The most inexpensive train journey for many years!

[whole diary]

[Justgeoff]

My wife and I and a friend decided to take a trip on the Summer Sundays only train from Okehampton to Exeter. We chose to extend our journey to Dawlish and when the train manager came to us to issue tickets I was expecting to pay at least £10 each person as had been the case in previous years.   I was rendered speechless when I was asked for £12.90 - in total!  Thinking a mistake had been made and he had perhaps meant £12.90 each, or he had given us single instead of return tickets, but no, three to nine people travelling together constitute a group travel discount!
I imagine the journey length is something in excess of thirty miles each way and all for £4.30 each!!
I know the service is supported by Devon County Council so I must thank the residents of Devon for subsidising our day out but I would honestly recommend anyone who lives anywhere near Okehampton or Exeter to take advantage of this offer while it stands.
I can't help thinking that if the Okehampton-Exeter route is reopened as a all year round seven days a week service, this offer will vanish  rather smartly!
 

[Thatcham Crossing]

It's not always expensive - my daughters (who admittedly have 16-25 railcards) recently travelled from Exeter St Davids to St Erth (a nearly 3 hour journey) for around £6 each!

[AMLAG]

Pleased to know you have discovered what excellent value fares can be had by using off peak return group travel.
An example of an even better value off peak return fare for a group (of between 3 and 9 non rail card holding passengers) is that of £21.40 for three passengers, ie. only £7.15 each, for the 182 mile rail journey from Barnstaple to Plymouth and back.

I think you can be assured that when the Okehampton to Exeter regular service is finally reinstated, that the wide range of discounted fares will appropriately apply as elsewhere.

[grahame]

My wife and I and a friend decided to take a trip on the Summer Sundays only train from Okehampton to Exeter. We chose to extend our journey to Dawlish and when the train manager came to us to issue tickets I was expecting to pay at least £10 each person ...

[snip]

... I can't help thinking that if the Okehampton-Exeter route is reopened as a all year round seven days a week service, this offer will vanish  rather smartly!

Pleased to know you have discovered what excellent value fares can be had by using off peak return group travel.

Welcome to the forum, JustGeoff.

There are indeed some very good fares out there - and not just limited to Devon and Cornwall either!

On Thursday this week, as a prelude to the Community Rail Conference on Friday, TransWilts CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) will be promoting the following fares for days out, which are all available daily through the year. If anyone wants to say "hi" on our stand at Swindon Station, please do so.  Established forum members welcome to join our team and help  - please get in touch by personal message so that we could set up the (few) formalities - can't quite do it as "walkup".

Off peak day returns - adult fares.
Swindon to Weymouth - £18.10 (£12.05 per person groupsave) - 6.7p per mile
Melksham to Clifton Down - £9.90 (£6.60 per person groupsave) - 9p per mile
Chippenham to Southampton - £23.50 (£15.50 per person groupsave) - 9.5p per mile
Sea Mills to Waterloo - £36.40 (£24.00 per person groupsave) - 10.2p per mile
Swindon to Salisbury - £14.50 (£9.60 per person groupsave) - 12p per mile

Calculation based on road distance - in some cases the train goes a long way round and the pence per mile by rail would be lower; in other cases, recommended road route might be longer.   Most of these quoted fares once you get out of the peninsular (with a single railway spine and no choice of routes) are specifically "via [somewhere]" so not available on all trains.

Some of these fares have been in existence for promotion for many years; the Swindon and Chippenham to Salisbury and Southampton day returns via Melksham are new for this year and are intended to be permanent.  Of course, if the fares review comes down in favour of changing the structure, and the Secretary of State implements the changes, then all may change and there's a significant chance that best bargains would be lost.