info required pls!

[butterflyconro]

hi all, i was wandering if i could get a liitle help and advice! myself , husband and 2 kids will be coming to the uk next week for a 5 day trip (from ireland). could you tell me what zone bookham and epsom are in? and if in no zone could u tell me what the best train/tube tickets would be to get. we will be staying in epsom, but visiting my granfather in bookham, also we will be travelling to london and back prob everyday. also we are arriving from stansted. so basically i need to know is it worth getting a zone 1-6 weekly travelcard? also can anyone tell me is it possible to get a family/friends railcard from stansted train station? if not my family said that they could apply for one online and get it posted to their address ...do u know how long this takes? thank you

 

[bb21]

Neither Bookham nor Epsom is within the London Zonal Fares area.

Depending on where you are staying, a combination of Railcard-discounted outboundary Travelcards each day will likely give you the best value. This however means that you cannot travel during the morning peak on weekdays in general.

You don't get Railcard discounts on weekly season tickets.

 

[soil]

So many questions.

Epsom station is just outside the zones.

The next stations, Ewell east and west, are in zone 6.

From Epsom to London you will likely want an Epsom - London Southern Only Travelcard. This costs around £9. If you buy at the ticket office, or online, you can request group save tickets, whereby you pay for 2 adults and the children are then free. From Epsom you would take the train towards Victoria - the Waterloo train is not valid on this ticket.

A weekly t/c is unlikely to be worth it unless you need to arrive London before 9:50 (the daily ticket is not valid till this time).

To reach Bookham, a separate day return is £4.90, off peak.

Ticketing from Stansted will depend on your arrival/departure date, time, and any other plans for those days.

 

[butterflyconro]

thank you both!! sorry about so many questions...but coming from small ireland to big london..will be a little daunting with 2 kids. basically what i want to know is when i arrive in stansted...what ticket should i buy? our plans for the week will be to travel to bookham everyday..but also will be visiting chessington world of adventure, legoland,chelsea football club and then london city itself!! i know train tickets can be quiet expensive so thats why i was hoping that there would be a cheaper option. also if i get the railcard i can get discounts on places to visit ect. we will be arriving in stansted at 8am...but dont mind waiting until off peak to travel. also dont mind travelling off-peak for rest of trip! could you tell me when is peak and off-peak? thanks again

 

[bb21]

No need to apologise. I don't think soil was complaining.

Are you going back to Ireland from Stansted as well?

The Railcard can be purchased on arrival at Stansted Airport. There is a National Rail ticket office at the platform level. It costs £28 and is valid for a year.

 

[butterflyconro]

yes we are flying back from stansted!! ok i will get the railcard at the airport!! thanks a million!! im still confused as to what to do about the train/tube tickets! should i get a weekly zone 1-6 ...as we will be going back and forth..and then just get daily tickets to bookham!! i noticed all the places we want to visit fall in these zones!! or just get daily tickets? soil mentioned..... "Epsom - London Southern Only Travelcard"- this train takes us to victoria..right? so should i then avoid taking the waterloo train into london? if i got these tickets is it better to get them online or are the very much the same price at station? thanks again!!

 

[soil]

What are your arrival and departure dates & times?

 

[bb21]

Below are my suggestions. Other people might think of alternative options. You might find this map useful. Although it is not the most up-to-date version, it is more useful in your case as both Epsom and Bookham are included (Grid M6). The most up-to-date version is here (which only includes stations within Zones 1-6).

You could buy the following for each day of your stay:

Epsom - London Zones 1-6
Route Any Permitted
Off-Peak Day Travelcard
£7.85 Adult £2.25 Child
(Valid on trains arriving at the London terminus after 10am, so basically anything after 9.20am from Epsom is fine.)

plus

Boundary Zone 6 - Bookham
Route Any Permitted
Off-Peak Day Return
£3.35 Adult £1 Child
(Valid on any train after 9.30am. This ticket must be bought from a manned ticket office.)

The first ticket allows you to make a return journey between Epsom and the boundary of London Fare Zone 6, plus unlimited travel within London Zones 1-6 for the whole day subject to time restrictions.

The second ticket allows you to make a return journey between the boundary of Zone 6 and Bookham. If you wish to visit Bookham first, then go into London on any particular day, just use the second ticket first (and effectively start "short" from Epsom). Between the boundary of Zone 6 and Bookham, you can either go via Effingham Junction and Surbiton, or via Epsom and either of the two Ewell stations.

(There is also a Route Southern Only version of the Day Travelcard which costs £6.55 Adult and £1.90 Child. This ticket is not valid between Epsom and Ewell West, only Ewell East. If you get the wrong train you might be liable for a Penalty Fare of £20 per person. To keep it simple, I recommend just getting the Route Any Permitted ticket mentioned above.)

All fares quoted include Railcard discount. I have simplified the time restrictions for you. Some exceptions apply but if you stick to the times I quoted above, you should be fine. Time restrictions only apply on weekdays.

 

[maniacmartin]

Epsom - London Zones 1-6
Route Any Permitted
Off-Peak Day Travelcard
£7.85 Adult £2.25 Child
(Valid on trains arriving at the London terminus after 10am.).

This can beaten. See Family Travelcard, which gives adults 20% off and children at a flat rate of £1 on Southern outboundary travelcards, as long as at least one adult and one child are travelling together.

 

[butterflyconro]

SOIL-we arrive in stansted at 8am on the 28th march and we depart at 7:55pm on the 2nd april

 

[bb21]

This can beaten. See Family Travelcard, which gives adults 20% off and children at a flat rate of £1 on Southern outboundary travelcards, as long as at least one adult and one child are travelling together.

It can, but it will be Route Southern Only. If the OP is happy with the Southern Only restriction and only travel between Epsom and Ewell East (not Ewell West) then the Route Southern Only Off-Peak Day Travelcard (as mentioned in Post 8) would be even better value.

 

[butterflyconro]

thank you all so much!! going to try make heads of all this info. so hard when u have no idea whats what!!

 

[bb21]

SOIL-we arrive in stansted at 8am on the 28th march and we depart at 7:55pm on the 2nd april

On the first day, are you going to go from Stansted Airport to Epsom to check in, then back into London for some fun, and then eventually back to Epsom in the evening (possibly with a detour to Bookham)?

I think what you need to do for the first day is purchase the following:

Stansted Airport - London Terminals
Route Any Permitted
Anytime Return
£21.65 Adult £6.25 Child
(Although this is an Anytime ticket, with Railcard discount applied, it is not valid until any train arriving its London terminus after 10am. This means you can basically get the direct service to London Liverpool Street from the 9.15am train onwards - some breakfast I think . This ticket allows you to make a return journey between Stansted Airport and London. There is no evening restriction so on your way back, you won't be affected by the time restrictions.)

plus

London Zones 1-6
Off-Peak Day Travelcard
£5.90 Adult £2 Child

plus

If you need to go to Epsom, you can purchase a ticket to Epsom from Boundary Zone 6. A single is £1.45 Adult £1 Child and a return is £1.90 Adult £1 Child. If you need to go to Bookham, likewise purchase a ticket from Boundary Zone 6, prices as in Post 8.

You can buy all these tickets in one go at the Stansted Airport ticket office. Indeed you can buy all the tickets for the whole duration of your stay at Stansted all in one go, although that probably will take a while - might as well given that you have some time to hang around anyway.

thank you all so much!! going to try make heads of all this info. so hard when u have no idea whats what!!

No problem. It is very complex.

My suggestions in Post 8 is not necessarily the cheapest. It probably costs an extra £25~£30 compared to the very cheapest option overall for your five days' stay, however should be fairly uncomplicated and give you a great deal of flexibility without any potential worry that you might get the wrong train and be penalised.

 

[butterflyconro]

ok cool thanks for that!! so i can presume that i can by all these tickets at the station and dont need to buy them before we leave!! thanks again i really appreciate it. im abit of a control freek when it comes to travel...like to know exactly what i have to do and buy!

 

[bb21]

Yes, you can buy them on arrival at Stansted, together with your Family & Friends Railcard.

Have a good trip.

 

[butterflyconro]

thanks a million!! so glad i came across this forum!! nite

 

[soil]

From Stansted you will want to travel

Stansted - Tottenham Hale - Vauxhall - Epsom

Because of the travel to Bookham it's best to avoid the Southern Only tickets.

I would buy (all prices for 4 with railcard)

28th:
Stansted - Tottenham Hale Anytime Return £51.90 (this will be valid for the return journey also)
London Off-Peak Day Travelcard Z1-6 £15.80
Boundary Zone 6 - Bookham Off-Peak Day Return £8.90

These tickets would be valid for Stansted - Epsom - Bookham - Epsom or
Stansted - Epsom - Bookham - Epsom - London - Ewell (but not back to Epsom)

If you want to go back into London again, then you will need to buy a Boundary Zone 6 - Epsom single - cost is £4.90


29th/30th/31st/1st
for travel Epsom - Bookham - Chessington - Epsom, I would buy:

Epsom - Bookham Off-Peak Day Return £8.50
Epsom - Chessington South Super Off-Peak Day Return £8.90

Note that for Bookham - Chessington you will pass back through Epsom, but you won't need to get off or change trains at Epsom when coming back from Bookham (you might of course find it more convenient to drive from Bookham if a car is available there)

29th/30th/31st/1st

for travel Epsom - Bookham - London - Epsom
see as suggested by bb21

For travel to Legoland you would need to purchase a Boundary Zone 6 - Windsor & Eton Riverside Off-Peak Day Return, in addition to your Epsom - London travelcard. Your route would be Epsom - Clapham Junction - Windsor.

Personally I would avoid Legoland during the bank holiday weekend!

For your final day you can use the return portion of the Stansted - Tottenham Hale ticket, in conjuntion with your Epsom - London travelcard.



Just as an addendum, if the children are under 5, they don't need a ticket.

 

[bb21]

For your final day you can use the return portion of the Stansted - Tottenham Hale ticket, in conjuntion with your Epsom - London travelcard.

While this is absolutely valid, I hesitated on the suggestion as on the way to Stansted, the direct train from London Liverpool Street is pick-up only. If an unknowledgeable RPI is encountered, there could be potential arguments so the extra £3 is probably a price worth paying for peace of mind. (Edit: Just to clarify, this is only a concern if the OP joins the train at Liverpool Street with a Day Travelcard and a Tottenham Hale ticket. There is no concern whatsoever if joining the train at Tottenham Hale as soil suggested above.) That said, the Tottenham Hale ticket is absolutely valid when used in conjunction with a Day Travelcard into/from London Liverpool Street on the direct Stansted Airport service. I am probably being overly cautious here.

Just as an addendum, if the children are under 5, they don't need a ticket.

Agreed. Although as a further addendum , if both of the children are under 5, then at least one of them needs to purchase a child ticket at all times in order for the adults to qualify for the Railcard discount. There must be at least one child ticket in the party at all times.

 

[theageofthetra]

You may want to consider getting the Nat Express coach from Stansted to Stratford. Fares can be had from a fiver one way if booked in advance (not sure re kids). I find the Stansted Expres overpriced and is not much quicker than this coach route. You can then get all your train tickets at Stratford and its a easy ride on the Jubilee to Waterloo to catch your train to Epsom. As the Jubilee starts at Stratford you and the family & luggage can get seats for the ride to Waterloo. Hope this helps.

 

[soil]

While this is absolutely valid, I hesitated on the suggestion as on the way to Stansted, the direct train from London Liverpool Street is pick-up only. If an unknowledgeable RPI is encountered, there could be potential arguments so the extra £3 is probably a price worth paying for peace of mind. That said, the Tottenham Hale ticket is absolutely valid when used in conjunction with a Day Travelcard into/from central London on the direct Stansted Airport service. I am probably being overly cautious here.

I have never heard of a guard arguing that you can't board a train at Tottenham Hale for Stansted Airport holding a Tottenham Hale - Stansted Airport ticket, or at Clapham Junction on a Clapham Junction - Southampton ticket, or whatever.

I don't believe this requires any special RPI knowledge.

Elsenham - Boundary Zone 6 might cause some consternation on the other hand. :roll:

 

[bb21]

I have never heard of a guard arguing that you can't board a train at Tottenham Hale for Stansted Airport holding a Tottenham Hale - Stansted Airport ticket, or at Clapham Junction on a Clapham Junction - Southampton ticket, or whatever.

I don't believe this requires any special RPI knowledge.

Elsenham - Boundary Zone 6 might cause some consternation on the other hand. :roll:

Considering that the OP are new to here, I am thinking more along the lines that they would be using the train all the way into/from Liverpool Street, of course Tottenham Hale would be a much better change. (On the last day though, they might not be going straight to Stansted from Epsom so there is a good chance they might decide to join the train at Liverpool Street but I'm probably just a bit overly cautious as I said.)

I've added a little clarification to the previous post.

 

[jb]

From Stansted you will want to travel

Stansted - Tottenham Hale - Vauxhall - Epsom

This really does depend on how mobile you are (I understand with kids in tow and luggage mobility may be not all it could be), how you value your time and how much you like rather long journeys underground.

Particularly when I'm traveling alone, and I transit regularly from Stansted to Surrey, travel via Liverpool St and Waterloo is much quicker than Tottenham Hale and Vauxhall.

Admittedly that is given that I can beat NRE journey planner by something like half an hour for the cross London leg. Also if Waterloo-Epsom trains call at Vauxhall anyway it's much closer.