Butts Eurostar Jaunt

[Butts]

I need a bit of advice about my forthcoming trip.

Flying from Edinburgh to Birmingham I am catching the last Virgin Service to Euston which leaves Wolverhampton at 2237 arriving at International at 2310 where I join it arriving in London just after 1am.

1. Will I get the normal "Comps" in 1st Class at this time of night ? Has anyone ever been on this service to verify the ale will be flowing.

2. When I arrive in London if I buy a one day Travelcard will it be available for the whole of that day or is it to early ?

I am planning to get a Night Bus to St Pancras International or I suppose I could walk from Euston.

3. Are there facilities open 24 hours at St Pancras International as my Eurostar is at 0540

4. What time can you check in prior to boarding (Hand Luggage Only). I have my online ticket.

5. What is the Waitrose Buffet like in "Peasant Class" which I am travelling in (£58 Return special)

6. Can anyone suggest what you could do in London from 1am-4am that does not involve a hooker (24hr cinema ?? - not naughty films)

I am spending a few hours in Paris then returning to London in the evening - hence the reason I asked about the travelcard earlier.

Can't believe I have never been on the Eurostar before - thanks for your help.

 

[Kite159]

Euston to Kings-Cross/St Pancakes is only a 10 minute walk

 

[Abpj17]

oh fun


I'll try to answer what I can - I don't understand your very convoluted route south! (instead of a direct train to kings x or a direct flight to one of the london airports)

Travelcards can be used the same day and up to 4.29am the following morning. You might want to think about whether you really need one though or would walking/a single/contactless bankcard with daily cap be ok instead?

Euston to St Pancras is a pretty short walk if you're a walker and don't have much luggage.

In practice, you probably won't need/get a night bus (a number preceded by a N, with some route variations); it's a busy route so some routes simply run 24/7 including the 10 and 390. Don't both with a tube between the two - it's invariably quicker to walk!

http://stpancras.com/the-station/station-facilities lists everything at st pancras and times. There is free wi-fi

The retail stuff pretty much shuts down. Staff that work there will know for sure. There are some that open later some nights e.g http://stpancras.com/eat-and-drink/fine-burger-company/ . Costa Coffee and Starbucks are 24/7 and one or both have comfy seats The patisserie type shops open early e.g. le pain quotidien opens at 4 during the week. Flick through

There are two McDonalds (one the other side of Kings X, one opposite) that are both 24/7 (if doubt, usually a safe option!) and should have free internet too. From memory there are some very expensive 24/7 internet cafes too.

I'm thinking about what else there is to do late at night one that springs to mind is casinos!

 

[Butts]

oh fun


I'll try to answer what I can - I don't understand your very convoluted route south! (instead of a direct train to kings x or a direct flight to one of the london airports)

Travelcards can be used the same day and up to 4.29am the following morning. You might want to think about whether you really need one though or would walking/a single/contactless bankcard with daily cap be ok instead?

Euston to St Pancras is a pretty short walk if you're a walker and don't have much luggage.

In practice, you probably won't need/get a night bus (a number preceded by a N, with some route variations); it's a busy route so some routes simply run 24/7 including the 10 and 390. Don't both with a tube between the two - it's invariably quicker to walk!

http://stpancras.com/the-station/station-facilities lists everything at st pancras and times. There is free wi-fi

The retail stuff pretty much shuts down. Staff that work there will know for sure. There are some that open later some nights e.g http://stpancras.com/eat-and-drink/fine-burger-company/ . Costa Coffee and Starbucks are 24/7 and one or both have comfy seats The patisserie type shops open early e.g. le pain quotidien opens at 4 during the week. Flick through

There are two McDonalds (one the other side of Kings X, one opposite) that are both 24/7 (if doubt, usually a safe option!) and should have free internet too. From memory there are some very expensive 24/7 internet cafes too.

I'm thinking about what else there is to do late at night one that springs to mind is casinos!

Thanks for taking the time to answer some of my queries

My route does appear convoluted, the reason being the Eurostar Sale prompted the change of plans. I was originally just going to the ex-marital home in the West Midlands.

When I return from Paris I am taking a train back up to Sandwell & Dudley on the Thursday Night. On Friday Morning I am flying up to Aberdeen from Birmingham - 6.50am :cry:

 

[Peter Mugridge]

From memory, check in opens at around 04.30 for the 05.40 departure - the time will be on the screens and I'd echo the comments above - best way of getting from Euston to St Pancras is to walk.

Both Costa and Starbucks are open 24 hours; Coast has the more comfortable seats and is right opposite the check in area...

If this is your first time in Paris as well as on the Eurostar, head to St Lazare - you'll find lots of locomotive hauled suburbans which stop within the Paris zones.

You'll find two main types of locomotive there, class 17000 and class 27300. The 17000s should be your priority as they have only months or at best a year left - one to watch out for that is still active is 17002; that's SNCF's oldest electric locomotive. I'd also advise trying at least one trip out to La defense from St Lazare - the class Z6400 units that form those services are wonderfully noisy; just make sure you are in one of the end cars in the unit as that's where the motors are.

From La Defense, descend onto RER Line A; another wonderfully noisy, indeed musical, type of unit that is on the way out can be found there - the three car MS61 units. Again, the end cars are the ones to be in. They work in pairs at weekends and triples on weekdays; the best sound effects are to be in the second of two motors where units are coupled together, windows down and just listen to the noise echoing off the tunnel walls on the long fast stretch to Etoile. It's worth letting a few other trains go to get an MS61; it might even be your only chance to ride one. They'll be on the Boissy St Leger services, one every 10 minutes, but be aware that some diagrams have already been lost.

 

[Techniquest]

How do you intend to get to BHX for 0650 from Sandwell and Dudley?!

Some questions have already been answered I see, however as someone who's done more than enough London all-nighters, I had to comment! So let's see, where do I start?

Oh yes, buses. As has already been mentioned, several routes run all day and night as the same number (Stagecoach London's Paddington Basin to Mile End - or wherever it goes to in the east now - route 205 is just one such route), some of which run as frequently as every 12 minutes from memory. The 205 is not quite that frequent, either every 15 or 20 minutes I think.

However, I too would not necessarily recommend the waste of ching on it. I see you've mentioned you only have hand luggage, so the walk really won't be that difficult. It's a walk I've done a good few times from both St Pancras and Kings Cross, and if you're determined you can do one train to the other in 14 minutes. Yes I have done that before, although it takes quite the effort to do that! Kings Cross and St Pancras are signposted from Euston, and it's only going to be a maximum of 10 minutes from Euston. Obviously you can take a while if you prefer though!

As for whether you'll need a Travelcard, my immediate answer would be no, unless you're going to do a truckload of cranking around London before/after the Eurostar legs of your trip. Since your arrival into EUS is around 0100, realistically you should still leave an hour for check-in onto the Eurostar so I'd advise being there no later than 0440 just in case. I know it sounds absurd to expect a large crowd at that time of the day, but it's better to be safe than sorry! So that gives you a little over 3 and a half hours. This does limit your options a bit, but also engineering works will also limit the options. Off the top of my head, there's four options that don't involve a long vegging session at St Pancras:

1) Get a night bus to Victoria, then do a return trip to East Croydon on 377s (I should imagine you could make it there in time for the 0200 to Brighton/Three Bridges, and IIRC it's not a long wait for the train back to Victoria) and bus back to St Pancras.

2) Go to St Pancras and, assuming the Thameslink core is open (this depends on what day you're going), do a St Pancras to East Croydon round trip on 319s.

3) Depending on engineering works, go a bit of a circular and do Victoria to East Croydon to London St Pancras.

4) Go on a bus bashing spree!

Food and drink, this has already been mentioned but I wasn't aware of Costa having an existance at St Pancras! Frothbucks, yes, but not the superior coffee outlet! After arrival into Euston you're not going to find much in the immediate area that's open sadly, but the McDonalds down the road by Kings Cross will be and are probably your best bet. Of course, you must expect it to be rather busy and noisy in them. Always has been in my experience at least! And no, you can't get breakfast food in there until at least 0500. You wouldn't believe the amount of party-goers who expect to get a bacon roll meal at 0234 in the morning...Limited night time menu only I'm afraid, at least it was last time I was in there.

I'm pretty sure there's a 24 hour shop somewhere between Euston and Kings Cross, or a little past Kings Cross, however I've not used it in years so it may not be there now.

Eurostar buffet, please take a lottery win with you as it's outrageously expensive. Not 100% on what they sell on there now, I just remember being outraged at how expensive everything is. A large coffee was £3-something IIRC and smaller than a small coffee in Costa! A can of Stella Cidre, just ONE, was £4.80!

Complimentaries on the last 390 of the night to Euston, I would be surprised if there's much at all. Definitely don't expect at-seat service and a long walk to coach C to get stuff from the shop (if it's even open, which it may not be), and expect the coffee machine to be shut down for cleaning.

Other than that, yes a Travelcard will be valid from the point you'd purchase it (around 0100 in your case) until 0429 the following day. If you're purchasing one on a weekday morning, it won't be cheap at all as you'd have to buy an Anytime Day Travelcard.

I *THINK* that covers everything!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I know it sounds absurd to expect a large crowd at that time of the day

On every occasion when I've done the all nighter for the first Eurostar ( which has always been a Sunday night for a Monday morning ) I have found up to 50 people doing the same, ie the all night fester, and the first Eurostar does seem to load extremely well.....

 

[Butts]

How do you intend to get to BHX for 0650 from Sandwell and Dudley?!
Some questions have already been answered I see, however as someone who's done more than enough London all-nighters, I had to comment! So let's see, where do I start?

Oh yes, buses. As has already been mentioned, several routes run all day and night as the same number (Stagecoach London's Paddington Basin to Mile End - or wherever it goes to in the east now - route 205 is just one such route), some of which run as frequently as every 12 minutes from memory. The 205 is not quite that frequent, either every 15 or 20 minutes I think.

However, I too would not necessarily recommend the waste of ching on it. I see you've mentioned you only have hand luggage, so the walk really won't be that difficult. It's a walk I've done a good few times from both St Pancras and Kings Cross, and if you're determined you can do one train to the other in 14 minutes. Yes I have done that before, although it takes quite the effort to do that! Kings Cross and St Pancras are signposted from Euston, and it's only going to be a maximum of 10 minutes from Euston. Obviously you can take a while if you prefer though!

As for whether you'll need a Travelcard, my immediate answer would be no, unless you're going to do a truckload of cranking around London before/after the Eurostar legs of your trip. Since your arrival into EUS is around 0100, realistically you should still leave an hour for check-in onto the Eurostar so I'd advise being there no later than 0440 just in case. I know it sounds absurd to expect a large crowd at that time of the day, but it's better to be safe than sorry! So that gives you a little over 3 and a half hours. This does limit your options a bit, but also engineering works will also limit the options. Off the top of my head, there's four options that don't involve a long vegging session at St Pancras:

1) Get a night bus to Victoria, then do a return trip to East Croydon on 377s (I should imagine you could make it there in time for the 0200 to Brighton/Three Bridges, and IIRC it's not a long wait for the train back to Victoria) and bus back to St Pancras.

2) Go to St Pancras and, assuming the Thameslink core is open (this depends on what day you're going), do a St Pancras to East Croydon round trip on 319s.

3) Depending on engineering works, go a bit of a circular and do Victoria to East Croydon to London St Pancras.

4) Go on a bus bashing spree!

Food and drink, this has already been mentioned but I wasn't aware of Costa having an existance at St Pancras! Frothbucks, yes, but not the superior coffee outlet! After arrival into Euston you're not going to find much in the immediate area that's open sadly, but the McDonalds down the road by Kings Cross will be and are probably your best bet. Of course, you must expect it to be rather busy and noisy in them. Always has been in my experience at least! And no, you can't get breakfast food in there until at least 0500. You wouldn't believe the amount of party-goers who expect to get a bacon roll meal at 0234 in the morning...Limited night time menu only I'm afraid, at least it was last time I was in there.

I'm pretty sure there's a 24 hour shop somewhere between Euston and Kings Cross, or a little past Kings Cross, however I've not used it in years so it may not be there now.

Eurostar buffet, please take a lottery win with you as it's outrageously expensive. Not 100% on what they sell on there now, I just remember being outraged at how expensive everything is. A large coffee was £3-something IIRC and smaller than a small coffee in Costa! A can of Stella Cidre, just ONE, was £4.80!

Complimentaries on the last 390 of the night to Euston, I would be surprised if there's much at all. Definitely don't expect at-seat service and a long walk to coach C to get stuff from the shop (if it's even open, which it may not be), and expect the coffee machine to be shut down for cleaning.

Other than that, yes a Travelcard will be valid from the point you'd purchase it (around 0100 in your case) until 0429 the following day. If you're purchasing one on a weekday morning, it won't be cheap at all as you'd have to buy an Anytime Day Travelcard.

I *THINK* that covers everything!

Thanks.

I will get the 0500 from Wolverhampton (arrives 0539) or get my son to give me a lift to the Airport.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

On every occasion when I've done the all nighter for the first Eurostar ( which has always been a Sunday night for a Monday morning ) I have found up to 50 people doing the same, ie the all night fester, and the first Eurostar does seem to load extremely well.....

What's the "Waitrose" Buffet like in "cattle"

 

[PermitToTravel]

You need to ensure you buy your London travelcard from an NR ticket office, as LU ticket offices between 0000 and 0430 will issue one for the previous day!

 

[Butts]

You need to ensure you buy your London travelcard from an NR ticket office, as LU ticket offices between 0000 and 0430 will issue one for the previous day!

Thanks for the tip - will there be any open at Euston when I arrive ? - If not I can buy one in advance with the correct date.

 

[Techniquest]

Ticket machines should be plentiful in Euston, there's 3 or 4 by Boots at least. Plenty more in the ticket office but not sure whether that's open 24/7.

Fair shout there for getting to BHX, 0539 arrival on the train to take-off at 0650 seems a bit too tight to me!

 

[Butts]

Ticket machines should be plentiful in Euston, there's 3 or 4 by Boots at least. Plenty more in the ticket office but not sure whether that's open 24/7.

Fair shout there for getting to BHX, 0539 arrival on the train to take-off at 0650 seems a bit too tight to me!

Security queues are normally minimal at that time of the Morning - it's quite doable.

It will be more like boarding at 0650 (if your lucky) from my experience.

However I may kick my son out of bed to take me - he is a Postie so I'll be an early delivery for him

 

[Peter Mugridge]

What's the "Waitrose" Buffet like in "cattle"

I don't know - I always bring my own snacks with me when I travel; I've never used the buffet car on Eurostar even though I've made at least 50 return trips over the years since it started running!

 

[Butts]

Has anyone been in First Class on a Virgin Pendelino after 2200 and did you get the normal 1st Class Service - ie Ale and Snacks

 

[Butts]

For once The Eurostar sale Fare I booked for next week appears to be genuine.

I have checked how much the same trip would cost booking today and it is over four times the £58 Return I paid.

 

[Butts]

I have completed my journey on Eurostar and was quite surprised how old the Rolling Stock looked from the outside, indeed the interior was relatively shabby.

Is the original rolling stock still being used ?

 

[Greenback]

Yes, but I think it's been refurbished.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It has; originally the interior was a rather yukky grey and yellow.

 

[Greenback]

Yes, I remember that! I've never been a big fan of the decor of Eurostar coaches, nor the seats, to be honest. Thought he current style is less horrid than the original.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Apart from tatty interiors - external cleaning (especially in Winter) is not a plus point. Anyone would perhaps think they outstabled stock in deserted sidings ....

 

[Butts]

Apart from tatty interiors - external cleaning (especially in Winter) is not a plus point. Anyone would perhaps think they outstabled stock in deserted sidings ....

When is new rolling stock planned ?

 

[ainsworth74]

It should be introduced in the next year or so however it's being used to allow new services to be introduced not to replace the old rolling stock. That is due to undergo a refurbishment also in the next year or so.

 

[Kite159]

At least they have started to introduce power sockets for standard class, and I do like the folding tables.

Although a better way to telling apart the window & aisle seat is probably needed, causes a bit of confusion with some passengers not knowing which seat is which (probably having numbers on the seats or having a little window picture next to the window seat would cure confusion)

 

[button_boxer]

At least they have started to introduce power sockets for standard class, and I do like the folding tables.

There have always been power sockets in the standard class coaches nearest the buffet (5 and 14), but not in any other coaches. If you need power be sure to choose a seat in one of those two. Half of the sockets are UK style and half euro so a plug adaptor may be required.

 

[Starmill]

Has anyone been in First Class on a Virgin Pendelino after 2200 and did you get the normal 1st Class Service - ie Ale and Snacks

Yes, alcohol options as other weekdays, soft drinks + hot drinks, sandwich, crisps and a sweet snack. Mine was the 2140 EUS - MAN, so I'd expect the same.

 

[Butts]

Although a better way to telling apart the window & aisle seat is probably needed, causes a bit of confusion with some passengers not knowing which seat is which (probably having numbers on the seats or having a little window picture next to the window seat would cure confusion)

I agree with this comment , the numbering flummoxed me.

 

[Kite159]

There have always been power sockets in the standard class coaches nearest the buffet (5 and 14), but not in any other coaches. If you need power be sure to choose a seat in one of those two. Half of the sockets are UK style and half euro so a plug adaptor may be required.

Where did I read somewhere that the power-sockets were only added during the last refurb?
--

It's the same with Virgin Pens, I know the top seat number is the window seat, but for the less-travelled they wouldn't know until they get kicked out.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

I've seen a lot of people for Eurostar who just slouch on the benches overnight or sit in the Starbucks.

Only thing I used to do on overnighters, though I doubt it would float your boat, is rack up 319 mileage on the night time Bedford runs