Going to london from Northamptonshire (Rusdhen) what is the cheapest and easiest way ?

[Thunderchild]

3-5 of us want to go to London to see the streets lit up and the shops around Christmas time. What is the easiest and cheapest way of doing this ?

Every year we say we will and never do as I'd need to organize it and to be honest I'm more comfortable getting a plane to a foreign country than going to central London.

[ummmm]

Where in Northamptonshire?

A train goes from Northampton Station every hour. In my experience you are better off getting your tickets from the station itself and not booking online. They will tell you the cheapest way. Make sure you travel off peek.

[factor-fiction]

Go on thetrainline.com and look at prices- if you book a month or so in advance and can travel off peak you can get cheap rail tickets. But for 5 of you it may be cheaper to go by car, but if you do I'd park on the outside of London (near M25) and get the tube in- it's all part of the experience and it's easier than driving/parking the centre. The other option is National Express coaches. You could also get a taxi quote

[Thunderchild]

We are from Rushden, How much does it cost to park in Northampton train station - This is the catch 22. We can go from wellingborough but it is horribly exspensive.

I'll have a look at northampton train prices, I'm not banking on getting the best deal on the day, I need to tell people prices too.

[factor-fiction]

Ummmm's got the local knowledge so I'd go off what she says then

[ummmm]

I think it's £5 for the day.

[Smowball]

Where exactly do you want to go in London - there are so many stations!
National Rail Enquiries is the best website to look at for prices and routes.

[ummmm]

National rail enquiries are pretty crap for letting you know deals.

I looked on there for 3 of us to go to Blackpool. It was about £40 cheaper buying the tickets at the station.

[Thunderchild]

hm £8 out, £6 back, total for 3 £42

What options to we have in driving down and getting the nearest tube ?

[Smowball]

Lol, dont know about deals as I live in Greater London and so know the routes but its good for times and lengths of journeys etc

[Smowball]

Surely it will cost you more to drive if you are then going to try and pay for a carpark as well?

[ummmm]

Yes, I always use it. Just buy the tickets at the station.

[mushroom25]

Cockfosters station has a large car park (when rated against other tube stations) and is only 5-10mn from the M25.

[EDDIE51]

if there at least 4 of you , get a 'group save' ticket by train.
A group save for 4 is the same price as 2 offpeak day returns. You get the tickets half price so a group save ticket for 6 is the same as the normal price for 3 and so on.
Going by car is not really a viable option as car parking and the congestion charge is so high , once you have paid tube fares as well it works out very expensive.
Another idea look around for coach trips , most places do coach trips to the Christmas lights and it is a lot cheaper than the train ,

[rockyracoon]

Be wary of tube station car parks, on weekdays they will probably be full by 8am. If you haven't got an Oyster Card you'll be looking at £8.50 each for a travel card, I'd do as Ummm said, go to the station a few weeks before travel and get a price, a least the train goes straight into central London.

[EDDIE51]

Buy a rail card it gives you a 30% discount and can pay for itself in one trip.
There are several types of card but some allow you to take up to 4 adults in addition to the card holder at the discount price, I think you can even get a discount on the 'group save' tickets.

[EDDIE51]

Web page for group save here.
http://www.nationalra...769fbf60/details.html

[dzug2]

You may well be looking too early for cheap fares from Wellingborough - on a random date in early December singles started at £9 but they are not yet released for later in the month

Northampton is cheaper for walkon fares though

[EDDIE51]

4 Adults £50.60 Northampton to London return
http://ojp.nationalra...0/dep/011212/2200/dep
Can't see you doing it cheaper by car once you include parking and the congestion charge.

[Thunderchild]

EDDIE, when I enter that page it warns me that the return is on a different day. A coach trip sounds promising but we don't want to go for the switch on just to have a look round when they are on.

[dzug2]

That's because some of the return journeys chosen are after midnight. Just check the times