Why do South West Trains and Londons Underground and Overground have to have
nothing running on the one route I need - to get from Balham to Richmond
tomorrow lunchtime?

Balham to Clapham Junction, then a replacement bus to Richmond then train to
Kew Gardens (my actual destination) seems the only option without a
four-change journey by tube via Stockwell, Green Park and Hammersmith.

Grrrrrr. That is all.

Ian

--

On Feb 6, 12:17*am, "Ian F." wrote:
Why do South West Trains and Londons Underground and Overground have to have
nothing running on the one route I need - to get from Balham to Richmond
tomorrow lunchtime?

Balham to Clapham Junction, then a replacement bus to Richmond then train to
Kew Gardens (my actual destination) seems the only option without a
four-change journey by tube via Stockwell, Green Park and Hammersmith.

Grrrrrr. That is all.

Balham - change at CJ - West Brompton (via WLL) - walk across to
Earls Court Underground station (sneezing distance) - District line
to Kew Gardens.

Or get the rail replacement bus from Clapham Junction but alight at
North Sheen then walk up Sandycombe Road (or hop on the 391 bus) - I
wouldn't faff around going into Richmond just to come back out and go
one stop on the District line to Kew G. (Doing this and using Oyster
PAYG you'd only pay for the Balham - CJ train journey, plus any
regular bus journey, though I doubt you'd be consoled by that!)

"Ian F." wrote in message
...
Why do South West Trains and Londons Underground and Overground have to
have nothing running on the one route I need - to get from Balham to
Richmond tomorrow lunchtime?

Balham to Clapham Junction, then a replacement bus to Richmond then train
to Kew Gardens (my actual destination) seems the only option without a
four-change journey by tube via Stockwell, Green Park and Hammersmith.

Grrrrrr. That is all.

Ian

--



Balham, Northern Line to Embankment, District to Kew Gardens.

"Ian F." wrote in message
...

Grrrrrr. That is all.

Thanks to T., Paul and Graham for the responses. I think we'll try the
replacement bus (or 337) from Clapham Junction and get off at North Sheen.

Thanks again,

Ian

In message
,
Mizter T writes

Or get the rail replacement bus from Clapham Junction

Probably too late for the OP, but I'd avoid the rail replacement buses
when the Windsor line is closed. The regular 337 from CJ to Richmond is
a much better bet as it goes straight along the Upper Richmond Road. The
rail replacements get horribly overcrowded, and they generally take
considerably longer than the advertised 41 minutes, because of the
difficulty in getting down narrow roads to access some of the station
forecourts.

In fact, I don't know how they're going to access Barnes today, as their
normal stop in Rocks Lane is out of use, and the road is only accessible
to small Dart buses going north and is totally closed south. Total
misery!

Paul C's suggestion of using the 493 bus for most of the journey is
probably the best idea. It's not a heavily loaded route and the services
are quite frequent, although it will take 70 minutes from Tooting to
Richmond. Also, the Lion Gate entrance to Kew Gardens can be walked in
about 15 minutes from the 493 stop at Richmond Station, or there are
direct buses which stop by the gate, saving the walk from Kew Gardens
station (to which there are no London Overground services from Richmond
today - only District line).
--
Paul Terry

On Feb 6, 11:02*am, "Ian F." wrote:

"Ian F." wrote:

Grrrrrr. That is all.

Thanks to T., Paul and Graham for the responses. I think we'll try the
replacement bus (or 337) from Clapham Junction and get off at North Sheen..

Thanks again,

Bit late for this advice, but might be worth paying special attention
at North Sheen to work out where the rail replacement bus going back
eastwards to CJ departs from - alas with RR buses it's not always made
obvious (in this instance I'd suspect it's routed along the nearby
Lower Richmond Rd rather than stopping right next to North Sheen
station, but that's just a guess). The RR bus service appears to be
well provided for here, running every 12 minutes or so - though it's
going to have to use the south circular (A205, Upper Richmond Rd etc)
at least for a bit, which can be rather slow going.

In message
,
Mizter T writes

Bit late for this advice, but might be worth paying special attention
at North Sheen to work out where the rail replacement bus going back
eastwards to CJ departs from - alas with RR buses it's not always made
obvious (in this instance I'd suspect it's routed along the nearby
Lower Richmond Rd rather than stopping right next to North Sheen
station, but that's just a guess).

Pretty much correct. I think the stops they use are either side of Manor
Circus, where the main road becomes the Lower Mortlake Road in a
westerly direction. In fact, it is only a 400 metre walk between there
and Kew Gardens' Lion Gate, although it does mean taking the right
combination of side streets.

--
Paul Terry

"Ian F." wrote in message
...

Grrrrrr. That is all.

Ended up getting a rail replacement bus from Clapham Junction to Richmond
station, and a tube the one stop to Kew Gardens. The whole operation took
less than an hour - quicker than if the trains were running!

Thanks very much for all the advice. After a long, leisurely, expensive and
alcohol-enhanced lunch, we got a cab back to Balham - £30! I repeat -
grrrrr!

Ian

On 2011\02\06 00:17, Ian F. wrote:
Why do South West Trains and Londons Underground and Overground have to
have nothing running on the one route I need - to get from Balham to
Richmond tomorrow lunchtime?

Balham to Clapham Junction, then a replacement bus to Richmond then
train to Kew Gardens (my actual destination) seems the only option
without a four-change journey by tube via Stockwell, Green Park and
Hammersmith.

Sorry to come back on this so late, but I make that three changes... and
since Stockwell and Hammersmith are both cross-platform interchanges,
you only really have one change worth bothering about. I think changing
at Leicester Square may be easier, because Vic to Picc at Green Park is
a notorious schlep, and the Vic is less than reliable at the mo.

Who did the 30 quid go to - Addy Lee?

"Basil Jet" wrote in message
...

Who did the 30 quid go to - Addy Lee?

Nope - black cab at Richmond station.

Ian