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We will be arriving at the Southampton cruise pier at 7AM on Saturday, June 27th. I am assuming we can be off the ship by 8AM. We have a 12:24PM reservation that day on the Eurostar, so need to be to St. Pancras by 11:30AM. I assumed we would hire a car to take us, but I have just discovered that the 27th is Gay Pride Parade in London. I'm afraid this will make traffic even worse. Do you think I can make it, or would it be better to take the train from Southampton to Waterloo, and then the tube from Waterloo to St. Pancras avoiding all surface streets? The Southampton train to Waterloo takes approximately 1hr 20 mins.

 

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

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Hi,

I just answered on the other thread.

But treated your "11.30" as Eurostar departure time.

And wasn't aware of the clash with Gay Pride.

 

Fist thing is to check the Gay Pride timing and route to see if it interferes with the route to St Pancras from either Southampton (tho' there are alternate routes) or from Waterloo station.

 

But I'll leave the answering to Londoners, who'll better know about the effects of big events in central London.

 

JB :classic_smile:

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1 hour ago, John Bull said:

Hi,

I just answered on the other thread.

But treated your "11.30" as Eurostar departure time.

And wasn't aware of the clash with Gay Pride.

 

Fist thing is to check the Gay Pride timing and route to see if it interferes with the route to St Pancras from either Southampton (tho' there are alternate routes) or from Waterloo station.

 

But I'll leave the answering to Londoners, who'll better know about the effects of big events in central London.

 

JB :classic_smile:

Thanks, JB.  Think maybe I can do it if I take the train and no important tube stations are closed? Train seems to run every half hour...altho dates are only showing for 3 months out.

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We went up to London on the day of Gay Pride last year and found that some of the tube stations (especially the one we had to make a change to another line) were closed due to too many people. Oxford Street station was closed at about 11.30am but not sure of the others - they were only the ones that were located by the parade route. To get the tube from Waterloo, you take the Jubilee line and change at either Leicester Square or Green Park. Just be aware that the tubes will be very busy on that day.

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1 hour ago, PhilbeachTraveller said:

We went up to London on the day of Gay Pride last year and found that some of the tube stations (especially the one we had to make a change to another line) were closed due to too many people. Oxford Street station was closed at about 11.30am but not sure of the others - they were only the ones that were located by the parade route. To get the tube from Waterloo, you take the Jubilee line and change at either Leicester Square or Green Park. Just be aware that the tubes will be very busy on that day.

 

If you take the tube (not fun with luggage), consider a slightly quirky option on that date.

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

From Waterloo, the Bakerloo line (brown line) south for two stops to Elephant & Castle & change there to the Northern line (black line) in the direction of Edgware / Mill Hill East / High Barnet. Both the change and the route miss the West End and central London hotspots that are more likely to be crowded.

But that's subject to advice about how easy that Elephant & Castle change with luggage,  and the route of the Gay Pride march.

 

And saturday is usually a quiet day on London streets -  I suspect that Gay Pride will attract folk by public transport, so a taxi (particularly a London black cab, whose drivers are used to contending with such events) might not be as fraught as you think

 

But to stress, those are this country-boy's thoughts rather than a Londoner's advice

 

St Pancras & the adjacent Kings Cross train station share the tube station, signs may quote one or the other or both.

 

JB :classic_smile:

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The Gay Pride March route is usually Portland Place (just north of Oxford Circus), down Regent Street and St James’s, along Pall Mall into Trafalgar Square and dispersing down Whitehall. Many central area tube stations will be extremely busy.
 

It’s not a great change at the Elephant (they were originally two separate stations), if I remember correctly - long underground passage. I would expect Waterloo to be very busy with people coming in on trains and connecting to the tube to get up to the march. 

 

Any sensible road route from Waterloo to St Pancras will be to the east of the closed route, probably up the Farringdon Road, or swinging further east through the City if there’s disruption there. Cabbies will be well used to dealing with events like this. 
 

 

Edited by Cotswold Eagle
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1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

The Gay Pride March route is usually Portland Place (just north of Oxford Circus), down Regent Street and St James’s, along Pall Mall into Trafalgar Square and dispersing down Whitehall. Many central area tube stations will be extremely busy.
 

It’s not a great change at the Elephant (they were originally two separate stations), if I remember correctly - long underground passage. I would expect Waterloo to be very busy with people coming in on trains and connecting to the tube to get up to the march. 

 

Any sensible road route from Waterloo to St Pancras will be to the east of the closed route, probably up the Farringdon Road, or swinging further east through the City if there’s disruption there. Cabbies will be well used to dealing with events like this. 
 

 

I've changed to a later Eurostar train...I thought that would be better than stressing about this for the next 5 months...but I'm still concerned by all the variables.  Plan now is to take the train from Southampton (unless there's some work being done on that rail line that Saturday!), and based on the advice here, take a cab to St. Pancras.  Also considering the National Express Bus (if train falls thru) as well as a car hire...  I'm beginning to regret this little side trip to Normandy...

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Your reservation with Eurostar probably scuppers this, but.....

 

for travel from Southampton to Normandy it's only a 25 mile journey by direct Nat Express bus to Portsmouth International Port (or direct train to Portsmouth& Southsea station then approx £10 taxi fare to the international port) for a 

- ferry to Caen (Ouistreham), 6hrs 

- or fast-ferry to Cherbourg, 3hrs .

The Normandy D-Day landing grounds stretch from Ouistreham to Ste Mere Eglise, about 30 minutes east from Cherourg.

 

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferries-france/portsmouth-france

 

JB :classic_smile:

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41 minutes ago, John Bull said:

Your reservation with Eurostar probably scuppers this, but.....

 

for travel from Southampton to Normandy it's only a 25 mile journey by direct Nat Express bus to Portsmouth International Port (or direct train to Portsmouth& Southsea station then approx £10 taxi fare to the international port) for a 

- ferry to Caen (Ouistreham), 6hrs 

- or fast-ferry to Cherbourg, 3hrs .

The Normandy D-Day landing grounds stretch from Ouistreham to Ste Mere Eglise, about 30 minutes east from Cherourg.

 

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferries-france/portsmouth-france

 

JB :classic_smile:

Hah!  Yes, after throwing even more $$ at Eurostar to change my ticket I'm stuck.  We actually considered the ferry over to France, but then thought that in the end a SIMPLE trip into London, Eurostar to Paris, restful night in Paris, then then direct train to Bayeux the next morning would be simpler.  The best laid plans...

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On 1/11/2020 at 5:49 PM, travellingnana said:

I've changed to a later Eurostar train...I thought that would be better than stressing about this for the next 5 months...but I'm still concerned by all the variables.  Plan now is to take the train from Southampton (unless there's some work being done on that rail line that Saturday!), and based on the advice here, take a cab to St. Pancras.  Also considering the National Express Bus (if train falls thru) as well as a car hire...  I'm beginning to regret this little side trip to Normandy...


I really don’t think you have anything to stress about, particularly with a later Eurostar train. London hosts big events very regularly and absorbs them to the extent that you wouldn’t know if you happen to be in different parts of the city - it is a huge place! 
 

You have chosen what I think is the optimum route for that journey (train and cab) in any case, and allowed a little breathing space because of the march. Perfect. Park it and move on with any other planning for your trip 🙂

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On 1/11/2020 at 8:12 PM, travellingnana said:

Hah!  Yes, after throwing even more $$ at Eurostar to change my ticket I'm stuck.  We actually considered the ferry over to France, but then thought that in the end a SIMPLE trip into London, Eurostar to Paris, restful night in Paris, then then direct train to Bayeux the next morning would be simpler.  The best laid plans...

 

 

We all live & learn. :classic_wink:

 

And I know of folk who've chosen the Southampton - London - Eurostar - Paris - Normandy route even though they were aware of the ferry option because they wanted to experience the Channel Tunnel.

But having used both tunnel & ferry many times, I can say with certainty that the views from the ferry are significantly better than the views from the tunnel :classic_biggrin:

 

Once at Bayeux, how are you planning to visit the sights?

Tour or self-drive car rental?

 

JB :classic_smile:

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4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Once at Bayeux, how are you planning to visit the sights?

Tour or self-drive car rental?

All of this is just for a quick trip...we have 6 days before our next cruise.  The day we arrive we see the town, the next day we have an all day tour planned with Overlord Tours, and the next we go out to Mont-Saint-Michel thru the Churchill Hotel.  Then it's back to Southampton the same way we came to hop back on another cruise around the British Isles.  We do stop in Le Havre on that next cruise, but my husband wanted to spend more time touring the landing grounds than a ship's excursion would allow, and I wanted to see the monastery...without having to take another overseas flight!  (and he was the one who thought the "chunnel" would be nifty!)

 

I really do appreciate all your advice with this!

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OK, since he chose the tunnel route, it's only fair that he should be your luggage donkey :classic_wink:

 

I don't know Bayeux, altho I know there's a Battle of Normandy museum there, as well as the cathedral and Bayeux tapestry.

 

You'll have a very good day with Overlord.

 

Mont St Michel is a magnificent sight, but it's pretty steep. We've been there twice, never did get to the very top - too many cafes and bars on the way up. :classic_wink:.  If this is a private tour, perhaps ask the driver to go via St Lo (adds about 15 minutes to the drive) and Villers-Bocage (adds 5 minutes) on the way back. Both were significant in the Normandy campaign, but  don't know of actual sights.

 

For your port-of-call at Le Havre, there's Monet's Garden, about 90 minutes away by train & local bus.

Or the fishing / tourist port of Honfleur about 30 minutes away by taxi for a lazy day.

 

Have a great time

 

JB :classic_smile: 

 

 

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