The price of train travel across Great Britain  can shock visitors from the U.S. and Australia.  And charming old-school British train travel isn’t what it was. Fortunately there’s a handy way around if  you’re prepared to be flexible. Story – Holiday Goddess Handbag Guide Editor  Jessica Adams.

Last year I pre-paid for tickets from London to Dover, buying online from Australia. My idea was then to sail onto France from Dover, using the  bargainista ferry fares from Dover to Calais (around one-third the price of  Eurostar trains). I paid around $50-$60 (Australian/US) for my return train tickets to Dover, packed my bags and relaxed. My story on alternative  Britain-France travel for Holiday Goddess was underway! Then, when I reached London, my credit card went missing somewhere between a street market and my hotel.

The last thing on my mind was the little train trip from London to Dover, but when I arrived at London St. Pancras, I just assumed my second emergency credit card and passport would be enough ID for me to collect my pre-paid return ticket from East Midlands Trains.

How wrong I was. The ticket machine was like something out of Little Britain (‘Computer says no.’) I then queued up, in patient British style, at the service counter, with my passport, the print-out booking confirmation in my hand, my second credit card and….Guess what? No ticket. No refund either. Instead, on top of the $50-$60 I had already paid, I now had to pay a further $70-$80 for the same trip. For a brand new ticket.

And oh yes. I missed my train and my  ferry connection to France while I was standing in the queue. The woman who served me, was apologetic and frustrated that she didn’t have the authority to okay a new ticket. But she didn’t. And I lost out.

The train company responsible for this eye-watering service is East Midlands Trains.  Remember that company if you ever want to book online with a credit card – and that card is lost or stolen. Because your passport, spare credit card and booking confirmation print-out will apparently not be enough.

There is a happy ending to this story, though. (And I won’t mention the effrontery of being asked to pay a further fee to have an East Midlands staff member pursue my complaint online).  By the time East Midlands Trains had finished with me, my London-Dover experience had cost more than the hotel room. So much for my story on ‘bargain’ British-France train and ferry travel.

The happy ending, though,  is Viva Street, which I would never have discovered without this experience.

Friends in London told me to check Viva Street  immediately just in case there were other people who had tickets for London-Dover that day, willing to resell them at a last-minute, bargain price because their plans had changed. Well…I didn’t get lucky. But I did discover London-Leicester return tickets for around half price with…you guessed it, East Midlands Trains. The seller was thrilled to have at least some of her money back. And I enjoyed knowing that from that point on, I knew how to work the system.

If you have a flexible travel schedule (of course you do, you’re a Holiday Goddess) and you are happy to try the lucky-dip approach to British train travel, Viva Street can save you a fortune – and you will be saving someone else at least part of a train fare they just thought they lost.

London to Edinburgh for six people near Christmas, with a buffet service, was around AUD/US $300 when I checked on Viva Street this week. That’s about $50 per person, one of the wildest bargains in the country for you and five friends. Vive Viva Street!  Tweet us @holidaygoddess