Train Travel

Taking your bike?

Most trains are able to carry bicycles (but almost never tandems), sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee with advance reservation required. Visit www.atob.org.uk for details on which trains take bicycles.

London sightseeing

A trip to London isn't fulfilled unless you book a ticket on the Big Bus Company - you can jump on or off a London Bus to all the sights. A London Pass is also worthwhile for free entry to the all the main attractions.

A separate train ticket is needed to travel around the UK before connecting with Eurostar, but saver fares are available from most stations to connect to London International. These fares include a normal saver return ticket to London but include the Underground fare to Waterloo and they have no time restrictions - so you can travel during the Monday to Friday peak times. Tickets to London International are only available from ticket offices and you will need to show your Eurostar ticket or have your booking reference to hand.

London to the Isle of Man

Ferries and Seacats to the Isle of Man from Liverpool, Heysham, Belfast and Dublin are operated by The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Check times and book online by visiting www.steam-packet.com or call 0870 5 523 523.

London to the Channel Islands

Comfortable fast catamans are operated by Condor Ferries from Weymouth and Poole to Jersey and Guernsey or by ship from Portsmouth to Jersey and Guernsey. Train and Ferry fares are available from any train station in the UK to Jersey and Guernsey. Visit www.condorferries.co.uk for more details.

www.calmac.co.uk for details of ferries to Skye and the Hebrides - Caledonian MacBrayne. For ferries to Orkney and the Shetland Islands (Scrabster-Stromness and Aberdeen-Lerwick), visit www.northlinkferries.co.uk. Ferries to the Isle of Wight can be booked on www.wightlink.co.uk for Portsmouth-Ryde and Lymington-Yarmouth, www.redfunnel.co.uk for Southampton-Cowes, www.hovertravel.co.uk for hovercraft Portsmouth-Ryde.

Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for information on :

* details of running times and disruptions.

* general information for travelling in the UK

* other websites for tickets.

* travel assistance, telesales, customer services and telephone numbers.

A live departure board is available on www.nationalrail.co.uk/ldb/ - enter the name of your station and it will show the departures for the next hour or so and if they are on time or not.

Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk and search for 'maps'. London, SouthEast and several regional area maps are also available. An excellent map of the rail network in the UK & Ireland, if avialable from Thomas Cook which shows scenic routes, ferry routes and places of interest.

www.LondonTransport.co.uk is the best place to visit for London Underground, bus, Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink and other London transport information. www.TheTube.com for London Underground information. www.traintaxi.co.uk is a great place for taxi firms local to each UK railway station.

Local bus times information can be found at www.traveline.org.uk, or call Traveline on 0870 608 2 608. Also check out www.transportdirect.co.uk with information designed to give train, bus, road and air details for any journey within the UK.