Oyster card plus ticket to Hampton Court

After much confusion I thought readers should learn how things worked: we used our Oyster cards funded for one week of unlimited travel in Zones one and two to travel to Waterloo underground, rode up three long escalators to the Waterloo rail station. We went to the ticket station -- a very well-manned station where we bought a return ticket for a rail extension. At least a couple of the early stations on the Southwest route still fall within zones 1/2. (In fact the station signage includes the 1/2 after the station name.) I think the third stop lies within zone three. So our rail tickets were priced as if we were beginning our trip within zone three. Having already paid for zones one and two travel via our Oyster card we were not asked to double pay for the portion of the trip we'd already paid for.

Completely sensible. Completely reasonable. I hope my explanation eliminates any anxiety or confusion.

That's great. I am pleased that you got the allowance for the paid-for part of the trip, it shows an unusual outbreak of common sense on the part of the train operator. Mind - I can imagine the arguments they would have if they didn't...:eek:

Was Hampton Court worth the effort?

That's great. I am pleased that you got the allowance for the paid-for part of the trip, it shows an unusual outbreak of common sense on the part of the train operator. Mind - I can imagine the arguments they would have if they didn't...:eek:

 

Was Hampton Court worth the effort?

Definitely. We had last been there forty years ago and pretty much the only thing I remembered was the linen fold carvings. Well the quest to see those again was surprisingly demanding. We found linen fold carvings in a room called Woolseley's closet but these didn't match our nemory. Turns out we were right. These were later additions to the place transferred from a neighboring manor house. The much larger example -- and the ones original to the house -- are in the Young Henry exhibition rooms. Mission accomplished.

Incidentally, the warders in many rooms are chatty and charming. Ask them a question and they'll happily share their knowledge and enthusiasm. Lots of arcane specialty knowledge. I know know about the decorative chimney towers and the unintended consequences of misguided Victorian brick restoration than I thought possible. The kitchen displays were particularly effective since everyone can relate this to our own homes.

So you ended up putting a Week Z1-2 Travelcard on your Oyster? That's not what you were talking about previously, when you were going to credit it with enough money for the requisite number of daily caps. In that case, the extension makes perfect sense.

I'm glad you got there and enjoyed the day!

So you ended up putting a Week Z1-2 Travelcard on your Oyster? That's not what you were talking about previously, when you were going to credit it with enough money for the requisite number of daily caps. In that case, the extension makes perfect sense.

 

I'm glad you got there and enjoyed the day!

I simply put myself on the hands of the Tube employee we encountered when we first came to the Green Park station. We explained our plans for the visit and this is what she recommended.

Incidentally we've noticed that fewer stations have a staffed Oyster sales line. Increasingly, those windows are dark and the only option is self service. The transport worker who advised us -- and actually took over the Oyster refill process for us except that I inserted my chip card at the proper time -- was a rare sight at the entrance. There are TfL employees near the entry/exit machines and I suspect they're capable of helping tourists at the point of purchase. But the familiar manned windows are increasingly rare. (Londoners, you probably know this already and probably have little need of this hand holding, but there was a moment when we entered Green Park, looked at the dark windows, and thought "This just got harder." I've shared this level of detail to provide information to other tourists.)

Hampton Court, I believe is still within tfl turf. Heathro6w, for example is in zone 6. When I buy a zone 1 & 2 7 day travelcard on oyster, all oyster cards have a provision for a cash account. I have some cash on the card so what happens when I touch out at Heathrow, the fare for my travel in zones 3-6 is deducted from the cash account. The same, I think, holds for Hampton court. I think Hampton Court is considered zone 6 and you could have paid in this case from the cash account on your oyster card.

Hampton Court, I believe is still within tfl turf. Heathro6w, for example is in zone 6. When I buy a zone 1 & 2 7 day travelcard on oyster, all oyster cards have a provision for a cash account. I have some cash on the card so what happens when I touch out at Heathrow, the fare for my travel in zones 3-6 is deducted from the cash account. The same, I think, holds for Hampton court. I think Hampton Court is considered zone 6 and you could have paid in this case from the cash account on your oyster card.

So I'm completely confused again.

I thought that we had worked out that Pet Nit Noy had a PAYG Oyster with £40 credit, which was enough for a week's unlimited travel in Zones 1 and 2 but was not limited to being used in those zones. On that basis, the Oyster could have been used to travel to Hampton Court and back with no further ado, which was what we recommended.

The alternative scenario was that it turned out to be a 7-day Z1-2 Travelcard. In that event, we recommended that Pet Nit Noy add some PAYG credit to the same card, and simply used it to travel from Waterloo to Hampton Court without further ado. The card should have deducted the PAYG extension fare for Z3-6 in each direction from that credit, automatically recognising that Z1-2 was covered by the Travelcard. I don't know the numbers, but it could well have been cheaper than buying a standalone paper extension ticket from the ticket office.