STEPHEN LEWIS checks out the merits of driving, flying or travelling by rail or coach when setting off for those summer holidays.

FLYING has long since lost its reputation as the rich man's form of transport. Package tours, and the growth of cut-price airlines such as Richard Branson's Virgin have all conspired to drive down prices.

It may surprise you to learn, though, just how cheap, mile by mile, flying really is.

Budget internet travel service www.worldtraveldirect.com says an individual passenger on the 21,000 miles long-haul flight to Australia pays just 2.5p per mile of the journey, assuming a ticket price of £520.

That compares with an average journey price, using the family car to nip across to Leeds or Sheffield, of something like 10p per mile.

That's right. Travelling by plane is something like four times cheaper than travelling by car.

Of course, it's not as simple as that. Flying scores well on long-haul journeys, because of the sheer distances involved.

On shorter hauls, the per-mile cost of flying increases. To fly the 3,000 miles to Athens costs about £180, according to worldtraveldirect - or 6p per mile. And if you want to fly the 1,400 miles to Barcelona, it'll cost you about £170, or 12p per mile. That's actually slightly more expensive than driving, but - unless you're one of those who thinks that to travel is more fun than to arrive - think of the time, inconvenience and suffering you'll save.

So flying generally wins hands down for foreign trips. But what if you decide it might actually be worth spending a summer holiday within our own fair shores? Other forms of transport give flying more than a run for its money, so we checked out a series of options for getting from York to London - by plane, train and automobile, with a coach thrown in for good measure too.

Plane

Both British European (tel 0990 676676) and British Midland (0870 6070 555) offer economy return flights from Leeds/Bradford airport to London. Prices vary depending on day of flight, how long you will be away, and whether you will be staying in London on a Saturday night. British European return flights into London City airport at Canary Wharf range from £56 to £150. British Midland offers standard-class return flights to London Heathrow from £111 (staying on Saturday night). Flights with both airlines take about an hour, but you have to get to the airport first, and you have to be there about an hour before the flight takes off - and, if you go with British Midland, you have to get from Heathrow into London at the other end.

Train

GNER offers a fast, regular service direct from York to London Kings Cross. Journey time is a smidgen over two hours. Economy Class ticket prices range from £29 (Bargain Return, booked seven days in advance) to £46 Super Advance return (booked the day before) and standard same-day saver fare of £61.60 return. Call the 24-hour Railways Linkline on 0345 484950 for information.

Automobile

Driving down to London on the M1 is a long, hard slog - five hours-plus, depending on the traffic. Reckoning the distance to be about 220 miles, that would make the journey cost (using worldtraveldirect figures) work out at about £44 return. That doesn't include the cost of stopping at the exorbitantly expensive motorway service stations. The big advantage is that the return cost remains at roughly £44 for one or for six in the same car.

Coach

National Express (tel 0990 808080) runs two coaches from York to London Victoria every day. Return fare, booking seven days in advance, is £20. Journey time about five hours. Pick-up point is outside McMillans Bar in Rougier Street.

PICTURE: CAREFUL: Thousands of people on the beach at Benidorm, Spain - but watch out for the "Holiday Club" touts