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Cheshunt to Central London Advice Requested

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Carl P

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Hi all,

I will be traveling to the UK from Maryland next week with my family and staying in Cheshunt. Our plan (hope) is to travel into London daily, but I've just not been able to decipher the information available for the rail, tube, and buses, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. If we can get from Cheshunt to any tube station I think we would be able to handle it from there because we plan to buy a travel card that appears to cover the cost of the tube, buses, and rail within zones 1-6. What I haven't really been able to figure out is what zone Cheshunt is in and (if not zone 6) if I will need to make separate arrangements to get to zone 6 or a location that will accept the travel card. Does anyone know if Cheshunt is within zone 6, 7 or something different? I'd welcome any advice, regardless of the zone, on how best to make this trip and if I will need to buy something other than the basic travel card for my family. Again, any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Carl P
 
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Searle

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Cheshunt is too far away from London, and it's outside the zone system. Buying a zone 1-6 travelcard will enable you to travel once in and once out of London, then unlimited travel in those zones on the tube, national rail and buses. You can buy these at the vending machines or from the ticket office at the station, on the day.

There are trains pretty frequently all day from Cheshunt into London, so turning up at the station and catching the first train would work well.

Hope this helps!
 

daniel78

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Have a look at this map

If you look at square F1, you'll see the stations "Turkey St" and "Enfield Lock". Cheshunt is 2 or 3 stops past both of these, just outside zone 6 (the lines join up just before Cheshunt).

To find fares, go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk. Start by searching for a journey from "Cheshunt" to "London (any station)". Ignore the fare that comes up first, and look for the "with Travelcard" option at the top of the list of results, select this. Apparently this costs £15.10. This will give you a travelcard covering zones 1-6, with a specific extension covering Cheshunt.

If you want to save a little money, you could buy a combination of tickets as follows:

Zone 1-6 Travelcard (£8.50)
Return ticket from Cheshunt to Turkey St (£3.20), or Enfield Lock (£3.10).

Saves you about £3.50, however, note that you would have to get trains to/from London via either Turkey St/Enfield Lock as per the ticket you buy. The Turkey St trains are every 30 mins, a cursory look at the timetable tells me the Enfield Lock ones are every 15 mins.

All the tickets I've mentioned will be available at the ticket office from Cheshunt before travelling on the day. The numbers I've thrown at you are "off-peak" fares, valid after 9.30am, at a guess they'll jump up about 75% if you travel early in the morning.

Good luck,
Dan.
 

bb21

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Do you have any children under 16 (not including 16) travelling with you?

If you want to save a little money, you could buy a combination of tickets as follows:

Zone 1-6 Travelcard (£8.50)
Return ticket from Cheshunt to Turkey St (£3.20), or Enfield Lock (£3.10).

Saves you about £3.50, however, note that you would have to get trains to/from London via either Turkey St/Enfield Lock as per the ticket you buy. The Turkey St trains are every 30 mins, a cursory look at the timetable tells me the Enfield Lock ones are every 15 mins.

If you buy the ticket to Enfield Lock and combine it with a Day Travelcard, your train must stop at Enfield Lock. This means that there is only a service every 30 minutes towards Liverpool Street. There is in addition an hourly service to Stratford (in Zone 3).
 

Carl P

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So would the idea here (from bb21) be to buy a fare from Cheshunt just to get to a stop within zone 6, get off the train, and then use the travel card to get back on the train? That might work because we are planning to buy the 7 day travel card and want to rely on it as much as possible, but I wonder if it would be easier to find a bus or taxi to get us from our hotel (Marriott) to zone 6?

Thanks all for your time...
 
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bb21

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You do not have to get off the train and back on again. This is specifically covered by the NRCoC Condition 19(b). If you have a combination of tickets and the train stops at the place where you switch from one ticket to the next, you can remain on the train.

Alternatively you can just get a Weekly Travelcard between Cheshunt and London Zones 1-6, this would allow you unlimited travel within Zones 1-6, and unlimited travel between Cheshunt and the zonal area. This will be issued as one ticket so you can then use any train between Cheshunt and the zonal area, regardless of stopping patterns.
 

jon0844

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There's only one bus that goes down to Cheshunt station (the C1) and I have no idea how frequently it goes. It's a bit of a walk from the hotel to where the C1 runs too. [http://www.intalink.org.uk/Maps/Cheshunt-WalthamX.pdf]

Your hotel is where it says Canada Fields near the top. About 100 metres from where my parents live. :)

Walking to the station is an option from the hotel if it's a nice day and you're up for a bit of fresh air. It will take you 30-45 minutes, but it's an easy walk. (Looking at the bus map) you can either walk along the A10 and down Church Lane or College Lane, to the station - or alternatively, walk east towards where you can see the lakes and walk alongside the railway line and straight to the station. It's called Lea Valley Park and is a massive area that follows the River Lee all the way into London. The train travels alongside it most of the way into Liverpool Street.

Here's how to get to Lea Valley Park from your hotel: https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=C...FQMdHrD__w&oq=Cheshunt+Marrio&t=k&mra=ls&z=17 - from there, just walk to where the blue line ends, and turn right and come back on yourself until you're walking south along the railway line. From there, finding the station is rather easy by just carrying on walking!!

For convenience, I'd probably just buy a daily Travelcard from Cheshunt - and if you bought one for the following day, you could even ask to add 'PlusBus' to it which I think costs you an extra £1.50 - and that will give you free use of the buses around Cheshunt too.

I no longer live in Cheshunt so don't know the fares, but am 99% sure it's cheaper with the PlusBus option - and a lot more convenient than carrying loose change to pay every day.

Taxis are of course another option to get to the station. There's a taxi rank right outside the station when you come home, so you won't need to book one. Once again, not sure on the price but if there's a few of you - it may be cheaper than the bus. It will certainly be a LOT faster!

What you get with the Travelcard is totally unlimited travel in and around London, but only one journey in and out of London by train. That's almost certainly going to be all you want anyway. It's about 10 minutes or less to Tottenham Hale to jump on the Victoria Line (tube), which I usually find better than going all the way in to Liverpool Street - but it depends on where you're going. Ticket wise, it doesn't matter as within a few minutes of leaving Cheshunt, you're within the zonal system and covered for any route you want.

If you have any other questions about the locality, let me know.
 
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Carl P

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Wow! Thanks for this great advice! Walking to the station shouldn't be a problem if it isn't raining. I did note that you mentioned above that you get one trip in an out of London with a travel card. I assume that doesn't mean outside of zone 6 does it? If it does that would have us covered wouldn't it?
 

jon0844

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You get an outbound trip (to London - and by that, it means to the boundary of the Travelcard zones) and a return. If you wanted to travel back into London later the same day, you could simply buy a return from Cheshunt to Enfield Lock (the station on the boundary) as your Travelcard remains valid until 0429 the following morning.

What you're buying is in effect two (well, three) tickets on one bit of card - and the train company only allows one return journey to London where you swap to the Travelcard.

If you opted to get the bus element added for convenient (for use around Cheshunt), this would be a separate ticket. In London, you'd just show the Travelcard.

(Now, it's worth adding that if you bought a weekly season then you will get the ability to travel from Cheshunt into London and back as many times as you want - as there are no limits. It will also enable travel before 0930 in the morning, as it's a season ticket designed primarily for commuters working in town. You might, however, need to get a photocard and a passport photo taken at a photobooth - there's probably one at Cheshunt station - will cost £5 in coins only, and the machine won't give change!)
 

LexyBoy

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Wow! Thanks for this great advice! Walking to the station shouldn't be a problem if it isn't raining. I did note that you mentioned above that you get one trip in an out of London with a travel card. I assume that doesn't mean outside of zone 6 does it? If it does that would have us covered wouldn't it?

If you buy an "outboundary" Travelcard from Cheshunt at £15.10 or £13.70 (Off Peak or Super Off Peak) or £19.50 (peak) then you get one return journey to the edge of Zone 6, and unlimited travel within the Zones. This will be the easiest option.

Depending on how many days you intend to do this, a weekly season ticket may be cheaper at £67.30 (valid any time). You'll need a passport sized photo for this.

Following up bb21's question earlier, if you have any children under 16 with you then you will qualify for a Family & Friends Railcard which will give you 34% off Adult fares and 50% off child fares (making them 25% of the full adult fare). Alternatively a Network Railcard reduces the child fares to £2, but there's a minimum fare of £13 during the week for the adults. Both of these cost £28 and are valid for a year.
 

Carl P

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Ok. We may just show up at the Cheshunt station and ask someone there for the best mix of cards for our situation. At the risk of being a pest, we must also travel from Heathrow to Cheshunt on the night of our arrival. Is there a best way for this? There's the taxi option, which is costly. Would you advise the use of rail/bus considering we'll each have luggage? Arrival at Heathrow will be late (10:00 pm) so would you expect there to be trains/taxis running though the local stations to midnight and beyond?
 

LexyBoy

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At Cheshunt station you will be sold either a Day Travelcard from Cheshunt, or a weekly season, depending on how many days you intend to travel. You won't be offered any combination of tickets unless you specifically ask.

The last train from Liverpool St to Cheshunt is at 2258 2358. If you leave the airport at 10 pm, you'll have time to take the Tube to Liverpool St (a bit over 1 hour, £5.30 cash/£2.90 Oyster) and then get the train to Cheshunt (Anytime Day Single, £6.70).

The Heathrow Express to Paddington then Tube to Liverpool St then train to Cheshunt will be faster but much more expensive.
 
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Tav77

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The last train is actually 23:58 stopping at Tottenham Hale at 00:10

My sugestion would be to take the Picadilly line to Finsbury Park (about 65 mins) and then move to the opposite platform which is the Northbound Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale (6 mins)

This should give you plenty of time to make the last train, as well as minimal walking with luggage. Trains also leave at 23:10, 23:13, and 23:40.

There is a taxi office outside Cheshunt Station for your onward travel.
 

jon0844

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If the last train is that early, I think you might struggle. [Edit; just spotted the correction above, but will still keep this post as another option even though it's less important now]

Here's an alternative to consider;

  1. Heathrow to Paddington (either using Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect - the latter being a local service designed for commuters and airport staff. Cheaper but 30 minutes instead of 15, with stops on the way).
  2. Paddington to King's Cross St Pancras (via Hammersmith & City Line, a short walk away via stairs or a longer walk via platform 12 which is step free)
  3. King's Cross to Cuffley (using First Capital Connect on trains to or via Hertford North). You'll likely need to buy a single ticket from King's Cross to Cuffley as Heathrow will only sell tickets to a London station (so simply get one to King's Cross to include the tube from Paddington). The advantage of doing this is that in the week there are trains until 0106 (although they aren't that frequent after 2200) so you'll not have any need to stress. Unless there's engineering work, which I can check later. From Cuffley there's a taxi rank outside and it's a fairly short journey to Cheshunt from there - so I'd expect the fare to be under £20.

Heathrow Express to Paddington will take about 15 minutes. Depending on how long you wait for the tube, the trip to King's Cross is about 10-15 minutes too. The train to Cuffley is around 30 minutes (but you might be stung if you end up waiting nearly an hour for the next train after midnight) and the taxi should be about 10 minutes.

The tube to Finsbury Park suggested above is the cheapest option of all and if you wanted to take the tube, you could get off at King's Cross and still go to Cuffley - but it's a lot slower.
 
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Carl P

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Well I'm certainly glad I asked because there is no way I would have been able to figure all that out by staring at the maps on the internet. I'm truly grateful for the advice. I may have some more questions in a bit, but for now I think it may take a while for me to digest the options offered. Again, many thanks.
 

LexyBoy

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Well I'm certainly glad I asked because there is no way I would have been able to figure all that out by staring at the maps on the internet. I'm truly grateful for the advice. I may have some more questions in a bit, but for now I think it may take a while for me to digest the options offered. Again, many thanks.

For working out the best routes, you can't go far wrong with the following websites:

TfL: http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/ - for journeys in and around London. Gives a selection of routes but doesn't immediately tell you what tickets you need. Extends a bit of the way out of London, it will recognise Cheshunt for example.

National Rail Enquiries: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ - for rail travel anywhere in the UK. Some options are a bit obscure, but it's very comprehensive and generally gives you a range of options where available. Gives prices but doesn't sell tickets (not that there's any need to buy in advance for your journeys).
 

Carl P

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The more I look at these options and play with the Underground's Journey Planner on the web, it seems like our goal should be to get to Tottenham Hale, and then catch a train to Cheshunt. Seems easy enough, but I think it's more likely we'll not leave Heathrow before 11:30 considering the need to claim bags, clear customs, buy an Oyster card, etc. etc. Should we happen to get tripped up and not make it to Tottenham Hale before the last train, can I assume there will be taxis outside most tube stations that can take us the rest of the way, even late at night?
 

jon0844

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There's a taxi office outside Tottenham Hale too I think, as it's a bit too far out to be able to simply hail a black cab.

If you think you're going to be really late, I'd recommend the journey to Cuffley simply because the taxi will cost a lot less than from Tottenham. You can negotiate a price with a 'minicab' over a black cab (official taxi) but I'd still expect quite a high price - especially that late.

You don't want to spend all your money on the first day. :)
 

island

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Consider having available passport-sized photos for everyone in your group in case you decide to buy paper 7-day tickets.
 

DJ737

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G'day
Regarding the late evening travel from Heathrow to Cheshunt, the last Piccadilly line tube is at 23:46 from T123 to Cockfosters, jump off at Oakwood (01:12) and get a taxi to Cheshunt from there its 8 miles so shouldn't be too expensive.

Or you could get off the tube from Heathrow at Wood Green and take N29 bus to Enfield, then a taxi to Cheshunt about 5.5 miles

The Piccadilly Line is probably the most suitable at that time of evening.

Are your family in Cheshunt able to pick you up from either Wood Green, Enfield or Oakwood by car?

Cheers
DJ737
Melbourne, Australia
 

jon0844

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I used to live in Enfield and the N29 is not a bus that I'd recommend new visitors to the UK to be taking at night (or at least the first night). You'll meet some very 'interesting' people, but not the type you want to be chatting too with a family and luggage! I'm not saying it's unsafe, but a bus is a bus and it will attract drunks on their way home from a long night/day out.

The tube option is fine (as long as you don't wind up on a train that suddenly terminates at Arnos Grove) but I think a taxi from there to Cheshunt will cost a fair bit - probably as much as from Tottenham Hale.

The tube is going to be cheaper, and the money saved over using Heathrow Express could be spent on the taxi, so I'm not saying not to do any of the above - but it's not an option I'd favour. I've gone from Oakwood to Heathrow many times (before HEX existed) and you lose the will to live on a tube train for that length of time and one stop after another after another.
 

SAPhil

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Is there not a night bus (N279?) that goes to Waltham Cross, which would be a shorter/cheaper cab ride? When I lived up that way it used to go as far as Cheshunt but sadly not any more!
 

jon0844

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I think that I've probably confused Carl P enough with my suggestions as it is, so perhaps we ought to stop coming up with loads of different options now! And I'd definitely not recommend buses at all, at least on your first night in a new place. Save that for when you've checked in, dumped the cases, had a good night sleep, some nice breakfast and headed into London with your Travelcards!

What this thread does at least prove is that London has loads of transport options and we're somewhat spoilt for choice. In many cases, too many choices can lead to loads of confusion and the classic situation where whatever option you go for, on the day you'll be convinced you made the wrong choice. :)
 
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34D

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I am borderline struggling to follow all the tickets and options we have proposed here.

Regarding travel on your first evening, if you are to purchase a weekly ticket from cheshunt to zones 1-6 then this will cover your journey from Heathrow BUT READ ON.

Your cheshunt-zones 1-6 ticket will be valid on the Piccadilly line at Heathrow but NOT the trains (Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect).

HOWEVER I don't think you can buy this ticket from Heathrow, so you'll need to do a little advance planning.

Did I read correctly that you have family in Cheshunt?
 

jon0844

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I'm the one who has family in Cheshunt. I am probably in Cheshunt once or twice a week and walk past the hotel if popping over to Tesco (note to the OP; you can walk to Brookfield Farm where you have lots of large retail outlets, a giant supermarket and a massive Marks and Spencer - might save you carrying lots of stuff back from London!).

I am not sure how easy it would be to get a weekly Travelcard organised in advance, and the photocards. I'd personally go to Cuffley or Cheshunt and get a taxi the first night, then worry about how to get to Cheshunt for the week - and either get a weekly or daily tickets (possibly with PlusBus for added convenience).

I know the OP mentioned buses from London, but they're a slow way to get about and the services from places like Enfield to Cheshunt (or just Waltham Cross with another change) aren't great. Even the buses are a mix of old and new, so not worth taking even from an enthusiast point of view (assuming said family is interested in such things simply for having posted on here!).
 

Carl P

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Hmmm...the bus comment above has scared the pants off me so we may just pass on that option. And there will be college tuition to pay for the kids in a year or two, so we are going to also avoid time spent on taxis by pushing as far toward Chushunt as we can go until the trains shut down, and then look for a taxi to carry us from there. With any luck we'll get out of Heathrow quickly and make it most of the way. We can bring photos to get the "special paper ticket" provided there will be someone to accept them late at night. Thanks again to all for your recommendations. They have been very helpful.
 

jon0844

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I am pretty certain you won't be able to get a season ticket sorted at Heathrow (definitely not for the Express/Connect services and unlikely from the Underground ticket hall). The most you might be able to do is get the photocards sorted out, but just concentrate on getting to your hotel as you're bound to be tired.

In any case, you don't want to waste a day of a season travelling so late.. so just buy normal tickets when you arrive and sort out everything on your first day going in from Cheshunt station.

The buses really aren't that big of a problem (any more than a bus might be anywhere in the world at 11pm when people are turning out of pubs/bars/clubs) so don't be scared - but they're awkward at the best of times, especially with luggage that you might not be able to fit in the storage areas and end up having to hold securely.

But do please use the buses to get around London. You see more by bus than on the tube, and quickly find that many places are not that far away - so by the time you go down to a low-level tube line and back up, the bus wins (as does walking a lot of the time).
 

bb21

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especially with luggage that you might not be able to fit in the storage areas and end up having to hold securely.

I think this is an important point. It is never a good idea to be using the buses to get around when you have lots of luggage, especially when you would be completely knackered due to a trans-Atlantic flight and in need of a good rest.
 
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