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How to get round the whole tube in a day - A beginners guide to the Tube Challenge (This whole page is also downloadable in PDF format to make it easier for you to print out) Are you a tube challenge virgin? Having now agreed to do this, is there a bit of you that's now thinking "Oh shit, what have I let myself in for?". Don't panic, we're here to help - with the Geoff 'n Neil guide to getting round the tube in a day. No - we're not about to telling you our winning route (like, do you think we're stupid or something?) but instead we've knocked together a quick guide here to help you plan your day. So - grab a tube map, and a pen, and prepare yourself to scribble all over it as well tell you some the most common interchanges/connections that you'll need to know and that we recommend you incorporate into your route for the day. Planning which way you go is part of the fun people! We should also say that we're not giving away any massively 'secret' tube challenge secrets here - most of these are pretty obvious if you sit down and think about it for half an hour - so essentially we're just saving you 30 minutes of your time.
It should be stressed again, that providing the tube services run well you can do this in about 20 hours. You don't have to run to make connections, you can stop at a pub that you pass on the street to go to the toilet, and you can duck into a newsagents or similar to grab a drink if you want. So ... you DO need to plan a route for your whole day though. Start working one out now! Get a copy of the tube map and you'll also want to get a copy of a London street atlas or an A-Z mapbook, which shows you where things are in reality - as you will be making some connections on foot, by bus and perhaps an overground/National Rail service too. We're starting in Amersham and recommending that people finish in Upminster - but you can end anywhere that you like. At the start ...
It's a lovely place - most of you reading this now will have probably never of been their before, if that's the case you should definetely to and download/play 'The Amersham Song' which will give you an insight into what you should be expecting. (Courtesy of the Project Adorno website - The A to Z of the London Undergound) So we'll leave Amersham on the first tube train of the day at 05.28. (We envisage that everyone will still together for the first couple of hours, and only then split up into groups/teams as we travel down the Bakerloo line heading into Central London) We'll then change at Chalfont & Latimer and take the next train up to Chesham. Stay on that train and wait for it to go back, down the line and change at Moor Park. It's now about 06.20 in the morning - almost an hour gone and you've only done six stations!
You then get out at North Harrow, and have a pleasant walk through some suburban back streets to West Harrow station. Get an eastbound train from here to Preston Road. Change and go back westbound one stop to Northwick Park. From here it's another short walk to Kenton on the Bakerloo line where you head north one stop to the end of the line at Harrow & Wealdstone. By now it will be around 07.30 in the morning, and you join the commuters on the next train south into London down the Bakerloo line. As we approach central London, we then suggest that people split up into their teams and go their own separate ways for the day. We'll then see you at Upminster sometime between midnight and 1am ... nb. some people might get out at Preston Road instead and walk to South Kenton before heading up to Harrow & Wealdstone. Personally, I think doubling back to Northwick Park and walking to Kenton is quicker. The rest of the day is up to you about where and how you go and which route you take, but in the interests of being jolly nice people, we thought we'd point out some of the more obvious/common changes that are used by regular challengers.
West Acton to North Ealing (or vice versa)
A popular ploy is to come into Ealing Broadway on the District Line, change onto the Central Line and go one stop east to West Acton, then walk to North Ealing and carry on north up the Piccadilly Line. (And then see the next tip for what to do there!)
This is a legendary connection that can be done on foot, and should take you no more than 10 minutes to walk. (It's downhill from West Ruislip, coming uphill from Ickenham may take you slightly longer to walk). You can either come up the Central Line, walk to Ickenham, head to Uxbridge and then come back down the Piccadilly Line, or vice versa. Busaholics can attempt to get the U1 bus from Uxbridge direct back to West Ruislip, but in four years and eight 'challenge' attempts I have only ever seen a U1 bus once ... and it was going in the wrong direction. There is also a pub on the corner of the high road (pink blob) which has toilets that you can use!
Wimbledon to Morden (or vice versa)
The 93 bus runs direct between Wimbledon station and Morden. There are also 3 more buses - the 57, 219 and 493, that go between Wimbledon and South Wimbledon - so you could take one of these and then go one stop south to Morden and turn around. Or you can walk between Wimbledon and South Wimbledon in 10-15 minutes. Some people also use the tram between Wimbledon and Morden Road, and walk the short distance (5 minutes) between Mordon Road tram and Morden tube. Your daily travelcard is valid on tram services.
High Barnet to Cockfosters (or vice versa)
Get the 307 bus instead - they're every 10 minutes, and you get a nice view if you sit on the top deck too. The bus actually goes between Oakwood station and High Barnet (and vice versa), so you'll need to do a one-stop doubling back routine at Cockfosters. There is another bus service (the 384) which goes direct between High Barnet and Cockfosters, but they are much more infrequent and they literally go all round the houses - twisting in and out of the back streets of East Barnet, and takes ages to get there. You're much better off waiting for a 307, even if a 384 comes first. We thought at first that the Piccadilly Line would not be fully open by the end of August - but it is, meaning that we don't have to use the temporary bus services which had been put in place.
You have several options here. The 142 bus runs direct between these two stations, but you might want to consider doubling back at Stanmore to Canons park, where three different bus services - the 79, 186 and 340 run between there and Edgware and will probably be quicker.
Heathrow
We recommend you either come down the Piccadilly Line from Acton town - and then go straight back again, or if you've come down to Richmond on the District Line, you can then get a South West Trains service to Feltham, at which point there are several buses from there (the 90, 285 & 490) which take you up to Hatton Cross station. You then go down one stop to Heathrow 1,2,3 and turn around again. Anyone who does do Terminal 4 - because they then hope that their attempt will be valid for a world record attempt should quite frankly be ashamed of themselves. This day is not about breaking records, it is for the people that died and the charity angle. Please remember that. Common questions:
Restrictions & Other minor tips Beware the Central Line! There are no trains on the stretch between Woodford and Hainault after 8pm in the evening. Epping would be a really good place to finish the challenge (and would knock a good 45 minutes off the time) if only tube trains ran until late night on this section. Also, Queensway is currently closed for refurbishment. You cannot get on, or get off a train at Queensway, as trains just slow down and pass right through without stopping.
It's only open between 07.00 and 10.30 in the morning, and then 15.30 to 20.30 in the evening, and so you'll have to aim to be in that area between those times. It is quite close to Bethnal Green, and some people have been known to come down the Central Line, get out at Bethnal Green and go by foot/bus to Shoreditch.
The service is actually done by two trains which shuttle backwards and forwards all day in a "U" shape between Kensington Olympia and High Street Kensington, "crossing over" at Earl's Court in the middle. At some point during the day, you will end up getting bored waiting for a Kensington Olympia train to either arrive or leave! Just warning you now ...
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Also
- most of these connections are all to do with the extremities of the
map - the fun part comes with linking all together all the station and
connections in the middle. That bit you can work out how to do yourself!
Go
up to Watford, change trains to the one on the adjacent platform, and
head south again.
Another
popular 'on foot' connection, and will take you 6 or 7 minutes to walk
it. You even get to look at all the nice mock-tudor houses down Queens
Drive and wonder how much it would cost to live here.
West
Ruislip to Ickenham (or vice versa)
A
common trick this ... you go down the District Line to Wimbledon, then
connect onto the Northern Line and go back north again.
Some
obsessed people have been known to run the 3 miles between these two
stations. We recommend you don't do that.
Stanmore
to Edgware (or vice versa)
Terminal
4 station is currently closed, and although you can sort of get to it
via a replacement bus service, there's no point as the station building
isn't open, and so for this challenge you don't have to do it.
Cannon
Street closes at 9pm. If you pass through on a train after this time,
then officially you can't "count" it. To be fair though, if
you're on a District Line train heading for Upminster as your last train
of the day, then I think we'd let you get away with that one ...
You
will have to cater for doing Shoreditch though - which is a pain in
the bum on the East London Line.
Kensington
Olympia is also a pain to do - there are only 3 or 4 trains an hour
throughout the day.