Cotswold Eagle

Ah, but the things you see from the top of a double decker! 😀

The Westminster is closer to Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square than the Hampton Waterloo. No London hotel is close to all the things most people might want to see, but to say a hotel in John Islip Street is only handy for the Tate is frankly ridiculous! As I said in another thread, it is not particularly close to a tube station, but only 10 minutes walk or so and there are convenient bus routes.

We must have different definitions of “works” and “perfectly good” 🤣

It's your choice, of course, but remember that £7 non-refundable fee per Oyster card, if you are trying to compare the fees. I understand concerns about whether a credit card will work, but it's astounding to me that Canadians can't get a card that will work in the rest of the world!

If you can get decent price Advance tickets then probably not. Any others, I reckon it might be close….if you are intending to travel off peak. For others, the Two Together railcard costs £30 and gives a third off most off peak fares for two adults travelling together. So if an individual ticket costs £45 or more, the discount on one trip for two adults can be worth the cost (£45x2 =£90, less a third =£60, saving £30). Of course, this thread is about Southampton travel, not Swansea 😀

https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/ : "We only accept payments by bank or credit card."

Indeed! 'Those who have no choice' would have been kinder than 'no one in their right mind'. It feels as if Advance fares are more available than pre-pandemic on the Oxford/Cotswolds line, but almost always not on the trains I need...or if they are, often at a huge saving such as £3 😂

You are just on the cusp of a final working timetable being published for that weekend, I think. Maybe give it a few days and check again. It may be that the best routing will be via London, in which case I would always check each leg myself - avoid any suggested routes that divert you via Reading to Paddington, I think, as that seems an unnecessary change.

The Trainline, which the poster said they were checking, does offer split ticketing. In any case, connections on different operators is not generally what is meant by split ticketing.

That’s because the random date you have selected is likely to be affected by works on the West Coast Mainline, as the bulletin on National Rail clearly indicates. Well, that’s one of the routings, but a potentially better one (which clearly comes up as a one change option) is Southampton-Birmingham New Street-Glasgow. Unfortunately, this is the route affected by the works, which is also the reason it’s not showing for the date in September.

All the information you need about industrial action on the railways (pretty much) is on this page of National Rail. The answer to the first question will reassure you (in terms of not losing your money, at least!): "If you purchased an Advance, Off-Peak or Anytime ticket and choose not to travel at all because your service on either your outward or return journey has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled then you will be entitled to a fee-free refund or change from the original retailer of your ticket." By the way, I'm pretty sure you mean Watford Junction, not Waterford....and presumably HP is Harry Potter, not the famous condiment 😀

🤷‍♂️ Actually, National Rail now gives you the choice of any of the TOCs (and authorised third party retailers), via a dropdown menu, so you can buy from your preferred one. There's no such thing as the "correct" one, although it defaults to the TOC for the service you are booking (assuming a single operator for your journey). I have seen this sort of comment before about SWR - it is odd, as they have an international address finder on the registration page, which works really well for a dummy American address I tried, but then it is giving me the same error, requiring a UK address! Globaliser has the answer - find a TOC that works for you and use that. If I remember correctly, people have had success with Great Western, a bit of searching might throw up a good strategy. This is also why Trainline is sometimes recommended - it has a reliable international interface, apparently, which may be worth their add-on fees to you.

I had a look at Stonehenge's website, because it had never occurred to me that someone might want to wheel suitcases around! English Heritage might not have done either, because the issue is not specifically addressed, but it does point out that there is no luggage storage and asks that only 'essential' items are brought.

It’s a funny place the Old World 😀 It’s fairly obvious, if slightly jarring, for your dates, but something like today which is 8/6 here and 6/8 there can get v confusing….

There are particular arrangements in place for the land border, which have no relevance to arriving by sea. Official Irish government advice on the CTA can be found here. It acknowledges the Catch-22 Globaliser highlighted up thread, that you need to be able (if asked) to establish that you are a British or Irish citizen in order to exercise CTA rights if arriving by sea or air. The best way to establish you don’t need a passport is to produce a passport (and it may be a condition of carriage by an air or sea carrier anyway) 😀

That’s a very good and important observation, thank you. The Games open the day after you are in Le Havre. Something for us to bear in mind when less organised planners post queries here over the next year 😀

Please don’t do this - the port is Southampton, not S. Hampton or South Hampton (or even as we occasionally see Southhampton…) That’s not just being pedantic, it’s important when searching and booking things! Likewise, to avoid confusion in the rest of the world, it helps to spell out your dates, rather than use the anachronistic American layout 🤣

I’m sure if the Claremont was sending people 10 minutes down the street to an entirely separate property there would be numerous complaints online - I can only find one review as you describe, although you say “some”. I suspect this is an exaggeration based on some internal layout, which other reviews have described as a “maze” and involving “an internal bridge” at top floor level. Such things are not uncommon in hotels in large old buildings, where some spaces may have been repurposed over time.

Without wanting to be rude, that’s a pretty big ask in one post! Have you read the numerous threads on these topics on this board - it’s much easier to respond to specific questions….

In addition to Ine’s great list, maybe the National Maritime Museum, also close to the cruise terminal (and the science museum)? https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.com/whats-on/families-and-children

Just to be clear, you absolutely need to book online in advance. No tickets on the door anymore. And it’s booked out until July anyway.

That’s insane to South Ken. Not being rude, but are you sure that’s what you booked - it’s more like their fare to Southampton!

It is on some journeys, but not really to Paddington.

Why quote my post about the Elizabeth Line, then? 🤣

It would perhaps be helpful if you posted a link or screenshot, but I think you are looking at various discounts, not add-ons. If by VIP, you are referring to the option “Vrienden Loterij VIP-KAART“, that is the price for holders of a card from a lottery that supports the arts in the Netherlands.