Day -68 - Trains!

This weekend I decided to be organised and book all my train travel within the UK now so I could take advantage of any cheap, advance purchase deals.  I arrive in London on a Saturday morning and begin my first hike in the Lake District on the following Monday.  That leaves me all day Saturday to buy replacement gear if my bags decide not to go on holiday with me and all day Sunday to travel to the Lake District.  There are 5 trains on a Sunday, each taking about 4 1/2 hours.  All very straightforward, right?

Wrong.  They may, or may not, be doing track works on the main west coast rail line that Sunday.  They haven't decided yet and there is no information about when they will make up their minds.  Currently it is impossible to buy a train ticket from London to anywhere on England's west coast.

As far as I could work out there are only two options for getting to Ambleside on that particular Sunday.  

1. Coach/bus at the crack of dawn from London to Lancaster (a mere 7 hour journey) followed by another 2 hour bus ride to Ambleside.  With the added advantage of an exciting 25 minute connection time between the two.
2. Train from London (at a civilised hour) to Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales - just a 5 hour journey.  This town is only 50km or so from Ambleside.  It was the closest town I could find on a working train line.  From here it will be a ludicrously expensive (100 GBP!), 1 hour taxi ride to Ambleside. 

I've decided my comfort and peace of mind is well worth the money and have selected Option 2.