Hi all,

I'm new here but I hope someone can help me decide if this is a ridiculous suggestion or not!

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not like I live near Paddington anyway.

The bf has said he's happy to commute from Oxford (providing we live nr the station) to the City everyday, but I'm not sure he's thought it through!

Has anyone experience of this and how tiring/horrific it actually might be??

Any advice really appreciated.

Thanks so much!!

Manoonga85 gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying:

The bf has said he's happy to commute from Oxford (providing we live nr
the station) to the City everyday, but I'm not sure he's thought it
through!

As well as the trains, http://www.oxfordtube.com/ coaches are a common
sight on the M40.

"Manoonga85" wrote in message
...

Hi all,

I'm new here but I hope someone can help me decide if this is a
ridiculous suggestion or not!

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

The bf has said he's happy to commute from Oxford (providing we live nr
the station) to the City everyday, but I'm not sure he's thought it
through!

Has anyone experience of this and how tiring/horrific it actually might
be??

Any advice really appreciated.

Thanks so much!!




--
Manoonga85

It's an hour give or take on the train to Paddington. I have to say I
would think twice about it. But then how long does it take him now and
does he get a seat? Once he gets used to the trains he'll probably
discover which ones he can get a seat on.

I suppose you could split the difference and live in Didcot or Reading but
neither is particularly attractive when compared to the dreaming spires.
Mind you, Oxford isn't all University - Blackbird Leas (Lees?) isn't
attractive. If you can afford it go to somewhere like Goring and
Streatley. The journey time to London is still about an hour but lifestyle
wise there's no contest in my view.

In message , Manoonga85
writes

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

If you currently live within easy reach of Hillingdon, there are VERY
frequent coach services between there and the centre of Oxford, run by
the Oxford Tube and the Oxford Espress. Takes about an hour, and much
cheaper than the train via Paddington.
--
Paul Terry

[original thread on uk.transport.london]
[cross-posted to uk.railway]

"Manoonga85" wrote:
Hi all,

I'm new here but I hope someone can help me decide if this is a
ridiculous suggestion or not!

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

The bf has said he's happy to commute from Oxford (providing we live nr
the station) to the City everyday, but I'm not sure he's thought it
through!

Has anyone experience of this and how tiring/horrific it actually might
be??

Any advice really appreciated.

Thanks so much!!


I'm going to take the liberty of crossposting this to the uk.railway
newsgroup - I'm not sure if that's a sensible move or not on my part, but it
just might be a way of getting a bit more of an input with regards to the
Oxford-Paddington element.

First off I'll make the requisite reference to the two high-quality frequent
coach services that run between Oxford and London, the Oxford Tube
http://www.oxfordtube.com/ and the Oxford Espress
http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/main.php?page_id=27.

They're good, very popular, and have various arguable advantages over the
train - however as the Oxford Tube website states, "Approximate travel time
100 minutes - longer during rush hours" - and I do get the impression that
congestion is a problem at peak times. If I was thinking about this commute
(during 'normal' commuting times) I think like you (or rather your fella)
I'd be looking at the train. That said it's worth noting that people do
commute using these coach services (might even work ok if he has an early
start) - with some joining at Thornhill Park & Ride on the edge of Oxford
and also Lewknor, a village next to the M40 motorway (not sure about the
latest on parking issues at Lewknor, and it's possible that Thornhill P&R
might not be free forever, at least not for those travelling into London on
the coaches). Anyhow that's the coach option.

On the trains the service is provided by a mix of rather poxy 'Turbo' trains
and also more comfortable HSTs (which stands for high speed trains), which
you might recognise as 'Intercity 125s' (or might not!) - these are longer
trains so have more capacity. During peak commuting times HSTs provide the
bulk of the Oxford-Paddington fast service - you can see what type of train
is supposed to run a particular service by looking for the "H" symbol (in a
circle) in the timetable booklet - the timetable you want is number 16, and
it's available as a PDF he
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=5190

He'd be joining a large throng of people making the journey from Paddington
to the City - normal route would be via the Circle or H&C line towards
Moorgate or wherever, an alternative is walking around the corner from
Paddington to Lancaster Gate tube station and then catching the Central Line
eastwards, though that's going to be pretty busy too. Or else cycle - either
hire a 'Boris Bike' (though again they'll be in demand from docking stations
near Paddington), get a fold-up bike, or permanently station a bike at
Paddington (note that the bike racks there are pretty well patronised too).

Certainly worth giving it proper consideration. Don't think I could hack it,
but there are many people out there doing longer commutes. (I very vaguely
know someone who does the reverse commute - from London to Oxford - which
they do by coach, but it's a somewhat different kettle of fish as it's both
contra-peak flow and they only do it three days a week.)

On Jan 26, 5:33*pm, "Mizter T" wrote:

Certainly worth giving it proper consideration. Don't think I could hack it,
but there are many people out there doing longer commutes. (I very vaguely
know someone who does the reverse commute - from London to Oxford - which
they do by coach, but it's a somewhat different kettle of fish as it's both
contra-peak flow and they only do it three days a week.)

I've done MK/Bletchley to near Tower Bridge which at most times is
near enough 2 hours door to door. Didn't have a major issue with it
except when the railway went through a bad patch and cancellations/
short formations were common.

Oxford is a slightly longer journey, but I'm not sure I'd write it
off. Though I'm fairly sure I would do it by train, not coach[1],
unless money was the only consideration.

[1] I have done it by coach once, as I had to stay over one night at
the John Radcliffe hospital for a sleep study and the coach passed
nearby. It was workable, but *slow*, and needed an early start,
though I forget exactly what time it was. I think the time to get up
involved 05xx, which is not something I like to do every day.

Neil

"Mizter T" wrote:

[original thread on uk.transport.london]
[cross-posted to uk.railway]

"Manoonga85" wrote:
Hi all,

I'm new here but I hope someone can help me decide if this is a
ridiculous suggestion or not!

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

[snip]

First off I'll make the requisite reference to the two high-quality
frequent coach services that run between Oxford and London, the Oxford
Tube http://www.oxfordtube.com/ and the Oxford Espress
http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/main.php?page_id=27.
[big snip]

As Paul Terry has quite rightly pointed out (on the utl version of this
thread), both Oxford coach services stop at Hillingdon (both ways), which is
of course in NW London. (Indeed I've done this myself once - obviously
losing my marbles!)

Only downside to this arrangement is that somewhat inexplicably there's no
bus shelter for the Oxford-bound coach stop - and there's no other
sheltering opportunities nearby either. That's something that really could
do with being remedied.

"Paul Terry" wrote:

In message , Manoonga85
writes

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

If you currently live within easy reach of Hillingdon, there are VERY
frequent coach services between there and the centre of Oxford, run by the
Oxford Tube and the Oxford Espress. Takes about an hour, and much cheaper
than the train via Paddington.


Embarrassed to say I overlooked this option in my reply - I think I'd sort
of taken it that the OP had half-settled on the move to Oxford so I only
really considered the journey in the other direction.

On Jan 26, 4:46*pm, "Mizter T" wrote:
"Mizter T" wrote:
[original thread on uk.transport.london]
[cross-posted to uk.railway]

"Manoonga85" wrote:
Hi all,

I'm new here but I hope someone can help me decide if this is a
ridiculous suggestion or not!

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

[snip]

First off I'll make the requisite reference to the two high-quality
frequent coach services that run between Oxford and London, the Oxford
Tube http://www.oxfordtube.com/ and the Oxford Espress
http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/main.php?page_id=27.
[big snip]

As Paul Terry has quite rightly pointed out (on the utl version of this
thread), both Oxford coach services stop at Hillingdon (both ways), which is
of course in NW London. (Indeed I've done this myself once - obviously
losing my marbles!)

Only downside to this arrangement is that somewhat inexplicably there's no
bus shelter for the Oxford-bound coach stop - and there's no other
sheltering opportunities nearby either. That's something that really could
do with being remedied.

I would say Hillingdon is west London, not NW - if the OP actually
lives in (say) Stanmore it would be rather a long way away.

Stuart J

In uk.transport.london Mizter T wrote:
I'm going to take the liberty of crossposting this to the uk.railway
newsgroup - I'm not sure if that's a sensible move or not on my part, but
it just might be a way of getting a bit more of an input with regards to
the Oxford-Paddington element.

It might also be worth pointing out that there's another route to Oxford
currently at the planning permission stage, using the line to Bicester then
a new junction joining the Chiltern line to Marylebone:
http://www.chiltern-evergreen3.co.uk/

I don't know the latest timescales on the project, but it's probably a few
years off opening.

They're good, very popular, and have various arguable advantages over the
train - however as the Oxford Tube website states, "Approximate travel time
100 minutes - longer during rush hours" - and I do get the impression that
congestion is a problem at peak times. If I was thinking about this commute
(during 'normal' commuting times) I think like you (or rather your fella)
I'd be looking at the train. That said it's worth noting that people do
commute using these coach services (might even work ok if he has an early
start) - with some joining at Thornhill Park & Ride on the edge of Oxford
and also Lewknor, a village next to the M40 motorway (not sure about the
latest on parking issues at Lewknor, and it's possible that Thornhill P&R
might not be free forever, at least not for those travelling into London on
the coaches). Anyhow that's the coach option.

I don't know the Tube/Espress specifically[1], but often buses into London are
reasonably quick until the end of the motorway, then spend an age faffing
about to get to Victoria. For example Cambridge buses take about an hour to
get down the M11 to Stratford, then another hour from there to Victoria.
Depending on where he works in London, it might be worth bailing at
Hillingdon or Baker St (say) then taking the tube (or cycling).

[1] Neither give times for intermediate stops on their websites

Theo