There is so much to see and enjoy in this little island of ours, but sometimes the worst problem is getting to where you want to go. London is an energetic, vibrant, dazzling magnet for people from all over the world. It is an endlessly fascinating place to visit, which is fine if you live relatively close by.
How to Get There
However, if you are up at the other end of England, for example in Hull which is a little out of the main motorway routes, the difficult bit is how you get there quickly and without breaking the bank. The three main options are to drive, fly or take the train. In a straight line, Hull is 158 miles or 255 kilometres distance away from London. And that is in a straight line. The approximate driving distance is 193 miles or 310 kilometres. Let’s say your car averaged 40 miles per gallon. The trip would cost you over £30 one-way. If your car was bigger and did an average of 20 miles to the gallon, the fuel cost one way would be more than £60.
Stress and Aggravation
Do you have the time to spare? At an average speed of 55 miles an hour, it would take you about three and a half hours to do the journey one-way. And that is not taking traffic delays and road works and possible accidents into account. There is more to bear in mind than the financial cost and the time of the trip. There is the stress and aggravation. Driving in London can be especially stressful, and you do not want to arrive at your destination exhausted and angry and travel weary.
Try to Fly?
You could try to fly from Hull to London. Four international airports are within easy reach of Hull. Humberside is 30 minutes away, Leeds-Bradford is an hour’s drive, Doncaster is 45 minutes and it would take two hours to get to Manchester. Yet again there is the stress of driving and the cost of parking. Your car could be at the airport for several days, depending on how long you want to spend in London. And the cost and the time? It is not cheap. One airline quoted £546 for one-person return. The trip would take 12 hours and 25 minutes with a stopover at Amsterdam. Another flight was from Humberside to either Aberdeen or Schipol and then Gatwick with a price of just over £1317.
Ride the Rails
This leaves us with the train as the third, and probably best, option. First Hull Trains started offering trips from Hull to London Kings Cross in 2000. See (for example) www.hulltrains.co.uk/destinations/trains-to-hull to find out more. It is a good way to take the stress out of travel. About 750,000 people are using the 90 services each week and there are eight stops on the way.
They offer all sorts of deals for people using the service, especially off-peak. It pays in particular to books in advance to get the best deals. There are no booking fees or credit card fees. First-class trips start from £36. And there are occasional special deals at £10. On the basis of cost and comfort, it seems to be a winner.
Image courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net Tom Curtis
