Need London transport assistance please

[bottomfeeder]

I am taking a National Express bus from Southampton to London Victoria Coach Station after my transatlantic cruise this spring.

 

Once I get there I need to get to my hotel, close to the Gloucester Road tube stop. From what I can determine from street maps, Victoria Coach Station is several blocks from Victoria Station on the underground, correct?

 

Is my best bet to walk to the tube station and take the District/Circle line to Gloucester Road? Or is there a bus option that would be better? I tried to use the tfl.gov.uk bus maps to figure out if there was a bus option but I just got more confused!

 

Or for that matter, is it a tremendously long walk? If it's a nice day maybe it would be easier to just wheel my wheeled suitcase down the sidewalks to my hotel rather than trying to take the stairs to/from the tube stations.

 

Thanks for any assistance. :)

[Cotswold Eagle]

It's about 2 miles to Gloucester Road, so quite a hike with luggage. 40+ minutes, maybe.

 

The tube from Victoria is probably the best bet, but there is a bus, the C1 route, which stops outside the coach station and at the bottom end of Gloucester Road, the other end to the tube station - this may still be quite a way from your hotel, if it is actually in the Cromwell Road, for example. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/?r=C1

 

Cab would be £10 - £15, I would guess.

[bottomfeeder]

Thank you Cotswold Eagle! Yes, my hotel is on Cromwell Rd., so I expect the tube is my best bet. Plus I will need to buy either an oyster card or a daily tube pass so I might as well get that done right away at the tube station too.

[relaxatsea]

In 2010, we also took the National Express coach from Southampton to Victoria coach station after our transatlantic cruise.

 

When we got off the bus, we walked a short distance (maybe 2 1/2 ot 3 blocks as I recall) to a large shopping mall.

 

The Victoria tube station can be accessed from inside this mall. The signs are very clear and it did have escalators.

 

We were rolling our suitcases and had no trouble at all. At the tube station there were windows with employees to explain and sell the different kinds of tube tickets.

 

A bonus for us was that before we took the tube, we went to the food court in the mall and were able to get a reasonbly priced lunch at a pizza and salad bar restaurant there.

 

When I was first doing the research for this coach to tube walk with suitcases, it seemed kind of complicated, but it was easier than I expected.

[bottomfeeder]

Thanks, Relaxatsea! That makes me feel better, and I will plan to do just what you did--except maybe not the meal, unless I'm hungry! :)

[Cotswold Eagle]

The mall is called Victoria Place and is between the coach and railway stations. It is not necessary to go through it, you can carry on walking past it on Buckingham Palace Road to the main station entrances, but it's an option as Relaxatsea describes.

 

http://www.victoriaplaceshopping.com/getting-there.htm

 

It's a really easy and well signed transfer either way. From the shopping area you will enter the overland station first, you need to go downstairs to the underground (naturally!)

[lsu2fan]

The mall is called Victoria Place and is between the coach and railway stations. It is not necessary to go through it, you can carry on walking past it on Buckingham Palace Road to the main station entrances, but it's an option as Relaxatsea describes.

 

http://www.victoriaplaceshopping.com/getting-there.htm

 

It's a really easy and well signed transfer either way. From the shopping area you will enter the overland station first, you need to go downstairs to the underground (naturally!)

 

Hi CE,

 

We'll be staying at the Doubletree Westminster coming in on a Sunday morning. We get in to Victoria Station at 9:29 AM. We really are set on the Tower of London Walks which starts at 11:00 AM from the Tower Hill Tube.

 

We are determined to find a way to drop off the luggage and be there at 11. The closest Tube station that I can see is Pimlico which is about a half a mile walk. Do you know if there is a bus service that will pick us up closer to the hotel and take us to Tower Hill? So far I'm trying to avoid taking a taxi from the hotel to the Tube station.

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

Jorge

[Cotswold Eagle]

Hi CE,

 

We'll be staying at the Doubletree Westminster coming in on a Sunday morning. We get in to Victoria Station at 9:29 AM. We really are set on the Tower of London Walks which starts at 11:00 AM from the Tower Hill Tube.

 

We are determined to find a way to drop off the luggage and be there at 11. The closest Tube station that I can see is Pimlico which is about a half a mile walk. Do you know if there is a bus service that will pick us up closer to the hotel and take us to Tower Hill? So far I'm trying to avoid taking a taxi from the hotel to the Tube station.

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

Jorge

 

I can't think of a bus that would help - over that distance, tube is going to be quicker, in any case.

 

Initially it seems do-able, but the more I think about it, the more I think that's pretty tight timing, especially if you don't know the area. Yes, you would do one stop from Victoria to Pimlico on the Victoria line and walk through to the hotel - about 10 minutes walk. Best way from the hotel to Tower Hill would be to walk on to Westminster station and take the District and Circle line straight there, I think, especially given the current building works at Victoria. That's a slightly longer walk from the hotel, maybe 15 minutes, and then you need to get to the right meeting place at the Tower itself.

 

The obvious alternative would be to leave your bags at Victoria in the Left Luggage, but at £8.50/bag it would be cheaper to take a cab to the hotel - but dumping your luggage straight away means you could be very relaxed about getting over to the Tower in time.

[relaxatsea]

Thanks, Relaxatsea! That makes me feel better, and I will plan to do just what you did--except maybe not the meal, unless I'm hungry! :)

 

Glad to be of help!

 

By the way, we are not spring chickens, we are in our 60's, so I figure if we can do it, anyone can.

 

Good luck and enjoy your stay in London!

[lsu2fan]

I can't think of a bus that would help - over that distance, tube is going to be quicker, in any case.

 

Initially it seems do-able, but the more I think about it, the more I think that's pretty tight timing, especially if you don't know the area. Yes, you would do one stop from Victoria to Pimlico on the Victoria line and walk through to the hotel - about 10 minutes walk. Best way from the hotel to Tower Hill would be to walk on to Westminster station and take the District and Circle line straight there, I think, especially given the current building works at Victoria. That's a slightly longer walk from the hotel, maybe 15 minutes, and then you need to get to the right meeting place at the Tower itself.

 

The obvious alternative would be to leave your bags at Victoria in the Left Luggage, but at £8.50/bag it would be cheaper to take a cab to the hotel - but dumping your luggage straight away means you could be very relaxed about getting over to the Tower in time.

 

Thank you. I'm thinking that you are correct and that we will have to go to plan B.

 

Jorge