Train Ticket Question

Thought I would blow the cobwebs off the travel section by asking for some assistance. I'm looking for information on buying train tickets from those of you who use the rail network on a more regular basis than me (it will be the first time in years that I've traveled by rail in the UK).

I'm returning for a hastily arranged visit shortly and the only flight I can get at a reasonable price is into Gatwick, which means I need to get a couple of trains to get to my final destination. I have been looking at buying my tickets in advance and the fare is only 19 pounds on a non flexible ticket but due to the time of year weather delays over here are pretty regular due to the weather so there is a chance I may arrive later than planned which makes the 19 pound option risky. However an off peak transferable ticket (think that is what it's called) is 72 quid. Anybody know if I would be better just buying a ticket on the day or will I be looking at even more than 72 pounds if i do that?

Thanks in advance.

Id say it depends where your going really.

If it's £19 now I can't see it costing much more on the day tbh

You can normally book it with insurance (for a quid) so you can get the money back if your late in.

Thank you both for your help. I tried going through the Network Rail website but it didn't offer me the chance to insure the ticket, perhaps I needed to confirm before it offered it.

I'm travelling to Nottingham via St Pancras. That's why I thought £19 seemed reasonable. That is for a midday ticket in the middle of the week. The peak tickets were much higher, think some were over £100.

Have you tried using the Trainline website? It usually much cheaper on there

Would it not be better to organize for a train a couple hours later then your flight so then covers delays and if in on time can get some lunch?

Thanks for the tip, I will book my tickets through Trainline. You are right, the sensible option is to leave a time buffer between arriving and the train in case of flight delays. It's one of those things where if i book the earliest train there will be a flight delay and if I leave some time the bloody flight will come in early. Still the lunch idea is a good one, I don't expect that the catering of Air Transit is going to leave me particularly full or satisfied .