Commuting from London to Kent (Canterbury campus)

There are slow trains from Victoria and fast ones from St Pancras. The fast ones are nice. However the campus is a 20-25min walk from Canterbury West train station, so factor that in. I think it would be fine, just expensive.

Reply 2

I did a part-time Masters at Canterbury Christ Church while living in London, and found it easier to drive rather than getting the train - it depends whereabouts in London you live. It wasn't really too much of a problem apart from the creative use of libraries (British Library - UoL libraries via Sconul - Drill Hall library at Chatham).

It's definitely doable although as you probably are aware, you won't be getting the 'student experience'

Reply 3

Olu_

OP

Thank you both!

I will most probably be driving up, the sad thing however as you said I won't be getting the student experience.

Reply 4

Original post by Jantaculum

I did a part-time Masters at Canterbury Christ Church while living in London, and found it easier to drive rather than getting the train - it depends whereabouts in London you live. It wasn't really too much of a problem apart from the creative use of libraries (British Library - UoL libraries via Sconul - Drill Hall library at Chatham).

It's definitely doable although as you probably are aware, you won't be getting the 'student experience'

If that was before 2009 or so then it would have been via slow trains (the ones from Victoria). After that they introduced the high speed line that takes you from St Pancras to Canterbury West in 50 minutes, and is likely to be considerably better than driving.

Reply 5

madamemerle

Original post by Craghyrax

If that was before 2009 or so then it would have been via slow trains (the ones from Victoria). After that they introduced the high speed line that takes you from St Pancras to Canterbury West in 50 minutes, and is likely to be considerably better than driving.

Yeah I agree. It depends what side of London you are on I guess, but the Blackwall tunnel or the Dartford Crossing can be such a nightmare, and consequently the commute can be very unreliable time-wise. But that hi speed line is really expensive isnt it? The one from Stratford to Kent is crazily expensive, I know. So, both options have benefits and drawbacks. I commuted a similar distance for my MA, though in a different direction, and it was totally manageable. I took the train, and used the time to prep for class.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6

Original post by madamemerle

Yeah I agree. It depends what side of London you are on I guess, but the Blackwall tunnel or the Dartford Crossing can be such a nightmare, and consequently the commute can be very unreliable time-wise. But that hi speed line is really expensive isnt it? The one from Stratford to Kent is crazily expensive, I know. So, both options have benefits and drawbacks. I commuted a similar distance for my MA, though in a different direction, and it was totally manageable. I took the train, and used the time to prep for class.

There's something really weird about the pricing of those train fares that I completely don't understand. I was hearing everyone say how expensive it was, but never noticed it myself. I've always travelled to Canterbury from Cambridge because my in-laws are in Canterbury and I only started going there after meeting my hubby at University. The cost has always been £35 for a one month return (young persons') both before the high speed trains and after. So perhaps there's some kind of limitation on the cost of longer journeys, while the operator is free to charge local travellers much more? I have no idea how much those trains cost from London. They're a treat to travel in though.

Reply 7

madamemerle

Original post by Craghyrax

There's something really weird about the pricing of those train fares that I completely don't understand. I was hearing everyone say how expensive it was, but never noticed it myself. I've always travelled to Canterbury from Cambridge because my in-laws are in Canterbury and I only started going there after meeting my hubby at University. The cost has always been £35 for a one month return (young persons' :wink:

both before the high speed trains and after. So perhaps there's some kind of limitation on the cost of longer journeys, while the operator is free to charge local travellers much more? I have no idea how much those trains cost from London. They're a treat to travel in though.

I used it last summer, and I think it was around £40 from Stratford return. So, yeah, it seems like you might be right on the variable prices thing, but could also be a peak/off peak thing?

It's only about 60miles... so that seems really expensive to me. Colchester is almost exactly the same distance, and that used to cost me £18 (before student discount). That was a while ago, of course, though, and I did have to buy it in advance. Bit shocking how much trains cost sometimes!

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 8

Original post by Craghyrax

If that was before 2009 or so then it would have been via slow trains (the ones from Victoria). After that they introduced the high speed line that takes you from St Pancras to Canterbury West in 50 minutes, and is likely to be considerably better than driving.

Original post by madamemerle

I used it last summer, and I think it was around £40 from Stratford return. So, yeah, it seems like you might be right on the variable prices thing, but could also be a peak/off peak thing?

It's only about 60miles... so that seems really expensive to me. Colchester is almost exactly the same distance, and that used to cost me £18 (before student discount). That was a while ago, of course, though, and I did have to buy it in advance. Bit shocking how much trains cost sometimes!

Post 2009, just finished last year.

By train - journey from home to Canterbury West station 1.5 - 2 hours according to thetrainline, cost approx £40.
By car - journey from home to Canterbury East station 1 hour exactly according to googlemaps, petrol cost approx £15, parking (bargain) £3. Plus the ability to use my boot as a mobile library for all the obscure policy documents that are neither online nor in most libraries, not even the BL.

Definitely from my part of London it's better to drive, subject to the vagaries of the M25 - but in three years of travelling I only had two really bad journeys and one that was abandoned altogether.

I'm tempted to investigate this variable price thing further though - my current commute from London to Cambridge would be £25ish by train, wonder if by trying different combinations or starting from unexpected stations I can get that price down?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

Original post by Jantaculum

Post 2009, just finished last year.

By train - journey from home to Canterbury West station 1.5 - 2 hours according to thetrainline, cost approx £40.
By car - journey from home to Canterbury East station 1 hour exactly according to googlemaps, petrol cost approx £15, parking (bargain) £3. Plus the ability to use my boot as a mobile library for all the obscure policy documents that are neither online nor in most libraries, not even the BL.

Definitely from my part of London it's better to drive, subject to the vagaries of the M25 - but in three years of travelling I only had two really bad journeys and one that was abandoned altogether.

Ok I wasn't taking into account travelling from some random bit of London to St Pancras, which I can see could slow things down quite a bit.

Jantaculum

I'm tempted to investigate this variable price thing further though - my current commute from London to Cambridge would be £25ish by train, wonder if by trying different combinations or starting from unexpected stations I can get that price down?

What kind of time of day? For me with a railcard its only £13 for a day return between Kings Cross and Cam.

Original post by madamemerle

I used it last summer, and I think it was around £40 from Stratford return. So, yeah, it seems like you might be right on the variable prices thing, but could also be a peak/off peak thing?

It's only about 60miles... so that seems really expensive to me. Colchester is almost exactly the same distance, and that used to cost me £18 (before student discount). That was a while ago, of course, though, and I did have to buy it in advance. Bit shocking how much trains cost sometimes!

Its not to do with distance, though, but also things like how reasonable the operator for that region is, and how popular the line is. For instance I can get from Ely to Norwich (55+ miles) for a tenner full price young person day return or for £3 (advance single) just because its a remote area and there are a lot of times during the day when the trains are half empty. But a journey of the same distance from Ely to Leicester, where my husband studies, costs over £30 because the Virgin service that goes from Cambridge diagonally cross country over to Birmingham, is very over populated.

Original post by Jantaculum

Post 2009, just finished last year.

By train - journey from home to Canterbury West station 1.5 - 2 hours according to thetrainline, cost approx £40.
By car - journey from home to Canterbury East station 1 hour exactly according to googlemaps, petrol cost approx £15, parking (bargain) £3. Plus the ability to use my boot as a mobile library for all the obscure policy documents that are neither online nor in most libraries, not even the BL.

Definitely from my part of London it's better to drive, subject to the vagaries of the M25 - but in three years of travelling I only had two really bad journeys and one that was abandoned altogether.

Ok I wasn't taking into account travelling from some random bit of London to St Pancras, which I can see could slow things down quite a bit.

Jantaculum

I'm tempted to investigate this variable price thing further though - my current commute from London to Cambridge would be £25ish by train, wonder if by trying different combinations or starting from unexpected stations I can get that price down?

What kind of time of day? For me with a railcard its only £13 for a day return between Kings Cross and Cam.

Reply 10

Original post by Craghyrax

What kind of time of day? For me with a railcard its only £13 for a day return between Kings Cross and Cam.

I've had another play with thetrainline and discovered something interesting - the return from home to Cambridge is the same price whatever time of day, but by travelling on London Underground off-peak and getting two singles within London then a day return from Kings Cross to Cambridge, it's about a tenner cheaper.

Too old for a railcard unfortunately!

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 11

Original post by Jantaculum

I've had another play with thetrainline and discovered something interesting - the return from home to Cambridge is the same price whatever time of day, but by travelling on London Underground off-peak and getting two singles within London then a day return from Kings Cross to Cambridge, it's about a tenner cheaper.

Too old for a railcard unfortunately!

If you're in full time education you are eligible for railcards, regardless of age. I forget if you are or not, sorry.

Reply 12