Cosham to Norwich in Sept 26 avoiding London.

Planning ahead. I'm looking for an open return. I've a senior Railcard. Is it possible to avoid London on this journey?

Would be grateful for some advice.

The only route defined for an “any permitted” ticket between Cosham and Norwich is via LONDON.

If you are trying to avoid London, what exactly do you mean by this? You could go via Birmingham with two tickets, for example.

I'd like to avoid the stress of crossing London. Is it possible to change at Clapham Junction?

If you want to avoid the central London shuffle or the tube, then you have a few options. These are the routes that can be used with a fully flexible Off-Peak or Anytime Return, but do note that advances can be sometimes found on these routes for less than half that cost, so it may be worth checking your options on Trainsplit before committing to a full-cost open return.

- Southern to Brighton, Thameslink to Farringdon, Elizabeth line to Stratford or Liverpool Street, Greater Anglia to Norwich (around 5h 30)
- Southern to Chichester, Southern to Three Bridges, Thameslink to Farringdon, Elizabeth Line to Stratford or Liverpool Street, Greater Anglia to Norwich (around 5h)
- SWR to Woking or Winchester, SWR to Clapham Junction, Mildmay line to Stratford, Greater Anglia to Norwich (around 5h)

For comparison, the most direct option (SWR to Waterloo, Jubilee line to Stratford, GA to Norwich) takes around 4.5 hours, so avoiding central London will add 30-60 minutes to the overall trip time.

If London Crosslink was still around (direct Basingstoke-Essex train services until 2002) then that would be the most straightforward option, but it still wouldn't have been particularly fast.

Ellijay said:

Is it possible to change at Clapham Junction?

Click to expand...

If you prefer sitting on the Overground for 45 minutes over taking the tube, then you can do that with a flexible ticket. However, as the direct trains from Cosham to London skip Clapham Junction, you'd have to change trains an additional time at Winchester or Woking to get there.

There are frequent stopping trains Clapham Junction to Stratford, if this is what you mean, it’s loads slower but it’s your preference. Monday to Friday I’d consider the Waterloo & City line for one stop to Bank, walking from there to Liverpool Street.

Three changes:

Cosham to Havant
( x Portsmouth) Havant to Victoria service to 3 Bridges, Gatwick or East Croydon
Thameslink (x Brighton) to Cambridge
GA Cambridge to Norwich

Yes, it’s via central London but without changes in the capital. I’ve no idea how fares work for that though.

“Any permitted” tickets are valid via Brighton and the other places mentioned to London, and then via Cambridge to Norwich.

There’s also the 76 bus from Waterloo to Moorgate. 20 minutes “off peak”.

You can also get the slow train from Clapham Junction to Shoreditch High Street followed by a walk to Liverpool Street.

Go via Basingstoke, Reading, Elizabeth Line and Stratford……

But then that would take you so much longer, so just use the tube like most normal people would do. ‍♂️

Thanks for all the very useful advice, there are lots of options to consider.

Ellijay said:

Thanks for all the very useful advice, there are lots of options to consider.

Click to expand...

We live in Bsk and our daughters live in Brighton and Norwich, so between us we are familiar with all these routes, Basingstoke>Reading>Liz Line (normally 1 change) to Stratford is a favourite with luggage for simplicity. (Walk from Liz line to mainline at Liv St is looong). TL to Cambridge then Nrw also good. I'd prefer either of these to LO Clapham>Stratford as a way of 'crossing London'. Good luck!