Sanity Check - TransWilts to Cheltenham Spa

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Anytime day return - Trowbridge to Cheltenham Spa - 22.30
valid via Melksham

Anytime day return - Melksham to Cheltenham Spa - 24.10
not valid via Trowbridge?

Is the longer journey really cheaper?  And A Melksham to Cheltenham Spa season ticket looks cheaper that a Trowbridge one.  I may be doing the journey for 4 days, so a season would also give me weekend TransWilts travel?

If I want to travel from Melksham on the 06:38 (Change Trowbridge and Bristol Temple Meads) and return on the direct train at 17:39 (yes, I understand the irony that I'm using the trains that have been with us for years!) which ticket should I buy?

Edit to add Trowbridge pricing which I somehow failed to include in my copy/paste!

[JayMac]

New improved (hah!) Routeing Guide doesn't appear to allow Melksham to Cheltenham Spa via Trowbridge.

Split ticketing would appear to be the only option at the moment.

[Trowres]

If we believe the National Rail website is the definitive routeing guide:

Melksham-Birmingham IS valid via Trowbridge
Trowbridge-Birmingham IS NOT valid via Swindon/Cheltenham
Trowbridge-Cheltenham IS valid via Swindon.

I would like to start a little project collating routeing guide anomalies. Anyone interested?

[grahame]

I've gone back and added the Trowbridge - Cheltenham Spa price line which got left off my copy / paste on the original posting - make the whole thing look even odder.   Thanks for the responses thus far; I'll be making a quick decision on how to 'do' the week when I get back to the office at lunchtime today (writing this from somewhere between Hoek and Harwich!)

[ellendune]

Since the Trowbridge Cheltenham fare is valid from Melksham would the rules require a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to sell Melksham Cheltenham travellers the cheaper far from Trowbridge? Or is it just the cheapest fare from that station.