Oxford is, quite rightly, one of Britain’s most popular tourist destinations with its gleaming spires and academic history, everyone should check it out if they have a chance. However, it’s also fair to say that there’s more to the country and if you want a trip to the seaside once you’ve gotten all you can from Oxford then Brighton may be your next place to visit.
How far is Oxford from Brighton UK? The journey is 106 miles by road (following the shortest route), 80 miles by rail (approximately as there are several routes you can choose from), 104.5 miles if you want to cycle it (using the National Cycle Route 5) and where you to walk between the two you can get it down to 92.1 miles.
Let’s take a look at each journey and see how long it is, how practical is and how much it is likely to cost (depending, of course, on your means of transport). Then you can start planning your visit from Oxford to Brighton too.
How Far Is Oxford From Brighton By Road?
The most direct route from Oxford to Brighton follows the M40 and M25 and it’s 106.7 miles long. You could also choose to skip the M40 and follow the M25 which racks up 120.3 miles and if don’t fancy using the motorway then the A34 is also an option, but you’ll be picking up 141.8 miles in total if you do.
How Long Would It Take To Get From Oxford To Brighton By Road?
Well, it depends on which route you’re going to follow and which method of transport you intend to take between the two cities.
Firstly, can we point out that a taxi is probably beyond most people’s budgets? We got an estimate from Taxi Fare Finder and they say it should cost about £271.43 to travel from Oxford to Brighton by taxi. We think you might be able to buy a car for that. However, if money is no object and you don’t fancy driving yourself – it can be done.
Driving
We’d assume that most people are going to drive themselves from Oxford to Brighton and Google estimates that if you follow the shortest route – via the M40 and M25 – you’re going to spend about 2 hours and 10 minutes in transit. This might feel like a lot if you’re British but if you’re American or Australian it probably seems like a very short trip, indeed.
The M25-only route takes about 2 hours and 33 minutes and if you must go via the A34, you’re going to spend around 2 hours and 40 minutes on the road.
Taking A Coach
There is no direct coach route between Oxford and Brighton. Instead, you have to pick up a coach at Oxford Bus Station (Gloucester Green) and head to London Gatwick Airport. There you swap buses and jump on a coach to Brighton.
That means the journey takes much longer than it might and the shortest journey we could find is 3 hours and 45 minutes and others take a bit longer. The good news is that there are nearly hourly options for both legs and you shouldn’t have to wait around too long for your second coach.
The cheapest fare we could find was £16.80, though and that means travelling by coach from Oxford to Brighton is much better value than a taxi.
How Far Is Oxford From Brighton By Rail?
According to Trainline, the UK’s train booking service, the distance between Oxford and Brighton by rail is 80 miles. We’re not sure that they’ve got this right, it’s so much shorter than any other route that even if it were a perfectly straight line, it feels like it ought to be a bit longer and it’s not a perfectly straight line.
In fact, you’re going to have to catch a train from Oxford and then take a tube, a bus or another train, followed by yet, another train if you want to get to Brighton using the rail network.
So, please don’t quote us in a pub quiz because it’s entirely possible that this number isn’t right even if it is provided by the leading authority in the UK when it comes to trains.
How Long Would It Take To Get From Oxford To Brighton By Rail?
The Trainline assures us that on average you’re going to take 3 hours and 13 minutes to go from Oxford to Brighton and you will have to change at least once, and you might need to change up to 4 times! Yes, it’s a sad truth that Britain’s railways are not always the most convenient for long journeys and this is one of those cases.
The fastest possible journey is, apparently, 2 hours and 32 minutes by train but we checked the schedule carefully and couldn’t find any combination of trains offering this time – so, it might be that this is something of a rarity.
The cheapest possible fare on this route is £16.10 for a one-way ticket. However, if you want to get that price, you’re going to need to book well in advance. There’s no denying that if you don’t book early then you’re going to find things are much more expensive.
The first train of the day leaves Oxford for Brighton at 3.51 a.m. and the last train departs at 12:45 a.m which is just after midnight. There are regular services throughout the day, and you shouldn’t need to wait very long for a train heading in the right direction, just don’t fall asleep on one or you might miss your chance.
How Far Is Oxford From Brighton By Bike?
It might sound like a ridiculous task but it’s not. It’s perfectly feasible for a cyclist to cycle from Oxford to Brighton and an experienced cyclist can probably get it done in a day too. The shortest cycling route between the two cities is 104.5 miles and follows National Cycle Route 5 and there’s a slightly longer option if you follow National Cycle Route 57 which is 112.8 Miles.
What’s A National Cycle Route?
In 1995, the British charity Sustrans was awarded £43.5 million from the Millennium Lottery Board to build on its already established network of cycle paths to try and connect as many towns and cities in the UK as possible with safe cycling routes.
The charity was also charged with developing safe school cycling routes at the same time, to encourage children to get to school.
What they came up with is the National Cycle Network which consists of many individual routes – the National Cycle Routes. It is 16,575 miles in total. It covers 5,273 miles of completely traffic-free paths and another 11,302 miles on the road. In 2017, more than 780 million trips were made on Britain’s National Cycle Routes.
If you want to travel from Oxford to Brighton, then much of the route follows National Cycle Route 5 which runs from Reading in Berkshire to Holyhead in Wales. It’s a very pleasant cycle path to take.
How Long Would It Take To Get From Oxford To Brighton Cycling?
It takes 9 hours and 12 minutes for an experienced cyclist to travel from Oxford to Brighton following the most direct route. We’d assume it would take longer as most people are going to want to take at least one rest break and possibly more. We certainly wouldn’t recommend that you try this route unless you are at a high level of personal fitness – it’s much more than a quick trip to the shops on a bike.
If you take the longer route via National Cycle Route 57, then you’re going to need an extra 32 minutes as the estimated length of the journey is 9 hours and 44 minutes.
How Far Is Oxford From Brighton On Foot?
It is a very long walk from Oxford to Brighton. The shortest walking route is via the A4074 and it follows a nearly straight line between the two cities. However, there’s no getting around the fact that this is a 92.1-mile walk and it ought not to be undertaken unless you have real experience walking very long distances this is not a beginner’s hike.
How Long Would It Take To Get From Oxford To Brighton Walking?
If you are determined to walk from Oxford to Brighton, you can expect to spend a full 30 hours walking! For most people, this will mean a journey of 3-5 days with the route broken into short sections and an overnight rest stop.
Conclusion
How far is Oxford from Brighton? Well, it depends on how you’re travelling. The fastest way to get between the two cities is to drive but if you don’t have a car, a taxi is ridiculously expensive. Otherwise taking a coach or a train is probably the most practical way to cover the ground but it’s also possible to cycle or even to walk if you want to.
