... However, somebody recommended the Oxford Tube, so we decided to give ourselves a stress free trip and not have to worry about parking and booked the Oxford Tube instead.
What is the Oxford Tube? Well, The Oxford Tube is a bus service that at peak times runs every 15 minutes between Oxford ... Read review
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We went to London on Saturday to see The Sound Of Music at the London Palladium. As accommodation is expensive in London, we decided to stay at our usual Premier Travel Inn at Didcot and drive in. However, somebody recommended the Oxford Tube, so we decided to give ourselves a stress free trip and not have to worry about parking and booked the Oxford Tube instead.
What is the Oxford Tube? Well, The Oxford Tube is a bus service that at peak times runs every 15 minutes between Oxford and London.
We were very happy with the Tube and will definitely be using it again.
There are a number of stops in Oxford where you can get on and off, namely:
Speedwell Street, St Aldgates, Gloucester Green, High Street, St Clements, Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Gladstone Road, Green Road and Sandhills. We got on at Thornhills Park and Ride which is on the edge of Oxford.
Parking here is free and there are toilets available. At the moment it is a bit of a building site, as they are building shelters and nicer toilets for the future.
We arrived at 9am and while we were getting out of the car, 2 Oxford Tube buses turned up. One was nearly full so we got on the second one. Having bought our ticket online in advance (more later), I just handed it over and we got onto the bus. We sat downstairs and had a nice trip into London. They give a journey time of 100 minutes, but we were there in just over 1 hour. You can also get on at Lewknor on the M40 junction 6, but there are no official parking facilities there.
There are a couple of stops along the way into London, namely:
Shepherds Bush, Notting Hill Gate, Marble Arch and Victoria.
We got off at Marble Arch as this was the nearest stop to Argyll Street where the theatre is.
We then wandered around Oxford Street for a couple of hours before going to the Palladium for The Sound Of Music at 2.30pm. When we came out we walked straight back to the Park Lane pickup near Marble Arch. According to Google maps, the theatre was 0.8 of a mile from Marble Arch.
We got to the bus stop - 14B, Marble Arch Park Lane - at 6.15pm and got on the first Oxford Tube that came along 5 minutes later. The only downside of the trip home was that me and my husband could not be seated together as there were only single seats left. We did not want to wait for the next bus as we felt the same would probably happen again. I think that they should make all the single passengers fill up the bus first, leaving double seats for couples, as the same thing happened to several people. There were also people who were hogging double seats and when people where looking for spare seats they did nothing to indicate that there was an empty seat beside them.
I do not travel a lot on buses, because I live in the countryside where the bus network consists of 1 day a week to the local market, so maybe I am just picky, but there does not seem to be any manners on buses any more!
Anyway, our trip home took less than 100 minutes again, so we were pleased with that.
BOOKING ONLINE +++++++++++++++++
Website www.oxfordtube.com has full information on the bus and its service. Booking online is simple, you simply indicate where you want to get on and off, book the number of tickets you require, single, return etc, and enter your credit card details. An e-ticket was emailed to me immediately after purchase, You then need to print this ticket and the driver will exchange it for a bus ticket.
COST +++++++
We paid £14 each for a return trip from Thornhills Park and Ride to Marble Arch London. Compared to parking in London, this was quite favourable and a hell of a lot easier than finding a parking space.
The website has full details of all trips and costs and also there are substantial discounts for season tickets.
2 children under 16 can travel free with an adult paying full fare, but not on a Saturday.
Parking in Soho would have cost us between £25 and £35 for the amount of time that we were there and I understand that some of the theatres give you half of this back again, but even so, it cost us £28 for a stress free trip and day and that is worth a lot. FACILITIES ON BOARD +++++++++++++++++++
Each seat has an electrical socket so that you can use your laptop whilst on board and apparantly wifi is provided as well, free of charge. Obviously we did not test this as we were not working, but I would imagine that it is a godsend for commuters as they can work on the trip into London and home again.
A toilet is provided and was reasonably clean and tidy.
Each seat has seatbelts, plenty of space and reclining seats and the bus is fully air conditioned and the drivers are very concious of safety and will not have people standing.
There is room for pushchair or wheelchair, but only 1 wheelchair can be taken at a time.
They also provide breakfast Monday to Friday from Oxford, between 5.40 and 7am.
TUBE TIMES ++++++++++++
The Oxford Tube runs hourly or half hourly overnight and every 15 minutes between 6am and 6pm, then every 20 minutes until 1am.
Full times are available on the website.
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yes I would, most definitely. The bus was easy to catch, stress free and made a trip into London most enjoyable. The drop off point is central, right on the edge of Oxford Street for the Marble Arch one.
We have already decided that next time we want to go to London we will do the same again. Living in North Devon, it costs a fortune to catch a train to London, so it will be easier and cheaper for us to stay near Oxford and catch the Oxford Tube in. I want to do some more sight seeing in London, so can't wait to do this again. (So far my experience of London involves 2 trips to Harrods, a visit to Windsor Castle, Madame Tussauds, Phantom of The Opera and also, 2 museums when I was a child!).
I want to go and do the full tourist bit and am looking forward to my next trip, whereas after the 7/7 in London I was put off going there for a long time.
Advantages: Cheap, fast, reliable Disadvantages: Stops can be hard to spot
...a nightmare to drive to, Oxford has been blessed with a spanking new motorway that links it directly with London. And I am tempted to think that similar logic lies behind the establishment of this service. I have no idea why the Oxford Tube exists. There's really no other service like it. The first thing to say is that it is nothing whatsoever to do with the London tube. It's not even a train. Basically it's a coach service that runs between Oxford ... ...better service. The Oxford Tube starts from Victoria but can be caught from a series of stops through West London. To find it at Victoria, go the tube/train station, locate Campus travel which is just up from the london bus are, on your way up to the bus station. DO NOT go to the bus station, the Tube does not go from here - an understandable error that many make. Locate Campus travel, stand outside and you'll see to your right just down the street ...
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Advantages: cheaper than the train, 24 hour service Disadvantages: takes forever
The Oxford Tube is a bus service which runs from Oxford's Gloucester Green bus station to Victoria in London and back again via the M40. It has the following stops throughout Oxford and London:
Oxford: Gloucester Green Bus Station
Speedwell Street (getting on only, Mon-Fri 0800-1800)
St Aldates (getting off only)
High Street
St Clements
Oxford Brookes University
Headington Shops
Gladstone Road (getting off only)
Green Road roundabout (getting ... ...2) Its frequency - the Oxford Tube runs every ten - fifteen minutes in both directions during the day and about every twenty - thirty minutes at night.
3) The fact that it runs until about 3am in both directions.
However, this bus takes FOREVER. It is not the actual motorway driving which takes the time, it is getting in and out of London and Oxford, because of all the various stops it has to make. Particularly getting in and out of Oxford, surprisingly. ...
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Advantages: Great shops Disadvantages: Is a bit expensive
...Carnaby Street must be one of the best shopping streets in London, never mind in the Country! Having visited Carnaby Street on a number of occasions, it's one of those places where the time just flies by while you wander round all the little shops.
Situated near to Regent Street and Oxford Street, the nearest tube station is Oxford Circus tube. There's shops galore down here selling things like clothes, shoes, nicnacs, and everything that you completely associate with London and the tourist industry. Famous more so in the sixties for the trendy fasion styles back then, people shopped here for all the weird and wacky outfits that were on sale.
Once, while shopping in London, my feet were killing me. (My fault for wearing the wrong shoes!). As I was then down Carnaby Street, I popped into a shoe shop, looking for a more...
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Advantages: Shopping ... if they are selling what you want to buy, I guess. Disadvantages: Tacky, mainly souvenir places now, the magic is long gone.
...That Carnaby Street has a place in history as the fashion spot of the Swinging Sixties is a fact. Here, the Mods got their clothes, Mary Quant became famous, and anyone who was anyone back then shopped here. Back then, Che Guevara smouldered from posters, tee-shirts and flags, a revolutionary who was a hero to many and yet most knew very little about why.
Situated off Regent Street in London's West End, this little street had a big reputation back then. Easily reached from Oxford Circus tube station, it is accessible for people in wheelchairs as well as the able-bodied. Unfortunately, despite various attempts over the years to rejuvenate the area, it is now looking decidely tacky and a lot of the shops are full of the same tee-shirts and tourist-y stuff as each other. There are a couple of nice little shops down there, one has...
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Advantages: Cheap(ish), window seats for people-watching, central, lively, good variety of food Disadvantages: Fills up quite quickly, so hard to get seats
...menu. It also feels quite lively and buzzy - it's full of people chattering and looking out at the High Street through the slightly steamed up windows. The atmosphere is very conducive to gossip for some reason. Its position makes it a perfect place to recover from exams in the Exam Schools (just over the road) or wait for the OxfordTube to London (which stops almost right outside)....
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16.03.2001
02.02.2001
