Analise

I'm heading to London in less than a month for a 5 day trip and I have a couple questions. (I may have more later!)

1. My hotel is within a 10 minute walk from Paddington Station and the Heathrow Express looks appealing especially since I wouldn't have to change trains but the price is a challenge for me to justify. Does anyone know of a promotional code or coupon code that works?

2. I'm taking two day trips by train; the first one is to Salisbury. The second one will be on Palm Sunday and I am torn between Cambridge and Oxford. I'd like to go to an Anglican Church service with a choir of men and boys or girls, go to an outdoor market, visit bookstores, and see the colleges including libraries. Does anyone have a city preference and, if so, why?

Thanks.

Gagravarr

Since you've said you'd be taking other train trips, your best bet (assuming travel after 10am on weekdays / anytime weekends) is to get a Network Railcard. 1/3 off for you + up to 3 others + children within the area you want to travel in, including on the HEX. You challenge may be that I don't think they sell them at Heathrow Airport, as for complicated and annoying reasons it isn't a "proper" railway station...

Not sure you'll find an outdoor market in either Oxford or Cambridge on a Sunday. The main outdoor Oxford one is open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In Oxford, the better one is the Covered Market, but not all of that is open on Sundays either.

Not sure about visiting the libraries either - most college libraries aren't open to visitors, they're reserved for students working. It tends to just be special open days when you can visit. In Oxford, some parts of the Old Bodleian are open to visitors, and the new Bod will have visitors spaces when the work is done but that isn't yet. I think it's similar in Cambridge too.

Personally, I prefer Oxford over Cambridge, which is why I live there ;-) For visitors in the spring, there's not a huge difference between the two - both have various colleges with stunning gardens in bloom at that time, both have parks in bloom too etc. Maybe look up the timings of services + how early you'll need to be there to secure a seat, and decide based on that? Oxford will be easier to get to from near Paddington that Cambridge though, just because of where the trains go from

Analise

I will be on my own. The two day trips I make will be on the weekend to get the discounted same day, open return ticket. Saturday is my day in Salisbury. It is Sunday that is up in the air for me. Would the Network Rail Card be worth it for me since I'll be by myself and traveling outside of London on just both weekend days? I will be taking the Tube and bus while in London on the weekdays.

The Oxford covered market looks very interesting especially if it happens to rain that day! According to its website, the Oxford covered market seems to be open 7 days/week. Would you say that much of it (over half of the stalls) is closed on Sundays?

I thought I read about tours given by the Bodleian Library except during exam periods?

Great, you live there! I do like the convenience of Paddington. Do you think flowers will be in bloom the last weekend in March? That would be great even to see daffodils. I'd also love to go to the Cathedral at Christ Church, Oxford. I see they have a 10am 'Mattins and Sermon' service. I wonder if they will also celebrate the Eucharist at that service.

I believe the Choir of King's College, Cambridge will be in the US on tour when I'll be in England. They'll be in Dallas on the Thursday before Palm Sunday which looks to be their last concert of the tour. I wonder if they'll return to Cambridge for the Palm Sunday services.

Mizter T

As you say, Network Railcards cannot be purchased at Heathrow airport (ditto for any other type of Railcard).

The only suggestion I have for purchasing a railcard is via a telesales line of one of the train companies, such as South West Trains. I suspect they might only post it to a UK address though.

Gagravarr

You can price it up yourself to see! Just pick your favourite UK train ticket booking website without fees (I find eastcoast.co.uk a good interface, but who knows how Virgin will break it on Sunday...), enter the travel details, and price it up with and without the network railcard. Subtract the railcard cost, and work out if you come out ahead!

The market will be open on a Sunday, but I'd say about half the places will be closed. Generally, the fresh food type places tend not to open on Sunday, cafes / clothing / touristy type ones do. You can certainly wander round and get a sense of the space, see some interesting things, but you'd miss out on seeing tasty/interesting looking fresh food.

Dunno, I have a readers card so can go in when I want... Bits of the old Bod should be open all of the time, and the little exhibition/museum thing is always very good and free - they pick a topic of interest, then go find loads of old books that cover it and put them out with information + context!

Ah ha, they do have some tours too - see here for details

Some, yes, hard to say yet how many. There were a handful of flowers out already last weekend, mostly snowdrops and crocuses, but it depends on the weather between now and then.

I may be biased, but I'd say try the Fellows Gardens at Magdalen College, I always really like them from about March through to the summer. Different things out at different times, but always good! Trinity College gardens are normally very nice too, and the University Parks can be good.

Email them and ask, assuming it isn't on the college website? Most colleges will have a board outside or in the lodge with the chapel services listed on there, including if eucharist is given, but that's less helpful if you're not already in Oxford to wander past and look...

Swiss Tony

You could always take the slower but cheaper Heathrow Connect service from Heathrow to central London?

stut

As someone who lives near Cambridge, I prefer Cambridge over Oxford... Though I'm happy to accept that may be down to familiarity.

If you are considering Cambridge, you could combine it with a trip to Ely, which has a magnificent cathedral. Cambridge does have an outdoor market on Sundays (in the market square), which does feature Tom's Cakes, a personal favourite...

As for bookshops, these are dying out at a rate of knots, I'm afraid...

UKtravelbear

Your Sunday trip destination may actually be determined by if there are any engineering works which could involve a rail replacement bus (extending journey times_

You can check on the www.nationalrail.co.uk website

Analise

I'll be at a market in Salisbury on Saturday so at least I'll have access to their fresh food offerings.

Ohhhh, that's good to know. I was thinking of buying the tickets now to get a lower price.

Hmmm, that's interesting. I could take the train to Ely first thing in the morning from Paddington for services and then get back on the train (or take a bus) to Cambridge?

As they are in New York.

That sounds terrific. Thank you! According to its website (https://www.heathrowconnect.com/tickets), I will need to buy return tickets online instead of at Heathrow?

Also, AMEX issued me a chip & swipe/signature card. I'm assuming that it won't work in card machines/ticket machines just like swipe cards don't. Is that accurate?

If I buy the Heathrow Connect tickets online, will I be able to use the ticket machine with my chip/signature card? Or is there a customer service window that can take the card?

I need a refresher on Oyster fares. I still have my Oyster card from my last trip. I am looking at the fare website (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms...dult-fares.pdf). Does the capping column mean that in one day, no matter how often I take the tube or bus, my card will not be charged more than £6.40 for Zones 1 and 2?

Can I can still go to the customer service window at a Tube station to use my Amex card to add money to my Oyster card?

stut

Do note that the Advance tickets (valid for Oxford and Salisbury, but not Cambridge) are tied to specific trains, so you need to be confident of your timings. For Oxford, best to book at http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk (they will also tell you if there are engineering works). For Salisbury, then you can use http://uk.megabus.com (yes, really) - although the quota there is limited and the site doesn't show walk-up tickets.

Note that Oxford station isn't the most convenient for the city centre (it's not awful, but not perfect) and if there's any rail disruption, you may want to consider the Oxford Tube bus service from London instead.

The trains to Ely and Cambridge go from King's Cross rather than Paddington (there are also slower, cheaper trains to Cambridge from Liverpool Street). Both are a direct Tube ride from Paddington.

Ely trains go through Cambridge, and you're allowed to break your ticket, so you could return to Cambridge. Again, the station isn't the most convenient for the city centre, but there is a very regular bus service.

Check on the TfL site before you do this - a lot of Tube stations' ticket windows are closing in favour of having employees 'on the floor' assisting passengers. I don't know whether they could force a non-PIN transaction through a ticket machine.

If your Amex has contactless payment enabled, you can use it directly on the Tube barriers.

Gagravarr

Oxford has one very big and impressive bookshop, Blackwells, that you should visit if you come. Close to the Bodleian, spread over several floors, including some almost-hidden bits! There's even a small pub hiding between two parts of it...! Also two Oxfam bookshops which can have some interesting stuff in

You could just buy a single from Heathrow to Hayes and Harlington on arrival (1st stop), I'm sure they're very used to non-chip cards at the ticket desks in Heathrow. Then, at Hayes, hop off and go to the ticket office (same platform). They can then sell you a Network Railcard, along with a ticket the rest of the way into London, which could be a Day Travelcard if you're going to be taking the tube or buses a lot. Then take any other train into London, should be another one along in about as long as it would take to buy the railcard!

Check the pricing though, not sure if it'd end up saving enough to be worth the hassle. If not, you can get a Network Railcard at Paddington when you arrive, if one makes sense for your other plans

Analise

stut, a few questions.

Is either Oxford or Cambridge within walking distance of the city center? I don't mind a 15 minute walk for example. Is one closer than the other to the city center?

I bought an open return ticket for Salisbury for £15 so I'm only tied to one train and not roundtrip. I'll probably do the same for Sunday's trip, whichever I choose. How much in advance do they notify customers of Sunday track work? I don't do well on buses outside of city buses when necessary; I get a bit motion sick so I prefer trains if possible.

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I just called AMEX about 'contactless payment' you mentioned. Thank you for telling me about this! They will Fed Ex overnight a contactless payment AMEX card to me. Now with this card, does this mean I will be able to use my AMEX card in the UK no matter if it's at a ticket machine, a grocery store or restaurant? So essentially anywhere that chip/pin cards are accepted?

I read about Blackwells; if go to Oxford, I plan to stop there. The hidden pub — good to know!

Thanks. If I'm going to hop off, I might as well take the Tube to Paddington. I want that one-seat ride. I mentioned above that I will be getting a 'contactless payment' AMEX sent to me. I'm hoping that should allow me to use my new AMEX card at all ticket machines.

stut

Oxford is about a 10-15 minute walk; Cambridge closer to 20-25.

OK, if it's an open return (well, I imagine an off-peak return in this case) then you're not tied to any trains. However, the cheapest round-trip fare to Salisbury is £38.30, so I'm not sure what you've bought...

Note that Salisbury trains go from London Waterloo.

There's no financial advantage to buying tickets in advance unless they are inflexible tickets (although it can be more convenient, of course...)

Sunday track work is published 12 weeks in advance. Go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and search for the trip you want to do - it'll tell you if there's any engineering going on. Do check Salisbury as well - Saturdays can be affected as well as Sundays.

Not everywhere takes contactless just yet - particularly Amex - but it is spreading rapidly. I use it at Caffe Nero, Yo Sushi and Waitrose, for example. Annoyingly, few ticket machines accept it. Note that some shops (usually smaller ones) don't accept Amex at all. There is often a £20 limit (sometimes £30) on a transaction, and you will be periodically asked to use the card as a normal non-contactless transaction as a security precaution (could be ever 10 transactions, could be random, depends on the issuer - so if you see a 'transaction declined', it's usually just this, although newer terminals are more sophisticated and give you the chance to use the chip rather than turn it down outright).

For details of how to use it on the Tube, see here:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless

Note that you can use contactless payment for all public transport within Greater London (bus, Tube, train, etc) except Heathrow Express/Connect and HS1 without buying a ticket. Salisbury, Cambridge and Oxford fall outside the scheme.

However, if you prepurchase tickets for these places online, you can pick them up at any ticket machine, without needing it to be chipped.

Analise

That's good to know. Thanks!

From Waterloo, I bought the £15 fare with open return a few days ago. Maybe the promo is no longer available? From the confirmation email:

I bought this with my current AMEX which I'm about to replace with the contactless card I'm to receive on Monday. The new card will have the same account number but different expiration and security codes. The email stated I need to bring the card I used to make the purchase even if I'm issued a new card. So I'll bring both cards to be on the safe side.

Thank you! I see that on March 28, there will be track work between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction. May I assume that Waterloo <—> Salisbury will run as per usual? I also see no track work between Oxford and Paddington on the 29th either. Cambridge looks good too. Does the planned track work schedule often change at the last minute?

AMEX apparently does issue contactless payment cards. https://network.americanexpress.com/...less%20FAQ.pdf

Again, thanks for this link. It looks like the Tube DOES accept non-UK issued contactless payment cards. From that link:

I hope this means that the Heathrow Connect will accept the AMEX contactless payment card.

stut

Oh, nice deal!

Definitely! You get the tickets from ticket machines - you'll need the payment card you used and an alphanumeric code from the email. Just press "collect tickets" on the machine and follow the instructions - it's dead simple.

Yes - the work doesn't start until 11pm anyway.

Only very rarely, usually in case of emergency damage or overrunning works.

Indeed so, I used one as recently as this morning

No, Heathrow Connect (to/from the airport stop) isn't part of the TfL charging scheme, you have to buy a paper ticket. If you're definitely going to take it, it may be easier for you to get a ticket online to pick up at the machine.

The ticket office will take magstripe/Chip-and-Sig cards quite happily, though.