Driving down to London

[LewishamOwl]

Hey, for all those who are stuck for travel and driving down, suggestion for a possibly more relaxed way of getting in and out. I did this last year with my dad (Huddersfield fan) for the Championship POs. Again, two teams coming down from the North down the M1. I imagine the traffic jam is going to be a rolling one down from J37 basically all the way to London, right?

 

When the hell will they move these games to Old Trafford or summat? Anyway...

 

Drive down the eastern way (A57, A1, M11 way) to Stratford Westfield shopping centre, Google it and it'll show you the options. It's about 3h30 from Sheffield centre, but will obvs vary from wherever you are. It's the way I used to drive home when I lived down there, and imho is infinitely better than the M1. 

 

At Westfield, all day parking is no more expensive than some of the Sheffield NCPs for the day. This is actually a good spot to grab some food and a drink, it's shaded, there's cafes, pubs and all sorts, and the Olympic park nearby for a leg stretch. 

 

Then, to get to Wembley you need Stratford. (Note, not Stratford International, not Stratford High Street). It's attached to the shopping centre, don't worry. There's a few options. My recommendations would be:

 

1. Get on the Jubilee line. It's approx 50mins all the way to Wembley Park. Yes it is long, but the only thing I hate about this is it is loud as fizz around Canada Water/London Bridge etc, but just chin it! You'll definitely get a seat though, as Stratford is a terminus. 

(If you pick this option, don't be tempted to get off at Baker Street and get the Metropolitan line which is two stops to Wembley, because it will have all the people who got the train to London St Pancras or Kings Cross on it.)

 

2. Take the Elizabeth line, the new air conditioned one, from Stratford and either

2a. change at Farringdon onto the Metropolitan line (quicker but as above will have a squeeze at Kings Cross/St Pancras) 

2b. Change at Bond Street to the Jubilee line. (Longer but this line avoids the mainline stations that northern train come into.

 

Coming back, you can't really avoid being in the crowd at Wembley Park. There are other options, i.e. going to Wembley Stadium rail station on Chiltern Railways, but it is the arse end of the stadium, and sends you into Marylebone, which is then 2 tubes anyway to get back East. My recommendation would be to just do in reverse one of the above options. They control the crowds pretty well at the Wembley Park and whichever route you take, it will clear out in central London anyway. 

 

Thats a much longer post than I meant it to be, but I hope this helps someone. No abuse please if there's issues on the A1 etc!

[LewishamOwl]