reggiep Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 I'll be missing BETT this year but I still fancy a trip to London. I'd be taking my other half and my two kids. I fancy taking them to some of the museums. It would be either a day trip or a one night stay in a cheapish hotel. Can anyone suggest a cheap way to do this from the North West? I would assume that car would be cheaper than four train tickets but I wouldn't know where to park. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks
tmcd35 Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 Whenever I go back to London I tend to aim for Romford (mainly because I know the area very well). Park up and travel in by Train. All zone travel cards are not too expensive and sure beats trying to get all the way in. As for hotels, Wherever I go these days I tend to settle for a Travel Lodge. Clean simple, £50 per night per room (not per person). Does the job - a place to sleep. Last time I did it I paid about Travel Lodge £50 Travel Card £10 Car Park £10 (overnight) Plus food and petrol. The multistory in Romford is next to the Travel Lodge and both are within 5min walk from the train station. 1
Friez Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 Depends HOW North West you are. Ultimately, car is cheaper (I mean... whyyyy?) but if you contemplate trains you'll soon see they're a huge rip-off. Planes are actually much cheaper, and sometimes even flights that leave the country and re-enter again to another national airport are cheaper than direct national flights! Cheapest solution is to start walking several weeks in advance but isn't so practical
reggiep Posted January 15, 2009 Author Posted January 15, 2009 Some people do get up early don't they. I didn't think there would be any replies yet!
sidewinder Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 if you contemplate trains you'll soon see they're a huge rip-off. Depends how long it is till he wants to go...you can get good deals a whiel before, and normally some sort of family discount Just picked some random dates in Feb from Runcorn to Euston and its £78 for a family ticket (return) - probably not as cheap as driving no but not excessive and a lot less hassle Hotels I cant recommend so much - I rarely stay since Im quite close and if I do its a grotty place near Victoria But the general idea of a Travelodge outside central would be Ok. Again could be cheap if you do it in advance 1
kennysarmy Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 been looking at taking my kids +other half to do the sights - from Gloucester the train fare alone was going to be around £120.00 to stay in a decent central hotel for ONE night was £150 minimum per night. Visiting attractions and eating was going to add on at least another £150. We decided it was far too much and have booked up a cottage in cornwall for less.....
reggiep Posted January 15, 2009 Author Posted January 15, 2009 Depends how long it is till he wants to go...you can get good deals a whiel before, and normally some sort of family discount Just picked some random dates in Feb from Runcorn to Euston and its £78 for a family ticket (return) Which site did you use for this? That seems a price worth paying compared to the hassle of driving and finding parking!
Hightower Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 What on earth makes you want to come to London for a 'short break'?! It's vile! So many much much nicer places to go
bossman Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 @reggiep: National midnight express (Bus) for webman and me £61:30 return for the pair of us but we are coming back the same day not stopping over. You can get weekend deals including accommodation from local bus companies though may be worth a try.
reggiep Posted January 15, 2009 Author Posted January 15, 2009 @bossman Bus does sound slightly worse than the walking option!
Guest Guest Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 If you can get yourself to a major train station they normally do deals on trips to London. I know it used to be £17 from Edinburgh to London.
tmcd35 Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 @reggiep: National midnight express (Bus) for webman and me £61:30 return for the pair of us but we are coming back the same day not stopping over. You can get weekend deals including accommodation from local bus companies though may be worth a try. When I used to live in Barking, just after my parents moved to Lowestoft, I got the National Express from Victoria to Lowestoft. A journey of about 2 hours by car, possibly 3 hours by train, took 8 hours by bus. It was the most uncofortable, horrendous journey of my life. Yes spending 6-8hours (can't remember exact) on a plane to Egypt was more enjoyable! I swore never to do this again. Always willing to spend the extra on a train! Now I drive.
Quackers Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 I always drive to London. There is a tube station called Stanmore right next to Junction 4 of the M1, it costs £3 a day weekdays and a £1 a day weekends to park your car on the carpark attached to the tube station.
Edu-IT Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 @reggiep: National midnight express (Bus) for webman and me £61:30 return for the pair of us but we are coming back the same day not stopping over. You can get weekend deals including accommodation from local bus companies though may be worth a try. Leaving at midnight aren't you? You're keen! You could always pitch a tent somewhere. If you're parking in a tube station car park, for example, and travelling by tube then will your car be safe?
Quackers Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 If you're parking in a tube station car park, for example, and travelling by tube then will your car be safe? I've been parking there for years, and over 20 times this year, it has somebody patroling every now and then, i've never seen a smashed window other anything of that nature.
srochford Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 Not just for visiting London but for any cheap tickets, the National Express web site is good This shows you the range of tickets available for a journey and allows you to find (say) just the journeys with £10 single or whatever. It's also much quicker if you want to browse a few days than the Trainline web site. Late Rooms is quite good for finding hotels all over the place. A quick check finds the Leisure Inn in Bayswater for next weekend for about £40 per night. This isn't the most beautiful bit of London but it's not bad and it's walking distance from Hyde Park, Marble Arch and the rest of the West End. If you can get a family train ticket for less than £80 then I'd do it - that's only just more than the cost of the petrol and it's much, much less hassle and almost certainly quicker now that the works on the west coast mainline are finished. If the children are under 11 they travel free on buses and tubes; from 11 to 16 it's still free but they need a photo card - there are details of all the costs on the Transport for London web site. I'd be stupid to say that London is the best city in the UK, but there is a huge amount to do here which is free and worth doing. The big museums (Science, Natural History and V&A) are pretty impressive (they're just round the corner from me and they're always busy!) but there are loads of others to visit if you want something a bit different. A quick Google found an A-Z of London's museums but there are also places like the South Bank where you can just wander along from Westminster to the Tate and beyond.
somabc Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) I'd be stupid to say that London is the best city in the UK Hey London is the best city in the UK! (well most of the time) You can get good deals on the train, for example I recently bought tickets for Edinburgh -> London for £14 each way. Virgin Trains on the West Coast are a bit more expensive at £30-50 each way from the North West. I used to be all in favour of travelling by train or plane but tbh it can be a complete rip off. At christmas I drove from the North West to London in 4 hours and it cost less than £40 in petrol. If there are a few of you in the car it will definitely be cheaper than public transport. Just remeber to use the M6 toll, its worth it. The time taken to get to the airport, go through security, get a train into london at the other end will be longer than driving, especially from Manchester / Liverpool. Edited January 15, 2009 by somabc
tmcd35 Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) Hey London is the best city in the UK! (well most of the time) Here, here (although Cairo is, erm, fun). Maybe I'm biased because I lived there for so long, but I always get a smile on my face, more up beat and happier when I visit the capital. Got to move back there one day. Norfolk is too quiet! Edit: Before I forget, on the subject of Museums. Both the Science Museum (my personal favourite, they have Cray 1 on show ) and the British Museum (esp. the Egypt antiquates) are fantastic venues and well recommended. Both are free entry AFAIR. Edited January 15, 2009 by tmcd35
scouselpl Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 I used to call in and provide technical support at Prenton High, back in the days of Bob Winterton? or whatever the Headteachers name was at the time! Techie there called Dave something? Anyways, hope all is well, for my penny's worth on travelling to London - I would drive! Steve Morton West Derby School
HarryMonkey Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 If you do go by train, get a family railcard, you can save around 30% on the fare and will probably pay for itself straight away, as well as having it to use in the future.
reggiep Posted January 15, 2009 Author Posted January 15, 2009 I used to call in and provide technical support at Prenton High, back in the days of Bob Winterton? or whatever the Headteachers name was at the time! Techie there called Dave something? Anyways, hope all is well, for my penny's worth on travelling to London - I would drive! Steve Morton West Derby School Yep That would be Dave Cottington. Still here with me!
tech_guy Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 What on earth makes you want to come to London for a 'short break'?! It's vile! So many much much nicer places to go There's always Coventry!
bossman Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 @all: The reason we travel down by bus is purely psychological, because it is so horrendous approx 6.50 hrs there and the same back we thoroughly enjoy the experience as we have it so good in every other aspect of our lives, we just like to give something back for the balance. ;)
sidewinder Posted January 15, 2009 Posted January 15, 2009 Which site did you use for this? That seems a price worth paying compared to the hassle of driving and finding parking! Id say it is too Someone else has probably posted it but I just used National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables And as someone mentioned, buy a family railcard and it would be cheaper still
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