- Introduction
- About Murrayfield: the essentials
- How to get to Murrayfield by train?
- What to do at Murrayfield?
- Travel tips for visiting Murrayfield
- Conclusion
- Explore more stadium guides
Introduction
Murrayfield is a rugby union stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the national stadium of the Scottish rugby union team. It has a massive capacity of almost 68,000, making it the largest stadium in Scotland and the fifth largest in the UK. It primarily functions as a rugby stadium, although it has also hosted football, rugby league, American football, and musical concerts.
Murrayfield isn’t that far away from Edinburgh City Centre, so no matter where you’re coming from, whether that’s Scotland or England, it’s easiest to get to the stadium using the train. Travelling by train gives you peace of mind, it’s quick, convenient, and this journey even grants you the opportunity to look at the glorious views of ‘Auld Reekie’.
This article will provide some more information about Murrayfield, as well as explain the quickest way to get there by train. At the same time, we’ll look into some travel tips that’ll save you time and money.
About Murrayfield: the essentials
Murrayfield, or Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium as it’s known for sponsorship reasons, officially opened in 1925 with its inaugural game being between England and Scotland, where Scotland won decisively.
Murrayfield’s record attendance was in 1975, during a match between Scotland and Wales during the Five Nations Championship, where the stadium’s capacity reached an earth-stomping 104,000 spectators. A number that is currently impossible to attain due to laws aimed at preventing overcapacity.
The stadium has hosted multiple legendary musical acts over the years, including David Bowie in 1983, R.E.M. in 1995, Oasis in 2000, and the Foo Fighters in 2015. Most recently, Oasis and AC/DC are scheduled to play at Murrayfield in 2025.
How to get to Murrayfield by train?
The nearest train station to Murrayfield is at Haymarket, and it takes only around twenty minutes to walk from there to the stadium. If you’re coming from around Scotland or England, then you can catch a train to Edinburgh Waverley and then change trains to Haymarket Station.
Edinburgh Waverley is the northern terminus of the electrified East Coast Mainline and is highly accessible from around Scotland and England. The main train operators at Waverley are Lumo, ScotRail, LNER, TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, and the Caledonian Sleeper. From Haymarket, the leading train operators are Avanti West Coast, ScotRail, TransPennine Express, and LNER. Here are some popular routes to the station:
1: Edinburgh Waverley to Edinburgh Haymarket
Getting from Edinburgh Waverley to Edinburgh Haymarket is a breeze with ScotRail, taking a mere three to four minutes.
2: Newcastle to Edinburgh Waverley
It takes around one and a half hours to get from Newcastle to Edinburgh Waverley with either Lumo, LNER, TransPennine Express, or CrossCountry.
3: London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley
It takes almost five hours to get from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley with either LNER, Lumo, or CrossCountry.
4: Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Haymarket
On average, the journey from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Haymarket takes around one hour with ScotRail.
What to do at Murrayfield?
Besides watching the rugby, no trip to Murrayfield is complete without taking the Murrayfield stadium tour. The tour lasts ninety minutes and consists of a guided tour of the stadium, a visit to the team's changing rooms, the press suite of the ‘Voice of Rugby,’ legendary Bill McLaren, and a walk down the players’ tunnel, amongst other sites. There are two tours per day, running from December to the end of February.
Travel tips for visiting Murrayfield
As the Scottish capital, Edinburgh can be a busy city, especially when the rugby is on at Murrayfield or there’s a big concert happening. That’s why booking train tickets early is highly recommended. For starters, it's the most effective way to secure the cheapest fares, particularly with "Advance" tickets, which are released in limited quantities and typically increase in price as the travel date approaches. Planning ahead also provides a wider selection of available seats and preferred train times, which gives your journey more flexibility. Plus, it eliminates the last-minute rush and stress of buying tickets on the day of travel.
If you have some more time to spend in the city after the rugby, then consider buying an off-peak train ticket, which helps you save a few pounds as overall fares are cheaper off-peak due to less demand.
Finally, adding a Railcard to your ticket before checkout will guarantee you’ll get a discount on your train fare. Depending on what Railcard you have, you could see up to a 50% discount on your train tickets.
Conclusion
In summary, planning your journey to Murrayfield by train can be both cost-effective and convenient. By using TrainPal, you can easily find and purchase the cheapest train tickets available, ensuring a stress-free travel experience. Don’t delay, let TrainPal help you purchase the cheapest train tickets to Murrayfield.
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