Britrail +Ireland--- confused

[Kitten0509]

I am thinking of buying the Britrail pass +Ireland as I plan to travel in London, Ireland, and Scotland. I am totally confused as to how this works.

1. How do I know if my travel will include a train change? I cannot seem to find any information regarding rail lines and where and when I may need to make a train change...

2. I have been told that I do not need to reserve a seat because 95% of the time, there is a seat available (I'll be travelling standard class)... for those who have traveled on rail lines through the UK- is this accurate?

3. Here's an idea of what I'm planning (although I am in the beginning stages)
- Take train from London to Hollyhead, ferry to Dublin.
- Take bus tour in Ireland, return to Dublin for ST. Patricks Day... take train to Larrie, ferry to Stranraer...
- Explore where I want around that part of Scotland
- Take train to Edinburgh
- Take bus tour from and returning to Edinburgh
- Take final train to London

How do I know how long each train ride is and whether or not it will count as more than one day on my pass? My plan is to get the 5 days in a month pass, and just use it to get here to there... Also, I cannot see a train line from Stranraer to Edinburgh... how do I find this information?

It seems as though London must be my starting point for either Scotland or Ireland... that I cannot tavel through Scotland by train...

See, I'm confused!

[MuvverRussia]

Most of the time you'll be OK without a seat reservation, as long as you avoid peak trains in and out of London.

A good site for UK trains is www.thetrainline.com - that allows you to search by destination for the best trains etc.

Also, looking at your itenery I'm not too sure if all those places are linked by the UK railway network- as well as this, train travel in the UK can take a disproportionate amount of time compared to the distance covered, it's worth remembering that.

As well as this, if you can try and avoid Virgin trains (I can guarantee that you wont be able to though...) as they're pretty bad for keeping to schedule, especially from London.

[nitsansh]

It doesn't seem to make sense to use a pass for your itinerary, if you're going by bus in Ireland and Scotland.

[no1riggie]

To get from Stranraer to Edinburgh is OK. You need to get a train from Stranraer to Glasgow Central. Change stations in Glasgow (it's only about a 5 minute walk!). Then get a train from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh.

Not so sure about Stranraer being a good base for exploration - it's a bit remote - why not try further up the coast in Ayr.

Hope this helps

anne