ma and pa not as mobile as they used to be, but still determined to get around and see their friends all over the country. pops getting arthritis in his neck and shoulders, and theyre starting to fret about train travel, how theyd lift luggage up steps, over bridges etc at some stations.

theyve mentioned a couple of sites that seem to forward your luggage on to your destination for you, and asked if i knew anything about them. i dont, ive never heard of this before, so thought id ask if any of you chaps have.

the two theyve mentioned are directbaggage.com and sendmybags.com

anyone heard of, or used these services before? good value? anything to be wary of?

thanks

nobody used services like this?

you can usually book station assistance ahead of time. One of the platform staff will meet, escort and seat older people and deal with their luggage.

Just parcel up and send with your parcel courier of choice. I did a couple of days with a sub-contractor with parcel force some time back and the students got their clothes delivered home this way in a sealed suitcase.
DPD will probably be your best bet.

thanks. so you can just ring the station, tell them your predicament and itd be sorted?
and sandwich, will DPD be cheaper than these dedicated luggage couriers? im thinking my folks will have a small suitcase each. id be scared of the cost of sending parcels that heavy, let alone suitcases, surely itd be big money?

thanks

Buy them gym membership so thay can go and limber up for a few weeks before travelling? My Mum aged 84 goes to the gym every week, when she’s not leading rambling groups around the countryside.

I used Send My Bag to ship a suitcase from the UK to some people in Antwerp, it got there fine and they were among the cheapest.

Excess Baggage Company quoted something like £200 (Everyone else I looked at was £30 – £60). Uni Baggage had some kind of problem with Belgian postcodes.

None of them accept any liability for electronics among other stuff.

Done when booking i believe, see here for an example:

http://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/rail-travel/your-journey/assisted-travel/

thanks all, ill send them this thread so they can access all the links and work out whats best for them.

cheers