For ages I put off going to Legoland Windsor because everyone I spoke to had only ever got there by driving. And it’s a blooming long way from where we live on the west coast of Scotland. I imagined Legoland being completely isolated, somewhere out in the sticks, in some wonderful little village that you really needed a car to get to. I don’t mind driving but I really couldn’t face an eight hour drive from the west coast of Scotland for just a day or two. I’ve known people who’ve driven through the night to make it to the park in the morning or driven through the night to get home. And hats off to them! But I really don’t have that in me. I like (and need) my sleep too much. Plus, I’m not sure how the kids would cope … particularly the kid that declares he no longer sleeps in cars. I can’t imagine that would be fun for anyone!
But I really wanted to visit … I mean, I really wanted the kids to experience it … so with a bit of research we found out that actually you don’t need to use your car and you can get to Legoland Windsor really easily by train. So here’s how we did it.
How to get to Legoland by public transport from Scotland
We’ve done two trips to Legoland now, both by train which worked out easy enough.
Each trip has only been two full days away with travel on the days either side. We’ve spent one full day at Legoland itself and also had time to explore London and Windsor too. One day is enough to do Legoland if it’s not too busy and you’re not fussed about the shows (which I’ve heard are really good). In the future I would love to spend two days there … although not sure how many hours of my life would then be lost to Miniland – my boys are obsessed with it and could probably quite happily spend the entire day there following the Lego trains around.
For both of our Legoland trips we got the ScotRail train up to Glasgow from Troon, then from Glasgow Central direct to London Euston with Avanti, which takes around five hours. We had booked Advance train tickets as soon as they were released, 12 weeks before we wanted to travel. If you can plan ahead, which to be honest isn’t always my forte, you can get train tickets at a great price. We paid £60 return for four of us with our Family & Friends Railcard. Our savings on the train tickets easily outweighed what we had paid for the Railcard.
After an easy train ride we arrived in Euston at lunchtime, giving us an afternoon to explore before heading to Windsor the next day.
Our favourite place to stay in London
We stayed at Premier Inn London Bank (Tower) which is our absolute favourite place to stay when we visit London. It’s a quiet, comfy, fantastically-located little haven in the city, giving you the perfect place to recharge. Living in a small Scottish town, London can be a lot on the senses so having a quiet sanctuary to recharge in is perfect. Prices vary for this hotel so sometimes we’ve had to stay elsewhere as it’s just cost too much, but the last two times we stayed (not Legoland trips) it’s been around £200 for two nights in a family room which for location and comfort is a fantastic price.
Getting to Legoland from London by train
To get to Legoland you first need to travel to Slough to change onto the wee branch line that runs out to Windsor. You can do this via the Elizabeth Line or by train from Paddington Station. I’m not going to lie, the journey to and from Windsor & Eton Central is extortionate for how little amount of time you’re on the train. As we’ve always travelled one day and returned another, we can’t get a day return which is a bit cheaper than two singles. If you’re a family travelling – at least one adult and one child, it’s really worth getting the Family & Friends Railcard to help you save.
Windsor station is right in the middle of the town and it’s well worth spending some time in Windsor if you can. There are lovely shops including a fantastic toy department inside Daniel’s department store. My train mad boys love the wee train that goes around the ceiling – proper old school toy shop vibes. And of course there’s Windsor Castle which is really impressive.
Where to stay in Windsor
On both trips we stayed the night before our Legoland day at the Travelodge Windsor Central. This is in a brilliant location, right next to the station. You can even pick your room for £3 extra. We did this on our second trip because we discovered on our first trip that the hotel is on the Heathrow flight path, and having two little boys and a partner who are obsessed with planes, they wanted a prime viewing spot. The room we chose was right at the end of the corridor so nice and quiet, and also gave us a view of Windsor Castle too. Not bad for around £100 for two nights! We also added on breakfast for our Legoland day which was perfect. There was so much choice, they would warm croissants for you, there were bagels, fresh fruit, yoghurts and your usual cooked stuff. It was really nice plus it filled us up until way after lunchtime which meant less time wasted on eating in Legoland. To save money on food in the park, I popped to Tesco which was about a five minute walk from the hotel and grabbed meal deals to take with us.
Getting to Legoland from Windsor
On our first trip we ended up getting a taxi to Legoland thanks to a canny taxi driver. He approached us at the bus stop and offered to take us to Legoland for the same price as the bus. As there were seven of us we agreed and had a really quick, easy journey to Legoland although we did end up arriving at the park really early. The bus stops a couple of times in Windsor so depending on where you’re staying you wouldn’t need to walk too far. It then drops you right at the entrance to the park. On our second trip we caught the bus around 9:10am so that we could get the early access to Miniland again. This worked the first time we visited during the Scottish October holidays, but when we visited just before Christmas in 2025 we had to wait until 10am as there was a Christmas show to officially open the park for the day which was really fun to see.
After a brilliant day in the park, we left just before closing at 6pm, using the imminent bus departure to get the boys out of the Lego shop. We then walked the short distance to the bus stop for the ride back to Windsor. An easy bus ride back and we were dropped near Windsor’s train station – perfect if you’re catching the train back to London or heading back to your hotel. The bus from Legoland does continue on to London Victoria so if you were heading back into the city you can stay on board.
Getting back to Scotland from Legoland by Caledonian Sleeper train
On our first trip, to save on time we chose to get the Caledonian Sleeper back to Glasgow. This gave us the full day at Legoland before picking up our luggage and heading back into London. We could board the Sleeper from 10:30pm which did seem quite late, but by the time we had got back into London, had dinner, had a wander along the South Bank it came round quick enough. Yes we were absolutely knackered by this point but it worked in our favour because after the initial excitement of finding our cabin and settling in, the boys drifted off to sleep pretty quickly. We had interconnecting cabins which worked perfectly for us as it made the space seem bigger and added to the excitement. I managed some sleep, particularly when the Sleeper was stopped – it was bliss then as the beds are super comfy and the duvet and pillow are lovely, but when the trains moving it’s so shoogly it can be hard to get back into a deep sleep. The kids had no issues sleeping which was a definite win!
For our second trip we stayed a second night in the Travelodge and then enjoyed the morning in London before getting the train back to Glasgow mid-afternoon. Both ways of travelling worked for us and I probably preferred the Sleeper because you get your own space and it saves so much time, not having to waste a day travelling.
Booking travel to Legoland from Scotland
If you’re organised and know when you want to go then you can get some great train fares 12 weeks in advance when Advance train tickets are released. If there is at least one adult and one child travelling, it’s definitely worth getting the Family & Friends Railcard – for example in December 2025 we paid £60 return for two adults and two children from Glasgow to London. The Sleeper was a lot more expensive as you can’t get a Railcard discount on a Sleeper berth. Discounts are available in the seated carriage though. It’s worth looking at the Sleeper prices because sometimes by the time you’ve paid for another night in a London hotel plus your day time train fare, it doesn’t work out too much more expensive, and as my boys would say, it’s the best train ever! I’m not entirely sure that’s the case but they do bring you a cup of tea in the morning, and I don’t get that at home so that’s a bonus.
Hopefully this shows you that it is easy to get to Legoland from Scotland by train and that driving isn’t the only option. Obviously you could also fly down but whenever we’ve looked flying has always worked out more expensive.
Get us outside 