What’s faster? Watch us race from London to Edinburgh by plane and train
In our latest YouTube video, we follow in the footsteps of our previous races to European capitals Amsterdam and Paris — this time racing from the capital of England to the capital of Scotland, pitting train against plane between London and Edinburgh.
We start both our journeys from the Tower of London. Liam took the London Underground to Kings Cross, connecting to a London North Eastern Railway service to Edinburgh Waverley before making the dash up Castle Rock to the race finish point, Edinburgh Castle.
I jumped on the Tube from Tower Hill to Farringdon to connect to a Thameslink train up to Luton Airport Parkway. From here, there was a shuttle bus to navigate to the terminal, a flight to Edinburgh and a tram from the airport to the city center.
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You can watch the whole experience and find out who won on YouTube:
Nicky Kelvin — plane
We paid:
- EasyJet flight: 144 pounds (about $166).
- Thameslink, Tube and Luton shuttle bus: 28 pounds ($32).
- Edinburgh tram: 6.50 pounds ($8).
- Total: 178.50 pounds ($206).
This was by no means the cheapest way of getting to Edinburgh, especially as we traveled in the middle of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. However, because of the distance, a flight to Scotland was going to take some beating.
The easyJet flight left on time and arrived in Edinburgh early. The tram service was also a cheap and quick way to get right into the heart of the city from the airport.
The journey to Luton Airport Parkway from central London was quick and efficient, but a real downside to this experience is the shuttle to the airport terminal, which takes time, effort and money. Thankfully this could change in the future as a DART (direct air-rail transit) system is currently being built between the train station and the terminal — this can’t come soon enough.
Liam Spencer — train
We paid:
- LNER train: 84 pounds ($97).
- Tube: 2.50 pounds ($3).
- Total: 86.50 pounds ($100).
The entire journey couldn’t have been more efficient and easy. I arrived at the station just minutes before departure, and there were no delays during the four-hour trip.
After settling into my seat I was both surprised by and impressed with the order-to-your-seat food and drink service — my hot bacon roll arrived in under five minutes, which is pretty good.
On top of this, the train journey provided unrivaled views of the British countryside and there’s definitely something magical about the way it passes through multiple cities and towns en route to the final destination.
It wasn’t all positive, though. Despite booking my tickets well in advance I was not given a reserved seat for my journey, which was somewhat surprising.
Arguably this was partly my fault for not checking. However, the online booking process could make the seat selection process a lot clearer. With journeys this long you really do expect to get a reserved seat automatically.
Throughout the journey, the train was extremely busy and there were lots of children running around and screaming. I’ve had calmer travel experiences for sure.
Watch more: