Waiting for trains in London

[All Line Rover]

(Moved from the Stockport to London thread)
I would recommend the following:

• until 5pm - Go to the Bank of England Museum. It's FREE and extremely interesting! [BANK/MONUMENT]
• 5pm to 6pm - If it's a Friday, go to Borough Market. There are lots of free samples and nice food. [LONDON BRIDGE]
• 6pm to 7pm - Go to John Lewis. At that time, there should be some great reductions on delicious food in the food hall. [BOND STREET/OXFORD CIRCUS] EDIT: Mojo warns that this is NOT GUARANTEED, and you are free to go elsewhere if you prefer, but some very nice cheeses (although not reduced) would still be available - two different cheeses with crackers would cost less than £8.
• 7pm - Take the first off-peak train to Stockport.

All the intermediate tube journeys would be direct, and it would also be direct on the Victoria line from Oxford Circus to Euston. (If it isn't a Friday, just look round the shops on Oxford Street or Tottenham Court Road, or go to Waterstones Piccadilly or Gower Street - the Gower Street Waterstones is just a few minutes walk from Euston.)

OK you may spend a bit, but it'll be less than £25. That's a lot less than paying for an Anytime fare, and you'll enjoy yourself in the process!
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Getting a later train back doesn't necessarily have to entail "hanging around at Euston for 2h30mins". You could see a film, visit a museum or gallery or just go shopping - and still end up better off.

I completely agree. I mean it's London we're talking about here! (and it's a weekday, so places open late!)

 

[Nym]

I would recommend the following:
OK you may spend a bit, but it'll be less than £25. That's a lot less than paying for an Anytime fare, and you'll enjoy yourself in the process!

I completely agree. I mean it's London we're talking about here! (and it's a weekday, so places open late!)

Yeah, but what if you absoloutly detest London and hate being anywhere there at all?

Was stuck waiting for an AP return to Piccadilly in Euston and was pushing my 34th hour of being awake, then after the trouble with the ticket barriers (meaning I list my 1st seat on a traveller ticket, the cardholder could no longer travel back with me) ended up buying an off peak single anyway. If I'd have known that I'd have had to buy an OP Single I'd have just gone back home on the 4:20 when I'd arrived at Euston from Vauxhaull.

Euston is a horrible station to have to wait at, you've got a choice of SSP outlets, getting drunk or Nando's. And when you're carting two very large bags full of works equipment it becomes a tad harder to go off to a museum, especially around the time after the 7/7 bombings and I'm carrying a large DPM rucksack and OG holdall, funny looks 'R' us on the tube, but you know what, I got a seat!

 

[All Line Rover]

Yeah, but what if you absoloutly detest London and hate being anywhere there at all?

Was stuck waiting for an AP return to Piccadilly in Euston and was pushing my 34th hour of being awake, then after the trouble with the ticket barriers (meaning I list my 1st seat on a traveller ticket, the cardholder could no longer travel back with me) ended up buying an off peak single anyway. If I'd have known that I'd have had to buy an OP Single I'd have just gone back home on the 4:20 when I'd arrived at Euston from Vauxhaull.

Euston is a horrible station to have to wait at, you've got a choice of SSP outlets, getting drunk or Nando's. And when you're carting two very large bags full of works equipment it becomes a tad harder to go off to a museum, especially around the time after the 7/7 bombings and I'm carrying a large DPM rucksack and OG holdall, funny looks 'R' us on the tube, but you know what, I got a seat!

So far I haven't met a single person who has visited London and "absolutely detested" it!

Euston isn't the best station in London, but you aren't forced to wait there. Even if you've got lots of luggage, instead of going to a museum, go to Waterstones and read a book, or go and have a rest in one of the Royal Parks. There's plenty to do, and it's much better than paying for an extortionate Anytime Single!

 

[asylumxl]

So far I haven't met a single person who has visited London and "absolutely detested" it!

More likely to hate it if you work there

 

[bb21]

So far I haven't met a single person who has visited London and "absolutely detested" it!

Yes I agree, provided that you haven't lived there for 20 years.
I would say make a stand against the mass-inflated Anytime fares and treat yourself with the money you saved at a nice restaurant / cafe / bar, etc. You'll still have loads left over for a nice surprise for the missus.

 

[Nym]

So far I haven't met a single person who has visited London and "absolutely detested" it!

Bearing in mind I'd been up since 7am the previous day, worked a 16hr shift at Manchester Aiprort, gone down to London for a contract that was ment to pay me 4fig cash and the producer ran out half way through without paying anyone and was never to be seen again... You can understand how I was slightly miffed already. Also, I don't know London that well, and no-one down there is helpful enough to be nice to a stranger and recomend somthing without tweeting it on their iPhone....

 

[BlythPower]

If you're lurking around Euston, St. Pancras or Kings Cross, the British Library usually has a free exhibition or two on. It also has posh, free loos if you'd rather not hand over 30p to NR.

 

[ChrisCooper]

If you're lurking around Euston, St. Pancras or Kings Cross, the British Library usually has a free exhibition or two on. It also has posh, free loos if you'd rather not hand over 30p to NR.

There are free toilets at St Pancras anyway.

 

[All Line Rover]

There are free toilets at St Pancras anyway.

I never find the toilets at St Pancras very clean. I also don't like to use open cubicles when I'm having a no. 2!

I know plenty of places in London with extremely quiet, clean, separate and FREE toilets, but I never tell anyone about them because I want them to remain quiet!

 

[Yew]

So far I haven't met a single person who has visited London and "absolutely detested" it!

Euston isn't the best station in London, but you aren't forced to wait there. Even if you've got lots of luggage, instead of going to a museum, go to Waterstones and read a book, or go and have a rest in one of the Royal Parks. There's plenty to do, and it's much better than paying for an extortionate Anytime Single!

When I was in london, after walking around for ages. we got bored and sat watching pelicans in St james' park, before a pint of guinness at St P. Even though it was more expensive to have a pint there, than at 110 mph on a HST

I think next time I would go to a Museum, most of those are free to enter, and not too hard to tube to

 

[All Line Rover]

When I was in london, after walking around for ages. we got bored and sat watching pelicans in St james' park, before a pint of guinness at St P. Even though it was more expensive to have a pint there, than at 110 mph on a HST

I think next time I would go to a Museum, most of those are free to enter, and not too hard to tube to

If you don't have too much luggage, go and have a meal in the (absolutely fantastic) food courts at Westfield, or go and have a look around the lovely John Lewis food hall, or go to some of the cheese shops, or go and have a FREE tour in the British Museum, or go and look at the 3D TV's on Tottenham Court Road, etc. The list is endless.

 

[pendolino]

If you have time to kill at Euston/KXSP, the Wellcome Collection over the road is well worth a visit. Currently, there's a great exhibition entitled 'Dirt' about, well, dirt and rubbish, funnily enough - it's much more interesting than it sounds, honest! I went round it a couple of weeks back in 2-2½ hours, although I was rushing a bit. There are other exhibits upstairs - medical artefacts etc. - which are worth a look too.

And if the weather's nice, I would recommend spending a while at Camley Street Nature Reserve, which was built on the site of the old railway coal yards. Even though it's less than 30 years since it was established, it's really beautiful and tranquil, despite being only a few yards from St Pancras International.

And there's always the Regent's Canal for a walk too.

 

[Mojo]

[*]6pm to 7pm - Go to John Lewis. At that time, there should be some great reductions on delicious food in the food hall. [BOND STREET/OXFORD CIRCUS]

Unfortunately you cannot rely on this. John Lewis foodhall is my local food shop and I often go in there around this time. Like in any supermarket there are always reductions in the evening, but it's usually food nobody wants like Sushi and squashed loaves of bread.

Of course the ideal for a shop is to never have to make end of shelf life reductions by buying the exact number of items so you always sell out just before your delivery, but of course this will never happen!

It is very rare these days the Waitrose in John Lewis actually reduces anything useful, as I've noticed they chuck a lot of stuff out and are just generally better at ordering food and selling it at the normal price.

The Waitrose on Marylebone High Street is better at offering reductions on useful things like bread and rolls, and indeed my freezer is full up now with bread, pizza and burger/hotdog rolls which I bought from there several weeks ago! But then again it's only really useful for locals like me; who's going to want to trudge half way across the country with some cheap bread and a pizza?

 

[All Line Rover]

Unfortunately you cannot rely on this. John Lewis foodhall is my local food shop and I often go in there around this time. Like in any supermarket there are always reductions in the evening, but it's usually food nobody wants like Sushi and squashed loaves of bread.

Of course the ideal for a shop is to never have to make end of shelf life reductions by buying the exact number of items so you always sell out just before your delivery, but of course this will never happen!

It is very rare these days the Waitrose in John Lewis actually reduces anything useful, as I've noticed they chuck a lot of stuff out and are just generally better at ordering food and selling it at the normal price.

The Waitrose on Marylebone High Street is better at offering reductions on useful things like bread and rolls, and indeed my freezer is full up now with bread, pizza and burger/hotdog rolls which I bought from there several weeks ago! But then again it's only really useful for locals like me; who's going to want to trudge half way across the country with some cheap bread and a pizza?

The John Lewis foodhall is good for reductions on sandwiches and patisseries. When you need to get back to Euston station, the Waitrose on Marylebone High Street is a bit out of the way to be honest.

Admittedly John Lewis can have few reductions on weekdays, because the mad rush of evening commuters take all the good stuff! But the last Sunday I went, since there are no commuters, there were mounds of reduced sandwiches and cakes! My whole suitcase was full of them!

 

[Mojo]

The John Lewis foodhall is good for reductions on sandwiches and patisseries. When you need to get back to Euston station, the Waitrose on Marylebone High Street is a bit out of the way to be honest.

Admittedly John Lewis can have few reductions on weekdays, because the mad rush of evening commuters take all the good stuff! But the last Sunday I went, since there are no commuters, there were mounds of reduced sandwiches and cakes! My whole suitcase was full of them!

I disagree. I go in here multiple times per week, sometimes right before closing time and I have only ever seen a small number of sandwiches reduced and this was on one occasion. I have never seen the shelves empty of sandwiches.

Similarly the patisserie counter only ever has reductions on a small number of items; it is most certainly not across the range.

 

[All Line Rover]

I disagree. I go in here multiple times per week, sometimes right before closing time and I have only ever seen a small number of sandwiches reduced and this was on one occasion. I have never seen the shelves empty of sandwiches.

Similarly the patisserie counter only ever has reductions on a small number of items; it is most certainly not across the range.

Oh dear. You obviously haven't been very lucky!

They start reducing items about 1 hour before closing time. I've noticed that there's a little "area" between the sandwich chillers and the bakery where they put all of the sandwiches that are going to be reduced. I always hang around until they bring them out - they vanish very quickly after that!

Occasionally I've also bought a few patisseries (croissant, Victoria sandwich, etc.) where the label said "25% off", but the woman said that the discount had changed and was now "75% off"! The reductions aren't across the whole range of patisseries - in particular they never reduce the first cabinet of very nice looking expensive cakes, because they don't have a short sell-by date. You're not missing anything though - they look nice, but in my opinion they taste horrible.

 

[Mojo]

Not really - why would I want a sandwich at 8pm? Fair enough if you're going to catch a train at night.

All I'm saying is to others is don't go there expecting lots of stuff reduced - it doesn't exist. Every shop has reductions in the evening as does the Waitrose in John Lewis, but it's not as wide ranging or as excellent as you make out.

 

[All Line Rover]

Not really - why would I want a sandwich at 8pm? Fair enough if you're going to catch a train at night.

All I'm saying is to others is don't go there expecting lots of stuff reduced - it doesn't exist. Every shop has reductions in the evening as does the Waitrose in John Lewis, but it's not as wide ranging or as excellent as you make out.

The only reason I go for the sandwiches is so that I have something to eat on the train on the way home. Even if they've run out of reduced sandwiches, I buy some cheese and crackers, as they're quite cheap. Of course I'm not saying it's 100% guaranteed you'll get nice reduced products, and not all of John Lewis' sandwiches are nice, but there are usually some nice pattiseries, and you are free to go elsewhere if you like.

If I fancy a change, I go to Crepe Affaire at St Pancras, as I have loads of BOGOF coupons!
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why would I want a sandwich at 8pm?

You can have a sandwich at 5pm if you prefer. Just go 1 hour before closing time on a Sunday!
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More likely to hate it if you work there

Personally I couldn't bear working or living in London, because I find it's too hectic, noisy, busy, crowded and polluted - it never rests! I also suffer from hay-fever and asthma, which although not serious can bother me after being in London for a few days.

For the price of our fairly large 4 bedroom detached house, we couldn't even get a flat in London!

I like to visit London for a day trip every few weeks, as it's not far by train and I can stock up on supplies which you can't get here in the North (nice honeys, continental and Japanese foods, DELICIOUS cheeses, etc.) The museums are also brilliant.