I (wit 3 others) will be traveling to England in the beginning of November, 2010. I am hoping to get advice on transportation into london for day trip. Oakham is north of London (About 2 hr drive). The transportation logistics (train, bus are confusing to me (first time traveling to England). I am looking at putting the 3 modes of transportation together for a smooth day of travel. I believe that Oakham has train Station that we can catch for the trip, but not sure of the station in london to get off at for the main tourist stops. Also not certain if I would need a tube pass. It has been suggested by some others that I should use one of the double decker tour buses.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2799 posts
There is a train that leaves about every 20 minutes, it's an 1.45 and goes into either Kings Cross or St. Pancras (they are next to each other). There is a tube station (underground) also, so you can get to any place in London that you want to go to. You will have to change trains in Peterbrough, trains going to Kings Cross.....change in Leicester, trains going to St. Pancras....here are sometimes....7:21am goes to Kings Cross.....7:45am to St. Prancras.....8:21am to Kings Cross....8:45am to St. Prancras....you can look~~nationalrail.co.uk/en/s/timetable/times
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Getting from Oakham to London will require making one connection. Your train route choices are Oakham-Peterborough-London King's Cross or Oakham-Leicester-London St Pancras. When you get to London, buy a one day, zone 1-2 paper travelcard at the train station (not at a Tube station). Or buy it at the station in Oakham, if available. Travelcards with the National Rail logo on them give you some great 2for1 deals at various London attractions, including the Tower of London. The travelcard costs 7.20 GBP for all day/any day or 5.60 GBP after 09:30 on weekdays (anytime on weekends). Go to www.daysoutguide.co.uk to see a list of the offers and to print vouchers for the ones that interest you.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33525 posts
Sorry to disagree Robin, your running time is about right but there is only one train in each direction each hour. Going west you go via Leicester and have 8 minutes to make your connection to St Pancras where you might catch a glimpse of a Eurostar. It goes at xx:21. Going east via Peterborough you have 20 minutes for the connection and go into Kings Cross (where the Hogwarts Express is said to have started from platform 9 3/4).It goes at xx:45 - * - Running time is just 4 or 5 minutes different so take whichever you like.
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
I thought I was the only USA resident who had even heard of Oakham. We enjoyed the town and the castle/town hall/
Posted by
Dallas, United States
707 posts
Here's another US resident who has heard of Oakham. The town of Oakham got several pounds from me as the result of a parking ticket last September!?! The great hall with the many horseshoes was a real kick. :)
Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
1446 posts
We've been to Oakham. We stayed in a B&B close by. Very much enjoyed our time in the area - we had a rental car.