Commuting to Abingdon school and Marylebone station

[geetamotwani]

Hello all, seeking advise for commuting options to Abingdon Sch.
DH works at Marylebone station, DS has got admission to Abg Sch.

Would like to hear from those parents who do send DS/DD to abing from Bicester or Haddenham & Thames .. how long and tedious is the commute ... suggest other preferred routes

I use the gym there. If I'm honest Abingdon is a nightmare traffic wise. DP commutes past the school and at school drop off/pick up the traffic is very bad getting in and out of town. Could your ds use one of the coaches? There are several that are run morning and evening (I know because you can't use the gym car park then!!) Maybe meet a coach at a stop? If I'm honest, as a former indie school pupil, I would look at weekly/flexi boarding if you can because that commute, coach or car is draining. I was a day pupil with a 30-40 minute commute, with the extended school day (8am - 6/630pm) it was draining and I coped much better when I had 2-3 nights a week at school.

Thanks for reverting back Loopyloo, well my DS would be starting from September in year 7, so we dont have boarding as option now, well we are bit confused to choose didcot parkway as in place to stay or becister village for abingdon school, i know ...have heard about traffic, to be honest no idea since we stay in northwest of london.

Do you mean move to Didcot or Bicester? If so what about living near one of the minor stations (Radley, Appleford etc) that change at Didcot. Much nicer places to live than Didcot itself.

London to Abingdon is going to be a long and tiring commute for an adult, let alone a a child. It's nearly two hours each way.

I think near Thame would work, there's a coach to school and the fast train is 40 minutes into Marylebone.

Your options for getting into Marylebone are Oxford Parkway Station, Bicester or Haddenham & Thame/Princes Risborough. None of them are particularly conducive to a school drop off in Abingdon. On a good run, Haddenham to Abingdon is about 40 minutes but rush hour is a pig as the A34 can be slow and traffic from the A34 into the town centre is horrendous.

Didcot Parkway goes into Paddington so there may be a compromise in being able to live closer to Abingdon and cut the school commute time but with a bit more tube time on the London commute?

One thing to factor in, the GWR line is known for being one of the most expensive commutes in the country so make sure you take account of the costs.

Ya you are right twilightcafe, london to abingdon is a tiring route so am not considering it at all

@underneaththeash, well i like thames and i think the Marylebone train is perfect, but do u have any idea about caoches from thames to abingdon school how much time does it take, have spoken to the bus operator of abingdon school and he said while returning back there is lot of traffic and it could be one hour and fourty minutes too, so kind of confused, would like to get in touch with any parents whose kids go by coach.

@Ratonastick, you are absolutely right these are the queries in my mind right now and am very confused

This is perfectly possible and lots of families do similar. Check out the website of the bus service for approximate length of school run from different locations. The bus picks up from both Thame and Bicester, which means plenty of kids come from there
jointbus.co.uk/Routes/TimeTables

@geetamotwani
Sorry, I thought you were asking about the commute from Marylebone.
Thame is lovely. Bicester is OK.

@ twilightcafe absolutely fine i am so impressed and happy with mums net that people do give response, London is so big, its really confusing to be honest, after moving from dubai i feel i am lost here with the routes and traffic, once settled i will be fine, thanks for your help.

We have a son at Abingdon and use the joint bus service. The bus is always 10-15 minutes later than the stated time coming back in the evening. Are you buying or renting? Keep in mind when they get back at night in the winter it's pitch black. And depending on what other half activities they do some nights they won't be able to take the bus and will need to be collected. Three times a week I need to collect DS or he couldn't do the sports/activities he wants to do. The school run from Thame will be shocking. I'd look at somewhere closer to Didcot. There are a lot of nice villages out that way.

Considering that marylebone to paddington is 2 stops/10mins, I’d echo that living in Didcot is a better idea. I can’t imagine having to do Thame-Abingdon every day. Also remember that it’s a few miles from Thame to Haddenham&Thame parkway station so your DH would have to get a bus or cycle before getting on the train so it may well be preferable for him to live closer to a different station and have a short tube ride the other end.

If you're looking for a V nice area try goring and streatley or pangbourne. I believe there's a bus to the school (family friend used to go to helcats down the road from Abingdon school) and both villages have a train station to Paddington (slow train to reading (terminates in Paddington but very slow through the village stops on the way), change at reading to get fast train to Paddington - save about 20 minutes than slow train, then tube to marlybone) these villages are pricey but gorgeous!

You can walk from Paddington to Marylebone in less than 15 minutes. Unless it's raining badly, your husband would be better off walking

@ crazygolfgonewrong
Thanks for your reply, well i am also bit confused as to where should i buy my house, was thinking of buying rather than renting, but now i feel should not take a hasty decision, as I understand from your post that the bus is usually running late on return, would you like to recommend any family area near didcot, does your son travel from didcot as well, if yes then how much time does the journey usually take, have heard that there is lot of traffic on A38 during school time.

I'd start with the bus route map and go from there. The nicest village with a school bus stop and under ten minutes to Didcot is Blewbury. A lot of senior school families choose Goring/Streatley or Pangborne. If you get the train from either your husband could switch in Reading for crossrail if that's helpful. I really would rent for a year and make sure the commute works for everyone. With Brexit poised to make the housing market unstable I really wouldn't buy now unless you have to.