Getting to Abba Voyage by 1pm on 1/10

[CAMRAMan]

ASLEF has called a train strike on 30/9, meaning services on 1/10 are going to be disrupted, especially early on. I'm traveling down from Leamington Spa.


As the heading says, I need to be at the ABBA Arena by 1pm at the latest. I'm not going to trust the train, so will drive to a terminus on one of the London Underground lines.


My thoughts are to take the M40, then the M25 to Watford Junction. Park up there and then rely on London Transport to whisk me to the venue.


Is that the best idea, or are there quicker/easier routes?

[rafletcher]

Amersham is a popular choice from around here. And possibly slightly quicker to drive to, M40 to Beaconsfield then up the A335.

[PaulF]

If the Elizabeth is unaffected- they don’t seem to be striking with the others - you could drive to Reading and take the Elizabeth line from there?

[robgul]

Drive down the M40/A40 to Northolt Station* - then Central Line all the way to Stratford (the other one!) with no changes - short-ish walk to the Abbadrome.   

The journey will be about 55 mins station to station (it was last time I did it)

And the return journey will give you a good head-start on the horrendous traffic jam that's the Western Avenue most evenings.

*or one of the other Central Line (the red one) stations on the western branches of the line.

[Ham]

As an alternative, you might want to consider parking in Ham Hall Highway? I could post you a residents visitor parking thingy*, the Elizabeth line is 10 mins walk at Manor Park.  We are basically at the bottom of the M11, so that gives you the option of M25/M1/M40 or M11/A14 dependent on how screwed up they are.

ETA there are also buses along the Romford Road, or you could walk in about an hour, or you could borrow a bike and be there in about a quarter of an hour.


*We got permit parking because people were driving and parking for the train.

[CAMRAMan]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Ham, that's really kind of you. I'm aiming to keep driving to a minimum, so I'll stick to one of the routes further west. The gesture is much appreciated.

[Quisling]

Is the Oxford Tube coach service running? If so then drive to Lewknor on the M40 and park under the motorway junction (J6) and pick up the “tube” from there, as long as the times work out for you.
https://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/stops/340001811CHN

[orienteer]

Hillingdon station is next to the A40, with a car park. Usually full weekdays but your trip is on a Sunday? Metropolitan Line train to Liverpool Street an hour, then Central Line to Stratford another 10/15 minutes.

[CAMRAMan]

I'd forgotten about ULEZ and my car will attract the charge, so Amersham is now looking favourite. Free parking in the adjacent multi-storey car park helps too.