Traffic on a Friday morning from Chipping Campden to St Pancreas Station/London

In the summer when everybody (well maybe 5 or 10 percent of everybody) are off on their hols), or a normal Friday? What time on Friday? Rush hour? Lunch hour? 4 in the morning?

You will run the risk of a single wrong turn putting you into the London Congestion Zone and the cameras will GET you and you will have a very expensive fine and the rental (this is a rental return, is it?) company will charge you a lot for giving your details so that you can be fined, and traffic on the Marylebone Road/Euston Road can be horrendous no matter what the day, and central London petrol stations are tiny, rare, and expensive (this is a rental car return where the tank needs to be full, is it?) and then you might make a wrong turn after refueling and wind up in the Congestion Zone with a big fine......

You need to be at St Pancras (is this a Eurostar journey to Europe?) at least an hour prior to travel with the queues and extra security now in effect.

You're not considering driving to London and just parking there are you, while you take a train from St Pancras? If so, good luck, and if you find a space I hope you have deep pockets.

Any reason why you can't return the car (we are wondering if this is a rental car return) to Moreton in Marsh or Oxford and take the train to Paddington and simple connection to St Pancras? It would be no slower, probably much faster, and no stress. Great Western run most of their trains to time.

agree - return somewhere else - Oxford or Heathrow

BTW, it's St Pancras, nothing to do with bodily organs. :-)

Another current thread with some similarity in the implicit question:=
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/rental-car-driving-help-pick-up-in-bath-where-to-return-in-cotswolds-get-train-to-london

Thank you all for your feedback. It has been very helpful. I will clarify further and my spelling will be correct.

We are a family of four. After reviewing the expense of trains and the need of a car once in Cotswold, we decide to just rent a car for $90 + tax, for three days. We will not have the car while we are staying in London. It will be used to drive to Oxford and then on to Chipping Campden.

It looks like we will avoid the 'Congestion Zone?' I'd appreciate if someone doesn't mind reviewing the map I found online for it and also the map of where St. Pancras is located. If I am not to be driving in the 'zone' and will be leaving Cotswold around 9:am; what how much time would you expect it to take me? Online it is estimated to be 2 hours without traffic.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/congestion-charge-zone

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=st%20pancras%20station%20from%20berner%20st%20london&rflfq=1&rlha=0&tbm=lcl&tbs=lf:1,lf_ui:2&oll=51.53127926835232,-0.12630695000007108&ospn=0.004384997118862088,0.010943412780761719&oz=17&fll=51.53127926835232,-0.12630695000007108&fspn=0.035079977265780826,0.08754730224609375&fz=14&qop=1&rlfi=hd:;si:

I recently dropped my rental car off at Paddington Station, which is very near the Westway highway (A-40). The agency (Europcar) was a short shot off the highway, so I didn't have to deal with London traffic, and it was outside the congestion zone. I guess the Westway can be jammed, but it wasn't when I used it on a Wednesday afternoon. Also, there are gas (petrol) stations on Westway so you can fill up just before you return your car. So you might consider a drop off at Paddington and then taking the tube to St. Pancras.

The station is outside of the congestion zone. But, if you make a wrong turn, that's that. You will incur a charge.

Google maps right now, with the live traffic on, is showing the route to take two hours and 20 minutes. The roads in London which it routes you on are bright red indicating heavy traffic! Try it and see what you think. If you are trying to make a connection for transportation, leave yourself plenty of time.

Ann

I didn't know Google maps had a 'live' option.

Thank you.

London traffic is hideous whatever daylight hours you pick! If the route is telling you 2 hours 20, allow at least 3 hours to allow for getting lost and traffic. London drivers will not give way to let you across if you are in the wrong lane, so it is not for the faint hearted.

I'd think that if you leave Chipping Campden at 9 on the morning, and it isn't summer when all the tourists are on the road, and it isn't half term so all the little sproglets are taking their parents to the rare breeds farm and all the other things kids want to do when they are out of school, and if you don't get behind a lorry or a tractor, or a driving instructor, and go Chipping Campden > Moreton-in-Marsh (market day is not on Friday) > the outskirts of Oxford > A44 (add extra time here for ongoing road "improvement" works) > crossing the A34 (more road "improvement" works here) > onto the M40 near Oxford Services > cross the M25 and drop down to 50 mph (dozens of speed cameras along the end of the M40 and on the A40 into London, some nearly invisible) for the end of the M40 and resumption of the A40, if you hit somewhere around half the traffic lights (traffic light cameras on almost all of them), avoid the bus lanes, then if underpass at the Hangar Lane Gyratory is flowing well (mind the speed camera at the bottom of the underpass) and if the Westway is ok, and traffic moves along a bit on Marylebone Road, stopping for fuel somewhere along there, expect to hit every light on Euston Road, careful around the underpass there, traffic will then stop because of the huge amount of roadworks in the vicinity of Kings Cross. I'd count on being there by noon, and if you are a little earlier than that you can say you are lucky. Then find the car return, and plan on an hour for that. Some friends I met at Euston doing a similar thing last month lost nearly two.

So you should be able, if you don't mind a little risk of losing your Eurostar booking, be able to fairly well count on a 2pm departure. That's what I would do in your shoes.

(but I wouldn't be in your shoes because although I regularly drive into London on weekends and have to drive to Oxford regularly, no way would I try to catch a train driving into Central London on a weekday to catch a train).

White flag waving..... Okay - I will give up on the rental car from London.

Would someone be willing to tell me the best way to purchase tickets for the train to leave Paddington, stop in Oxford for us to spend some time there and then get back on the train to Moreton-In-Marsh? Links would be very appreciated. I've been looking at Trainline.

Will need a 9:-9:30am train to leave Paddington. We will be traveling in June.

The best way to find all train times & fares is to go to www.nationalrail.co.uk
For longer journeys, they charge more for the turn up and go fares. You will find cheaper fares for Advance booking specific trains. These appear on the system about 11 weeks ahead of present. I just checked for London Paddington to Oxford (PAD > OXF about 10 weeks ahead of now on a Tuesday and found a one way fare of £10.50 (per adult) departing on the 9.21 am. (Takes 56 minutes).

For OXF > MIM, you could buy a day return for about £10. (They charge £18.10 return if you don't return on the same day). For these tickets - do not advance book but pay on the day. I am not sure exactly what your plans are. If you are planning on staying in the Cotswolds & renting a car, you may like to go by train from PAD to MIM (Book such a joinery in advance for cheaper fares).

You can also purchase through tickets from MIM or OXF to St.Pancras. This would mean train to Paddington & it would include the underground to St. Pancras.

Great Western Railway operate the trains from London Oxford & MIM. I would pre-book with them at :

https://www.gwr.com/?gclid=clkluiau5cocfdey0wodnwgnfg
(You get a booking number. Use the same debit card & input booking number into a ticket machine (& card) on arrival & out will come your tickets. They debit card at time of booking. Alternatively, go to any staffed ticket office at a rail station).

Kids on the train will be cheaper. If GWR are running a Kids for a Quid promotion at the time (dunno, we all do at some time or other, usually half term) then they will be a Pound each. Normally under 15s are half price, under 5s are free. I haven't looked (just got out of bed) but if there is a Groupsave available that will knock off another third, and if you going other places as well in the UK (Bath, Scotland?) a Family and Friends Railcard can do some real damage to the fares. They come with restrictions and cost £30 but they save a fortune.

Most schools in the area will be back at school on the 6th of June after their half term break at the end of May into the first week of June.

Susan, if you wanted to share a few more details like what time your train is at St Pancras, and the dates you are traveling; are you going anywhere else, etc., maybe the like and dislikes of the kiddoes, we can give you some more hints. There are plenty of us who live or grew up in London and the Cotswolds, some in the Southwest, several in London, and quite a few in or familiar with Paris and Belgium.

If you are travelling to St Pancras to catch the Eurostar you can buy through tickets from Oxford to Paris etc. but you need to use the UK version of the site to do this

http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en

this means your journey is protected, so if your Oxford train is late and you miss the eurostar through no fault of your own - you're put on the next available train

more info here http://www.seat61.com/UKconnections.htm

Here are more details. My husband and I have two teenagers 16 and 14 at the time of our vacation.

We'd like to take a train to Oxford to depart Paddington around 9:30 on June 8th. We'd like to spend about 3-4 hours in Oxford with 2 hours of that time on a university tour. Around 15:30, we'd like to take the train on to Moreton-In-Marsh, we will then need to hire a taxi or rent a car to get to Chipping Campden.

June 9th - We plan to tour Cotswold by bike.

June 10th - Depart Moreton-In-Marsh to Paddinton Station. Need directions to where the correct tube is and # to catch the Eurostar at 13:30 which have already been purchased.

Thanks everyone I appreciate any further advice you may have.

June 10th - Depart Moreton-In-Marsh to Paddinton Station. Need directions to where the correct tube is and # to catch the Eurostar at 13:30

Working backwards.....

For the 13.31 to Paris, you need to be checked in, not in the queue, 45 minutes prior to departure. They used to say 30 minutes but have raised that with the extra security checks now in place. I strongly recommend an hour.

So you want to be at the Eurostar check in desk at 12.30. St Pancras station is full to the rafters with good food outlets - even more if you consider Kings Cross just over the road. Everything from burritos to Moroccan food to sandwiches to Belgian food and a very long champagne bar (they claim the longest). So if you want to eat, get there earlier - it will be lunch time and with two teens who tend to eat everything in the house (maybe not yours but I do know some) you might stoke up prior to checking in. Food on the train is relatively limited and relatively expensive. You can take food through security and drinks, but not open drinks like coffee.

There is a Caffe Nero coffee shop and WH Smiths in the post security waiting room, but they have a smaller selection. Normal prices but less from which to choose. Free wifi both sides of security, and plenty of plug points in both UK and European plugs. You can get a carnet of Métro tickets and Paris Visite passes both on the train and in the waiting room at a small markup, but no queues and they speak English. Paris Museum Passes are NOT available. Paris Visite is appropriately dissed elsewhere on this Forum.

So add time for lunch if you want it, souvenir shopping and food stocking to the journey time.

12.30 check in means either half an hour or so on the 390 bus, or about 3 minutes a stop on the Tube = about 15 minutes for 5 stops on the clockwise (eastbound) Circle Line or Hammersmith and City Line. I'd allow 20 or 25 in case you have to wait a couple of minutes for a train, maybe a wrong turn, and you need to find the Tube entrance. Shall we call it half an hour for safety (more time to wander at St Pancras). So you want to be arriving at Paddington around noon.

The 9.50 from Moreton-in-Marsh (platform 1) gets to Paddington at 11.29 (platform 5) calling at Kingham 09:58, Charlbury 10:08, Hanborough 10:15, Oxford 10:28, Reading 10:54, and Slough at 11:11. That's what I'd pick. There is also a train half an hour earlier.

I didn't understand the significance of the hash tag # in your question...

Just to make sure, Susan, you know that Eurostar tickets are not changeable, not refundable, and only discounted far in advance? Think of them like your air tickets. As noted, they also have immigration and security procedures in London. Returning, I believe Immigration is at the other end, not London.

Niguel - working backwards, your directions are very helpful.

Is there a specific ticket on the GWR that allows us to get off an on for our trip out to Oxford and Chipping Campden or is it best to buy a ticket to each destination?

I think that's my last question. :) Really appreciate all the advice. Thank you.

a train to Oxford to depart Paddington around 9:30 on June 8th. We'd like to spend about 3-4 hours in Oxford with 2 hours of that time on a university tour. Around 15:30, we'd like to take the train on to Moreton-In-Marsh

Using the same national rail website I see a train from Paddington to Oxford at 9.21 taking 56 minutes arriving at 10.17; or one at 9.30 taking 1:04 and needing an 8 minute change at Didcot Parkway. I'd take the slightly earlier one. There are frequent services on that line.

The trains towards Moreton-in-Marsh are less frequent, about hourly. The 15.20 takes 34 minutes for the run from Oxford, arriving at 15.54.

An off-peak return from Paddington to MIM does allow a break of journey on both legs according to my reading of the restriction codes. Cost is £49.

The cheapest via advances would be PAD-OXF(£6), OXF-MIM (£9.90), MIM-PAD (£8.50). No advances are sold on OXF-MIM only off peak singles, which may suit you are this makes that part of your journey flexible on any off peak train. The other journeys you are planning to a time anyway. Of course you need to be quick to get the cheapest advances, particularly on MIM-PAD.

Additional: Try contacting Eurostar to see if you can by a CIV ticket from MIM-St Pancras to add on to your existing booking. These can be fairly cheap and gives you protection if you arrive too late because of train delays.