Having difficulty finding buses or trains to go from Portsmouth to Edinburgh that will take a bike...this seems to be a problem in parts of Portugal, Spain and France....I took a blahblah car ride the other day (the owner was a cyclist and had bike transportation issues so totally squeezed me into his car!) and then rented a car for a section. Thought UK would have been friendlier to my bike....any thoughts!? Ideas?
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Mostly the trains work with bike , not rush hours. Book in advance on line for cheapest ticket, reserve bike space London to Edinburgh.
Unfortunately our trains are not really very cheap. The bus might take a bike in a box, I haven't tried this. Philip
We have strange systems in the uk - many trains will only take 2 bicycles at a time, and most say you have to prebook.... I have had just as many problems booking and trying to do it the way they ask - so my advice is: - take a late or middle of the night train (usually empty and nicer staff) and/or go to a station before or after a city - not the main one. You are far more likely to get on - nab any available space before busy stations and evade the stricter staff! Some trains (many in London) are great and have flexible space - flip-up seats etc and are easy to use - but others - (like the new ones in our area!) have very little storage space and only room for hanging 2 bikes....
The train operators (oh - remember when one company ran it all and there was a guards van for ANY large object....how easy it was!) do not seem to be interested in serving potantial customers - its commuters only! Even the train staff are mystified as to why they are SO un bike friendly!! I found it much easier on France and Spain and a positive dream in Thailand!
For our next trip - starting in Edinburgh - we are hiring a car for a one way trip - about the same price and SO much less hassle!!