Transiting London

Since ITN printed my offer of help to anyone planning a trip to my hometown (Dec. ’08, pg. 11), I’ve made contact with a number of interesting people and have even met some, so it has been an interesting and enjoyable experience which I hope will continue. It has been a learning curve for me as I become more aware of my limitations and travelers’ expectations and preconceptions.

Having recommended London TravelCards, as issued by Transport For London (tfl), and the “London 2 for 1” deal on many attractions, offered to those who travel by rail, I should emphasize the following.

Whilst all TravelCards (1-, 3- and 7-day) cover all the major public transport services, the “2 for 1” attractions offer applies ONLY to tickets purchased from RAILWAY stations. You are supposed to have traveled there by train, and the vouchers contained in the booklet — picked up at the station — will have to be completed showing a train station on your route.

The check on this is the rail logo, which will appear on tickets or cards issued by rail companies at their stations.

Complicated? Drop me an e-mail to patnviv@talktalk.net with your phone number and I will try to clarify matters for you (by e-mail or phone; the latter is free for me!).

As a fairly new user of the Internet, may I recommend two sites to help you with your advance planning? (You can leave buying tickets/TravelCards until you arrive in London.)

www.londontoolkit.com will give you access to transport, accommodation ideas and other areas.

www.tfl.gov.uk will enable you to plan possible journeys and will give you many options as to what form of transport to use. Click “getting around” at the top and then “advanced options” under the journey planner on the right-hand side. You can select your destinations by the name of the attraction, which is easier than trying to find the nearest station or the postcode (our version of the ZIP code).

If an actual trip is not possible at this moment, you could always take imaginary tours using the routes shown on the journey planner and then tracing this on Google Earth. It may enthuse you to come!

PAT ERRICKER

West Wimbledon, London, England