On 4 Nov, 03:11, David of Broadway
wrote:
Yes, I've used the Journey Planner - now I'm looking for some common
sense.
What's the best route from Heathrow T3 to Danescroft on Brent Street?
I'd prefer to avoid Heathrow Express. I will have a large, heavy,
wheeled suitcase, so steps and long walks are best avoided, although I
can deal with either.
I've come up with the following options:
Wow, lots of options, you've certainly been doing your homework and
you've identified some interesting and unorthodox routes as well.
Piccadilly to Leicester Square, Northern to Golders Green, 83/183/230
bus to my destination.
£4.40
Piccadilly to Leicester Square, Northern to Hendon Central, 83/183/230
bus to my destination.
£4.40
The conventional options. Boringly, these are probably what I'd
recommend (unless that is you fancied being adventurous). The change
at Leicester Square from the Piccadilly to the Northern isn't any more
difficult or onerous than any other interchange at Victorian-era tube
stations which weren't really designed with such use in mind - a bit
of lugging of bags along passageways and up and down a few stairs but
there's no need for any heroics or anything.
From Hendon Central, only the 83 goes from a bus stop right next to
the station entrance, stop A, whilst the 183 and 230 go from stops U
and W further away - see (PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...ntral-2124.pdf
Meanwhile at Golders Green there is a proper bus station outside the
tube station, and the 83 and 183 go from stop GH whilst the 240 uses
the immediately adjacent stop GI - see(PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...green-2098.pdf
So whilst Golders Green is a little further away I'd say the ease of
getting on one of several buses from there means it wins. My (possibly
erroneous) memory also suggests that there are fewer steps to
negotiate from the platforms down to street level at Golders Green
compared to the number of steps from the platforms up to street level
at Hendon Central... though I've just checked and HC has step-free
access (i.e. a lift) from platform level up to street level whilst GG
doesn't. However personally I don't think that makes it a deal
breaker, as at GG the platforms are only at 'road bridge height' so
the single flight of steps down aren't a major hassle in my books.
All that said, either/or would be a decent option.
Piccadilly to Leicester Square, Northern to Brent Cross or Hendon
Central (which is closer/easier?), walk to my destination.
£3.50
Doable in my books, though you did say you'd have a large heavy
suitcase (albeit one on wheels). The walk from Hendon Central would
involve going down a hill (though I don't think it's *that* steep), so
if one were to do this I'd walk from Brent Cross along the side
streets (Golders Manor Drive/ Sinclair Grove) to Golders Green Road.
There is a pedestrian bridge to cross over the busy North Circular
Road to get over to Brent Street. I imagine that this would be the
normal route for people from Danescroft to get to a Northern line
station to get into town, though I suppose it's possible the walk to
Hendon Central (perhaps through the park) is nicer, I dunno.
Heathrow Connect to Ealing Broadway, 83 bus to my destination.
£6.40
Piccadilly to District to Ealing Broadway, 83 bus to my destination.
£2.70
Piccadilly to Piccadilly to Alperton, 83 bus to my destination.
£2.70
Intriguing - variations on a 'round the back' route via the 83 bus. My
gut instinct is that any of these routes would take longer - the
Journey Planner has Heathrow Central to Golders Green taking around an
hour an a quarter by tube - but on thinking about it perhaps they're
not actually that bad.
Alperton to Green Lane / Brent Cross (v near Danescroft) is timetabled
at 41 minutes off-peak, and Ealing Broadway to Green Lane / Brent
Cross at 57 mins.
There are several steps to negotiate when leaving Ealing Broadway
station, also leaving Alperton station (though I'm not familiar with
it), and also when changing direction at Acton Town between the two
Piccadilly branches. If one was to choose the 83 route and go by
Underground then heading to Alperton would on the face of it appear to
make more sense, what with Alperton being closer to your destination
(this avoids Ealing Broadway station which is somewhat hectic at the
best of times). Journey Planner says Heathrow to Alperton would take
39 minutes by Tube. The 83 bus stop is right outside the station as
well (PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...erton-2008.pdf
I'm not sure what I think about the idea taking the Heathrow Connect
to Ealing Broadway. It's only a half-hourly service, though it does
only take 18 minutes to make the journey. It's more expensive and
doesn't deliver you to Alperton which is closer to your destination. I
think I'd factor that option out.
I'd say the 83 is an interesting route in that it gives you a taste of
what parts of north west London are about - not necessarily amazingly
notable places, but these are places where ordinary Londoners live
and, to an extent, work. You'd be travelling through a part of London
that really came into existence in the first half of the 20th century,
with lots of interwar houses and buildings - the era of Metroland and
of the great suburban spread of London.
The great feature you would see en-route from the bus is the new
Wembley Stadium, with its grand new arch which dominates the sky line
all around this side of London. The bus goes right past the stadium.
By going to Alperton rather than Ealing Broadway you would miss out on
a bit of the 'scenery' from the bus - and I do think Ealing is an
interesting and pleasant part of town - but the route of the 83 very
quickly take you out of Ealing and up the uninspiring Hanger Lane road
so it's no great loss. The Piccadilly line would of course be
interesting in itself, though unfortunately you would not get as far
up the Rayners Lane branch as the splendid Sudbury stations.
One other thought that stupidly has just struck me is that, what with
you hauling a with a heavy bag around with you, you won't exactly be
keen on going up to the top-deck of the bus! It's not like there
aren't windows on the bottom deck though, and you can perhaps do some
more close quartered people watching down there what with the comings
and goings on and off the bus and people outside the window at street
level.
Any other suggestions? Thoughts on these options? Is the 83 an
interesting ride?
My flight arrives Thursday morning at 9:35.
Thanks.
Your flight arrival time is ideal for avoiding the rush hour, so you
avoid both the crush of passengers and also the traffic jams. I dare
say that this would actually quite a good time to try out the 83 route
if you wanted to be adventurous - the morning rush would be over, the
afternoon school time rush still a long time away, so both traffic and
passenger numbers would be light, and of course there would be full
daylight! The 83 runs regularly, "about every 6-10 minutes" between
8am and 8pm (so says the Journey Planner), so you wouldn't have long
to wait. Broadly speaking bus services in London are far more reliable
than they were a decade or so ago, so I don't think there'd really be
any reason to worry about whether the bus will actually turn up or
not.
If you've any more questions then fire away - others more familiar
with the area might be able to put me straight if they think anything
I've said is dubious. And do tell come back and tell us what you
eventually did and how it went.
P.S. One general thing worth bearing in mind for your trip is that
each weekend parts of the Underground network are closed for upgrade
works which could affect your journey - that said there doesn't appear
to be any upcoming work on the Northern line that would affect your
using the Northern line to get into town during your stay.
See this page for details of upcoming works on LU:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravel...ll-future.html
(also see the "Today" and "This Weekend" tabs on the above page)