oh2doula

I have discovered my family is orginally from Cranbrook Kent England. I am planning a trip to London and wondering what the best way to travel to Cranbrook would be for a group of five. From what I have found so far public transportation does not go out that far. We are planning for March. We are thinking a day trip. Is renting a car the only option?? Thanks!!!

sofarsogood

Public transport does reach Cranbrook. Details of how to get there by train, and local buses can be found here http://www.cranbrook.org/travel.php

Hiring a car would be more flexible and likely more economical for a group of five though

annhig

you could get the train to Tunbridge Wells or Maidstone and hire a car there.

it'll get dark quite early in March and by the time you've factored in travel time, an overnight stay might be better, and you'd learn and see a lot more.

oh2doula

annhig - great point about getting dark - any recommendations for hotel/b & b?? I am finding that accommodations for 5 can be tricking - getting two rooms is not out of the questions - would like to keep under $200 if possible -


"hire car" - is this renting a car and we drive or hiring someone to drive us there?? I know this is probably a silly question....

oh2doula

where would be best place to depart from London?? least expensive - safest... we are not certain where will be will staying in London yet.

Hooameye

""hire car" - is this renting a car and we drive or hiring someone to drive us there?? I know this is probably a silly question...."

In British English, a hire car is what you in the States (assuming you're from there) would call a "rental car", so a car you drive yourself.

sofarsogood

trains to that part of Kent can start from Charing Cross, London Bridge, Victoria and Waterloo all busy safe central London stations. Charing Cross is the most central (just about) - off peak times will be cheapest

oh2doula

thanks everyone - I am also finding that I can take bus from Staplehurst - where can I get rates? I did find off peak times are cheapest but is there a way to look at rates to pick the cheapest rate.

flanneruk

It gets dark in March around 1800 - the same time it gets dark year-round in much of America, and exactly the same time it gets dark in March everywhere in the world.

The best way to plan this kind of journey by public transport is to start from www.transportdirect.info.

This shows the options - which almost invariably will be faster in SE England by public transport than by car (the program assumes reasonable familiarity with driving and route planning in England).

You can then get the cost of the train portion from www.nationalrail.co.uk, which shows you when the peak/offpeak break is on the journeys you're planning.That site will also show options for possible fare reductions if you're buying for a large party. There is no benefit of any kind in booking this journey in advance: fares get no cheaper, and seat booking is not possible.

There's no easy source for single bus fares. Assume about £2 or so for a 20 minute journey. There may be ways of saving on the bus portion: there is greater expertise on the subtleties of bus pricing in the London suburbs at the Trip Advisor forum than here.

If you're unfamiliar with driving in Britain, a journey from central London to its southern suburbs is the worst possible way of learning. Hiring a car somewhere like Maidstone might be the only way of getting the flexibility you might find you want once you've made your plans - but it will add substantially to the journey time (unless you get the superfast premium-priced train from St Pancras, on which prebooking might make sense), and still isn't a particularly user-friendly experience for someone who's only ever driven on the wrong side of the road.

There is no point, BTW, in choosing your hotel on the basis of proximity to one of these London stations.

PatrickLondon

Off peak is customarily after 9.30 am. But local bus fares, though never as cheap as we'd all like them to be, aren't likely to be extortionate. You could always ask Arriva (who operate the bus between Staplehurst and Cranbrook):
http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/contact-arriva/

Bear in mind that the parish registers and other records for Cranbrook may be more easily consulted in Maidstone:
http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure_and_c...ry_centre.aspx

tarquin

Because there is a good grammar school in Cranbrook, there are quite a few B&Bs. I used to stay with Mrs Wilson, but I do not know whether she is still there. Get in touch with Cranbrook Tourist Office who should have a list.

annhig

It gets dark in March around 1800 - the same time it gets dark year-round in much of America, and exactly the same time it gets dark in March everywhere in the world.>>

mmmm - i think that the good folk of Iceland might disagree with you, Flanner. I suppose it could depend when in March the OP is visiting - by the end of the month, we'll be into BST of course. [it starts at 2am on sunday 21.3.13].

Gordon_R

Annhig - you've completely missed the point. The whole point about March is that it is close to the spring equinox, where everywhere on the planet has 12 hours of daylight. It is wrong to put the OP off by incorrectly suggesting that it gets dark "early" in March in England (or Iceland for that matter).

oh2doula

thanks so much!!! as usual flanneruk you have provided extremely helpful info!!!! There wasnt really any way I would drive!!

oh2doula

Will a seven day Oyster card work after we ride the train as far as we can?? Or will we need to pay additional for local bus into Cranbrook??

janisj

Oysters are ONLY for travel in London. Nothing at all to do w/ Kent/Cranbrook buses.

oh2doula

I have been pouring over timetables etc and hoping I have this correct - take National Rail from London ( still not sure where we are staying) to Royal Tunbridge Wells Station and then I can take a local bus (297) to Cranbook and then be back on bus by 4pm to return to London.

I am not used to using public transportation etc and having trouble understanding all this!! Trying to get a rough estimate of how much this little trip will cost - five adults - we will be in London March 14 leaving early 19th - plan to leave in morning and be there majority of day but during the week is great (if rates are cheaper etc ) thinking friday....I am really hoping the hundred plus pounds is not correct!!

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

janisj

Is that £100 plus for all five of you?

Just looked at Nationalrail.co.uk - it is too early to book mid March but using Fri. March 1 and leaving from Charing Cross at 9:30 the fare is £17.50 pp to Tunbridge Wells.

Local buses from there to Cranbrook should be inexpensive

oh2doula

On the Cranbrook website it says Staplehurst is closest....

the 100 pounds must have been for all five!!!

Is the 17.50 pp each way or round trip?? I know I have plenty of time but just wanting to get an idea of the cost.

flanneruk

Except on the high speed train from St Pancras (which the poster's not proposing to use), there is no point in prebooking a train from London to destinations SE of it. There's no discount, virtually none of the trains are set up to allow seat reservation - and even if they were, early morning outbound trains are typically 90% empty.

On weekdays, prices drop sharply after about 0930 (precise trains vary by operator and destination), but low-cost offpeak fares apply all day Saturday and Sunday. All things being equal, it would make better sense to go to Cranbrook on a Sat or Sun - but if and only if connecting buses run conveniently (bus timetables change at weekends, and often remoter buses don't run at all on Sundays).

Fares go up for journeys after early Jan, but won't go up again for (we hope) another year. Modelling your train journey on the National Rail site for any dates in Feb will show you the peak and offpeak costs.

You need to check weekend bus timetables at the operator's site, which Patrick tells us is Arriva.