Great Western Coffee Shop

Hi

Please could somebody help with a different route enquiry.

Me and my mum has advance tickets from Bristol Temple Meads to Eastbourne in August and we wondered if we could change at Reading and take the train to Gatwick Airport and then to Brighton. This would then avoid us using the tube as I will be carrying a heavy suitcase up flights of steps and I didn't enjoy doing that at all last year.

Or, is the advance ticket only valid for using the tube. It shouldn't be as the train coming back is via the above route for the same price. All it says on the ticket is ''only valid for routes passing through Slough''. It is a shame that the 12:39 to Brighton didn't have a cheap ticket available as that journey would have been a lot quicker and easier.

Thanks for your help.

With Advance tickets you have to stick to the itinerary as booked. I suspect you don't have seat reservations out of London Victoria down to Brighton/Eastbourne(?), but you will still need to travel as far as Paddington.

Agreed: if you have purchased advance tickets, you have to keep to the particular train journey for which those tickets were booked.  Not necessarily the same seats - but the same train journey.

If you've booked what's descibed as "Advance Single" tickets, then:


But if you've booked "Off Peak Single" tickets in advance then:


In other words ... with the second type of ticket, even though it says "Routes via Slough" you are allowed to get off at Reading and cut your journey on that ticket short there. You could then buy a separate new ticket onward from Reading.   I'm not sure if you would be allowed to resume the previous ticket's use at Redhill, or have to use fresh tickets all the way from Reading to Eastbourne.

With the first type of ticket, you must use it on the specified train all the way to Paddington.  Technically, even if one of you was taken ill in Reading and you had to be taken from the station to hospital by ambulance, you would have to buy fresh full rate singles from Bristol. You could even be penalty fared as you tried to leave the station / change trains going off your original ticket.

In general, "Advance Single" tickets are very limited indeed in changes that can be made to your journey, and you should only book them if you are certain of your journey times, joining and leaving points, or if you are prepared to take the risk of loosing all or most of your money if you get it wrong, or if circumstances outside the control of an ATOC member conspire to have you miss your train.

No, we don't have seats reserved from London Victoria to Eastbourne. But it shouldn't be too busy, so I am sure we will get a table. We will go to Paddington and take the tube to Victoria.

Thanks for your help.

Even if you went Reading Gatwick you'd probably still have to carry your suitecase up and down stairs.


You can do Padd - Victoria by escalator Bakerloo Oxford Circus cross tunnel (level) onto  Victoria line to Victoria then up escalator. It's quite often quicker than dragging round the Circle. Although I think there are still steps up from LUL ticket office to concourse at Victoria, unlike Padd where there are escalators down to the LUL ticket office. So it can be done with probably with only one flight of stairs.

Taxi - Paddington to Victoria?   Not all that expensive if you compare it with two walkup fares on the tube - 10.80 (est) v 8.00 on the tube.

http://www.worldtaximeter.com/london/paddington+station/Victoria+Station
http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Transport/London/Underground.htm

But won't their tickets include the Tube if tehy are through tickets?

Good point.   Still - on the cost of a holiday, with loads of chattels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_property) being taken along, they might feel that a tenner is a small extra price to pay for a journey that's less tiring and stressful.    I know that when I work in London, I use the taxi from Paddington if I'm carrying dragging more than about 25kgs.

Having done Paddington to Victoria (well to a hotel right by there) I can tell you its a lot more than 10.80

Came more to something like 15.00

I know I've said this before on a different thread... But get the 36 or 436 bus from outside Paddington all the way to Victoria.. No steps at all, apart from the one to get onto the bus  ;D.. If I remember rightly bus tickets are ^2 each... Much more pleasant than the tube and much cheaper than a cab..

Yes, you're absolutely right - GBP2.00 single fare, must be bought from the machines at the stop using exact change before you board the bus.

Not included in the cost of a through rail ticket but may well be far less stressful than the underground esp with luggage (and I don't see any issue with regards to routeing or availability of the advance ticket, as long as you're at Victoria in good time for your booked train which you must catch).

Out of Paddington up the ramp to Praed Street, turn left then wait at the first bus stop on the mainline station side of the road to catch a 436 which runs every few minutes.

More visually pleasing as well. Down Edgware Road to Marble Arch, then Park Lane, Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner, skirt the western side of Brenda's gaff, then onto Victoria.

..and is generally quicker than the tube too.. I do that journey every day and only a handful of times (state opening of Parliament for example) is the bus slow as it gets stuck in traffic.. I'd recommend it every time

Yes, our tickets include using the tube.

I would have gone this way:

Bristol Temple Meads - Southampton Central. Which you can book ADV tickets for, but the off peak returns are cheap enough I find ;)

Then Take a Southern Service to Brighton, they run every hour, normally at 33 minutes past IIRC. Normally these depart from the opposite platform on the same island. So stairs aren't an issue, IIRC there is lifts there so that shouldn't be a problem. But if you want to guarentee the train being on the same platform, split the tickets are fareham instead. (Something else to consider, with thanks to Brucey for this, is the split at Havant trick, which is slightly cheaper than BRI - Fareham).

When you arrive at Brighton, this is terminus station with total step free access, bar the odd pavement or two... ;) Pick up a direct service to Eastbourne, and your there!

Completely avoids LU and mostly step free ;)

It is cheaper than BRI-CSA.  BRI-FRM is actually ^2 cheaper than BRI-HAV.

This inconsistency is not just at Havant.  All the stations in the Havant area (Emsworth, Warblington, Southbourne, Nutbourne) have the same fare from Bristol.  Splitting further down the line might make the Brighton ticket slightly cheaper.

Doesn't just seem to be the case from Bristol either.  Cheaper to buy CDF-HAV than CDF-CSA, same with WMN and other stations on this line.

It's changed - the direct xx33 to Brighton now departs from the same platform as the FGW arrives on, ie 2A, so unless the FGW is late it's the next train on the same platform, arriving about xx17 or so.  It's the Victoria train at xx13 that uses 3A, and that is usually already sitting in Southampton when the FGW arrives - but its useful as far as Barnham.

Paul

Ah right... Thanks for clarifying that ;)

I prefer to use Southern when going to London from SOU to be honest, Because I can get to Victoria Coach Station without having to use LU from Waterloo or a change at Clapham Junction. Also I don't particularly want to pay ^59.50 for a First OP Period Return with SWT, when Southern offer a First OP Period Return for ^27.70 and that includes a free cup of coffee ;D Even if it does take considerably longer! But then i'm a strange individual... :D