What would be the cheapest and most convenient way to make a daytrip of sorts from London to Manchester or Birmingham? I can’t figure out how the British national rail site works to get a price check, and I don’t have a printed timetable to look at—I’m trying to figure this out online at present. I’m also checking into flights for London-Manchester, but I’m trying to avoid Stansted cuz it would be more expensive than it’s worth to get there, and other than BMI, I’m not sure what airlines fly that route. Taking a coach is a possibility as well, but I think we’d rather not because of time constraints. We’re thinking about buying concert tickets, but we’re trying to figure out how much it would cost us total before we make the commitment. Staying overnight in Manchester is a possibility, but it wouldn’t be for Birmingham because we’d have classes the next morning.

Sorry about all the questions that I’d normally find the answers to on my own. I just need to find all this out asap becore the tickets are sold out. Thanks!!