WhyWaitForever - London
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WhyWaitForever - London - Travel
Travel within London is easy. You can use buses, taxis and the Tube. Parking is very difficult and expensive in London. The Tube and buses are excellent. If you want to travel outside London you can use trains and coaches. For further afield WhyWaitForever - London - Air Travel has links for airlines, airports and private flying.
A good introduction to London is through sight seeing tours. Before your visit, check out WhyWaitForever - London - Sights for the most famous sights in London.
Buses, taxis and the Tube
The average speed across London is around the same as it was in Victorian times before motor vehicles. On most days the rush hour extends from early in the morning to late at might.
The Tube is the fastest way to travel around London. It comprises a number of Tube lines. The Central line connects most of the famous sights. Some can find the Tube claustrophobic especially when the trains are crowded.
- Taxi cabcharge
A "free" charge card for Taxi fares. Eliminates the need to carry cash. Excellent for emergencies.
- DLR
London's Docklands Light Railway.
- London Pass
A pass that allows entry into a number of attractions.
- London Taxi
London's black taxi cabs.
- London Transport
London's underground the Tube, buses, river buses and information.
- The Tube
Up to the minute information and journey planner.
- Tramlink
The trams based around Croyden in South London.
- Travelcards
Buy your London monthly and annual travelcards online.
Bus tickets can be purchased on the bus. Tube tickets can be purchased at the Underground stations. Single tickets, return tickets, books of tickets and passes for various time periods can be purchased. London is large and is divided into a number of zones for ticketing purposes.
Coaches
For those on limited budgets coach travel to places outside London can be far cheaper than train travel. For some destinations it is possible to combine a fast train into London with an overnight return coach. This is very useful as few trains are timetabled to run after midnight. Coaches get better and better.
- Cambridge Coaches
Coaches between London airports and Cambridge.
- Eurolines
A large European coach operator.
- Green Line
Scheduled coach services to and from London.
- National Express
My favourite for London, UK and European coaches. Victoria coach station is the starting point for so many journeys.
- Oxford Bus
Coaches between London and Oxford from Victoria Coach Station.
Trains and the railways
How complicated can it be to work out how to use the UK train system? It is one of lifes little challenges. Click here for a brief history. Remember London is the main hub. Most journeys across the south east of England involve passing through a central London train station. It may be more a perception than a reality but to go from one county like Essex to a neighbouring county like Hertfordshire it is usually best to go into the centre of London and then back out again.
WhyWaitForever - London - Travel by Air - Trains has links to the special train services that connect to the airports.
- National Rail
A web site that attempts to guide through the Gormenghast like castle that is the UK rail network. It contains the national rail map.
- Railtrack
The keeper of the heritage that is the UK railways and holder of the master timetables. You enter your starting point and your destination and it lists myriads of variants. You select a particular journey and then visit the web site of the particular train operating company to check the specific details.
- The Train Line
Some UK train tickets can be bought online through here, others through the train operating company web sites below, others only at a manned or unmanned station. Unmanned stations have "fun" machines. Most seem to me to dislike or do not cater for discount cards.
- C2C
East - Fenchurch Street to Southend.
- Anglia Railways
North East - Liverpool Street to Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich.
- First Great Eastern
North East - Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Southend and Ipswich.
- WAGN
North East - Liverpool Street to Cambridge and Kings Cross to Peterborough.
- Midland
North - St Pancras to East Midlands and Yorkshire.
- Hull Trains
North - Kings Cross to Grantham, Doncaster and Hull.
- Great North Eastern
North - Kings Cross to Leeds, Durham, Newcastle and Scotland.
- ThamesLink
North and South - Cross London through Kings Cross between Bedford in the north and Brighton in the south.
- Scotrail
North - Euston to Scotland.
- Virgin Trains
North - Euston to Midlands, North East, North West and Scotland.
- Silverlink
North West - Euston to Birmingham.
- First North Western
North West - Euston to Wolverhampton, Manchester and Liverpool.
- Chiltern Railways
North West - Marylebone to Warwick and Birmingham.
- Thames Trains
North West - Paddington to Maidenhead, Reading, Winsor, Stratford upon Avon and Oxford.
- First Great Western
West - Paddington to the West of England, the Cotswolds and South Wales.
- Wales and West
South West - Waterloo to the West of England and Wales.
- Connex
South and South East - Victoria, Charing Cross and London Bridge to Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.
- Eurorailways
European railways information booking and passes.
- ATOC
UK Association of Train Operating Companies.
- UK Railways
UK Government Office of the Rail Regulator.
- UK SRA
UK Government Office of the Passenger Rail Franchising.
Car hire
As in most things it is very important to consider exactly what is included in the quoted price. If an order is placed over the Internet be certain to print the confirmation web page or confirmation email. Parking can be difficult. If your accommodation does not include off street parking, WhyWaitForever - London - Cars contains links on parking in London.
- Avis
The one who used to and maybe still does claim to try harder.
- Bespoke
For Jaguars, Aston Martins and other prestigious makes.
- Budget
I know little about this one.
- Car Hire 4 Less
Discounted car hire with leading firms.
- easyRentacar
Car hire from the easyJet people.
- Europcar
A favourite with great deals.
- Hertz
The one that used to be and maybe still is the largest.
- Holiday Autos
They claim that you will be amazed by their low prices.
- National
Another US one.
- Thrifty
The US one that expresses a certain sentiment.
Cash, cards and currency
It pays to shop around. Always make sure you know all the elements that make up the charges include commission.
- American Express
The third major card includes directory of travel shops.
- Oanda
Currency conversions.
- Mastercard UK
Mastercard UK atm machines.
- Travelex
Buy currency online and directory of all Travelex locations.
- Visa Cash Machines
Directory of all Visa ATM cash machines.
- Western Union
Directory of Western Union agents.
Ferries and the Channel crossing
Londoners travel widely and frequently. It is quite common to nip over the Channel for shopping, food or even a round of golf. The tunnel is faster than the ferry. But after a long drive those few hours in the ferry eating a pleasant meal can provide a refreshing break.
- A2BEurope
A recent arrival. Lists ferries.
- Eurostar
A favourite easy way to Paris, Brussels and beyond. The train from Waterloo to the continent or you can drive round the M25 along the M2 and pick up the train at Ashford in Kent.
- Eurotunnel
The train for cars from Folkestone to the continent.
- DFDS Seaways
The ferry from London to Denmark and Germany.
- PO Ferries
A favourite for crossing the Channel. I like taking the ferry from time to time. It feels like a real journey.
Maps
- Multimap
UK town and area maps.
- Oxford Street
Association of retailers on this famous street.
- Streetmap
UK street finder.
- Street Sensation
Walk along selected London famous streets.
- Tube maps
Maps of individual tube lines.
Sightseeing Tours
A tour is a good introduction to London. For those with limited budgets buses 8, 11 and 25 pass most of the famous central sights. Victoria Station and Liverpool Street Station are good starting points.
- Big Bus Company
Open topped bus sightseeing tours.
- British Tours
Claims to be the largest and longest established.
- Discount London
Top London sightseeing and entertainment at budget prices.
- Frog Tours
Road and river tour in an amphibious vehicle.
- London Tours
A large coach tour operator.
- London Walks
Walking tours including the London of Jack the Ripper and London ghosts.
- Ruddick Tours
Specially designed best value luxury tours in Britain.
- Sightseeing Tours
Bus sightseeing tours.
- The Original Tour
Red bus tours round the central sights.
- Young & Co
A tour round Britain's oldest brewery.
Tour operators and more
At times the pace of London can be overwhelming. This is the time to take to the air and sample life at a slower pace. Sometimes it can be difficult and time consuming to build an ideal holiday schedule. In these circumstances tour operators can still be the best.
- A2BTravel
An new online travel resource.
- Expedia
The Microsoft backed extensive site.
- Teletext
The excellent information resource which includes a brochure request service.
- Thomas Cook
The one that started it all.
- Thomson Holidays
The biggest. Happy memories of the Big T club.
- Trail Finders
I have used them a couple of times for the long haul.
Travel Insurance
Insurance is no longer purchased in the coffee houses in the City or even in the comfort of a chain of marbled offices that rivalled the most prestigious banks, it is purchased over the Internet or the phone.
- Go Travel Insurance
You can buy online for immediate cover.
- Travel Insurance Online
Instant cover is on offer.
Weather and traffic
In living memory London has been blessed with mild weather. The frost fayres on the frozen River Thames in Dicken's and Pepys' days are a folk memory. The last killer fogs of the late fifties were banished by the Clean Air Acts of the sixties. The River Thames is alive and healthy. Though not yet teeming with fish the salmon and trout are back. Traffic however can be very very heavy.
- BBC Traffic
Over 80 web cams covering the streets of London.
- Met Office
The UK government Meterology Office.
- MO satellite image
The latest Met Office satellite picture of Europe.
- Weather.com
Today's weather in London from the US weather source that still quotes temperatures in quaint Farenheit.
- The AA
The UK Automobile Association road watch.
- The RAC
The UK Royal Automobile Club road watch.
Advice and guides
- Cockney
Lots about Cockney London and Cockneys.
- Covent Garden Life
A visitors guide to Covent Garden now that all the fruit and flowers from my youth has moved to a place across the river.
- London Town
The organisation responsible for tourism in London.
- London Net
A more souvenir shop and tourist view of London attractions.
- Net London
A hierarchy of directories view of London.
- Rough Guides
Excellent information on everywhere..
- Visit Britain
A site about travel to and events in Britain.
- EU Embassies
EU Embassies, Consulates and Tourist Offices in the UK.
- Kropla
Excellent travel information on phones, electricity and television.
- Languages
Travellers guide to words and phrases in many languages.
- National Holidays
Public, bank and national holidays in all lands.
- TfL Streets
London GLA Transport for London street management including their plans for congestion charges.
- UK Passport
UK Government passport office.
- UK Travel Advice
UK Government Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Trains in London can be confusing
In the dim and distant past there were a myriad of train companies. There were inefficiences, confusion and horrendous train accidents. All the train companies were taken into public ownership and were joined together to form a single company British Rail. British Rail was under funded and vast parts of the networks were closed (The Beeching Axe). There was retreat from both the carrying of passengers and freight. Motorways were built and cars and lorries were the transport of choice.
After the oil crises of the seventies the railway rebounded back into favour. It was still underfunded but expensive consultants changed logos a number of times, tried to tackle the unbelivably dreadful sandwich and introduced ticketing options by the dozen. There was little perceptable change for the better. The rolling stock and tracks continued to age. British Rail was the butt of many jokes.
Privatisation reversed nationalisation. The Government provided additional funds. Now there are tens of train operating companies running trains on tracks managed and operated by Railtrack. Profits have been extracted further depleting assets. Under investment has continued. Safety appears to be less important than previously. Sadly there have been a number of accidents involving fatalities. Public enquiries were convened and legal arguements commenced.
The position reached a critical point in Autumn 2000 when a massive emergency engineering programme was initiated to identify and fix the highest risk elements in the network. The train companies and Railtrack are still not willing to spend the sums required to install the most advanced train safety systems. Emergency timetables have been issued. Delays and the use of buses and coaches to get round failing parts of the network are widespread.
There is talk now that the way privatisation was implemented was flawed in that it produced incentives that weighed against safety. Like in the utilities mutualisation begins to appear to have a number of attractions. We shall see.