Travel from England & Wales to Scotland

Glasgow and Edinburgh are both served by frequent direct train services from London, and are easily reached from other main English towns and cities (though you may have to change trains en route).

LNER depart from London King's Cross and run up the east coast via Peterborough, York and Newcastle to Edinburgh, with some continuing on to Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness.

Avanti West Coast run up the west coast from London Euston via Crewe, Preston and Carlisle to Glasgow.

Lumo offer routes from London Euston to Stirling and London King's Cross to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Overnight sleeper services from London Euston also operate to a number of Scottish cities via the west coast route.

Services from other areas

There are a number of long-distance direct services to Scotland that begin from outside London:

Avanti West Coast runs services from Birmingham to Edinburgh or Glasgow. 

CrossCountry services link Cardiff, Paignton, Penzance, Bournemouth and Brighton with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, via Birmingham.

TransPennine Express operate direct services to Edinburgh and Glasgow from Manchester Airport via Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District and Carlisle.

Timetables and UK fare information

For all train times to Scotland and fares across the UK network, visit National Rail Enquiries.

For any other rail travel information including rail operators serving Scotland, visit Traveline Scotland.

Find out more about train travel in Scotland

Coach services to Scotland run on a similar path to the train routes - the journey time will be higher, but the cost may be lower. The frequency of service is often similar to that of the train.

Coach services to Scotland are operated by:

National Express, which runs routes to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

FlixBus operate daily services from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow. They also run domestic routes across Glasgow, Perth, Stirling and Aberdeen.

Megabus cover some routes including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth. On some overnight services, passengers have their own berth as well as a standard seat for greater comfort during their journey.

Coach routes and timetables are available on the Traveline website

Find out more about bus and coach travel in Scotland

The two main driving routes to Scotland from the south are via the east of England on the A1, or via the west using the M6, A74 (M) and M74.

The A1, which passes by Peterborough, Doncaster, Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, gives you the option of branching off onto the A68, which takes the hilly but scenic route over the border at Carter Bar and adds an hour or so to the journey time.

The M6 route, which goes around Birmingham, between Manchester and Liverpool and on to Carlisle, offers dual-carriageway driving the whole way.

As you travel into Scotland, look out for scenic driving routes that include plenty of great attractions to stop off at.

Find more about driving in Scotland

Travel information

Plan ahead - think about your route planning and get live traffic updates.

• Traffic Scotland
• Park and ride locations
• Find a petrol station
• Find an LPG station

You can fly to Scotland with airlines such as British Airways, EasyJet and Loganair from airports around London and other area hubs.

To find flights and fares to Scotland's major airports, search on comparison sites such as:

• SkyScanner
• Expedia
• Travel Supermarket
• Cheapflights

Find out more about flying to Scotland