Great Western Coffee Shop

Not being a regular traveller to the capital, I am making an ambitious but unavoidable journey tomorrow from Bristol to Pitsea in Essex.  This involves a cross London journey from Paddington to Fenchurch Street.

There will be 3 of us making the journey, 2 adults and a young baby in a pushchair.

What way would the community recommend on how to make this journey with as little inconvenience and as cheap as possible.

A taxi is obviously the ideal way, but I fear a taxi bill of at least ^20 - ^25.  London buses any better?

Any pushchair friendly tube journey possible?

Thanks in advance.

Do you mean a pushchair (which can be collapsed) or a pram? I'm presuming you mean a pushchair, which you are required to fold up on FGW trains anyway, and would have to fold up on a bus.

The TfL tube map shows step free access these days. The new Circle/H&C line entrance has step free access, although you have to get from the main station there first, which would be a little circuitous avoiding the bridge. There's no obvious step free access at Tower Hill though.

Give you will have to collapse the pushchair on a taxi, would it be possible to collapse it for the couple of minutes when you are transferring and carry the sprog?

Pram, not pushchair sorry.  Whilst the pram is collapsible, it is still a bulk to carry.  The baby will be in a car seat which attached to the pram.

This is because we are driving back.

If you are using a through ticket (with the cross London marker +) have you thought of staying on the LU H&C line  from Paddington as far as West Ham or Barking? They'll both be step free interchanges (via lift or ramped subway) and connect with c2c trains to Pitsea?   (The new LU 'S stock' on the route is air-conditioned and has loads of room for prams/pushchairs - but not that many seats...)

National Rail's info on crossing London lists loads of options other than the main terminus stations here:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46587.aspx#travelling_connect

Paul

I was going to make the same suggestion as Paul - beaten to it as I typed!

There's a station plan for West Ham at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/SME/html/NRE_WEH/plan.html?rtnloc=WEH (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/SME/html/NRE_WEH/plan.html?rtnloc=WEH) : lift down from H&C platforms, then a lift back up to the c2c ones. A lot easier than Tower Hill and Fenchurch St.

That's the way I'd go....there's a lift down to the H&C playforms now

Thankyou all for your suggestions.

I'll using a FGW staff pass for the Bristol - Paddington leg of the journey (you'll know I recently joined FGW from another thread). 

It is the cross London journey I've yet to decide.

I will get a anytime single from Fenchurch Street to Pitsea.  My partner will be using exactly the same.  The baby is free.

I think I like the idea of step free access at West Ham.  Off to find train times via that route now.

^4.70 each for the tube journey if I'm not mistaken too.

I know others have given you good advice about routes but - at the risk of stating the obvious - you will greatly reduce stress levels by travelling out of peak hours. I took some family and friends to London last year and one of them had a buggy and it was a nightmare on the tube

Paddington to West Ham is ^4.70 cash.  Or ^3.20 on an Oyster card peak (Monday to Friday from 0630 to 0930 and from 1600 to 1900) or ^2.70 at any other time.