The idea came when I saw a man share his ridiculously priced train ticket on Reddit. I felt his pain because I had wanted to book that same journey to see a friend and colleague. It gave me an idea to try something different.

I found the car on Gumtree. The lady I bought it from, Sutinder, was basically selling it for scrap. It’s a very old car, 1997 Honda Civic, but the MOT was fine. Plus, the engine was small enough that I could get the cheapest road tax: a minimum of six months for £81.38.

The total cost was £206.81. Less than just one train ticket. And I still have a car at the end of it!

Yes, it is still expensive. The point is to show how mad train ticket prices are. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box to save money.