How to get from North Wales to Cambridge?

How to get from North Wales to Cambridge? - Green Trees Under Blue and Orange Sky during Sunset

I'm looking for a fast way of getting from North Wales (30-40km radius from Dolgellau) to Cambridge on a Sunday evening by public transport. I found a train that takes 6h, with a change in Birmingham and London. Is there a quicker way?



Best Answer

The only rail routes out of that area are either the Cambrian Line train from Machynlleth to Birmingham or the Conwy Valley line from Blaenau-Ffestiniog to Llandudno. Blaenau-Ffestiniog and Machynlleth are both similar drives / bus journeys from Dolgellau. The actual closest station is Morfa Mawddach, but it's a long, slow ride from there to Machynlleth, and you can save a lot of time by driving a little further to Machynlleth and cutting the corner (of course, if you were walking, walk to Morfa!).

At times when there's a direct train from Llandudno Junction to London and a reasonable connection at Llandudno Junction from the Conwy Valley, you can make Blaenau to Cambridge in about five hours, which is about hour quicker than any train from Machynlleth will get you there.

Unfortunately, there aren't any trains on the Conwy Valley Line on Sundays (at all; it only operates six days a week), so you'll need to go to Machynlleth. The last train is the 18:05, and takes 7h24 to arrive at 01:29 (mostly as a result of hanging around an hour in Wolverhampton); the 16:05 can make it in 5h50, ie by 21:55

If you're prepared for a longer drive, then your best option is definitely Llandudno Junction; the last train leaves at 18:24 on a Sunday, and should get you to Cambridge around midnight; the 17:25 is about 30 minutes faster because of a better change in Chester rather than Crewe.

ETA: One small bit of advice: if you get an advance ticket, consider getting an advance to London and buying a flexible ticket London-Cambridge, rather than an advance all the way. You can almost certainly walk from Euston to King's Cross faster than National Rail thinks you can, and with a flexible ticket you can just hop on the next train to Cambridge rather than having to wait for the specific one you're booked onto. London-Cambridge is £16.40 on an super-off-peak day single, which would be available for Sunday evenings - and the Machynlleth-Cambridge advance is usually going to be five or six pounds more than Machynlleth-London, so the extra flexibility shouldn't cost more than a tenner.




Pictures about "How to get from North Wales to Cambridge?"

How to get from North Wales to Cambridge? - Crop anonymous child getting brown stones from white container at home
How to get from North Wales to Cambridge? - Top view of textured background representing frozen water splatter with irregular surface in cold weather
How to get from North Wales to Cambridge? - Low angle scenery view of bright green northern lights illuminating mountain silhouette and starry sky in evening



How far is Llandudno from Cambridge?

It takes an average of 8h 35m to travel from Cambridge to Llandudno by train, over a distance of around 183 miles (295 km).

How long is it from Cambridge to Wales?

It takes an average of 4h 50m to travel from Cambridge to Cardiff Central by train, over a distance of around 150 miles (241 km)....Cambridge to Cardiff Central by train.Journey timeFrom 3h 41mDistance150 miles (241 km)Frequency20 trains per dayFirst train04:15Last train21:025 more rows

Is there a train from England to Wales?

Is there a direct train between England and Wales? No, there is no direct train from England station to Wales. However, there are services departing from Charing Cross station and arriving at Cardiff Central via London Paddington. The journey, including transfers, takes approximately 2h 35m.

Is there a train from London to Wales?

There are no direct trains from London to Wales, meaning that passengers will need to make at least one connection along the route, at destinations such as Sheffield or Retford. Still, trains leave nearly every hour, giving passengers flexibility when planning their travel.



5 Tips for Using Trains in England! 🚂




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Lisa, Tatiana Syrikova, Maksim Romashkin, Bernd Feurich