Train fares are ever rising, making a good day out in the UK more and more expensive.
The cost of train travel across the country has increased year on year for some time, making inter-city travel out of reach for many. But one influencer has figured out a clever way to explore new destinations without breaking the bank.
TikTok user Laura Teagle, under the handle @teagleeats, offers up food reviews for her audience and revealed to followers how she managed to score bargain Eurostar tickets.
The influencer bagged £39 train tickets to a French city she called “gorgeous” – and for a cheaper fare than travelling between major UK cities.
Laura documented her trip to the city of Lille, a “charming” just inside the Belgium-France border. She began her post saying: “When a day trip to France is cheaper than a day out in London you best believe I’m going.”
Laura – who also runs her own baking business called Teagle’s Treats – detailed how she secured the cheap train tickets. In a follow-up video to her post showing off her trip to Lille, she explained: “Okay I didn’t realise this wasn’t common knowledge but I’m gonna tell you the best life hack for travelling to France for cheap.
“So I’m always going straight to the Eurostar website, then once I’m there instead of typing in a date, a time and location, I’m gonna go down and I’m gonna search for this – the book now button for Paris for £39.
“When you get there you’ll see this: all these different locations all from £39 each way. The next trick is to go all the way through the calendar and see where all of these £39 dates are and choose the one that’s most appropriate. So in this case I choose January 17 and then obviously to return on the same day, I’m gonna click the same date.
“Then we’re gonna choose ‘get times’ and we’re gonna be presented with this screen. Then I’m gonna swipe through all of the different times and choose the cheapest or the best time available.
“So in this case it’s a 7:04 train for £44 and for the return, I’m gonna do the exact same thing. I’m gonna swipe choose the best cheapest price for the latest train so the 7:35pm.
“And that’s literally it. That is how you travel to France for the day for so cheap.”
During her time in Lille, Laura and a friend visited a number of bakeries to sample the local cuisine. After leaving London via Eurostar at 7am, she and a friend stopped off at a Lille supermarket to pick up brie for just €1.
She spoke of the “gorgeous” walk to a patisserie, where she sampled pain au chocolat which she called “literally the best” and said wanted “75 more” of the bakery’s eclairs. After that, it was a morning spent at Palais des Beaux-Arts museum.
Laura called it a “must go” attraction for just €4. Another bakery followed, where she tried Lille’s famous brioche and said visitors should also experience the delightful food on offer.
She added: “Being close to Belgium we obviously had to check out beer shops” before heading to Méert, a bakery that’s gone viral for its treats. Laura added: “I don’t care that this is hyped up online and the queues are long, you have got to go.”
She then shared an image of a vanilla tartlet from the bakery, saying she “literally dribbled” while taking the photo. She added: “I’ll say it again. God! Bless! The! French!”
Laura and her friend then headed to lunch outdoors, with a cheese board that left her “speechless” and saucisson, a French sausage she called “our actual fave”. After sampling some local alcohol, they head to the Lille flea market which she said was “100% worth the visit”.
Next up was a trip to Au Point Central, a bistro with €5 glasses of Pinot Noir. Finally, it was dinner time, and Laura and her friend went to Cafe de Paris for a “perfect” sirloin steak, french fries and a salad at the cost of €25.
Laura’s final verdict was clear. She said: “I will absolutely be continuing to advocate for getting the first train out/last train back on Eurostar on all and any occasions.
“£150 all in return trains, all food, drinks and activities like London could just never? Grab your passport, grab your girls and go flirt with the French, eat their food and drink their wine.”