Thanks for the detailed reply. Indeed you are correct, simply changing the destination to one station either way as you suggest prevents off-peak return being offered as an option. That^s obviously a mistake.

Looking ahead to next time I need to make this trip - a couple of weeks away - without that off-peak ticket it^s possible to do it almost as cheaply using Advance tickets. Or if I swap the half day off work from the thursday evening to the tuesday morning - which is what I was previously doing - I can go super off-peak, or even do the advance tickets option and get the cost down to as little as ^50.50 return (off peak standard class return is ^83.50). Super off peak would also be valid* at those times, for ^66.50.

Thanks again,

Simon

* Maybe.

Hello,

First post here. I have had validity of off-peak return Cambridge to Yatton challenged when returning to Cambridge using a reservation which is shown as valid by all the ticketing websites I have tried (trainline.com, fgw^s own site, and East Coast - I book with them as I can reserve my bike at the same time using their website) , arriving Cambridge at 10.30am or so. The return journey in question is 06:37 from Yatton arriving at Paddington 08:44 (clearly in a peak period), crossing London to Kings Cross, depart 09:45 arriving at Cambridge 10:32. Interestingly, the reverse journey, using identical travel times, is not offered as an Off Peak Return. Only advance or anytime are then possible.

Probably not relevant, but the out journey was Cambridge 13:45->King^s Cross, then 15:30 Paddington -> Yatton arriving 17:34. All were weekday travel.

Are the websites all getting it wrong? AIUI^▸ ('as I understand it'), restriction YC applies on the return (which says it^s peak travel on the return). However I noticed some information about journeys starting inside or outside the network area and ending inside it, travelling through London, when I looked on brfares.com. The language was a bit unclear to me and I can^t currently see why the off peak should be valid.  I experimented with changing the destination from Yatton to for example Rugby and the same thing happens: an early return is classed as off-peak.

Any advice on what might be going on?

Thanks,

Simon