Day trip to london

khal327

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can help me. I am trying to plan a day trip to london from northampton. There will be 4 of us and just wondering what the cheapest route to get down there. I was thinking driving down to watford junction and getting a tube from there but unsure what the price of the travel card will be from watford and whether a congestion charge needs to be paid in watford. Or the other option is to get a train to euston and then travelcard for the day but was hoping something a bit cheaper. Any help would be great.

Thanks

lucywillow

The congestion charge does not apply in Watford.

uberalles

The congestion charge, coming from the North, starts around about just South of Islington, so about 2 miles from the centre. Watford is much further North so not a worry.

I'm not sure if they are any longer available but I previously went into a newsagent and bought a non-registered Oyster card, filled it with a tenner, I think I still have credit on it.

I believe there is a maximum charge for continuous all day travel around London, with all zones, which will apply to travel from Watford, and it will be about ten pounds.

dzug1

The off peak Oyster cap from Watford Junction to all zones is £16.40. £10 ish is from closer in.


A travelcard (saves paying the Oyster deposit) is the same price


If you travel together at all times you should be able to get a groupsave discount of 34% on the travelcard

Avoriaz

Whenever I travel into London I usually drive to an outlying tube station where I can park in a residential street for free or in an all day car park for a few pounds and then get the tube the rest of the way.

I live south of London so Morden is my tube of choice.

You could drive down the M1 to Junction 2 and try Mill Hill East or one of the Finchley tubes or continue to the end of the M1 and try Brent Cross or Golders Green.

Check out the local parking near those tubes as I can't comment on that. It may not be as easy or as cheap as it is at Morden.

Petrol plus perhaps a few pounds parking will probably be far cheaper than four train tickets from Northampton.

Get one day Travelcards at the tube station that allow you to use tubes and buses.

I've never used Oyster cards so I don't know if they are cheaper than the Travelcards I normally use. Same price according to the poster above.

PS: The Congestion Zone covers a small central area only and does not extend to anywhere near any of the tube stations I have mentioned. You could drive many miles further in and still not enter the CZ.

khal327

dzug1 wrote: »

The off peak Oyster cap from Watford Junction to all zones is £16.40. £10 ish is from closer in.


A travelcard (saves paying the Oyster deposit) is the same price


If you travel together at all times you should be able to get a groupsave discount of 34% on the travelcard

Thanks for your all your replies, Just wondering if you know how i can go about getting the discount on the travel cards as we will be travelling at the same time all day.

[Deleted User]

Another option is to drive down to Stanmore (which is a couple of junctions further down on the M1). There is a decent size car park next to the station, but it could be rather full mid-week. There are roads nearby that you can park at. Worst case.. you can always drive to another local station.

More importantly, there is an £8.50 cap on the oyster card charge from Zone 5 into zone 1.

With a Oyster card, you pay £5 deposit, pop some money on it; then when you're finished, take it to the ticket office and they'll refund you the £5 and whatever money is left on it.

khal327

Driving to mill hill east sounds like the best option. So am i right in saying i will need a travel card for zones 1-4. Thanks for helping me out.

khal327

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Another option is to drive down to Stanmore (which is a couple of junctions further down on the M1). There is a decent size car park next to the station, but it could be rather full mid-week. There are roads nearby that you can park at. Worst case.. you can always drive to another local station.

More importantly, there is an £8.50 cap on the oyster card charge from Zone 5 into zone 1.

With a Oyster card, you pay £5 deposit, pop some money on it; then when you're finished, take it to the ticket office and they'll refund you the £5 and whatever money is left on it.

Im unsure how to get a oyster card. I have only used travelcards before. I will have a look online.

wealdroam

khal327 wrote: »

Im unsure how to get a oyster card.

Buy one when you get to Stanmore if you want.

For ticket office opening times see here:

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUSTM/stanmore-underground-station?lineId=jubilee

dzug1

khal327 wrote: »

Thanks for your all your replies, Just wondering if you know how i can go about getting the discount on the travel cards as we will be travelling at the same time all day.

Just ask for it when buying the tickets at Watford Junction


You won't be eligible for it travelling from Stanmore or another tube station - only from a rail station