Comments on: How to get from Oxford to Edinburgh: A saga http://outofcheese.org/2005/06/19/how-to-get-from-oxford-to-edinburgh-a-saga/ Redo from start.... Wed, 7 Jan 2009 10:55:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Jonathan Sanderson http://outofcheese.org/2005/06/19/how-to-get-from-oxford-to-edinburgh-a-saga/#comment-549 Jonathan Sanderson Thu, 28 Jul 2005 12:52:45 +0000 http://outofcheese.org/?p=642#comment-549 See, the mistake you made here was in doing something that is out of the ordinary so far as the system is concerned. And that's travelling North. One doesn't do this in Britain. It's more-or-less acceptable to return North, so long as one has previously travelled South, but travelling North for its own sake - that's almost suspicious. Possibly you could have fooled the system by travelling West to somewhere like Gloucester; a swift change there and Britain might have been so confused by your intentions as to leave you to travel in peace. Your plan to utterly baffle the system by initially travelling in almost exactly the wrong direction is, therefore, a good one. though not, one suspects, optimal. See, the mistake you made here was in doing something that is out of the ordinary so far as the system is concerned. And that’s travelling North. One doesn’t do this in Britain. It’s more-or-less acceptable to return North, so long as one has previously travelled South, but travelling North for its own sake - that’s almost suspicious. Possibly you could have fooled the system by travelling West to somewhere like Gloucester; a swift change there and Britain might have been so confused by your intentions as to leave you to travel in peace.

Your plan to utterly baffle the system by initially travelling in almost exactly the wrong direction is, therefore, a good one. though not, one suspects, optimal.

]]> By: Diggory Laycock http://outofcheese.org/2005/06/19/how-to-get-from-oxford-to-edinburgh-a-saga/#comment-548 Diggory Laycock Fri, 24 Jun 2005 11:54:26 +0000 http://outofcheese.org/?p=642#comment-548 You can't trust any web interface to a large public institution in the UK - I hate to even imagine how antiquated the rail booking IT system is. Most public IT systems in the UK are terrible. Oxford is a bit of an odd station - much more out of the way (rail-line wise) that you would think - the bus is much quicker, more direct (and cheaper) for getting to London from Oxford. The west-coast Train line (King's Cross to Edinburgh) is a good, quick line - and the trains run every hour or so - shouldn't really need to book - unless it's friday afternoon. You can’t trust any web interface to a large public institution in the UK - I hate to even imagine how antiquated the rail booking IT system is. Most public IT systems in the UK are terrible.

Oxford is a bit of an odd station - much more out of the way (rail-line wise) that you would think - the bus is much quicker, more direct (and cheaper) for getting to London from Oxford.

The west-coast Train line (King’s Cross to Edinburgh) is a good, quick line - and the trains run every hour or so - shouldn’t really need to book - unless it’s friday afternoon.

]]> By: Eric http://outofcheese.org/2005/06/19/how-to-get-from-oxford-to-edinburgh-a-saga/#comment-547 Eric Sun, 19 Jun 2005 19:40:51 +0000 http://outofcheese.org/?p=642#comment-547 Ah, but that'd involve changing trains, and I've been told by just about everyone who's used the British train system that train changes are best avoided because the trains often don't run on schedule. I have more confidence on the bus and tube running on schedule on a Sunday morning than the train. Ah, but that’d involve changing trains, and I’ve been told by just about everyone who’s used the British train system that train changes are best avoided because the trains often don’t run on schedule. I have more confidence on the bus and tube running on schedule on a Sunday morning than the train.

]]> By: Daniel Jalkut http://outofcheese.org/2005/06/19/how-to-get-from-oxford-to-edinburgh-a-saga/#comment-546 Daniel Jalkut Sun, 19 Jun 2005 16:54:24 +0000 http://outofcheese.org/?p=642#comment-546 What a fiasco! My only question is, wouldn't it be faster to get from Oxford to London by train, as part of you're crazy Oxford->London->Tube->Train->Edinburgh plan? What a fiasco! My only question is, wouldn’t it be faster to get from Oxford to London by train, as part of you’re crazy Oxford->London->Tube->Train->Edinburgh plan?

]]> By: Buzz Andersen http://outofcheese.org/2005/06/19/how-to-get-from-oxford-to-edinburgh-a-saga/#comment-545 Buzz Andersen Sun, 19 Jun 2005 16:29:03 +0000 http://outofcheese.org/?p=642#comment-545 The British Rail system is a disaster, that's for sure. When I had to get from London to Edinburgh a few years ago, I pretty much gave up on the whole idea of taking the train and just drove it. The British Rail system is a disaster, that’s for sure. When I had to get from London to Edinburgh a few years ago, I pretty much gave up on the whole idea of taking the train and just drove it.

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