Kyle T
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Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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I'm a week or so into a contract that requires me either in the centre of London or over Kent way.
First week I drove down to Kent on Monday morning (3am start  ) and drove back Friday night. Dartford crossing was a bit of a twat to be honest and got held up at Cambridge a little bit on the A1.
Then I tried the train into Kings Cross, tube to the London Office and then took an overground train out to the town in Kent for the Kent days. This was great because I could get up at 5am instead of 3am, and I could sleep on the train. I was home for 19:20 on Friday vs 210 when I drove.
I've arranged with the client to potentially do Mondays and Fridays in London each week, with tues/wed/thurs at the Kent office. This means I can train into Kings Cross and home again at the peak hours. Problem is, the train into Kings Cross is very expensive (about 5x cost of driving) so it seems a bit of a waste.
I'm thinking of a hybrid option of driving down to Stanmore(?) and leaving my car there all week and then paying ~£5 to take the tube all the way into London to my office. I can then take the overground trains out to Kent when needed.
Questions, is driving down to Stanmore on a Monday morning going to be a nightmare? I'd be coming down the M1 or A1, depending on closures etc. Are there any better stations that are more accessible to me by car? Looking at the tube map, Epping might not be a bad shout as that's on the actual line I want to be on - so no changes, can wriggle my way onto a seat and then settle in!
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Yes, the M1 is horrible.
There is no easy easy way of doing it really.
How's the journey from Milton Keynes?
BTW - whya re you worried about cost? That should be footed by your company and shouldn't be a concern of yours. Doing North Yorkshire to London, you should be using the most convenient method for you.
[Edited on 11-09-2016 by pow]
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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quote:
Originally posted by pow
Yes, the M1 is horrible.
There is no easy easy way of doing it really.
How's the journey from Milton Keynes?
BTW - whya re you worried about cost? That should be footed by your company and shouldn't be a concern of yours. Doing North Yorkshire to London, you should be using the most convenient method for you.
[Edited on 11-09-2016 by pow]
Cheers Pow, MK may be a good middle ground. Easiest drive of the lot, will check train schedules into London.
Yeah I do get to claim costs from the company... but it's my company so I've got an interest in keeping costs down 
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pow
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Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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I think MK has a high speed into London, and saves you breathing around the M25 which is just a nightmare
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Kyle T
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Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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Yeah been looking into that, MK might be another option - cheers Pow.
My main concern is parking really with this plan, do all these stations have ample spaces for what I expect is a small army of Northerners parking up for the week?!
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VrsTurbo
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Registered: 8th Jun 10
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Get to rugby or market harborough quick enough off the motorway. Then it's an hours train into central London.
Parking at both stations are ample. Iirc train to London is every hour or 30mins.
Mileage is gonna kill your expenses!
MK is a nightmare driving round it.
[Edited on 11-09-2016 by VrsTurbo]
[Edited on 11-09-2016 by VrsTurbo]
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Kyle T
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Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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quote:
Originally posted by VrsTurbo
Mileage is gonna kill your expenses!
[Edited on 11-09-2016 by VrsTurbo]
Indeed. I've got other encouragement to rack up road miles too, if I spend £200 on a train then that's £200 of money down the shitter. If I do 400miles @ 0.45p a mile plus parking, almost cost neutral to the company except my car only costs £50 to cover that 400 miles
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VrsTurbo
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Registered: 8th Jun 10
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I don't think of it that way. I think of it as less tax I have to pay at the end of the year and you'll soon hit 10k then you can only get 25p a mile.
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Tiger
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Registered: 12th Jun 01
Location: Leicestershire Drives:Astra VXR
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I can get from Nuneaton, where I live, to Euston in an hour.
[Edited on 11-09-2016 by Tiger]
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VrsTurbo
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Registered: 8th Jun 10
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But Nuneaton
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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I'll rent you my spare room and run you to beaconsfield every morning 
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Tiger
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Registered: 12th Jun 01
Location: Leicestershire Drives:Astra VXR
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quote:
Originally posted by VrsTurbo
But Nuneaton
It's not all bad.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by VrsTurbo
MK is a nightmare driving round it.
With peak traffic sure, otherwise MK is fine - £38 for a week car parking isn't too shabby though but i would check the time/length of stay on that.
Bedford could possibly be another option as it's only 40 mins into St Pancras/Kings Cross; getting from the A1 or M1 across town could be a bit of a pig but if you time it right then it'll be fine.
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willay
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Organiser: South East, National Events
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Registered: 10th Nov 02
Location: Roydon, Essex
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Epping station is 15 minutes from me, parking can be abitch but its at the start of the line so getting a seat is not a problem.
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Steve
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Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
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Fucking love to bum you
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sxibeast
Member
Registered: 6th Aug 03
Location: Milton Keynes
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by VrsTurbo
MK is a nightmare driving round it.
With peak traffic sure, otherwise MK is fine - £38 for a week car parking isn't too shabby though but i would check the time/length of stay on that.
Bedford could possibly be another option as it's only 40 mins into St Pancras/Kings Cross; getting from the A1 or M1 across town could be a bit of a pig but if you time it right then it'll be fine.
Even in peak traffic its not bad, and you'll soon pick up the shortcuts through estates.
There are plenty of free areas to park near MK station (near Wickes/Maplins or one of the estates that back onto it) if you dont mind a 10-15 minute (max) walk from them? At the time you'll be getting there, there'll be ample space.
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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Cheers guys, all good info.
I think I might try MK next week, then Epping the following week.
This week was train in from home, gotta say it was ace to only have to get up at 6 and was reasonably fresh when getting to work.
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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Get a motorbike imo
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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I do Northampton to Euston most days, so nothing compared to yours. One tip though, instead of going MK Euston, could go Bletchley Euston as the parking and fare is cheaper (unless they're paying for transport). I often go in from Bletchley and it's just over 30 mins.
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deano87
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Registered: 21st Oct 06
Location: Bedfordshire Drives: Ford Fiesta
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Don't discount Peterborough. Fast train / intercity thing to London Kings Cross. On the A1(M) before the traffic gets shite at A14, Black Cat and Stevenage.
That's the last stop on the fast trains before Stevenage and then London.
Either way, journey sounds a complete pain in the arse.
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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Tried the Epping option today, fucking disaster
Out of the house at 5am, made good time till Cambridge then all hell broke loose. Lost about an hour at Cambridge, got diverted off the A1 and then got stuck in the middle of nowhere for a bit.
Finally got to Epping way after the last parking spot was filled, so turned around and headed for my accommodation in Gravesend. Got to.Gravesend for 11, high speed train into London for 11.30 and tube to the office just in time for lunch 
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willay
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Organiser: South East, National Events
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Registered: 10th Nov 02
Location: Roydon, Essex
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mate, the fucking car park at Epping is a joke. What time did u get there?
I had to use epping the other day because the overland trains were buggered and all the roadworks near the station, what a mission
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DaveyLC
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Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
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FUCK THAT! I hope they are paying you LOTS of wodge.
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Wrighty
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Registered: 28th Feb 04
Location: Howden
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they will be
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VrsTurbo
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jun 10
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Contract azure role I'm going to say around £400/500 per day
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