On Saturday we planned a grand day out. Our diary was free of play dates and parties and we really wanted to go somewhere new. We live on the edge of West London and we’re so lucky to have the countryside on our doorstep. We decided to head over to High Wycombe for the day. We’ve passed through many times on our way to Hughenden Manor or Odds Park Farm but decided it was time to stop off and see what it had to offer.
My husband loves to drive but we were recently offered a Family and Friends Railcard which costs £30 so decided to travel by train. The kids were so excited to go by train and a Family and Friends Railcard gets you 1/3 off Standard Anytime, Off-Peak and Advance fares across the National Rail network. Up to four adults and four kids (aged 5 to 15) can travel on every journey so we booked our tickets online and were really pleased with the saving, which we decided to put towards lunch.
We hopped on the train from our local station. The journey to High Wycombe took 38 minutes but it’s amazing how much there was to see and do on the train. It’s been a while since our last train trip but the kids were really excited to sit on the train. I think it made a nice change that we could sit together, facing each other, and talk to each other. So much better than being in the car.
When we arrived in High Wycombe we loved being able to walk straight off the train and to the shopping area. There is a lovely high street with some beautiful old buildings. There are also modern shopping centres with all our favourite shops. I bought the kids their first Lush products as they were blown away with all the amazing concoctions on display and we even found a toy shop when they could spend their pocket money. We had lunch in our favourite Pizza Express before heading back to the train station after a lovely day out exploring somewhere new.
With a Family and Friends Railcard you could save an average of £131 over the course of the year (average saving is based on the average saving made by Family and Friends Railcard holders in 2016/17). We saved £14.40 on our journey using our Family and Friends Railcard and it’s amazing that by making a small investment in a Family and Friends Railcard we could make more savings on our train journeys. There’s a great Journey Planner tool where you can see how much you would save on a particular journey using your Railcards. You can also get 2FOR1 entry to many attractions, such as the London Eye, Tower of London and ZSL London Zoo when you use your railcard. So why not invest in one and entertain your kids over half term and holidays!
Disclosure – we were provided with a Family and Friends Railcard for the purpose of this post
We’ve just tried out the Family and Friends railcard and wish we’d bought one years and years ago. We live in Southern England but my wife’s a Scot and I’m sure we could have saved huge amounts travelling to see her family if we’d bought one sooner. Very informative post!
How yummy does that pizza look? Also looks like you all had an amazing day! x
That looks like a lovely day out. We usually travel by car but I think once my son is a little older and wants to interact and be stimulated during the journey (he just sleeps right now), then traveling by train would be good for us. It’s always good to know how to save a few pennies on it too.
I miss having my student railcard, it was so handy to have. I think it is an incredible saving that you can make if you qualify x
I love my railcard. We have a Two Together one and it’s saved us so much! Tx
I used to have a student railcard that I used constantly, so I’ll have to look into getting one of these for the family x
That sounds like such an amazing saving. I don’t use rail travel much but I’ll definitely keep this in mind. Oh and I couldn’t stop looking at that pizza!
Ami xxx
I’m glad that I read this, I think this railcard would be great for our family and save us some money on train journeys.
We love travelling by train (thanks to Thomas the Tank) thinking of getting a railcard next summer. That pizza looks delicious