Great Western Coffee Shop

Rarely do we see post-journey reports using split tickets, so I thought I’d post an experience today.
Mrs pb_devon travelled from Chester to Plymouth. The through fare (with Senior Railcard) was £101.75. Single.
Having read the hints from others on here, I split this into Chester to Crewe; Crewe to Birmingham NS; BHM to Cheltenham; Cheltenham to Plymouth.
Result: £56.90. Almost half price!
All worked perfectly. No ticket checks apart from one south of Cheltenham (by which time the service was pear shaped so any train specific rules probably went out the window).
Very pleased, and thanks to the experts.

Not bad - if you wish to travel via Birmingham.

A through Single ticket from Chester to Plymouth via Hereford with a Senior Railcard is just £51.75 and has no time restrictions.

This post saved me doing the research  ;D

I did wonder about that option because, although it was once the main route for expresses between the west country and the north west, it does tend to get rather forgotten about these days.

I thought when I posted this that someone would see a challenge!!
Thanks.....our daughter is coming down in the summer - I will tip her off.

It comes down to convenience really for this particular journey. The journey via Hereford is roughly 30 minutes longer, but the benefits are that you avoid Birmingham and there are no Peak time restrictions.