Such is being a student - you're going to spend a lot of time travelling to and from uni and home. If you're having to travel by public transport, I've got a few tips for you to make your travelling bearable...
1. Book early and book online. The earlier you book, the more likely you are to get cheaper fares. You should definitely invest in a 16-25 railcard as well, especially if you'll be using the trains a lot. Try thetrainline.com - you'll usually get a pretty fair deal there.
2. When it comes to packing up your stuff, remember you have to carry it all. You need to be able to walk and, I'm sorry, 6 bags just is not reasonable. Streamline as much as you can, if you've got a wheely suitcase as well, that'll help. I carry mine all in a holdall that I sling over my shoulder and I inevitably have backache for a week afterwards.
3. Leave yourself enough time. No one likes a stressful journey. Get to the station in good time and when you book your tickets, make sure you've got enough time to do transfers and that - running while pulling a suitcase is neither practical nor attractive.
4. Equip yourself for amusement - MP3 player, a newspaper, a book, some work - anything at all to prevent journey-based boredom.
5. If you fail to fulfil 4, there are still ways to amuse yourself on public transport. If you find yourself listening to other people's conversations, don't feel guilty. They're a tiptop source of amusement and you can rest safe in the knowledge that, if they were on their own, they would definitely be listening to your idle chitchat. Conversations involving children are the best - when in a confined space, kids are either really annoying or really funny. You're just gonna have to pray for the latter.
