A Strategy for Over-60 Visitors to the UK!
Travel when you get older can get strenuous and tiring. But on the other hand, a country like the UK, where there are plenty of pretty good small hotels, restaurants with rooms and B&Bs in addition to expensive ones where you can really pamper yourself, is probably the ideal destination for the senior tourist.
I have just had it confirmed by a man close to the Fat Controller at ATOC, the trade body for the train operating companies, that Senior Railcards are available to anyone with the appropriate fee of £26 for a year, on production of a passport, which proves they are over 60. Holders get a 33% discount on all Standard and First Class tickets. So you don’t need to do too many trips before you have reclaimed the fee!
As an example of what you can do, take my trip to London from Cambridge last weekend. I visited the Olympic Park, Canary Wharf, Croydon and the National Gallery, all in a few hours on a ticket that cost just £21.10. If I’d wanted to see a play or have a meal, then I would have had time and my train ticket would still have cost the same.
My only problem with this sort of Awayday is getting to the station, as I can’t drive and taxis are just too expensive. But stay in Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, Bristol, York, Liverpool, Coventry or any one of a number of historic cities and towns, with plenty of attractions of their own, perhaps a nearby airport to get there from outside of the UK and good rail links to lots of other places worth visiting.
Another thing that should be mentioned is that the UK has one of the youngest train fleets in the world. On all the trains I used on the trip last weekend, not one was old and decrepit. Two were old, but very comfortably refurbished.
Remember too, these things about the UK.
- A lot of national and many local museums are free.
- Most major towns and cities have a decent live theatre.
- We have some of the best restaurants in the world. But if you are on a budget, it is generally not a problem these days, especially if like me you like Indian or Chinese food, as every B&B owner knows where the best local ethnic restaurants are.
- The shopping ranges from the expensive and swish down to some of the best street markets in the world.
- For those who like walking, we have them at all levels of difficulty. My favourites are to go up Primrose Hill, walk along the Thames and explore Hampstead Heath in London. But there are endless and many walks that are easily accessible from train stations.
- If you like horse racing, we have dozens of tracks from the grand to the somewhat quaint. All are different and few are the boring ovals, you find in many countries.
- You can choose times that fit or don’t fit in with annoyances like children going to school, harassed commuters as they go and come back from work and those dreadful flying midges in Scotland. This web site has details on the latter.
Hopefully, this blog will detail some places to go.
Keep Right
Keep right is the rule of the Underground and it was introduced in the Second World War to make sure that American servicemen used the escalators properly.
It works well with my good right hand always on a rail, except where for some reason , some of those coming out of a station say use a keep left-rule of their own making.
But thinking right meant that when I went down the escalator at Leicester Square, I chose the up escalator, possibly because it was on the right and aqlso because there was no-one on the way up. But holding on to the handrail, I was able to turn easily and quickly, and walk the few paces off.
So at least it was 9/10 for balance and agility, even if my eyes and brain perhaps scored a seven.
An Expedition to the Deep South
London is a city split by the River Thames into two distinctly separate sub-cities.
If you were born and have lived a lot of your life in the north, then you rarely cross the river into the south. I’ve got friends in the south, who feel exactly the same about the north. Although, we would both admit that we might just cross the river to see the attractions just on the other side. I did think that this might be a white middle-class thing, but discussing it with a man of Caribbean extraction, who had lived most of his life in Tottenham, he felt exactly the same.
There are two big differences though between north and south.
The north relies heavily on tubes, such as the Piccadilly, Northern, Central, Victoria, and Jubilee Lines, whereas the south depends largely on the suburban electrics of the old Southern Railway, which wind their way everywhere in a pretty comprehensive manner. But the old Southern Railway never had the Underground’s organisation and welcoming corporate identity!
The north too, has a defined ring road, the North Circular Road, whereas the southern equivalent is just a signposted route on inadequate roads. So northerners going south, always end up getting frustrated and lost. Especially as most from the north only ever go to the south to get through it to go to places like Gatwick or Brighton.
You can also argue that most of the major attractions are in the north. If you take major sports venues, only The Oval and Wimbledon are in the south and both can actually be reached using the Underground, so you don’t have to fathom out how the electric trains work!
So it was with trepidation that I set out from Canary Wharf to visit some friends, who live in the deep south near Croydon. Their nearest station is Anerley, so that would mean taking the DLR to Shadwell and then walking a few yards to the East London Line station of the same name.
Shadwell Station on the East London Line
The new station is functional and pleasant, but suffers slightly because of a cramped site, penned in between Listed buildings and the Thames Tunnel.
Shadwell Station looking North
The platforms looked a bit narrow and they are certainly not as wide as those on the North London Line. But I suppose they are well within safety limits.
I had to wait about twenty minutes for my train to West Croydon, as I had just missed one, but soon I was off south through the Thames Tunnel and on to Annerley.
It was at Annerley that my problems started, as all the old prejudices about the impenetrable jungle of South London kicked in. I misread the map at the station and instead of turning left out of the station approach onto the main road, I turned right and walked a couple of kilometres before I called my friend for rescue. At least he realised what I’d done wrong and thankfully came to get me in his car.
So there was no harm done and a couple of coffees warmed me up and got me ready for the return.
A Courageous Woman
Gill Hicks lost both her legs in the London Tube Bombings of the 7th July 2005. She has not embraced as many would hate but founded M.A.D. for Peace.
She is an example to us all!
The Culture Line
The East London Line has now teamed with ten museums to create The Culture Line.
What a good idea for both Londoners and tourists.
Heathrow Express or Not
From where I live, Heathrow Airport is not the easiest place to get to. If I was going for a week or so, I’d leave my car with the valet parking and drive. C and I once went by bus from Newmarket and that was fine, except that they are every two hours. When will they learn that to get people to use public transport, you need a decent frequency.
I will take the train from Whittlesford and then the Victoria Line into London. But instead of taking the tube to Paddington, I’ll do a cross-platform change to the Piccadilly Line at Finsbury Park and go straight to the airport. London Transport say it is 20 minutes slower than the Heathrow Express, but it won’t involve any humping of baggage up and down steps.
MTR Tickets in Hong Kong
The MTR is Hong Kong’s version of the London Underground. Some things are similar like their Octopus Card and our Oyster.
The reason that I stated the latter, is that I have just bought my Tourist Ticket for Hong Kong on-line. It gives me two airport journeys and three days travel in the territory. I collect it at the Airport and then just use it!
Incidentally, getting an Oyster for use in London, doesn’t appear to be so simple. If it isn’t, then it should be.
Victoria Line Delay
Yesterday, I left Selfridges about five with the intention of getting to Blackhorse Road by five-thirty and home in time to see England play South Africa in the Twenty20 World Cup.
But I hadn’t bargained on the signalling problems that happened at Seven Sisters, that effectively meant that no trains could run through.
Now one of the things that works on public transport in London is that there are a lot of different ways to get from A to C, even if doesn’t mean going by B.
Eventually we gave up at Euston, where we had sat for about five minutes. The driver had told us to try to find alternative routes, but to get to the further parts of the Victoria Line is not easy. Especially as the Circle Line to Liverpool Street was shut as it was being upgraded. Why Liverpool Street? You can get a Chingford train to St. James Street in Walthamstow.
I was talking to an Aussie, who wanted to get to Pickett’s Lock, where he had planted his tent for about three pounds a day. That must be the cheapest bed in London, although these days it must be pretty cold. But then he was going walking near Inverness and was wearing shorts on quite a cold day. I was actually wearing a T-shirt under my shirt!
So we legged it and immediately caught a Northern Line train to Kings Cross St. Pancras. A long walk through that station brought us to the Piccadilly Line, where we immediately caught a train towards Finsbury Park, where the aim was to see if we could get a bus towards Seven Sisters and Blackhorse Road. Or in fact rejoin the Victoria Line, but that now not running at all.
It was there that I made my first mistake. All the world and his wife seemed to have the same idea and masses were scrambling towards the exit and the buses.
So it was back down to the Piccadilly Line and back on the next train to Manor House.
We were in luck and a few minutes later we were on a 279 bus to Tottenham Hale for myself and all the way to Edmonton Green for my travelling companion. He would be exactly where he wanted to be and I would be a short bus ride away from the Lotus Elan at Blackhorse Road. Note that buses are so much better today, now that they actually tell you where they are going!
It was all very complicated, but at least I had a someone pleasant to talk to. I arrived about forty minutes later than I would have done directly by tube.
Incidentally, one thing that was very good was the attitude of London Transport staff. My companion’s tickets didn’t work the barriers as his was just a simple return, but they just waved him through.
The whole journey could have been one hell of a lot worse!
Riding the East London Line
On Wednesday, I rode the East London Line for the first time. Not that I went far, as I didn’t have too much time, but I did get in two quick trips. One was up and back from Whitechapel to Hoxton stations and the other was through the Brunel Tunnel to Canada Water.
It looks good and the trains seem to be well-designed and ride well. Some may argue that there is a lack of seats, but then as I rode around the trains weren’t busy. They will certainly be in the rush hour and then they’ll need all the space you can get. Remember that some stations like Canada Water can only take four car trains.
Note the pictures of Hoxton Station. There are no escalators but lifts. This is probably a good idea, as it gives full step-free access for those who need it and saves cost over having both escalators and lifts.
What surprised me was the enthusiasm of some of the local people I met on the line. They all seemed very pleased with what had been achieved.
The East London Line Opens
I’m glad to see that the teething troubles that delayed the opening of the East London Line have been solved and it is now open. Labour activitists mostly of the Old variety wanted it delayed until after the election, but if you read the comments on The Times report of the opening, I suspect they are in the minority.
If it works and it’s safe, it should be open.
But it should still have been called the Brunel Line.
The Anonymous Widower 