Transport in and around Leicester

Rail Links

Bus Links

Other travel links

We all love enjoying real ale and pubs, although CAMRA supports responsible drinking, so please –
DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE!

Whilst we can share our responsibilties and take turns as designated drivers, or sometimes are able to share a taxi, it is often possible to leave the car behind and travel to the pub by bus or train.

Using public transport is an excellent way to get to the pub and is often not as difficult as you may think.  Leicester & Leicestershire does actually have a comprehensive network of bus and train services.

Leicestershire is served by railway stations at Leicester, South Wigston, Narborough, Hinckley, Syston, Sileby, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Bottesford & Market Harborough. Services are provided by Crosscountry Trains and East Midlands Railway, who have their own websites, plus information can also be obtained from the National Rail site.

Bus services cover most parts of the city and county, with even many rural areas having reasonably frequent daytime services.  Low demand can sometimes mean evening and Sunday services are not available though, so it is important to do a bit of forward planning.

Local bus services are generally provided by Arriva, First, Centrebus, Stagecoach and Kinchbus, all of whom provide timetables on their websites.  Several smaller operators do also provide some services.  Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Country Council both produce bus maps which can be downloaded the new “Choose How You Move” website. Details of all routes can also be found on the excellent Traveline website, which provides a journey planner allowing the start and finish points to be entered, or even just postcodes, and the route and timetables will then be shown. 

Another useful site is nextbuses.mobi which allows you to search for bus departures from a specific stop.  This site can be accessed from a computer or mobile, which is very handy if your plans change and you decide to stay for another pint!

Most bus companies offer their own tickets allowing unlimited travel within designated areas.  Also, the Leicester “Flexi” ticket gives unlimited travel within Leicester and suburbs and is valid on most services, regardless of operator. These tickets are perfect if you are planning a pub crawl.

We have produced a guide to pubs along the 153 bus route from Leicester to Market Bosworth, which can be viewed here. 

If travelling by train, an integrated train and bus ticket can be purchased.  Called “PlusBus” the bus travel can be added to either end, or both ends, of the train journey.