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Thread: Getting to the 02 arena

  1. #1

    Getting to the 02 arena

    Just got some tickets to see a show at the 02

    then realised its a bloody school day, so thats not great, I have always had pretty decent london travel advice on here

    so whats the best way to get to the 02

    Will be leaving here after school ( so 3 pm ) , keep in mind i live down the M4 near Bath

    Last train is 11.30, so thats no good

    Do i Drive down ( and face london traffic )

    Drive down the Stratford and its a 10 min tube ride, but how longs that drive going to take ? ? ?

    Show starts at 8

    any advice ? ? ?

  2. #2

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    You’ll be on the M25 at rush hour is the only problem.

  3. #3

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Might consider a half day at school.

    That M25...

  4. #4

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    that was my worry, M25 is never going to be good at that time

  5. #5

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Might take a while on the tube but you could park in Ealing or Ruislip and get the tube across London.

  6. #6

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Train it , drink on the way , get cheap stay , home on first train blearly eyed. .

  7. #7

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Quote Originally Posted by life on mars View Post
    Train it , drink on the way , get cheap stay , home on first train blearly eyed. .
    Probably not best to get bollocksed with a kid in tow on a train return journey going into London

  8. #8

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Getting to the O2 is misery. There are so many potential delays when driving there from the west, is and it costs a fortune to park when you get there, and getting out of the car park with a crowd isn't much fun either. There are no obvious easy stations to park and ride from. The best way to get to that part of London from Cardiff, in my experience, was through central london, past parliament; along the embankment and through the blackwall tunnel. We used to find that quicker than the M25 if we were driving late... but of course you won't have that luxury.

    What time does the show finish? Paddington to North Greenwich is not too bad, I'd be very tempted to give that a go as driving to south east London can be soul-destroying. If it ends before 10.30 and you get a shift-on when it's done, I'd be pretty confident about making a 11.30 train. It's mostly on the jubilee line which is fast and reliable.

  9. #9

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    thanks folks

    I knew it was going to be a PITA

    how about tube to waterloo ( its on the same line ) , then train from waterloo to basingstoke, 2 late trains, 12 and 1am

    what will driving to Basingstoke be like to drive to just before rush hour, leaving at 3, its a 1.45 drive from my house so i might miss rush hour

  10. #10

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    I think you’ll be fine going that way. Should just miss rush hour too.

  11. #11

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Quote Originally Posted by blue matt View Post
    Just got some tickets to see a show at the 02

    then realised its a bloody school day, so thats not great, I have always had pretty decent london travel advice on here

    so whats the best way to get to the 02

    Will be leaving here after school ( so 3 pm ) , keep in mind i live down the M4 near Bath

    Last train is 11.30, so thats no good

    Do i Drive down ( and face london traffic )

    Drive down the Stratford and its a 10 min tube ride, but how longs that drive going to take ? ? ?

    Show starts at 8

    any advice ? ? ?
    Train and tube every time.

    No one drives there.

  12. #12

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    You can park in Stratford International car park for £6 and get the tube to North Grenwich in 15 minutes from Stratford.

  13. #13

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Quote Originally Posted by blue matt View Post
    thanks folks

    I knew it was going to be a PITA

    how about tube to waterloo ( its on the same line ) , then train from waterloo to basingstoke, 2 late trains, 12 and 1am

    what will driving to Basingstoke be like to drive to just before rush hour, leaving at 3, its a 1.45 drive from my house so i might miss rush hour
    Reading is another option, trains run fairly late through to there, are regular and won't be far for you to travel initially. Reading to Paddington is about 25 minutes then probably looking at 30-35 minutest to North Greenwich on the tube.

  14. #14

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Quote Originally Posted by blue matt View Post
    Just got some tickets to see a show at the 02

    then realised its a bloody school day, so thats not great, I have always had pretty decent london travel advice on here

    so whats the best way to get to the 02

    Will be leaving here after school ( so 3 pm ) , keep in mind i live down the M4 near Bath

    Last train is 11.30, so thats no good

    Do i Drive down ( and face london traffic )

    Drive down the Stratford and its a 10 min tube ride, but how longs that drive going to take ? ? ?

    Show starts at 8

    any advice ? ? ?
    https://www.theo2.co.uk/visit-us/getting-here/tube

    StT.
    <><

  15. #15

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    thanks all

    3 options now

    Stratford Mall, downside is M25 drive

    Basingstoke, shorter train ride in, and no tube change

    Reading, slightly shorter drive for me, longer tube and train trip coming home

    I will have a think

  16. #16

    Re: Getting to the 02 arena

    Quote Originally Posted by blue matt View Post
    thanks all

    3 options now

    Stratford Mall, downside is M25 drive

    Basingstoke, shorter train ride in, and no tube change

    Reading, slightly shorter drive for me, longer tube and train trip coming home

    I will have a think
    If you are going to drive to Stratford you might as well drive to the O2. Or somewhere like Charlton where you can park for free on the street and get a bus there (the bus from Charlton church lane to North Greenwich takes about 10-15 mins and it's bus lanes almost all the way). All three are a hell of a drive- I used to do that route at least once a month for 2 years and in the end gave up driving before 8pm. It's not just the M25- you have to crawl through south east London for about 15 miles too.

    If you are in bath then presumably you get to amazingstoke on the M3, whereas reading is M4? You will know better than most which two of those motorways is busiest going east at 4pm on a work day, and/or stick Google maps on and decide which looks best as you leave.

    Your post suggests you've got kids with you for this trip? If so, a direct tube from Waterloo to North Greenwich may be a bit less stressful but the change from jubilee to bakerloo at baker st is pretty straightforward.

    I suspect whatever time you gain on your shorter drive to reading you would lose again on the train journey and longer underground ride.

    If you really cannot make the last train to bath then my guess is that Basingstoke is your best option, provided that the traffic looks better that way on the day. I'd be reluctant to drive all the way.

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