Money saving tips...

1.  Book in advance.  Many advance purchase fares are available.  These are the cheapest tickets.  Although most will allow booking up to 48 hours before travel or even by 1800 the day before travel, many have different price bands from lowest to highest.  So when the cheapest fares sell out they move on to a higher band and so on.  Therefore the earlier you can buy the better...in theory.  However rail companies are managing demand.  Sometimes the fare starts off a little higher, then drops if there isn't demand before rising again.  Keep in mind that the cheapest fares are only ever offered if the train is not busy.  If its busy they simply charge higher fares and you won't get the cheap ticket no matter when you book or what train you take! 

2.  Consider using more than one ticket!  In certain situations is may be cheaper to buy to tickets rather than one.  As we said, the rail companies won't like this!  For example some routes will only have a standard return.  By 'splitting' your journey in two and taking two cheap day returns some impressive savings may be made.  You can also do this with advance fares but if the first train is late, you have lost your ticket for the connection.  Depending on the saving and if you don't mind the risk it can be an option.  Another possibility, is to buy say a cheap day return for one part of your journey and an advance fare for another.  Advance fares are often only available on major routes so rather than buy a very expensive ticket from your departure point to your destination, buy an advance fare to the nearest big town and then a local ticket.   

3.  Don't buy right away if advance fares are not available.  If the only tickets on offer are full fare, anytime tickets, you might as well wait and see if advance fares become available.  The fare won't sell out, and it can only get cheaper, and won't go up in price.  This summer I saved more than 50% buy not buying the anytime ticket offered and waiting until an advance fare became availalbe.  Of course had nothing cheaper come up, I could still have bought the anytime ticket at any time!

4.  Travel in a group.  There are many types of group fare for up to 4 adults available.  These tickets offer huge savings over 3 or 4 individual tickets and are priced to be competitive with the cost of using a car to transport a similar number. 

5.  Don't forget Railcards!  These offer great savings for Seniors, Young People, Students and Families.  You can purchase them at any staffed railway station.  Find out more about Railcards here. 

6.   What about not using all my ticket?  It is possible, for example, buy an advance fare to the end of the line but get off a few stops early.  However keep in mind that rail companies don't like this, its not within the rules, and train companies are handing out penalty fares if you are caught.  With the growth of ticket barriers it is more likely that you will find yourself with a ticket that is not valid too.  However, you might still be able to benefit.  Lets say you are travelling to a station with no advance fare, but the next station does have one.  It might still be worth taking the whole trip and coming back to the first station on another train with a local ticket, provided you've got the time.