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Help good people of NSC! Organising a day trip to London from Eastbourne.



Austrian Gull

Austrian Gull

Well-known member
Feb 5, 2009
2,462
Linz, Austria
Good afternoon to you all from a gloomy Austria.

In April 2016 I will be travelling to Eastbourne for a week with a group of our schoolchildren and I have been assigned the task of organising a day trip to London (60 kids plus four teachers.)

The travel firm have quoted us 18 euros a head for a train plus underground ticket which strikes me as a little pricey. We have been offered a coach for the day at 20 euros per passenger.

I should add that we're going to London on a Sunday :nono:

My questions to you all:

1. Does anyone know if a group ticket directly bought from Southern is cheaper than the above price?
2. How long would it normally take to get to Central London by coach from Eastbourne?
3. Is there anywhere closer to Eastbourne to the south of London where we could be dropped off at with good, quick public transport links to the centre?

I'd be grateful for any advice. Up the Albion!
 




Thunder Bolt

Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
Aug 18, 2009
65,444
Beside the seaside, beside the sea
If it's a Sunday, there could be a bus replacement service on the trains. At least with a coach, you can ask the driver to take you to various parts of the city, depending on what you want to visit. You could also run your own sightseeing trip around the main attractions, near the end of the day.
 


Beach Hut

Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
71,960
Living In a Box
Why is Austria gloomy ?

I am going there on Sunday
 


beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,302
18 euros including the underground sound damn cheap to me (for comparison, regular off peak is £17 for adults). you'll need to buy that on top of your coach if you take that option. major attractions are usually few hundred meters from a tube. nothing is near a coach park.

coach will take 2hrs, with a fair wind. train to Victoria is 1hr 30.

seen Thunderbirds point... i dont think you can park up near any attractions and wait, coaches have to drop you off and go to designated parks afaik.
 


sydney

sydney

tinky ****in winky
Jul 11, 2003
17,750
town full of eejits
we've just been ......you can get prices from southernrail.com unfortunately the oyster cards(underground) have a 15 pound deposit and as you are going on a sunday you will probably struggle with the refund......pretty sure kids travel for a pound and adults were 17 quid...good luck , a day in London is never enough.
 






thedonkeycentrehalf

thedonkeycentrehalf

Retired
Jul 7, 2003
8,610
Might be worth dropping Darren at Seagull Travel a line to see if he can get you a better deal on the coach.

Also, Under 16's travel free on public transport in London (one of Boris' better ideas) so it may be that you get the coach to drop you somewhere and you use the tube/bus to get around.
 


L

Lifelong Supporter

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2009
2,053
Burgess Hill
Best of luck for what will be a tiring and enjoyable day for all. 60 kids.. wow !! I wonder what age.

The train fare quoted seems good value to me and has the advantage of time.

The downside on the coach is the time it takes. The average coach journey time into London from Eastbourne is 3hr 15 mins (see National Express statistics) but perhaps as you are travelling on a Sunday you would get there in say 2 hrs 30 mins.

The coach would likely be easier for those supervising.

Much might depend on what you are intending to do. If you are off to see museums in Kensington I am sure there will be coach parks local.
 




N

NooBHA

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2015
8,584
I live in London and I would concur that 18 Euros for the train is really good deal. if you want it reduced, ask how much it would cost without the Underground ticket. You wouldn't need it.

You can do a full day trip by taking train to London Bridge station - At London Bridge, you are right next to

1.Tower Bridge & Tower of London
2. The London Dungeon - Kids would love that
3. The Clink Prison
4 HMS Belfast Battleship
5. Borough market where the Bridget Jones films are set
6. Southwark Cathedral

You can then walk along the South Bank where you come to Waterloo, after passing the Millenium Bridge and Tate Modern Museum(free entry) which has

1. South Bank Centre which often has events on there
2. London Eye & London Aquarium
3. Legoland
4 Imperial War Museum - This is free entry

Walk a little further and you come to Westminster bridge which has Big Ben to see and lots of street entertainers

You will take up the whole day easily dong these things, in fact there is no way that you can do all of these in one day, so the kids will be knackered by the time you walk back to Blackfriars Station to get the train back home.

Some of these places are free but some have an entry fee but they will give reductions for block bookings if you contact them beforehand and the money you save by not going on the tube you can put towards entry fees.


This is a real easy route to take and it is all along the river bank so has really nice views. The kids will be so exhausted they will sleep all the way home. Make sure they bring a packed lunch and the can eat on the Green alongside the London Eyes so long as it is not wet. If it is you can go indoors and eat it in the South Bank Centre.

ENJOY YOUR TRIP !
 


R

rool

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2003
6,031
I think there are fairly generous group discounts direct with Southern. That may be the same as you have been quoted but just in case I googles the contact number at Southern. You can then just get a return ticket with zone 1 travel on it I would have thought.

To make group bookings for more than 20 passengers please contact Southern Customer Services. For smaller groups, please check out the GroupSave offers below.

Tel: 03451 27 29 20 - select option 7 (calls may be recorded)

Minicom/ textphone: 03451 27 29 40

Tickets may be purchased through Southern Customer Services with the following conditions:

There is a minimum of 20 passengers
Tickets must be purchased at least 10 working days in advance to allow for posting
The service cannot be used to purchase season tickets
 


Austrian Gull

Austrian Gull

Well-known member
Feb 5, 2009
2,462
Linz, Austria
Beach Hut said:
Why is Austria gloomy ?

I am going there on Sunday
Click to expand...

The weather is expected to improve by the weekend - inspired by your presence, Beach Hut.

beorhthelm said:
18 euros including the underground sound damn cheap to me (for comparison, regular off peak is £17 for adults). you'll need to buy that on top of your coach if you take that option. major attractions are usually few hundred meters from a tube. nothing is near a coach park.

coach will take 2hrs, with a fair wind. train to Victoria is 1hr 30.

seen Thunderbirds point... i dont think you can park up near any attractions and wait, coaches have to drop you off and go to designated parks afaik.
Click to expand...

I don't want to seem a tightwad as 18 euros isn't that much but I'd expected that with 60 fourteen year old kids it might be cheaper.

sydney said:
we've just been ......you can get prices from southernrail.com unfortunately the oyster cards(underground) have a 15 pound deposit and as you are going on a sunday you will probably struggle with the refund......pretty sure kids travel for a pound and adults were 17 quid...good luck , a day in London is never enough.
Click to expand...

Last time I went on this trip we stayed two nights in a youth hostel in Russell Square. Our precious, spoilt Austrian children moaned so much about the hostel I swore we'd only go on a day trip next time! They're just not used to roughing it...

Norman Potting said:
Why don't you just take them on the Amex tour instead, 4 home games that month as well.
Click to expand...

Good idea for the tour! Might just look into that. No home games though - a colleague has already organised the flights and we won't be there for a match.

thedonkeycentrehalf said:
Might be worth dropping Darren at Seagull Travel a line to see if he can get you a better deal on the coach.

Also, Under 16's travel free on public transport in London (one of Boris' better ideas) so it may be that you get the coach to drop you somewhere and you use the tube/bus to get around.
Click to expand...

Under 16s can travel free? Is this true for us without Oystercards?

Lifelong Supporter said:
Best of luck for what will be a tiring and enjoyable day for all. 60 kids.. wow !! I wonder what age.

The train fare quoted seems good value to me and has the advantage of time.

The downside on the coach is the time it takes. The average coach journey time into London from Eastbourne is 3hr 15 mins (see National Express statistics) but perhaps as you are travelling on a Sunday you would get there in say 2 hrs 30 mins.

The coach would likely be easier for those supervising.

Much might depend on what you are intending to do. If you are off to see museums in Kensington I am sure there will be coach parks local.
Click to expand...

The ratio for trips here is 20 students: 1 teacher! We managed to wangle another teacher.
 




beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,302
NooBHA, good shout focusing on London Bridge, though i dont think you could fit in all that and walk to South bank with kids in tow. i was about to reply to suggest only aiming/expecting to do a couple of things unless they are close, but theres a lot at LB in close proximity.
 


Notters

Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,869
Guiseley
NooBHA said:
1.Tower Bridge & Tower of London
2. The London Dungeon - Kids would love that
3. The Clink Prison
4 HMS Belfast Battleship
5. Borough market where the Bridget Jones films are set
6. Southwark Cathedral

You can then walk along the South Bank where you come to Waterloo, after passing the Millenium Bridge and Tate Modern Museum(free entry) which has

1. South Bank Centre which often has events on there
2. London Eye & London Aquarium
3. Legoland
4 Imperial War Museum - This is free entry
Click to expand...

Blimey you'd do well to do one of those things on a Sunday in April, they'll be very busy. Is there no way you can get them to move it to midweek OP?
 






studio150

studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,611
On the Border
Norman Potting said:
Why don't you just take them on the Amex tour instead, 4 home games that month as well.
Click to expand...

Better still move the trip to Saturday 23rd April and take in sunny South London with a trip to the Valley pre match a walk on the O2 roof and post game a cable car ride everyone wins.
 




Austrian Gull

Austrian Gull

Well-known member
Feb 5, 2009
2,462
Linz, Austria
Notters said:
Blimey you'd do well to do one of those things on a Sunday in April, they'll be very busy. Is there no way you can get them to move it to midweek OP?
Click to expand...

The children have got classes at the language school every morning from Monday to Thursday so Saturday or Sunday are our only options.

Great ideas from NooBha.

Any ideas from anyone about somewhere in South London with good transport access to the centre which would cut our coach journey time?

I just have a feeling that we might spend three hours getting into London otherwise.
 






R

rool

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2003
6,031
Austrian Gull said:
The children have got classes at the language school every morning from Monday to Thursday so Saturday or Sunday are our only options.

Great ideas from NooBha.

Any ideas from anyone about somewhere in South London with good transport access to the centre which would cut our coach journey time?

I just have a feeling that we might spend three hours getting into London otherwise.
Click to expand...

Canada Water. There's a bus station there and the Jubilee Line takes you direct to Waterloo and London Bridge.
 


Notters

Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,869
Guiseley
Austrian Gull said:
The children have got classes at the language school every morning from Monday to Thursday so Saturday or Sunday are our only options.

Great ideas from NooBha.

Any ideas from anyone about somewhere in South London with good transport access to the centre which would cut our coach journey time?

I just have a feeling that we might spend three hours getting into London otherwise.
Click to expand...

Driving into London on a Sunday should be fine. You can get to central parts via the A2 pretty easily.
 


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