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Don't really want to make my own thread and this is the nearest I'm going to get.
I've never been on a train before, live in the UK (north east) but not London so it's never been mandatory for me to know anything about them, but I want to visit down South at some point and the train is probably the cheapest method, besides driving myself, and I also want to start getting into backpacking at some point and all the national parks are a good couple of hours drive away (and I'm not leaving my car unattended overnight) or a train journey away.
How the fuck do I go about getting on a train?
Is it all handled through automatic ticket machines now? Does it walk you through?
What happens if you get a return and miss it? Is it like a bus ticket where your return can be used at any point through the day?
What are peak hours? I assume that's going to affect the price and probably my return? (Non-peak return can only be used on non-peak hours?)
How much would I save booking in advance? If it's not a massive amount, I'd rather not be worried about it and just show up on the day I want to go camping and get a single or return.
How rude are the customer service people, if I needed help with actually getting my ticket? (I'll be getting a ticket at a 'main' train station, Durham)
I've got really bad anxiety, which isn't helping me use trains for the first time (guess I was this way with buses as well until I started and now I use them 2-4 times a day). I also find trains kind of offputting, although my fear of them only really applies to long-haul trains in places like America for some reason, there's just something very offputting about them, rolling up to empty train stops in the middle of nowhere, combined with rural towns it's almost lovecraftian.
Anyway, feel free to shitpost and call me a baby, but if I just get a partially helpful reply I'll be content.
