London Theatre Breaks and Yorkshire People certainly do travel from all over the UK to visit London, and I’m writing today particularly about London theatre breaks from Yorkshire. Now wherever you come from, the main attractions of London theatre breaks are
both to see the biggest and best productions on stage and to enjoy everything else London has to offer. The enormous choice of hotels, restaurants, clubs and bars, galleries, shops and museums for example, and the sights, bright lights and skyline are all there to be discovered. Some of these can be enjoyed individually just as much so in other major UK cities perhaps like Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Birmingham or Cardiff but London has absolutely everything, all in one city. Of course there are some people who avoid the capital at all costs, for fear that a London break could wind up more expensive than expected and for the unwary there well may be one or two situations best steered well clear of, but people from Yorkshire know how to avoid the traps and have a good time! They book everything beforehand so its all paid for fair and square in advance. 1 hour 44 mins from YORK, 2 hours 08 minutes from LEEDS Yorkshire people are the envy of many further South and West who live geographically closer but further away from London in terms of journey times. The region enjoys excellent rail links. Leeds is linked to London twice an hour on weekdays with best journey times of only 2hrs 8mins, while the fastest journeys from York take only 1hr 44mins thanks to the fast electric East Coast line from Edinburgh. Where do Yorkshire people on London Theatre Breaks come from? All the Yorkshire people, where do they all come from? - to misquote Lennon and McCartney Well the reason why there are so many Yorkshire folk out and about is because it’s a huge place with so many large population centres, all of which have railway stations. No other county, well it’s more like a region or three counties really, has a list of towns and cities like Yorkshire: Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Hull, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Halifax, Scarborough, Grimsby, Whitby, Saltaire, Wakefield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley to name but a few. The smaller towns and villages are also well represented, and often connect up conveniently for travel out to other places. Why travel to London for great theatre Yorkshire is a grand cultural centre itself, with a great theatrical tradition so the appreciation of musical theatre and plays is widespread through the generations. The opportunity to see something live on stage is never far away with famous theatres in Yorkshire including the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre, Bradford Alhambra, Leeds Grand Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Hull Truck Theatre, Theatre Royal Wakefield and the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond. So there is always something on nearby, but this only whets the appetite for more! The thing that’s special about London theatre is that there’s always a great selection of shows on at any time with several of your very best favourites to choose from, or the latest new hit. The top names will be in them too, and the old theatre buildings in the West End are historical monuments in their own right, which only adds to the magic. Favourite Musicals for Yorkshire Theatre Breaks to London This list of shows that people from Yorkshire have enjoyed is just for fun really, it takes all sorts and anybody can choose whatever they’d like to see most, but certain musicals do turn out to be even more popular than others:
From Doncaster and Scunthorpe Dirty Dancing is top of the pops, but Leeds trains are carrying more Joseph and Jersey Boys fans.
Oliver and Mamma Mia are frequent destinations from York
along with Grease from Wakefield, Les Miserables from Sheffield and Chicago from Harrogate.
Interestingly, London Theatre Breaks passengers already on the train passing through Yorkshire from Darlington are more likely to be bound for Billy Elliot, but I’ve no idea what that means! Travel from Yorkshire to London for theatre breaks One of Yorkshire’s undoubted selling points is its excellent public transport infrastructure. If you take a coach then you have to take your chance with the traffic jams and roadworks on the motorways, the M1 and M62. But the region also enjoys excellent rail links. Leeds is linked to London twice an hour on weekdays with best journey times of only 2hrs 8mins, while the fastest journeys from York take only 1hr 44mins. Faster Timetable to London A new train timetable for this year means that Sheffield has two new ‘named’ London services: The Sheffield Continental & The South Yorkshireman. These are new, faster services to London.
And there’s even more coming this summer. New trains will soon run between London and Bradford Interchange, Halifax, Brighouse, Wakefield Kirkgate and Pontefract since a decision made in January that made Grand Northern the big winners from a four-way fight to run new services on the East Coast main line. This is great news for West Yorkshire. Passengers travelling to London from West Yorkshire will be able to make a direct journey from Brighouse, no longer having to go via Leeds, thanks to the new direct rail service. Three Grand Northern trains a day will be running directly to London King’s Cross from Bradford, Halifax and Brighouse via Wakefield Kirkgate by the same company which runs Grand Central trains from Sunderland to London. There are also plans to extend the main line services on to Harrogate, Lincoln and Bradford Foster Square. Frequent rail services from Yorkshire to London Theatre Breaks
The half-hourly service from Leeds to London is currently very important for travel from Yorkshire, but all major towns are served by relatively fast and frequent train services . From Hull, York or Leeds you arrive at Kings Cross Station and from Sheffield at St Pancras Station. All major Yorkshire towns are connected to London in between just under 2 hours to about and 2 hours and 20 minutes into central London. National Express East Coast runs trains to London Kings Cross station from Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford, York and Northallerton. Trains run frequently from all of the above stations, a bit less often from Bradford. Further east, Hull Trains run 6 trains a day, Monday to Friday to London Kings Cross from Doncaster, Selby, Hoden, Brough and Hull. East Midlands Trains run an hourly service to London St Pancras, the new international Eurostar Station, from Sheffield. But wherever you’re coming from try not to arrange a train back from London leaving between 4.00pm and 7.00pm on a weekday because these are busy commuter trains usually very full which can make the journey less comfortable unless you upgrade to first class, which can be surprisingly good value by the way, as part of a push-the boat-out-a-bit luxury theatre break to London. Unfortunately for those in Kirklees , the new West Yorkshire service wont be stopping in Mirfield or Dewsbury which would have helped ease the congestion of passengers at Leeds station, but some people from Kirklees can get to Brighouse easily rather than travel to Leeds or Wakefield where parking can be trickier, and the last thing you want to worry about when you’re down in London is whether the car is OK where you left it. Future plans for Yorkshire transport to London In the slightly more distant future, brand new faster trains, not built yet, will be running on the East Coast Line through Doncaster replacing the Intercity 125 diesel and Intercity 225 electric fleets that British Rail bought in the 1970s and 1980s. These will be three times more reliable than the existing stock, will be 15% more fuel-efficient and have up to 100 extra seats per set, reducing overcrowding. They are due to be introduced on the East Coast Main Line, between London and Scotland via Doncaster, in 2013. The rest will be rolled out over the next five years.The electrification of the Midland Mainline between Sheffield and London, which will bring faster trains, is also still on the agenda with a proposed 200mph line between Heathrow Airport and the West Midlands to the north. Options include splitting the line at Rugby, sending one branch through the heart of Yorkshire and the other to Manchester. Just as French railways have seriously connected their centres of population together, so might Sheffield and Leeds eventually get organised in conjunction with Nottingham and Derby. Theatre Breaks Well I seem to have got slightly engrossed in the topic of Yorkshire railways present and future, if you’re still reading all the way down to here, but it’s all of direct relevance when planning a theatre break. Arriving in a mental state of pleasant expectation is always going to get the London theatre experience off to a good start and it’s clear that from Yorkshire, the fast rail services are the way to go. You know which show you want to see, and where you’ll be staying, all booked up in advance so it’s great to know exactly when you’ll arrive and depart as well. Did you know you can also save up to 40% off the rail fares when booking in advance with London Theatre Breaks? This could leave some funds left over for a posh pre-theatre restaurant meal or a sightseeing tour in London as well.
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