zoobiechick

Hub and I are arriving in London on the Eurostar and need to get to Fleet River Bakery, near the Holburn tube stop. Those of you familiar with this area, would the bakery be in walking distance from St Pancras station? Or could we buy an Oyster Card there at St Pancras and hop on the tube? Supposedly just about everything is within walking distance from our room, so I might not want to buy an Oyster right away.

MmePerdu

Holborn is a hike but doable if you don't have too much stuff. However, no place is walking distance to everywhere, London is enormous, so go ahead and get yourself an Oyster Card.

latedaytraveler

Zoobiechick, presumably you are going to be in London for a number of days, right? So why would you avoid buying an Oyster Card upon arrival?

Have a great time...

janisj

I agree w/ latedaytraveler - why not get your oyster on arrival. No reason to put it off IMO.

The walk is easy - but only without any bags and in decent weather. So I'd either take the tube. -or depending on the luggage situation - a taxi.

Wanted to add - lucky you getting in to Fleet River. That is difficult since it books up months in advance.

PatrickLondon

It sounds as though the OP would find it worth while to check out where they're staying on a map, in relation to wherever they're likely to want to visit:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/15101.aspx

Walking from St Pancras to the Fleet River Bakery would take something like 20-30 minutes.

BigRuss

<i> Supposedly just about everything is within walking distance from our room . . .</i>

What's everything? There is NO WAY that is true. London is the largest city in Western Europe. It's more than twice the size of Paris. Neither the Tower, Westminster, South Kens, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park or places like Greenwich, Hampton Court, Windsor, etc are "within walking distance."

And if you and hub are going to be in the city awhile (4+ days) and want to see the Tower, Hampton Court Palace, Cabinet War Rooms and some other places listed on www.daysoutguide.co.uk, why would you get an Oyster? You can get 2for1 admissions with a single-day or 7-day travel card that you can buy on arrival at St. Pancras at the national rail ticket booths. That'll save you $35 on the Tower, $30 on HCP, &c.

crellston

I used to walk that route every day when I worked in Lincoln's. Inn and really would not want to do it carrying bags etc. It would take around 20-25 mins if you knew the route. Easy enough on the tube but better in a taxi . Good location though.

zoobiechick

We will only have backpack style carry ons, but it sounds like we should just purchase the oyster or travel card.I am intrigued by what you said, BigRuss. I have studied the transportation options and read endless posts on here and am as clueless as ever about what to do. We will be in London more than 7 days. Plans include sightseeing around London, a day or two in Dartford, and a day trip to Canterbury or Rochester. Hampton is a possibility. We will also need to travel to Heathrow at the end. With all this bouncing around, what are my best transportation options? I prefer to not break the bank...

As for Fleet River, booked months ago...thank you, Fodorites! I'm stoked for this trip!!!

janisj

If you plan on using the 2for1's - what you'll likely need are both one week paper travel cards (to get the 2for1's) and Oysters w/ PAYG ££ loaded for the 'left over' days.

PatrickLondon

The 2for1s are only available to people holding tickets issued by a national rail company, including their version of the travelcard valid on London public transport: but you must get from one of them, not from Transport for London, so in this case, get it at St Pancras, the minute you arrive. Don't go down immediately into the Underground station, turn back and look for the signs to Midland Mainline/SouthEastern/National Rail and go to that ticket office for the 7-day travelcard:
http://stpancras.com/downloads/station-maps/

You will need to provide photos for ID (just the ordinary kind you can get from a photobooth):
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_...elcard_Seasons

That is, if you want to take advantage of the 2for1 offers. If you don't, you just get an Oystercard from the Underground ticket office, and put the 7-travelcard and/or PAYG money on it. But if there are two of you and it's your first time in London, you might well save a bit with the 2for1s.

BigRuss

Save a bit is an understatement. If you go to the Tower, you'll save $35 on admission; if you go to Hampton Court Palace, you'll save $30 and about the same for the Churchill War Rooms. London has a TON(NE) of museums with no admission fees, but those sites that cost will cost a LOT.

To distill this:

(1) go to the website I mentioned and print off every single voucher for a site that is interesting. Bring passport-size headshots to London.
(2) go to the ticket office PatrickLondon described on arrival at St Pancras.
(3) Get 7-day travelcards from that National Rail office. You should receive a flimsy, plastic-coated, orange-bordered 7-day travelcard. This is the card you show with your vouchers. You really only need Zone 1-2.
(4) Go to the nearby newsstand (because there is always one) and buy Oystercards with about 20 quid on them - use these after the travelcards expire. Oystercards are USELESS for the 2for1 deals.

Enjoy.

janisj

I'm evil But when I travel to London in May w/ three other ladies (believe it or not - two of then from my infamous '6 ladies' trip) I'm not even telling them about the 2for1's.

They put me in charge of everything and there is no way I'm futzing about w/ paper travel cards, 'Oyster for this/paper for that', photos, etc.

They'll pay full freight . . .

But yes -- If one is on any sort of budget you can save a TON using the 2for1's.

PatrickLondon

>>They'll pay full freight . . .<<

And I was always told it was rude to discuss a lady's weight.......

BigRuss

For all the beatings I get as an inveterate a--, I'm the nice one compared to Janis?

Geez.

Then again, I'm not in charge of herding a bunch of cats . . . or women of a(n) (un)certain age.

MmePerdu

If only you'd stopped at "Geez".

propita

@ Big Russ: Although I’ve gleaned all of this info already from these fora, your presentation of the info was outstanding! The only thing I’m planning on doing differently is getting the Oyster at Heathrow, to get into London in the first place. Our hotel is near St Pancras/Kings Cross, so no problems there.

My only question: We’ll be there April 23. I’ve read to print vouchers, but that’s a lot of pages (unless I’m looking at it wrong) that I really don’t want to take along. I’ve also read that booklets are available at the rail stations--unless they’re not. What’s the advice when I could print out easily 40 vouchers, just in case we decide to go here or there?

zoobiechick

Thanks, BigRuss & Patrick for spelling it out for me. I'll follow those directions, for sure, and hopefully I'll start to grasp the transport in and around London. I definitely want to save $$ where possible.

As for saying Fleet River is within walking distance of just about everything -- that came from reviews of the Fleet River rooms. Apparently, not quite true. I know London is huge, so no surprise there.

Now a silly question. Are trip reports welcome from the peanut gallery--i.e., me -- when I return? This forum has been so much help, if I can contribute in some way I would love to.

zoobiechick

PS: Will the Oystercard get us to Heathrow?

Will the Travelcard get us to Dartford and Hampton if I purchase the relevant zones, or should I just purchase separate tickets for those places?

janisj

>>Now a silly question. Are trip reports welcome from the peanut gallery--i.e., me -- when I return?<<

Absolutely! They are really appreciated.

Yes, the Oyster (W/ PAYG £) will get you out to LHR.

Hampton Court is in zone 6. As for Dartford - there was talk of it coming under the wing of TFL sometime this year, but I don't know if that happened so maybe one of the London locals has the current info.

BigRuss: I'm the only one who gets more abuse then you do! LOL (But Dull_Sex has left the bldg so just a couple of miscreants are still in attack mode)

BigRuss

<i>My only question: We’ll be there April 23. I’ve read to print vouchers, but that’s a lot of pages (unless I’m looking at it wrong) that I really don’t want to take along. I’ve also read that booklets are available at the rail stations--unless they’re not. What’s the advice when I could print out easily 40 vouchers, just in case we decide to go here or there?</i>

I've not seen booklets at the rail stations but I didn't really look. A London native (Patrick) or more frequent visitor (Janis) may know this.

We had about 10-12 pages of vouchers when we went last time. Will likely do the same again.