Southampton - Portsmouth Harbour - Gatwick

Thinking of taking the train from Southampton to Portsmouth Harbour station then hang out at Historic Dockyard for a few hours then continue on to Gatwick via train. Do I buy two separate tickets for the train? Looks like the Southwest train tickets can be used at anytime during that day? Is there a place for us to store our luggage at the station or at the dockyard? This would be on Jul 30/16 a Saturday.

The Historic Dockyard website says "Luggage cannot be left unattended anywhere on the Historic Dockyard site as we are part of a working military base. If you have luggage that you cannot carry with you, there is a small shop on The Hard called "Victory News" just outside the Dockyard gates that will hold luggage for you."

I cannot find out much about this place except that it is a small shop with a cheap B&B attached.

Maybe a good idea to contact the Dockyard for more information

http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/site-attractions/plan-your-visit/faqs

There's definitely left-luggage facilities at Portsmouth International Port (cross-channel ferries & small cruise ships), though it's about 2 miles from the Historic Dockyard.

You can go direct to the International Port from Southampton by http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx coach - only an hourly service but bookable, approx. the same 45 minute journey time as the train but at under £5 it's less than half the price of the train.

Then a shuttle bus or taxi to the Historic Dockyard takes 10 to 15 minutes.

There's a taxi rank & buses 100 yards from the dockyard gate at Portsmouth Harbour (aka The Hard aka the travel interchange) to take you back to the International Port to retrieve your luggage.

Then bus or taxi either back to Portsmouth Harbour or to Portsmouth&Southsea station for the train to Gatwick - either hourly direct train or another hourly service with one simple change. Train takes about 1 hr 20, can cost as little as £5.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

JB :)

Do southern trains still have the daysave tickets?

Any ideas on the cost of a taxi from Southampton to Portsmouth Harbour?

Do southern trains still have the daysave tickets?

Depends on the journey, & sometimes the time of day.

Yes for Southampton to Portsmouth.

And time of day makes no difference.

The direct service operator (hourly service) is actually SouthWest Trains, there's also an approx. hourly service with one simple change at Fareham (SouthWest Trains & Southern). The ticket provider for both services is SouthWest Trains, but that's irrelevant to you - you can just buy at the station ticket office.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

A one-way ticket costs £10.40, a same-day return ticket costs £11.00.

Any ideas on the cost of a taxi from Southampton to Portsmouth Harbour?

http://westquaycars.com/get-a-quote give a guide of £40 pre-booked.

Uber (yes, they've now invaded Southampton ;)) quote the range £32 to £43.

Or get a figure from http://www.smithsforairports.com

Don't simply take an un-booked cab from the stand, or hail one in the street - they're OK for short hops but expensive for city-to-city.

JB :)

daysave was(is) an unlimited allday ticket not a day return.

Handy if you wanted to split trips on the way to Gatwick

Seems they do(was on my phone before a pain to do some searches)

http://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/daysave/

Gone up a bit(sure it used to be £10) and the morning restriction may not make it worth while if trying for Portmouth early.

Thought I would try and help with these queries so took myself into Portsmouth today armed with the pen and paper, only 10 miles away so no problem there.

According to train ticket office in Portsmouth train from Southampton to Gatwick via Portsmouth can be done on one ticket cost £15.30, add taxi from ship to Southampton cost as well. Your other choice is to get a taxi and I have a quote from Sunny taxi, we use these all the time, £40 from Southampton to Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth and leave you there. Pick you up at required time and take to Gatwick and that is £60, £100 total. If there are 4 passengers and you need an estate for extra room for luggage then that is another £5. If you can find more passengers there is an 8 seater £55 to Portsmouth and then £85 to Gatwick, £!40 in total so good if you can find some people to share with you. As to the suitcases I wanted to do the job properly so I went and found the place, it is not a newsagent any more and is a small café. Owner confirmed that they will take luggage in and it's £3 for each piece., don't know what day you are arriving but they are open every day. The place, it doesn't have a name at the moment, is next door to the Ship Anson pub. If you go by train make sure you get off at Portsmouth Harbour station it's the end of the line stop, the previous one is Portsmouth and Southsea and you don't want that one. Come out of the station get to the road and turn left, you can see the Dockyard gate. The suitcase drop off is on right hand side of road before you get to Dockyard, 3 minute walk. Hope this is of some use to you if I can help with anything else then just ask

Having nothing better to do today I decided to venture into Portsmouth, only 10 miles away, to see if I could find some answers to your questions and I found out the following. According to the ticket seller at the railway station you can buy just one ticket from Southampton to Gatwick via Portsmouth cost £15.30 plus taxi fare from ship to station. An alternative is a taxi, I have a quote from Sunny taxi which we use all the time for our cruises. They quote £40 for Southampton to Portsmouth Dockyard, leave you there and pick you up again at an agreed time to go to Gatwick price £60 so total of £100. If there are 4 of you and have a suitcase each then you have to request an estate car at extra cost of £5. If you can find 8 people to join you they do an 8 seater £55 to Portsmouth and then £85 to Gatwick total £140 so a much easier way. When you get to Portsmouth if by train make sure you get off at Portsmouth Harbour station, the last stop, not Portsmouth and Southsea. Come out of the station to the road and turn left you will be able to see the Dockyard gate about 3 mins walk away. For your other question regarding leaving your luggage I have the answer to that, between the train and the Dockyard gate on the right hand side of the road there is a small café. It was a newsagents called Victory News but is now a café and I have been there today and they are open 7 days a week and charge £3 for each piece of luggage left there. At the moment they do not have a name above the door but it's a café and is next door to a pub called Ship Anson. Hope this is of help to you, if I can help any more then please let me know

Sorry couldn't see my post and now there are two there, apologies to all

Having nothing better to do today I decided to venture into Portsmouth, only 10 miles away, to see if I could find some answers to your questions and I found out the following. According to the ticket seller at the railway station you can buy just one ticket from Southampton to Gatwick via Portsmouth cost £15.30 plus taxi fare from ship to station. An alternative is a taxi, I have a quote from Sunny taxi which we use all the time for our cruises. They quote £40 for Southampton to Portsmouth Dockyard, leave you there and pick you up again at an agreed time to go to Gatwick price £60 so total of £100. If there are 4 of you and have a suitcase each then you have to request an estate car at extra cost of £5. If you can find 8 people to join you they do an 8 seater £55 to Portsmouth and then £85 to Gatwick total £140 so a much easier way. When you get to Portsmouth if by train make sure you get off at Portsmouth Harbour station, the last stop, not Portsmouth and Southsea. Come out of the station to the road and turn left you will be able to see the Dockyard gate about 3 mins walk away. For your other question regarding leaving your luggage I have the answer to that, between the train and the Dockyard gate on the right hand side of the road there is a small café. It was a newsagents called Victory News but is now a café and I have been there today and they are open 7 days a week and charge £3 for each piece of luggage left there. At the moment they do not have a name above the door but it's a café and is next door to a pub called Ship Anson. Hope this is of help to you, if I can help any more then please let me know

Wow thanks for the info and going out of your way to help! Do I pre-purchase the train ticket or would I just buy it as a walk up? I can do the one train ticket even with getting on and off at Portsmouth Harbour Station? I see the Cafe to the right of the Ship Anson Pub on google maps:)

How do I book the 15.40 train fare?

How do I book the 15.40 train fare?

Any ideas on how I book this?

How do I book the 15.40 train fare?

Tried my best with dummy bookings on the operator's website. .

http://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/buying-tickets/

Journey is "FROM" - Southampton central (SOU)

Journey is "TO" - Gatwick airport (GTW)

Under that, click on "MORE OPTIONS", this will show a small drop-down

Leave the first box as "VIA" and in the box alongside it enter - Portsmouth harbour (PMH)

Below that, enter your outward journey date and your earliest possible time - say 8am.

Below that, ignore "return date & time".

Below that, enter number of passengers. Ignore railcard.

Then hit "buy rail tickets".

Trouble is I'm getting different results for different dates.

Did see the 09.13 on one date at £15.30.

Only available on the route via Barnham - that's OK, that's the coastal route you want.

But also says you can't break your journey. :rolleyes:

Also saw options which involve a change of train at Clapham Junction. That's a route which takes you near London & nowhere near Portsmouth :rolleyes:

At that point I gave up with the Southern Trains website.:eek:

...............................................................................

Switched to the national rail ticket website

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

for two separate journeys, SOU to PMH, and PMH to GTW.

Much more sensible.

Southampton central to Portsmouth harbour

£10.20 for anytime (most of the trains)

Several trains per hour, some direct & some involve one simple same-platform change at Fareham.

Portsmouth harbour to Gatwick

£5 to £8 but you must specify the train time.

Or £15.90 for anytime.

Two trains per hour - one per hour direct & one per hour involves one simple same-platform change at Havant.

So the full journey with flexible times will cost £26.10

The cheapie Portsmouth to Gatwick ticket clearly has to be bought in advance.

I don't know whether the £10.20 & £15.90 tickets are more expensive if bought on the day. Probably not a lot more expensive, but since they're flexible you might as well buy when you're sure that you want to visit Portsmouth on your way to Gatwick.

Life shouldn't be so complicated :D

JB :)

Tried my best with dummy bookings on the operator's website. .

http://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/buying-tickets/

Journey is "FROM" - Southampton central (SOU)

Journey is "TO" - Gatwick airport (GTW)

Under that, click on "MORE OPTIONS", this will show a small drop-down

Leave the first box as "VIA" and in the box alongside it enter - Portsmouth harbour (PMH)

Below that, enter your outward journey date and your earliest possible time - say 8am.

Below that, ignore "return date & time".

Below that, enter number of passengers. Ignore railcard.

Then hit "buy rail tickets".

 

Trouble is I'm getting different results for different dates.

Did see the 09.13 on one date at £15.30.

Only available on the route via Barnham - that's OK, that's the coastal route you want.

But also says you can't break your journey. :rolleyes:

 

Also saw options which involve a change of train at Clapham Junction. That's a route which takes you near London & nowhere near Portsmouth :rolleyes:

 

At that point I gave up with the Southern Trains website.:eek:

...............................................................................

Switched to the national rail ticket website

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

for two separate journeys, SOU to PMH, and PMH to GTW.

Much more sensible.

 

Southampton central to Portsmouth harbour

£10.20 for anytime (most of the trains)

Several trains per hour, some direct & some involve one simple same-platform change at Fareham.

 

Portsmouth harbour to Gatwick

£5 to £8 but you must specify the train time.

Or £15.90 for anytime.

Two trains per hour - one per hour direct & one per hour involves one simple same-platform change at Havant.

 

So the full journey with flexible times will cost £26.10

 

The cheapie Portsmouth to Gatwick ticket clearly has to be bought in advance.

I don't know whether the £10.20 & £15.90 tickets are more expensive if bought on the day. Probably not a lot more expensive, but since they're flexible you might as well buy when you're sure that you want to visit Portsmouth on your way to Gatwick.

 

Life shouldn't be so complicated :D

 

JB :)

Thank you very much for this information. Do you know if the "Off Peak DaySave ticket" would work in my situation? Would save me about 8 pounds pp. Thinking we would probably spend the whole day at the Dockyard if you think it would warrant a full day? Would like to go across to the submarine museum as well.

Don't forget to look out for the discounted annual all access season tickets that covers everything

cheaper than a PAYG on the day anyway unless you want to only see a couple of things.

looking at the web

http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/tickets-and-offers

1year all atractions £26.40 in advance.

there seems to be a train offer at £32 for two tickets

https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/portsmouth-historic-dockyard

(can't work out how to buy the voucher might be expired)

I have seen £33 for two via

buy a gift

virgin experience days

sometime there is a groupon offer

Anyone in the UK that has Tesco Clubcard points £7pp

probably others with a bit of searching

The Southern booking engine is simply horrible!

£15-30 is the Standard Off Peak Single (only valid after 9 am) for the routing via Portsmouth Harbour.

£15-90 is the Standard Anytime Single (can be used at any time).

As JB says the Southern website suggests you cannot break the journey (l.e leave the station at Portsmouth Harbour) - some Off Peaks do have limits on breaking journeys. But it suggests the same about Anytime tickets, which I think would be a breach of the national conditions, so I might be minded to trust the member of staff who said you could break!

Both fares are "walk up", i.e you can buy them up until departure of the train, so you would lose nothing by waiting to the day and checking with staff at Southampton if you can break the journey on the Off Peak.

As you've doubtless figured by now I'm not much help with train ticketing.:D

Off-peak will work for you, but saves only 60 pence over anytime.

I think "off-peak daysave" might just be for return tickets?

Perhaps the Eagle can help with that.

Can't figure Insidecabins's reference to a £32 train/dockyard ticket. :confused:

£32 is the dockyard walk-up admission price, and even on a promotion that's not going to include train tickets to places like Gatwick.

Yes, the dockyard , ships, etc are worth a full day and more - though the unlimited returns within 12 months won't be much use to you. :rolleyes:

You will save £5+ per ticket by buying all-attractions dockyard tickets in advance (the first website linked by insidecabin).

Ignore the "gift aid" section - that applies only to UK tax-payers.

Buying tickets for only selected attractions isn't a sensible option - the savings are minimal-to-nil and you'll probably choose the wrong attractions.

The Submarine Museum is in Gosport, on the other side of the harbour entrance.

You might decide to skip it due to your time constraints.

To reach the it you have a choice of the dockyard's waterbus (included in the all-attractions ticket) or take the little green cross-harbour ferry (£3.30 return fare) from outside the dockyard across to Gosport, then a 10 minute signed walk. Travel to & from, including waiting time, will cost you about an hour.

There are plenty of exhibits, but the main attraction is a tour of HMS Alliance - only by guided tour, they run every 10-15 minutes & take mebbe 25 to 30 minutes. On arrival, go to the reception desk in the main exhibit hall, book for the next available tour, & look around the exhibits until your tour time.

Gotta go lie down now - my head hurts :D

JB :)

Can't figure Insidecabins's reference to a £32 train/dockyard ticket. :confused:

When the train 2-4-1 promo is on, the Dockyard tickets are £16 each 2-4-£32, that's in addition to any train ticket.

It will be possible to get the tickets for £16ish each rather than the £26/£32ish via the official site.

When the train 2-4-1 promo is on, the Dockyard tickets are £16 each 2-4-£32, that's in addition to any train ticket.

 

It will be possible to get the tickets for £16ish each rather than the £26/£32ish via the official site.

Now we're getting somewhere :)

Pumped a few phrases from your post into google & came up with £32.95 for two - including free guidebook, and no need to tie in with train tickets. :)

https://www.buyagift.co.uk/days-out/portsmouth-historic-dockyard-annual-pass-for-two-special-offer-br-11833202.aspx

Haven't read the detail / terms etc.

And haven't hunted google for any other 2-4-1 type offers.

To repeat, life shouldn't have to be so complicated. :(

Too many booted-and-suited sales execs with nothing better to do than dream up complicated promos. :rolleyes:

Off to lie down again :D

JB :)

Bought the Historic Dockyard Tickets from Buyagift :) THanks for the link to the great deal!!!! Now to figure out these crazy trains:)

Great good value day out.

We keep meaning to add it on to one of our Southampton trips but seem to just drive down(2hr) and get on the ship or go somewhere else first.

post cruise we just go home.

Perhaps we should just go anyway.

Bought the Historic Dockyard Tickets from Buyagift :) THanks for the link to the great deal!!!! Now to figure out these crazy trains:)

I ended up just buying two separate tickets one from Southampton to Portsmouth and then buying one at Portsmouth to Gatwick.