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Stay in Windsor for a week and commute to London. 6 day London pass with travelcard then worth it?

Hi
From what I've read the London pass with travelcard option isn't always really worth it. We will however be staying in Windsor which is outside zone 6 and travelling to and from London for a week and also doing a lot of sightseeing and attractions.

If we use the 7 day travel card including the 2 for 1 option, we would still have to add an extension for outside of zone 6, which works out quite expensive. And then pay for entrance to attractions for the second person.

With the 6 day london pass incl travel option, it seems like transport to Windsor is included (from what I can tell unlimited?). And then also include free entrance to a lot of attractions (except for London eye and Madame Tussaud), some with skip the line options which seems great for December.

Would the London pass make sense in this instance?

Posted by
8889 posts

The other option is a weekly season ticket. This is what "normal" commuters use. You can get a seson ticket from Windsor to any specific station, or you can get one that includes a Zone 1-6 travelcard valid on the tube. This is cheaper than buying an all-zone travelcard and a separate ticket from the London boundary to Windsor. Inquire at Windsor station or see here for prices.
For example: Windsor & Eton Riverside to London Zones 1-6, 7-days, price £86.60

Note Windsor has two unconnected stations: Windsor & Eton Riverside and Windsor & Eton Central. These take two different routes into London, and end up at two different London terminuses, London Waterloo and London Paddington respectively. A ticket valid on one route is not valid on the other.

Posted by
33991 posts

Where do you see it written that a London Pass, 6 day or any other, includes any transport beyond zone 6? I've never seen that, and I've just looked again at their page and still don't see it.

I would expect that what would suit you best is a 7 day season ticket Windsor to all zones Travelcard.

The 7 day transport component of the London Pass is £58, for zones 1 to 6. That's 80 pence more than a 7 day Travelcard price purchased at a ticket window.

You would need a Boundary Zone 6 to Windsor & Eton Central or Windsor & Eton Riverside ticket in each direction; I don't have that fare at hand.

If you had a 7 day Season Ticket, the choices from Windsor & Eton Central are:

Windsor & Eton Central (WNC) to London Terminals
Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Travel is allowed via any permitted route.) - to / from the following London stations: London Bridge [LBG], London Cannon Street [CST], London Charing Cross [CHX], Vauxhall [VXH], London Blackfriars [BFR], London Waterloo East [WAE], London Victoria [VIC], London Waterloo [WAT], London Paddington [PAD], City Thameslink [CTK], but only by train, no TfL component. £65.90

Same as above but allowing travel to and from both Windsor stations (including Windsor & Eton Riverside) £77.30

To include all London Transport in Zones 1 through 6 (a 7 day Season Travelcard)
Windsor & Eton Central (WNC) to London Zones 1-6
Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Travel is allowed via any permitted route.) £85.10

To make that 7 Day Season Travelcard include both Windsor stations £92.70

It isn't completely simple so if I have only confused you please say.

Just remember that there are 2 stations in Windsor, quite close to one another, and they are served by 2 independent train companies, with 2 different fare schedules.

Windsor & Eton Riverside is served by Southwest Trains via a connection into London Waterloo, and is slower.

Windsor & Eton Central is served by First Great Western Trains via a connection (Slough) into London Paddington, and is faster.

But they both take quite a long time. If you intend to live a week in Windsor and commute into London each day you really need to understand how much of a time and financial commitment that will bring. You will spend lots of time on crowded trains with other commuters.

Posted by
33991 posts

Looks like we were writing at the same time, again. Same answer, really.

Posted by
5466 posts

The London Pass website actually does say the following on its page for Windsor:
- London Pass Travel option covers the train connection to and from Windsor
- Simply show your London Pass and travelcard combo to the conductor to board a train at Paddington for Slough and change at Slough for a train to Windsor & Eton Central
- Windsor & Eton Central is outside zones 1 – 6 of the London Transport Network and falls in the First Western Rail (sic) Network so your travel will be included in your package if you opt for The London Pass with Travel

The expectation seems for it to be used for one round trip from London to Windsor on FGW, not for unlimited trips originating from Windsor. Whether you could stretch to do this in reality is another matter.

Posted by
33991 posts

Windsor & Eton Central is outside zones 1 – 6 of the London Transport Network and falls in the First Western Rail (sic) Network so your travel will be included in your package if you opt for The London Pass with Travel

I hear you, Marco, but that bumf (do you agree) makes no sense. So, because Bath lies on the First Western (sic) rail network (what's that when its at home?) I could go there too? Or Dawlish?

Posted by
5466 posts

From what I can tell, Windsor is a one-off extension to the normal London zone travel, presumably negotiated with FGW only, which probably gets a payment from each use for entry. I daresay other locations could be added in theory although I doubt Bath will be ...

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks so much for the feedback. I appreciate it!

I've emailed 'London pass' and have received the following reply:
"Dear Anine, Thank you for your email.

I can advise that the travel cards include unlimited journeys on all London Underground trains (Tube), Buses, Trams, Docklands Light Rail, Over-ground Trains and National Rail Services within zones 1 – 6.
We do understand that Windsor Castle is outside of zone 6 therefore we have set up specific transportation to allow you to use your travel card for this journey.
Please follow the instructions below;
- Simply show your London Pass and travelcard combo to the conductor to board a train at Paddington for Slough and change at Slough for a train to Windsor & Eton Central
- Windsor & Eton Central is outside zones 1 – 6 of the London Transport Network and falls in the First Western Rail Network so your travel will be included in your package if you opt for The London Pass with Travel

Please be advised that The London Pass has an agreement with First Great Western trains for travel to Windsor Castle. Providing The London Pass and the travelcard have been purchased together through our website, you will be able to take advantage of using your pass and travelcard to travel to Windsor for free.

If the travelcard was purchased separately to your London Pass, I must make you aware that there could be a possibility that you will be asked to pay additional travel fee.

Please always remember to show the conductor your London Pass and travelcard at each destination.
For more information about adding a travelcard to your order, click here.

If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.

Kind Regards
Customer Service Adviser."

Quite interesting...

I think we have however reconsidered our stay in Windsor due to the cost and the added hassle of commuting. We're currently looking for budget accommodation in London instead.

Kind Regards