Kat09 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Hi I'm wondering if any of you or your ds/dd will be travelling from the Southampton area via rail for RBS SA programme from September. We are hoping to find some travel companions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarplumsmum Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hi Kat09, My Dd and myself shall be traveling from Cardiff via rail. I've never been to London on a train before and due to finances have never done any of the associate workshops so don't know how to get from A-B so not sure if we will be on the train at same time so just been looking through some post on here trying to work out if anyone is from the London area or has a child in RBS covent gardens that can tell me how to get from Paddington across, tips and what not- to-do's, and cheapest way to do it. Look forward to meeting you and your Dd in September x 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat09 Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hi SPM Looking 4wrd to meeting u 2 & congratulations to your dd. we will be arriving at Waterloo.perhaps you will take a bus from paddington to Covent Garden? I am sure someone will be able to help with directions or contact the Associate dept at the RBS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janabiyah-Jane Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Its quicker to travel by tube to Covent Garden. You would get the Bakerloo line from Paddington and change at Piccadily Circus, where you would then get the piccadily line to Covent Garden. This would take about 20 minutes and RBS is about a 30 second walk from the tube station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janabiyah-Jane Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Just want to add that if the weather is nice and you have time (once you know the area a bit better) its only a short walk from Leicester Square (the station before Covent Garden) its sometimes better to get off here as Covent Garden gets very busy and you have to wait for a lift to street level.(or take the heart attack stairs lol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Getting an oystercard is the cheapest way to travel and allows children to travel for free on buses it does cost, but I reckon I have already saved the cost from not having to pay the bus fare. The tube is quicker but we mostly travel by bus now. The bus will have a little screen telling you what stop is next so all you need to know is the name of your stop and when it comes up on the screen press the button for the bus to stop. My DD and I travel to Central every saturday so if I can help in anyway please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hi meant to add Waterloo to covent garden is walkable . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimum Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 A little lad from our ballet school in Winchester has just gotten SAs so will probably be going up by train. Don't know if the boys and girls classes are on at the same or similar times? We like to walk over the bridge to JAs and see all the street artists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimum Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Sugarplumsmum..well done to your dd for her SA place. They are like gold dust to get . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14310.aspx Did you know you can have free travel for children on buses and tube even if you live outside London? I have posted the link above. DD had one of these cards and we found it very useful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Don't know if they are available from anywhere but I always get a day travelcard which includes the return train fare into London and unlimited tubes/buses. My husband commutes into London for work so has a season ticket and he actually took dd to associate classes for six years. Until she turned 16 it only cost a pound for her fare. Don't think we could have afforded to do associates otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyG Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 We didn't get oyster cards until DS was 13 and then wondered why we didn't do it earlier. Makes traveling around London so much easier. also slightly cheaper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarplumsmum Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Thank you all for the advice will be getting a railcard and oyster card for my Dd, i've also been told if I book in advance it is normally cheaper? I have to admit i'm panicing a little about the traveling as i'm really badly travel sick so I know for sure I have to stay away from the buses, I have travelled by train before and was ok but it was a 20 min ride so think i'm going to be in for a steep learning curve with this London SA traveling part. Dd is looking forward to meeting some news friends as well as being able to keep a few of her old ones as in her MA class this year 5 of them were offered SA places, how amazing is that , I know 1 is giving her place up for sure and a maybe for another so looks like there will be some good news for a waiting list child x 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Yes booking train tickets in advance can save you alot. Advanced tickets are typically available 12 weeks before date of travel. The only downside is that you have to travel on the train you have bought the tickets for. I use advanced tickets with a family and friends railcard which can save me as much as £40! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Sugarplumsmum, I sympathise re. The travelsickness. I am the world's worst car and bus passenger and have to take Traveleeze for even the shortest journey. For some reason though, I don't have a problem on London buses. Can't decide whether it's because you sit higher, or what. So you might be ok on the bus. :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarplumsmum Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 thats interesting spannerandpony I could do a little bus ride while Dd is in class, I could do a walkable route then if i'm feeling ill could get off or at least walk back if I feel I can't do the round trip. Will defo be taking tablets anyway for the train was hoping I would grow out of it one day but its seems i'm stuck with it for life, it is a pain and has spoilt a lots of fun times and stopped me joining in on some fun things with the children x 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 It is really horrible. Sorry to go off topic but I do find that it's worse when I'm hungry. Tablets make me really drowsy but I find Traveleeze a Godsend, partly because they're pastilles and also because they work at lightning speed! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Sugarplumsmum. Don't forget to get an oystercard for you as well, you can order one for yourself on line. Look at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ for information. For your child - Click on 'oyster' and then 'students and children', choose the age of your child and read away. You can apply for an oystercard for them online as you're outside London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14310.aspx Once you have your cards and if you register on line you can then top up on line a few days before you travel on the tube saying that you'll 'touch in' at a particular station and then it's ready for when you pass through that point. If you don't want to do that then you can always top up at a machine at a station or go and speak to a human being at a window. You can also click somewhere on TFL to get weekly updates by email of travel delays on the tube at weekends and then you can take a different route. With the price of advance train tickets. Use your local rail company eg First Great Western to buy on line and collect them in advance from a machine at the station. Usually single tickets each way are cheaper than return tickets. Booking on line means you can get a reserved seat. The tickets become available 12 weeks before the date of travel, as has already been mentioned before, but they are usually at an expensive price. Keep looking and then you will find that about 2 weeks later the prices drop! Buy them then. You will soon find what trains suit you best and will know what times to book. Watch out for rail works every now and again as it will probably mean an earlier start from Cardiff. It will be nerve racking to begin with but you soon become accustomed to the travelling and get the stamina to do it. We travelled for nearly 5 years from the West Country to LJ&SB and allowed 45-60mins from finishing a class to get changed and to get to Paddington Station. We never missed our booked train by doing that. There is a small waiting room off platform 1 which is good to go and have a sit down. There is a Sainsbury's and a M&S plus lots of coffee shops as well. I heard somewhere that sitting on a newspaper help for those that suffer with travel sickness, don't know how true that is or if it's a myth. I hope that this makes some sort of sense and is helpful for you. If not or you want more info, do PM me :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 As well as your local train operator, I can also recommend www.thetrainline.com - got some absolute bargains on there for Birmingham last summer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I've sometimes found trainline.com to be more expensive than my local train operator. Years ago trainline charged for booking but I don't think that they do now. If the train price increases before your eyes on the site you are on (because those cheaper priced seats have been sold) just quickly go onto another train site like Trainline or National Rail where you might still get it at the cheaper price. East Coast does a cheaper on line price if going on their trains compared to if you tried booking the same journey through your local train operator/trainline eg London Kings Cross to York. (they did last Summer) You have to try all available ways to try and get those cheap seats 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I also use red spotted hanky to book train tickets it's the same price as going though my local train operator and no booking fee. You can use tesco clubcard vouchers towards train fares and you get loyalty points each time you book which can then be used towards the train fares aswell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarplumsmum Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Thank you everyone so much fab advice, i'm going to get myself a little note book and log it all in as i've got a mind like a seive I know once i've done it a few times I wont be giving it a second thought, but have to admit its giving me a sicky feeling when I think about traveling around London on a tube and i've not even got the finances sorted yet...lol I love this forum x 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I must admit it helped that I worked in Central London for some years, so am pretty good at finding my way around. But pre- Associates I found the bus system very daunting as I'd always stuck to tubes. Getting there now though! :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 The buses do take a bit of getting used to but once you work out the system, understand the letters above the bus stops and use TFL for the bus routes and where the bus stops then it's not too bad! Have a look at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/accessibility-guides/default.aspx. Here you can order, in large print, a big map of the bus routes which is easier to read than a small one. You can then see how and where the routes interchange. Large print maps of the tube are also available to order. These are both the size of large posters, best to look at home and not bring out of your bag in the middle of your journey! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 A lot of central London is surprisingly walkable. http://walkit.com/cities/london/ is great for explaining the route and how long a journey will take by foot. Apparently you can walk from Paddington to Covent Garden in 37 minutes - at a fast pace. (Though their idea of a fast pace is my idea of an outright sprint!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyG Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Always remember if you're booking in advance you have to catch the train you book. If you miss it you have to buy another ticket or if you're early you can't just get on an earlier train. As for reserved seat don't think my DS ever got to sit in it (don't think he ever found it) and you do need both parts of the ticket when they check your tickets on the train. The guards will either make you pay or get of the train and wait for the right one. One other make sure if you used a railcard to book they have the railcard used(family friend etc) with them if they don't they can be made to pay the extra. We know of examples of all of these including DS missing train in Birmingham and not enough money to get another ticket. That was fun and expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 A lot of central London is surprisingly walkable. http://walkit.com/cities/london/ is great for explaining the route and how long a journey will take by foot. Apparently you can walk from Paddington to Covent Garden in 37 minutes - at a fast pace. (Though their idea of a fast pace is my idea of an outright sprint!) Unless you're on crutches ;-)) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Always remember if you're booking in advance you have to catch the train you book. If you miss it you have to buy another ticket or if you're early you can't just get on an earlier train. As for reserved seat don't think my DS ever got to sit in it (don't think he ever found it) and you do need both parts of the ticket when they check your tickets on the train. The guards will either make you pay or get of the train and wait for the right one. One other make sure if you used a railcard to book they have the railcard used(family friend etc) with them if they don't they can be made to pay the extra. We know of examples of all of these including DS missing train in Birmingham and not enough money to get another ticket. That was fun and expensive All excellent points to which I will add one more. If using a railcard make sure it is still in date. DD had to pay £25 for another ticket yesterday on the train as hadn't noticed railcard expired a week ago urrgh!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 :-(( Spooky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porthesia Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 I've always used the tubes until recently I was persuaded to use the bus. All I can say is that I really enjoyed the journey. It may have been longer, but I felt that the journey went quicker. Walkit.com is wonderful -not all of the UK is available yet, but they are working on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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