A football fan facing a £400 train ticket to watch Doncaster Rovers got there for £33 by taking a tram, two trains and two flights - but it did take him 11 hours. Jack Peat, 36, tries to see his hometown team as often as possible since moving to London in 2012, and wanted to see them face Barrow AFC away.
Faced with a £389 on open return train ticket to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, he decided to look for alternatives. He managed to get there for £32.70 - but it involved a journey of many legs.
He got a tram from Beckenham Road to East Croydon for £2.50 at 6.45am yesterday morning (Tuesday), and a train from East Croydon to Gatwick Airport for £5.90 at 7.30am. He boarded a flight from Gatwick to Dublin for £10 at 9.30am and then took another from Dublin to Manchester for €9 (£7.80) at 1.50pm.
His mammoth 11-hour journey ended with a final train from Manchester Airport to Barrow for £6.50 at 3.30pm. His efforts were rewarded when the team found out and invited him into the dressing room for a pre-match team talk. Unfortunately, though, Doncaster lost the League Two game 2-0.
Editor and author Jack, who lives near Crystal Palace in London, said: "I really wanted to watch Doncaster Rovers play Barrow, but there was no way I was paying £389 to get there on the train. I planned an alternative route to highlight three things - my love for Doncaster Rovers, my eagerness to try the best pies in Britain, and how utterly absurd UK rail fares are.
"I've followed Doncaster all my life, but live down in London now, so I try my best to see them when I can. I particularly wanted to go to Barrow because I wax lyrical about it in my book - 'The Great Pie Revolt' - which I wrote based on local recommendations. The last stretch seemed to take absolutely forever, but it was a great day out and I managed to squeeze a few beers in before kick off."
Jack made it to Barrow-on-Furness two hours before kick-off. He ended his long journey with a few well-deserved beers and will be treating himself to a pie from Greens Bakers today (Wednesday).
Jack has elected to take an easier - but more expensive - trip home today, but still made a huge saving with the complicated route there.
He said: "I'm taking an easier trip home - this was just to prove a point that UK rail fares are extortionate. I got asked to do a team talk with the players, went into the dressing room and everything, it was nuts.
"Apparently they'd been following the journey online. I'd never met them before, so it was amazing. This might be the Guinness talking, but I love this club. The journey was definitely worth it - I don't follow them for the wins."
