Stuff

Paddington is one of London’s most historic stations.

It is to the west of London. If you are coming from the west country, eg Penzance, Wales, eg Swansea or other points west, eg Bristol or Bath, or Reading or Heathrow, this will be your stop.

It’s possible your accommodation may be near Paddington. Sussex Gardens, Lancaster Gate and Queensway are not far away. Walking distance, if you are not too burdened with heavy bags or too tired.

If not, it’s a great place to get away from. Go left and left and up the escalators for the taxi rank.

Go straight ahead and outside for buses.

The station is served by the Elizabeth line across London, going through Bond Street towards Liverpool Street, and these tube lines:

• Circle, District and Hammersmith (towards Hammersmith, Liverpool Street, King’s Cross, Victoria, Earl’s Court…)
• Bakerloo (Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus)

Note that there are separate Underground stations. Trains that go to and from Hammersmith go from a station beyond the taxi rank and down again. If you are arriving by train, it’s possible your platform may have ramps at the back end of the train that will take you up to this part of the station. It’s a good short cut, and do-able with bags.

Other tube trains go from the main part of the station, down some steps or escalators and through narrow corridors and maybe bridges. It is reasonably well signposted, but can get very busy.

As you come out from the train platforms, the Elizabeth line is to the right and almost outside.

As you look at our picture, taxi and Hammersmith line is to the left, left and up, other Underground is forward and down, and Elizabeth line is right.

If you are in the area and the weather is nice, do try Little Venice.

You could be arriving in London not on a plane.

You may come by train (eg from Europe), boat or coach.

Trains

The central part of London has mostly no train service. This is true for many other cities too. The trains arrive at a terminus station and you continue your journey by taxi, bus, tube, walk…

On the next many short blogs we will briefly detail all the main stations and why you might end up there, and, of course, how to get away from them to somewhere nicer.

Coach

Victoria Coach Station is the central hub for coaches in London.

Last time we went was years ago and it was shabby and smelly, but we gather it is nicer now.

Coaches come from all parts of the country and from Europe. Most stop inside but some do go from outside.

The coach station has no underground stop. You have to go outside, cross a couple of roads and get to Victoria train station. It’s not far, but a task if you have heavy bags. When we have had to do it it has always rained.

There are red buses available (11, 44, 170, 211, C1, C10, N11 and N44 stop outside), and a taxi is definitely a good choice.

Some coach routes into London have stops along the way which may be more helpful for you. If you book in advance, look at the route to decide what you need.

Other coach companies also use Victoria Coach Station, including Megabus and Flixbus.