / Waterloo
Cambridge 1 hour Hourly Kings Cross
Canterbury 1 ½ hours 2 per hour Victoria
Hastings 1 ½ hours Hourly Bridge
Isle of Wight 2 hours Every 30 minutes Waterloo - change to ferry
Manchester 2 hours 6 minutes Every 30 minutes Euston
Norwich 1 hour 50 minutes Every 30 mins Liverpool St
Portsmouth 1 ½ hours Every 30 minutes Waterloo
Oxford 1 hour Every 30 minutes Paddington
Salisbury 1 hour 25 minutes Every 30 minutes Waterloo
Southampton 1 ¼ hours 3 per hour Waterloo
Stratford Upon Avon 2 ¼ hours Every 2 hours Marylebone

* Minimum frequency

USING YORK AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Harrogate or Knaresborough 30 minutes Hourly
Leeds 30 minutes 4 or 5 per hour
Durham 50 minutes 2 per hour
Scarborough 45 minutes Every 30 minutes
Settle & Carlisle Line, Newcastle Full Day Trip Every 2 hours
Manchester 1 ½ hours 2 or 3 per hour
Hebden Bridge 1 ½ hours Hourl

USING EDINBURGH AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Glasgow 50 minutes Every 15 minutes
Stirling 50 minutes Every 30 minutes
Perth 50 minutes Hourly
Oban 4 hours 4 per day
Aberdeen 2 ½ hours Hourly

USING GLASGOW AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Stirling 30 minutes 2 per hour Q
Perth 1 hour Hourly Q
Oban 3 hours 3 per day Q
Fort William 3 ¾ hours 4 per day Q
Edinburgh 50 minutes Every 15 minutes Q
Ayr 1 hour 2 per hour C
Inverness 3 ½ hours Every 2 hours Q

Q = Glasgow Queen Street Station C= Glasgow Central Station

USING INVERNESS AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Kyle of Lochalsh 2 ½ hours 3 per day
Wick/Thurso 4 hours 3 per day
Aberdeen 2 ¼ hours Every 2 hours

USING CARDIFF AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Caerphilly 20 minutes 2 or 3 trains hourly
Trehafod 30 minutes 2 trains hourly
Pembroke, Tenby 3 hours Every 2 hours
Shrewsbury (Abergavenny, Hereford ) 2 hours (35min, 1 hour) Hourly
Llandrindod Wells 3 hours 6 trains daily
Bath Spa 1 hour 1 or 2 trains hourly

USING MANCHESTER AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Liverpool 50 minutes 4 per hour B
London 2 hours 20 minutes 2 per hour P
Chester 1 hour Hourly P
Windermere (Lake District) 1 ¾ hours Hourly P
Blackpool 1 ¼ hours 2 per hour P
York 1 ½ hours 3 per hour P
Llandudno (North Wales Coast) 2 ¼ hours Hourly P
Buxton (Peak District) 55 minutes Hourly P

B= Both Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly P= Manchester Piccadilly

USING CHESTER AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Manchester 1 hour Hourly
Liverpool 35 minutes 2 per hour
Llandudno 1 ¼ minutes Hourly
Conwy 1 ½ hours Hourly
Central Wales Line Full Day 3 daily
Shrewsbury 1 hour Hourly
Blaenau Ffestiniog 2 hours Every 3 hours

USING NORWICH AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Sheringham / Cromer (North Norfolk) 1 hour Hourly
Lowestoft 40 minutes Hourly
Great Yarmouth 30 minutes Hourly
Cambridge (or Ely) 1 ½ hours (50 min) 2 per day

USING SHREWSBURY AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Cardiff 2 hours Hourly
Aberystwth 1 ¾ hours 5 per day
Harlech/Ffestiniog/
Pwhelli
2 ¾ hours to 3 ½ hours Every 2 hours
Chester 1 hour Every 1 or 2 hours

USING BIRMINGHAM AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Exmouth 25 minutes Every 30 minutes
Barnstaple 1 ¼ hours Every 2 hours
Torquay/Paignton/
Dawlish
45 minutes/45 minutes/20 minutes 1 or 2 per hour
Salisbury 2 hours Every 2 hours
Penzance 3 ¼ hours Hourly

N= Birmingham New Street M=Birmingham Moor S=Birmingham Snow Hillk

USING EXETER AS YOUR HUB CITY:

Our suggestions include:

Destination Journey Time Frequency
Exmouth 25 minutes Every 30 minutes
Barnstaple 1 ¼ hours Every 2 hours
Torquay/Paignton/
Dawlish
45 minutes/45 minutes/20 minutes 1 or 2 per hour
Salisbury 2 hours Every 2 hours
Penzance 3 ¼ hours Hourly