Flitwick to Portsmouth

[NeilWatson]

I'd welcome some advice please on the above day return journey.

Poor mobility makes a cross London transfer very difficult, so I'd like to cross London by Thameslink with a simple onwards interchange south of London.

Speed is not of the essence, convenience is, and the cheaper the better! I have a DSB railcard and PAYG Oyster and am flexible with timings, with no preference to TOC.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bb21]

What date would it be for?

 

[NeilWatson]

Flexible, but mid-week rather than weekend

 

[bb21]

If midweek then unfortunately I struggle to find anything much better value than the £27.80 through fare, given its flexibility. Route-wise I think changing at West Hampstead to London Overground (short walk) and then Clapham Junction is not a bad option.

At the weekend, splitting at Three Bridges reduces the total fare to £22.30, and Three Bridges is a fairly small station. You can of course use this route with a through ticket on a weekday too.

 

[paul1609]

Fares wise as per bb21 above. If you suffer from poor mobility the only route to consider Is Thameslink to East Croydon changing to the direct Southern Service (from London Victoria) to Portsmouth Harbour.
East Croydon is normally a same platform (3) interchange Southbound and a same/cross platform (1/2) interchange Northbound. Even for somebody willing to undertake a mad dash on the tube in central London the time penalty of going via East Croydon is only around 10 to 15 mins.
Back up route would be to go on Thameslink to Brighton and then the Southern semi fast service to Portsmouth Harbour, note the Southern service doesnt have any toilet facilities.
The interchange at Brighton consists of a level walk behind the buffer stops from the main Line platforms 3 to 7 to the West Coastway platforms 1 to 3. Via Brighton would take around 35 mins longer than changing at East Croydon.
I wouldnt recommend changing at Clapham junction (as bb21 above) typically you would need to change from platform 1 to Platform 9 (SWT) service whilst there are lifts to the bridge its a long walk!

 

[bb21]

Yes I think if you can avoid Clapham Junction, then do. I only suggested it if you find on the day for some reason that you don't want to take a detour via the south downs.

Changing at Brighton may be too much a time penalty as the stopper to Portsmouth is painfully slow which may have an impact on how much time you have available for a day trip, which is why I suggested Three Bridges. It is less busy than East Croydon and is relatively easy to swap platforms there, but if it is same platform change at ECR then I bow to your superior local knowledge.

 

[James Wake]

It is normally a same platform change (platform 3) at East Croydon if you board a Bedford-Brighton service. The Bedford-Three Bridges services normally use platform 6, and are due in at the same time as the Portsmouth service. Make sure you board the correct portion for Portsmouth, usually the front 4 coaches. If you end up on a Southampton Central service from East Croydon, then change at Havant for the next Southern or South West Train on the same platform to Portsmouth.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
But Three Bridges is an easy change, lifts to all platforms and not too many steps on each platform. A nice station as well as being my local station.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Am I the only one here that saw the thread title and instantly thought of Harry Potter?

 

[NeilWatson]

Thank you all.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Am I the only one here that saw the thread title and instantly thought of Harry Potter?

Possibly, maybe you were a little confunded

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Possibly, maybe you were a little confunded

Indeed - I shall go to (60145) St Mungo's at once...

See what I did there?