In March, business will take me to meetings in London and Bradford. I have to make a single round trip between the two cities.
Is taking the train my best option? I note that BMI has flights between London and Leeds that take only an hour, compared to about three hours for the train, and cost slightly less than the train. But then I’d have to get from Leeds to Bradford, and I’m guessing that bus or shuttle or taxi would add enough expense, time, and trouble (to say nothing of the hassle of airport security) to make it roughly equivalent on all counts.
Am I right? Are there other options? What would hiring a car and driving be like? (I’d probably make both trips after evening rush hour.) I drove a RHD stick shift car in Australia about 15 years ago, and it was a blast.
Thanks.
My opinion is that train would be best. By the time you get to the London airport and are subjected to the tedious farce that passes for “security” and so on, you’d probably find the train is as quick.
If you’d enjoy driving (and don’t mind spending time in London traffic) then by all means go for it, but I’d say that it would certainly be the slowest way to go.
I have only a passing familiarity with the Leeds/Bradford area - someone else who know more might have a different opinion, of course.
The train is surely the best option, unless you happen to be based near Heathrow in the first place. Trekking out there for a flight, and likely a taxi in from Leeds Bradford (which as the name indicates is nonetheless actually halfway between the two cities), will almost certainly take longer than the train.
Driving would probably take longer, and navigating your way out of London and into Bradford would be interesting, to say the least. And the M1 is no pleasant drive.
Edit: and it would be easy to underestimate the duration of the rush hour, too!
Thanks, that’s what I thought.
Off to buy a BritRail pass.
I heard it lasts from 2am to 3am.
Oops, that’s “non-rush-hour”, never mind. 