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Deals Of The Week: London to Scotland, Mont St Michel, Paris on the cheap
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Your support makes all the difference.A TRAIN
You can sleep your way between London and Scotland for a bargain fare if you book online at www.scotrail.co.uk.
The Scottish train operator runs sleeper services between Euston and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and Fort William. ScotRail offers internet-only "Bargain Berths" for as little as £19 each way; fares increase by increments of £10, in the same manner as the low-cost airlines.
A series of test bookings made for December show plenty of space, apart from the Christmas/New Year period, and even some cheap deals – at £39 each way – on Friday nights. Fares of £19 are mostly available if you book well in advance (up to about five weeks ahead), for midweek trains, though you can book up to noon on the day of departure.
It appears that availability is most limited, and fares highest, on the Fort William line – the only destination where ScotRail does not have competition from the no-frills airlines.
Your ticket comprises an e-mail that you have to print out and show on board the train.
A BOAT
Mont St Michel is likely finally to arrive on 17 December. The flagship of Brittany Ferries (08705 360 360, www.brittanyferries.co.uk) is set to start sailing between Portsmouth and Caen, enhancing standards of comfort on the company's premier route. She was originally due to enter service in July.
A PLANE
Celebrate the ending of the "Saturday night rule" that has been imposed by traditional airlines for decades, taking a cheap day return to Paris before Christmas from one of several UK airports. The chances of a good fare are best on a Saturday. Research conducted on Monday of this week found the following fares for travel to Charles de Gaulle airport and back on Saturday 14 December; they may be higher if you book through an agent rather than on the internet: British Airways (0845 77 333 77, www.ba.com) from Birmingham for £99; Flybe (08705 676 676, www.flybe.com) from Bristol for a hard-to-believe £418; BA from Edinburgh for £189; BMI (0870 60 70 555, www.flybmi.com) from Heathrow for £83; easyJet (0870 600 0000, www.easyJet.com) from Luton for £80; and BA from Manchester for £116. Some fares will increase steeply before departure.
A ROUND
A three-centre golf holiday around the Clyde is the latest innovation from Bill Tinto, the island-hopping wizard of Scotia Travel of Glasgow (0141-305 5050, www.scotiatravel.com). Four golfers who travel together can visit three courses – in Arran, Campbeltown and Islay – and play a total of 78 holes for a price of £499 each. This includes flights and ferry travel from and to Glasgow (which you could reach on ScotRail's "Bargain Berths", see above) and four nights of dinner, bed and breakfast in a hotel.
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