On Sun, 13 May 2007 23:25:34 +0100, Paul Corfield wrote:

At one point with paper tickets, there was a mention that you must
travel via a direct route. A Zone 2-1 single would be valid from
Ladbrooke Grove to Paddington, but wouldn't be valid on a journey from
Ladbrook grove - Waterloo, stay behind the barriers, then travel to
Paddington.

Why wouldn't it be valid? The entire trip as described is within the
zonal validity and while maybe a little odd it's not outside of the
rules. Some people take the most amazing routes between A and B via Z on
the LU network.

From the current TfL Conditions of Carriage, regarding LU paper single
and return tickets:

"Can be used to travel by any reasonably direct route to the
destination, unless a particular route is specified by the words on
the ticket, the ticket machines or price list or by one of our staff."

(Re the original post, this condition does not apply to PAYG. Nor is
there any similar one that does.)