Trivia: Which major UK town has the least direct route from London?

[totally]

The most circuitous seems to have always been Cheltenham. Even the GWR's fastest train "The Cheltenham Flyer", was a complete misnomer as the speed run was between Swindon and Paddington. Out of Cheltenham it was hauled by a tank engine to Gloucester in exactly the opposite direction to London; I think after an hour's travel it was no nearer in a straight line towards London than when it started.

But the most difficult place to get to from London is undoubtedly Workington/Whitehaven in West Cumbria. No main rail service, but there's no airport either, and it's a huge drive. The nearest practical rail station is Penrith, from where a taxi will set you back the best part of £100. It's far more straightforward to get from London to the main Scottish cities.

Colleague in London asked me what was the nearest airport to Workington. I said Isle of Man (which is true; with binoculars you can see aircraft approaching it).

The closest airport is Carlisle Lake District, which had(before closing re Covid 19) a direct flight from London(Southend). That said that is an even more convoluted journey.

 

[London Trains]

What about which place near London has the least direct route from London?

Tattenham Corner?
Epsom Downs (although it's a lot faster to change at Sutton)?
Maybe Shepperton?

 

[Glenn1969]

Marlow?

 

[Taunton]

Beckton DLR?

 

[alistairlees]

Just to clarify, most if not all trains that stop at Stockton nowadays go through to Middlesbrough and not Darlington, so a change at Middlesbrough or Thornaby first then at Darlington if you use Northern. If you use TransPennine Express then York is probably the next place to change. I don't think any London services stop at Thirsk or Northallerton but there's probably an odd ervice to prove me wrong.
Grand Central services from Sunderland don't stop at Stockton but stop at Eaglescliffe.

When it's running, Grand Central trains to London stop at both Northallerton and Thirsk. Some LNER services also stop at Northallerton.

 

[thenorthern]

Oldham, it requires several tram journeys.

 

[London Trains]

Beckton DLR?

Probably not. Once you have gone around to Gallions Reach, it is basically a straight line to London (other than a couple of bends at Canning Town)

 

[mrcheek]

don't see any mention of U.K. or E.U by the op?

I think it was implied by the fact that this was posted in the UK rail discussion section.

 

[bearhugger]

When it's running, Grand Central trains to London stop at both Northallerton and Thirsk. Some LNER services also stop at Northallerton.

Thanks, I thought there would be Services stop at Northallerton but there’s not a lot there.

 

[shawmat]

Buxton? 20 miles north to Stockport before changing trains to head south.

I'd go with Buxton too. 141.5 miles as the crow flies, 209.5 miles by rail via Stockport. 48% more. (it was 157.75 miles before the Midland line via Derby closed)

 

[paul1609]

Reading to Clapham Jct. will indeed be a sensible option for quite a lot of journeys. I did the whole distance into Waterloo once or twice to connect with Eurostar when it ran from there, and once more recently because it was a lot cheaper -- my destination was near Waterloo, so the time penalty was only about half an hour, and I needed to be there at a time that meant I could use an off-peak ticket to Waterloo but would have needed a peak one to go via Paddington.

Waterloo to Reading via Clapham is often the most sensible route if you are coming in to London on the SEML from Kent and East Sussex. The walk from Waterloo East to the main station is much more reliable than from Charing Cross and then a tube to Paddington. If your journey coincides with the SWR through trains to Bristol via Salisbury theres not even that much timewise out to that distance over GWR tbh.

 

[theironroad]

Derry / Londonderry. Population just over 107,000.

Partially compensated for by the fact that certainly at least the first half out of Derry to Belfast is beautiful along the coast.

 

[hermit]

Skegness and Great Yarmouth both have to go some way west before heading to London.

 

[garose]

Wrexham General? Not so bad timewise at 2hr 36min on the one and only direct service.
But still strange as it first heads North on the "down" line (rather than the historical ex-GWR Paddington "up") before joining the N.Wales route via Chester and then at last Southward from Crewe.

 

[daodao]

I'd go with Buxton too. 141.5 miles as the crow flies, 209.5 miles by rail via Stockport. 48% more. (it was 157.75 miles before the Midland line via Derby closed)

Until 1914, there was a more direct LNW route from Euston to Buxton at 169.5 miles, via Shackerstone and Hartington (where I had my last pre-Covid walk in the peak district) with through carriages twice daily (Sundays excepted).

The closure of the East Lincs line, possibly the worst main line closure in GB, has left the remaining rail-served towns there (Boston, Skegness) with a very devious route to London (via Grantham). It has also lengthened the journey to Grimsby and Cleethorpes, particularly if the recommended route via Doncaster is used. Connections at Retford only exist on Saturdays, and those via Lincoln/Newark are poor and infrequent.

The route from Euston to towns on the ex-LNW Central Wales line is roundabout; there used to be through carriages from Euston via Newport (Salop) twice daily (Sundays excepted).

 

[pompeyfan]

Is there any Southampton to Victoria via Hove services? I know there’s a few Portsmouth to Victoria via Hove but surely that would be up there?

 

[hermit]

Is there any Southampton to Victoria via Hove services? I know there’s a few Portsmouth to Victoria via Hove but surely that would be up there?

But both places have much shorter routes to London - I think the OP was looking for places where a devious route was unavoidable.

 

[Railwaysceptic]

The closure of the East Lincs line, possibly the worst in GB,

Do you mean the worst closure or the worst railway line?

 

[FenMan]

I frequently travel from Blackwater to Paddington via Reading.

The straight line distance is 28.8 miles. The route by rail is 49.1 miles - 70% longer.

Although Blackwater is only 6,000 it is also the rail head for west Camberley, Yateley, Hawley and College Town, around 40,000.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Stratford upon Avon. You would need to change at leamington spa or at Birmingham new street and walk to moor street. Just as with Buxton either route doubles you back on yourself.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Thanks, I thought there would be Services stop at Northallerton but there’s not a lot there.

Northallerton is surprisingly well served. When you consider you have 2 TPE services an hour to Manchester Airport, a London train every hour served by both LNER and GC plus trains to Edinburgh via Newcastle, Sunderland via hartlepool and additional stops in the morning and evening peaks. It’s quite a crucial connection hub for North Yorkshire and has a significant military presence nearby

 

[urpert]

What about which place near London has the least direct route from London?

Tattenham Corner?
Epsom Downs (although it's a lot faster to change at Sutton)?
Maybe Shepperton?

Hayes is quite indirect too.

 

[S&CLER]

Until 1914, there was a more direct LNW route from Euston to Buxton at 169.5 miles, via Shackerstone and Hartington (where I had my last pre-Covid walk in the peak district) with through carriages twice daily (Sundays excepted).

The closure of the East Lincs line, possibly the worst in GB, has left the remaining rail-served towns there (Boston, Skegness) with a very devious route to London (via Grantham). It has also lengthened the journey to Grimsby and Cleethorpes, particularly if the recommended route via Doncaster is used. Connections at Retford only exist on Saturdays, and those via Lincoln/Newark are poor and infrequent.

The route from Euston to towns on the ex-LNW Central Wales line is roundabout; there used to be through carriages from Euston via Newport (Salop) twice daily (Sundays excepted).

Apparently the LNW route via Central Wales was a recognised route from London to Swansea, at the same fare as the GWR. I recall reading an article by T.R. Perkins, the archetypal gricer who travelled the whole network when it was at its greatest extent. He described returning from Swansea to London via the Central Wales, Shrewsbury, Stafford, the GN branch from Stafford to Uttoxeter, NS and GN from Uttoxeter to Nottingham via Derby Friargate, then GN to Kings Cross via Grantham. His return half ticket was accepted. The article was called "My Red-Letter Day", but to find it would mean searching through decades of bound volumes of the Railway Magazine (which doesn't have a cumulative index to allow you to find stuff like this).

 

[route101]

Stratford upon Avon. You would need to change at leamington spa or at Birmingham new street and walk to moor street. Just as with Buxton either route doubles you back on yourself.

Is there not direct Chiltern services now?

 

[London Trains]

Stratford upon Avon. You would need to change at leamington spa or at Birmingham new street and walk to moor street. Just as with Buxton either route doubles you back on yourself.

There are direct Chiltern services now. Also the fastest route not using these would be Stratford > Leamington Spa > Coventry > Euston. There is no need to go into Birmingham.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Until 1914, there was a more direct LNW route from Euston to Buxton at 169.5 miles, via Shackerstone and Hartington (where I had my last pre-Covid walk in the peak district) with through carriages twice daily (Sundays excepted).

The shortest rail route London-Manchester used to be via Nuneaton-Burton-Uttoxeter-Leek-Macclesfield.

London-Glasgow is 344 miles by air but 401 by rail (WCML).
The straight line route goes near Derby and Oldham, crossing the WCML at Oxenholme and then near Dumfries.

 

[daodao]

Do you mean the worst closure or the worst railway line?

Worst closure. Apologies for the ambiguity in my previous post.

 

[EllieAquitrain]

Hayes is quite indirect too.

Presumably you mean Southeast London Hayes, not West London Hayes!

 

[daodao]

There are direct Chiltern services now. Also the fastest route not using these would be Stratford > Leamington Spa > Coventry > Euston. There is no need to go into Birmingham.

The current route from Stratford to Marylebone is 104 miles and not particularly indirect, and there are through trains. Historically there were through carriages from Stratford [SMJR] to Marylebone via Byfield and Woodford Halse; the route was shorter at 93.5 miles. At that time, the Bicester cut-off was not yet open, so the GW route to Stratford was via Leamington/Honeybourne and Oxford and much slower. The journey to Marylebone [in 1910] generally took less than 150 minutes, with a best time of 2 hours 6 minutes. Today, the journey times are not much better.

 

[Fireless]

If we include direct Eurostar services, it should be Amsterdam.
The distance between Amsterdam Centraal and St Pancras is about 222 miles as the crow flies with the actual distance travelled (via Rotterdam, Antwerpen, Brussles, Eurotunnel) working out to 361 miles (according to https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/direct-eurostar-london-to-amsterdam.htm) which is still significantly faster than the relatively direct route via Harwich and Hoek van Holland-