Well, my trip is over and I can tell you that I think I got screwed by not buying the tickets in advance. As a matter of fact, this trip included the most crowded trains I have ever seen on two different trips.

As a summary I inquired some weeks ago whether I should try to buy tickets in advance or just buy them the day of my travel. Well, I have learned an expensive lesson. Our group of 4 arrived at LGW on Nov. 27th and flew to EDI on Easyjet (very cheap BTW). We rented a car, drove to York over the next two days and went to the station to get four one way tickets to London. Upon our arrival, we were told that the cheapest tickets were 62 GBP each for single or something like 64 GBP for return. I asked if there was a group ticket I could qualify for like the GNER web page had mentioned and the ticket agent said that the only way to save anything would have been to buy the tickets at least 7 days in advance though he didn't mention what I would have saved. When we got on the train, it was a mad push because there weren't enough seats. As a result a couple of unlucky folks got to stand for the two hour ride. We were scattered throughout a coach and we couldn't hardly move due to the crowding. The worst thing is that we had to pay 248 GBP for the four seats. If I had known it would be that high, I would have kept the rental and driven back to London with it.

[rant continues] Another thing, how can these train companies possibly be going bankrupt? Our train must have had 200-300 passengers plus a few standing. Even if only some paid anywhere near what we did, it was an extremely profitable train. Our trip on the Gatwick Express on Monday Dec. 2nd was even worse. It was delayed about 30 minutes and there was a near riot when the train pulled up and there weren't nearly enough seats for everyone waiting. We again managed to get everyone on but all four of us had to stand for the 40 minute ride to LGW. It arrived late too. We managed to make our flights but it shouldn't have been even close.

Let me give some advice to other tourists who are going to be travelling in Britain by train. Obviously, I should have called directly to inquire on tickets. Maybe I could have tried to buy tickets for our return upon our arrival in LGW though even then I couldn't have bought them 7 days in advance. A Britrail pass could save you a lot of money if you had several trips planned though it wouldn't have in my case. I feel like I paid dearly for a lack of planning though I tried to buy the tickets through their web page. I can't but feel like i got bad advice when I was told not to worry about it and just buy the tickets when I got to York. One or two last questions and I'll shut up.

1.) If I had been able to buy tickets in advance for a certain train (say one leaving at noon) and I am delayed and don't arrive at the station until 1300, what are my options? Can I get on the train and yield my seats if they are oversold or are my tickets for the earlier train totally worthless?

2.) In my situation, would it have been cheaper for me to have bought singles for an intermediate point in the trip like York - Doncaster then gotten off the train and bought separate tickets for the rest of the trip? I have been told by a friend who lives in London that doing something like that is the cheapest way to get to LGW from London. He says a ticket from London to some point beyond LGW on a local train is cheaper than one from London - LGW and you can just get off at LGW. I haven't tried this out yet but I may since Gatwick Express tickets are getting very high (12 GBP each way). Thanks in advance for your comments.