From London to Lewes and Lewes to Heathrow

A year on the rail strikes are still happening, announced two weeks out. They will affect the route to Tunbridge Wells just as much as to Lewes.

Sometimes the easy and cheap ways are the best ways, and finding a creative way to East Croydon isn't the best way, in fact it is the worst.

Take London bus C10 from the IWM on St George's Road to Victoria Station, then train to Lewes, if no strike.

The Bakerloo line goes from Lambeth North (IWM) for Waterloo (for Waterloo East) and Charing Cross for Tunbridge Wells then yes good bus service to Lewes- which goes to Brighton.

BUT if you want to be strike proof now then the C10 stops on it's way to Victoria Railway Station outside Victoria Coach Station.

Every hour National Express runs Victoria- Heathrow- Gatwick to Brighton (24/7, 2 hourly overnight) and then the Tunbridge Wells bus #29 every 30 minutes or #29A for Heathfield every hour (so 3 buses every hour) to Lewes- or jump in a cab,

Likewise on the way back bus or cab to Brighton, Nat Ex to Heathrow- 2 hours to Heathrow, 3 to Victoria. I

If going to Victoria Rail Station London Bus 148 is a more direct alternative from the same stop.

no strikes have been announced for May as far as I know.

If you look back over the posts for the last several months you'll see that the Guards' strikes are no more, just the Drivers.

They tend now to have several days of action in a row, but only affecting each route once, in rotation, as well as an overtime ban.

So your odds, if you are travelling during one of those is only 1 in 5 that it will affect you on any given day, when you can then refer to Stuart's buses. Otherwise you will be happy on the Victoria to Lewes train services..

What time do you need to check in at Heathrow?

If you give us the exact dates then Stuart will probably put a watch on those days.

If he or I hear of anything in the wind we will post about any called strikes, which must have at least 14 days notice.

I hope that neither of your trips is on either of the bank holidays in May.

Thank you both very much! That does make things more clear for me.

Nigel--I'm not sure what you mean about Stuart's buses. Tried to Google it and all I found was a coach line in Scotland.

My dates are 31 May (London to Lewes) and 5 June (from Lewes to Heathrow). My flight home doesn't leave until 4 pm or so and I usually try to get there around 1 p.m. I'll be in London for the Bank Holiday.

This is the Brighton to Lewes to Tunbridge Wells route timetable- https://passenger-line-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/brightonhove/BH/29-timetable-20240404-8a3362fc.pdf

This is the Nat Ex timetable London to Brighton- https://timetables.nationalexpress.com/routes/NX/025/London-Worthing/O/pdf

and this back north- https://timetables.nationalexpress.com/routes/NX/025/Worthing-London/I/pdf

This is the London Bus C10 timetable- http://londonbusroutes.net/times/C10.htm

and this the 148 timetable- http://londonbusroutes.net/times/148.htm

and this the TfL area route map- https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/lambeth-north-a4-290423.pdf

Someone here will post strike dates when announced. Additionally I currently have several off public forum watches going on for forum members- including 2 this week for travel in 2 weeks time- between us all we take care of people's travel plans when we can if specifics are known.

Thank you so much, isn31c!

Each time I have taken the train from Victoria to Lewes, the train has been very crowded, sometimes standing room only. Is this typical on a Friday late morning for this route, I wonder?

not sure what you mean about Stuart's buses

not to worry.

the chap who gave you all the bus information (I do trains and know nothing about buses except in London) is called Stuart. He knows everything about buses. So, Stuart's buses. I call him that because I can't get my head around his forum name. I find random numbers and letters hard to remember.

In any event, you have lots of info. I haven't checked for the Bank Holiday weekend but, yes, if you want to find crowded trains going to the south coast they are most likely in the evening peak (sort of 4 to 7 in the evening) and around Bank Holidays, as well as football Saturdays. Oh, and sunny days, and folks heading to Brighton for what used to be called a dirty weekend. Normally for the rest of the day and on normal days they would be lightly used. Going from Lewes to London avoid the early morning peak. Tickets are cheaper outside the peak too.

A lot of thought has produced a non London way to East Croydon.
Tube on the Bakerloo, then the Northern line to Balham via Elephant and Castle, then the suburban train.

By bus take the 148 South to the Camberwell Green terminus, then the 468 to the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, walk or tram to East Croydon. There probably is a more elegant way but that's the way I can find without my maps. I'm on a train to Manchester currently, having had two cancelled Avanti trains this morning, so have my Manchester maps with me, doing an emergency re-route to try to keep my appointments today.

@Nigel, Thanks for explaining about Stuart. I usually go to Lewes on a Friday, late morning (10 or 11-ish) which I hope lets me avoid most of the peak activity. I can be flexible about which train I take, so am open to suggestions.

@ isn31c, thanks so much for the alternate route! Sorry you had two trains cancelled today. I hope it all worked out in the end.
By suburban railway, do you mean the South Western Railway? I have often wondered if the crowding etc. I've experienced is just the Southern Railway or if others are much like that. I took the train to Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh and the cars were not very crowded at all. It was a more pleasant experience.

Balham to East Croydon is on a Southern Railway train, rather than South Western.

It is a 20 minute journey at 41 minutes past each hour. Other trains from Balham are a change en route.

it looks like that is about the best all bus route to East Croydon.

You shouldn't have had crowding like that in the off peak- something abnormal must have been happening.

The London rail map says to take the Northern Line to South Wimbledon then a 1/4 mile walk to Morden Road tram stop, for frequent trams to East Croydon.

Or Thameslink every 30 minutes from Elephant and Castle to Mitcham Junction (27 minute journey) and then tram to East Croydon (19 minute journey).

The cost is £6.

I've been running like crazy all day to recover from an initial 93 minute delay!!

@isn31c, Oh, OK. I was getting mixed up. I was looking at the trains from Croydon to Lewes. I hope to avoid a lot of stairs, lifting etc.

If the aim is to avoid stairs and lifting, not be creative and see bits of South London few tourists do, my overwhelming 1st choice is the single decker low floor bus C10 to Victoria, then all level access, and the train straight to Lewes.

It also happens to be the cheapest as the bus is £1.75, so that is £8.75 all the way to Lewes (£6.35 to anyone with a railcard)

Well, I certainly have enough time to think about it since I'm not going till the end of May. Thanks again!