Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

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newstreetnj
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Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by newstreetnj »

Hello Friends,

We are going to Ireland in early Sept but would then like to go to Cambridge for a few days in mid Sept. I went on Kayak to research flights from Dublin to Cambridge but almost all/ all the flights leave us at Heathrow or Gatwick in London. So, are there trains from Gatwick to Cambridge?? Or, more likely, do we need to get to a particular train station in London to be able to ride to Cambridge? Or, are there really flights to Cambridge?

Thanks for your comments. Bob
adamthesmythe
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by adamthesmythe »

Are there trains in England? Is the pope Catholic?

Although things have changed recently- in that there are now more buses in competition- yes, there are trains from London to Cambridge.

You DO need to go to the right station because the only way to get across London is on the tube (subway to you). I am quite sure that the best way to do this is fly (to Heathrow, or Gatwick as a second choice), tube to the right station, and train to Cambridge. The web says the station is Kings Cross and it is about an hour to Cambridge. You will have a great time.
Levett
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by Levett »

It's a fast train from King's, Bob, and you will enjoy Cambridge. It's a magnificent university town, and if there are any concerts (instrumental or vocal) while you are there, go!

And do have coffee or tea and a pastry at Fitzbillies unless you are on a restricted diet. :D

Lev
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englishgirl
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by englishgirl »

If you were going to rent a car, the closest airports to Cambridge are probably London Luton or London Stansted. [I say "probably" in the sense of "closest airport that you are likely to be able to get a flight to" - Cambridge has an airport but it's more like a private airfield, so unless you have a private jet it's probably not happening.]

But, in order to take a train from Luton to Cambridge, you have to go into London and back out again. Which is pretty much the same as flying to either Gatwick or Heathrow and doesn't give you any advantage. There's probably a direct bus/coach though. It seems that Stansted has trains direct to Cambridge.
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Ethelred
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by Ethelred »

Cambridge doesn't have its own international airport, and it's not a particularly big city. Getting from Dublin to Cambridge is not going to be particularly convenient, especially considering you're only planning to go for a few days.

I had a look at what's available from Dublin, and the nearest airports in the UK are Luton or Stansted, though both of those have the disadvantage that you'd have to fly with Ryanair. Of the two, Stansted is preferable, since you can catch a train from there to Cambridge, taking about half an hour.

Alternatively, you could fly in to Heathrow or Gatwick, but both are further. There is a coach connection from Heathrow to Cambridge, and possibly also Gatwick. Taking trains would also be possible from either, with it being slightly easier using the Thameslink train from Gatwick. All of these options would take a while though.

Of those choices, I'd fly to Stansted and take the train. Either that, or I would revise my plans and visit the two places in two completely separate trips.
Topic Author
newstreetnj
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by newstreetnj »

I went on the Ryanair website but could not find Stansted altho did see Luton. Does Stansted, perhaps, have another name? Bob

PS I take it that Ryanair has a bad rep?
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newstreetnj
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by newstreetnj »

Oops, went back to Ryanair and found Stansted. Airfare is quite reasonable but I guess it is a no frills airline. Do the trains from Stansted go to Cambridge a few times a day?

Bob
killjoy2012
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by killjoy2012 »

If you're looking for alternatives, you could also take a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales, and then it's a 5 hour train ride from there bypassing central London. Tons of beautiful medieval castles in the northern Wales / Snowdonia area too, if that's of interest. Certainly not the fastest travel option, but the ferry is pretty comfy, as is the train.... as compared to flying -- dealing with airport security and luggage, taking the Piccadilly line from Heathrow to Kings X, and training it hour from there.

Flying Ryanair or Eastjet to London and taking the train is the quickest and may be cheaper.

Yes, Ryanair makes Spirit Airlines look good. But it's fine for a short, cheap connecting flight.
mageedge
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by mageedge »

+1 on Ethelred's comments - take Ryanair from Dublin to Stanstead -they run half a dozen or more flights a day and its massively more convenient than Heathrow or Gatwick. An acquaintance of mine did this flight daily for several years for job purposes and thought it was great.
You've already noted Ryanair is a "no frills" airline - the seat will probably cost you around $20 but the "extras" (bags, specific seat and such) will pump it up toward $100 - but it'll get you there.
The big advantage is the direct train from the airport (train station is right there) to Cambridge - around 2 trains an hour from early morning to late night, about $15 and 35 minutes to Cambridge.
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by jebmke »

mageedge wrote:You've already noted Ryanair is a "no frills" airline - the seat will probably cost you around $20 but the "extras" (bags, specific seat and such) will pump it up toward $100 - but it'll get you there.
I used to fly Ryanair from Brussels (Charlerois) to Dublin for something like 10 euros (1 euro return). They have seats now? :P
Stay hydrated; don't sweat the small stuff
Valuethinker
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by Valuethinker »

newstreetnj wrote:Hello Friends,

We are going to Ireland in early Sept but would then like to go to Cambridge for a few days in mid Sept. I went on Kayak to research flights from Dublin to Cambridge but almost all/ all the flights leave us at Heathrow or Gatwick in London. So, are there trains from Gatwick to Cambridge?? Or, more likely, do we need to get to a particular train station in London to be able to ride to Cambridge? Or, are there really flights to Cambridge?

Thanks for your comments. Bob
The train stations all terminate in London (built in 19th century, couldn't plough through the city). Gatwick is almost due south, Cambridge is N by NE. You are talking a city of similar scale to New York City.

So:

- if you take Thameslink from Gatwick it should connect to Kings Cross. You change there (there is a sign for platform 9 3/4 for Harry Potter fans ;-)) for a train to Cambridge

The problem with Gatwick Express is it goes to Victoria. And Southern trains are on a work-to-rule overtime ban (don't ask) which is screwing up services in most destinations south of London. Also Victoria isn't as good for access to Kings Cross (you take the light blue i.e. Victoria line north to Kings Cross)-- you have to get a valid ticket for the Underground, get down to the Underground platform (very crowded) then up again at Kings X (not so bad).


https://www.thetrainline.com/

fares vary widely. Be careful about timed tickets i.e. only usable at one particular time. Given there's a degree of uncertainty (always) about how long it takes you to clear Gatwick (you can also sit stacked above southern England for a while - enjoy the view ;-)) you either buy your Thameslink ticket at Gatwick airport or you give yourself a flexible ticket -- note how much prices vary!

*If* Thameslink won't do it you are either Gatwick Express to Victoria and change to Victoria line on the Underground OR you take a train to London Bridge, and change to the Northern Line northbound to Kings Cross (all northbound Tube trains from London Bridge go via Kings X). Both will involve some stairs and long escalators, and crowds. And both of those services are Southern Rail drivers, i.e. schedules affected by overtime ban.
Valuethinker
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by Valuethinker »

newstreetnj wrote:Hello Friends,

We are going to Ireland in early Sept but would then like to go to Cambridge for a few days in mid Sept. I went on Kayak to research flights from Dublin to Cambridge but almost all/ all the flights leave us at Heathrow or Gatwick in London. So, are there trains from Gatwick to Cambridge?? Or, more likely, do we need to get to a particular train station in London to be able to ride to Cambridge? Or, are there really flights to Cambridge?

Thanks for your comments. Bob

If you go to Heathrow life is unfortunately also a bit complicated (LHR is much closer in, and more integrated with the city transport system).

You can take the Heathrow Express (it's not cheap) train to Paddington and change to the Hammersmith & City tube line (back of the station ie towards the back of the trains incoming, up the stairs and over) and go to Kings X that way

OR

you pile onto the Piccadilly line (much cheaper) and ride through Central London to Kings Cross station. That's fine if you don't arrive in rush hour. If you do, because you are at the start of the line you will get a seat, but it's a very full ride. This latter route is cheaper and involves fewer changes.

Depends which terminal you are at in Heathrow, so you may have to use the Heathrow Express to change terminals to catch the Tube (Underground) Piccadilly line.

Getting a ticket to Cambridge (again be wary of restrictions on use, the much cheaper tickets also have time restrictions or specific times they can be used-- see thetrainline ) is a doddle once you get to Kings Cross railway station (which is above the Tube Station).

Note it's usually called Kings Cross St Pancras but they are actually 2 stations on opposite sides of a small road-- different railway companies built them! St Pancras is much grander looking (out of 101 Dalmations say) fancy Victorian Gothic thing, and has the rail link to Paris (High Speed One/ Eurostar). Kings Cross has just been done up but is smaller (with a new annex courtesy of Lord Norman Foster) and slightly to the east.

You want Kings Cross for a ticket to Cambridge (it's also possible to go via Liverpool Street station, but there's no real reason to use that route if you are coming from the west or south of London).
Valuethinker
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by Valuethinker »

mageedge wrote:+1 on Ethelred's comments - take Ryanair from Dublin to Stanstead -they run half a dozen or more flights a day and its massively more convenient than Heathrow or Gatwick. An acquaintance of mine did this flight daily for several years for job purposes and thought it was great.
You've already noted Ryanair is a "no frills" airline - the seat will probably cost you around $20 but the "extras" (bags, specific seat and such) will pump it up toward $100 - but it'll get you there.
The big advantage is the direct train from the airport (train station is right there) to Cambridge - around 2 trains an hour from early morning to late night, about $15 and 35 minutes to Cambridge.

Should have read that before I penned my advice!

Stanstead is a much better option. It's on the right side and direction of London, and halfway to Cambridge anyways. Into London that train takes you to Liverpool Street station.
WildBill
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by WildBill »

Howdy

You have gotten excellent advice on the planes and trains, so I won't chime in except to say that the train station is about a mile or so from the city center. May need a cab or Uber if you have a lot of luggage.

In Cambridge, if you do not have a student or faculty member friend who can smuggle you into the colleges, take a walking tour from the Tourist Info center. They are excellent. Take one that includes the Kings College Chapel.

You have to pay to get in to the Chapel anyway, and taking the tour includes that fee. The guides are all excellent.

If you like Szechuan food the Seven Days restaurant on Regent St is quite good.

Go to the Eagle pub and see the room where WWII U S and British pilots "decorated" the ceiling with lighters and candles, and hoist one in memory of their courage and sacrifice.


Have fun

WB
"Through chances various, through all vicissitudes, we make our way." Virgil, The Aeneid
feh
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by feh »

adamthesmythe wrote:The web says the station is Kings Cross and it is about an hour to Cambridge. You will have a great time.
Just took this train last summer. Easy peasy.
Topic Author
newstreetnj
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Re: Travel to Ireland and, hopefully, to Cambridge, England

Post by newstreetnj »

Many thanks to all of you! I feel a lot more secure in doing the Cambridge trip. We will take Ryan to Stanstead and then the Cam train. Bob
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