Avoid the Hassle - Take a Train and other London, United Kingdom Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: If you want to do some sight-seeing in London, there is no need to worry about the hassles of driving your car in traffic and then finding a reasonably-priced parking spot - not to mention the daily traffic levy that you have to pay just for driving your car into the congested central part of the city. Cameras record all vehicle license plates and the mandatory fee must be paid within 24 hours to avoid a fine for daring to drive into the already crowded city.

I have always enjoyed sitting back in comfort and letting the trains and subways do the work for me when I visit London. We grabbed this modern South West train at Farnham station and sat back in comfort, watching the country roll past as we made the one hour trip to Waterloo Station on the banks of the Thames River. The trip reminded me of several that we took from Horley (beside Gatwick Airport) back in 1979 and, in fact, this ride ended up on the same railway tracks, as we went past the familiar old landmark of the impressive Battersea Power Station (declared a National Historic site in 1980 and retired from active service in 1983) as we neared our final destination beside the London Eye.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Our train journey ended at Waterloo Station, on the south bank of the Thames River. This is the largest railway/subway terminus in London and is quite an experience in itself. Originally constructed in 1848 as a railway station, the first subway line was added in 1898 to further improve city transit service. However, due to the deteriorating state of the terminal, the original buildings were torn down and reconstructed between 1900-22. The photo shows part of this 'new' 800-foot long concourse with it's buildings housing many shops and facilities, with the millions of yearly passengers protected from the elements by the overhead roof as they make their required transfers here. Everything is well sign-posted for passengers and it was fun to join the throngs and we headed off, first on our short walk to the London Eye and then back here again to catch a 'tube' beneath the Thames to the Westminster area on the other side.

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'Mode': TO,AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: If you are planning to use mass transit in the London area, whether it be train, subway or bus, you can make your life easier by buying a multi-purpose Travelcard. In our case, we purchased two 15 pound sterling (US$26) each cards at the Farnham train station (using a credit card) and simply got aboard when the train to London pulled in. Part-way along the one hour journey, the conductor came by to check for tickets and simply glanced at our cards. Once in London, we also used the cards for three different subway rides (Waterloo-Westminster, Westminster-Covent Garden and Covent Garden-Waterloo) by inserting them into the passenger turn-styles. The cards are cheaper if you buy them for longer than a one-day useage, unlike our "17-December-05" ones.

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