How can I get to Manchester, let me count the ways

As discussed on Facebook and irc already.

Criteria: Cambridge to Manchester by train, arrive around 18:00 on Thursday 7th June. It turns out to be harder than you'd think.

• Cambridge-London(Kings Cross to Euston)-Manchester
• Cambridge-Ely-Manchester
• Cambridge-Birmingham-Manchester
• Cambridge-Peterborough-York-Manchester
• Cambridge-Ely-Peterborough-Leeds-Manchester
• Cambridge-Peterborough-Grantham-Wakefield-Huddersfield-Manchester
• Cambridge-Nuneaton-Stafford-Manchester

Via London is around 3.5 hours, and pretty simple, but very expensive at peak times (over £360!). Ely or Birmingham are the most straightforward, but take 4.5 hours. The other routes are all somewhere in between, but *how* many changes? And somehow I can't bring myself to go via York.

I think I'm *probably* going to go for the London route, and just aim to arrive an hour earlier so as to avoid the peak fare, but it took quite a lot of looking to make sure!