Train / Bus Stations, London

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Located next to the Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford. The one comment i would make is that there is one bus stop for picking up passengers and three stops for dropping off passengers.

Located close to the shopping centre and the Olympic Park. A short walk from Stratford Underground and Railway Station.

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The trains to and from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can be found at Platform 9 ¾ inside King Cross Station. Please note: it is actually invisible to Muggles. You may glimpse Harry Potter here during breaks in the Hogwarts school calendar. A magic wand is required for inspection before boarding.

The location of this platform does change! I have seen it in 7 locations in the last 2 years alone. Please find photos of 3 of the locations.

Travelling about England by coach is generally cheaper than the trains: it also tends to take a lot longer, partly because of the time involved in getting out of London and possible into your destination town.

Once you get behind the rather good Art Deco exterior Victoria coach station is fairly ghastly, but given that it's a bus station fairly ghastly is not that bad. The layout is certainly very user-friendly: enter through the main entrance and the first thing you'll see is a bank of TV screens showing which bay all the departures are going from. So that's easy.

If you are just rolling up and buying a ticket you ought to allow a generous amount of time for queing for a ticket. The lines tend to be long and also to move painfully slowly. Half an hour would not be overdoing it: possibly more at peak times...friday nights or bank holidays

I'd advise anybody who can to book online (www.nationalexpress.com). It's usually cheaper, and since they email the ticket to you it doesnt matter if you lose your first printout, it'll be in your inbox still. For 50p more they'll send it as a text to your mobile.

Watch out for the check box offering travel insurance for an extra £1...you have to uncheck it if you don't want it, & it is only valid for UK residents.

If you are over 55 then Club 55 can offer reduced travel on First trains. This is a great offer where you must register on line and costs are a fixed price.
The offer is not available at all times and the website gives the dates available. Prices are £15 to buy a return ticket in the zone London falls in to and for each additional zone you pay an additional £10. So for example you take a London to Cambridge train and the return fare will be £15. If you want to travel further up to say Kings Lynn the return fare will be £25 (£15 for the first zone with an add on of £10 for the second zone).
Not available on all lines out of London as First trains only operate First Great Western, First Capital Connect and First Hull Trains.
Excellent reductions especially if you travel some distance from London.

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The centre of London is encircled by number of mainline stations, each of which serves a large number of towns and cities all in the same general direction – e.g. Paddington for the south west of England and south Wales, Kings Cross for the north east of England and eastern Scotland etc. All of these mainline stations are in turn well served by tube lines, usually bearing the same name (but if you’re going to St Pancras mainline station, for instance, you’ll need Kings Cross tube station).

Train services are provided by a number of operators, who have contracts to provide services on certain lines. Prices are high by European standards, though there are bargains to be had. The general rule is that the earlier in advance that you can book your ticket, and the more flexible you can be, the lower the price. Try The Trainline for online booking – I find it easiest to identify the best value here and you can have your ticket sent to you in advance or collect it from the station on the day of travel.

If you‘re staying in Britain for any length of time there may be useful discount cards and passes, depending on your circumstances. For information on these check out National Rail Enquiries.

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During WWII - 10,000 mostly Jewish children were sent out of Austria, Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia by their parents to escape the Nazis and almost certain death. These children came by boat from Holland to London and arrived in Liverpool Street Station to be sent around the country - some to hostels but mostly to foster families.

This monument of a rather forlorn little girl is found just outside the main entrance to Liverpool Street Station. The glass case she is standing next to, usually houses other artefacts and memorabilia from that time but currently it's empty due to renovation.

Arriving at paddington Station from heathrow we 'assumed' we would have no problem finding an information booth to get a map of London. Boy were we wrong. If you are looking for one there is a Map dispencer just at the exit for the Taxi cabs just before you head outside. They cost 2 pounds.

Victoria is the mainline terminus for trains from London to the south coast - the main destinations from Victoria are Brighton, Gatwick, Eastbourne, Ramsgate, Dover , Portsmouth and Margate.
The train companies operating out of Victoria are Gatwick Express, Southeastern and Southern.
A large station that has a good range of shops and eating places.
There is a large bus station outside with good bus links across London and the Underground has regular services on the District, Circle and Victoria lines.