Can any Londoners help - where to meet at London St Pancras?

[Cruiser123]

Hi all,

my mother, who is 62, lives abroad and is due to come to the UK on Sunday to help me out for a few weeks as I will give birth to my second child soon.

She doesn't want to fly because she had problems with her ear last time she came.

So she is taking the train and will arrive around 5 pm on Sunday.

My husband and me will pick her up from the train station in London (we live in Birmingham, so don't know much about London).

My mother has a mobile phone, but isn't very good with her phone, last time she was here I couldn't reach her.

On top of that her eyesight isn't very good, so I worry that she will get lost at such a huge train station in London (she lives in a village).

Unfortunately, in the UK you can't go directly to the platform of arrival to pick someone up.

Is there any central meeting place at St Pancras where we can meet? Like a focal point, that she can't miss?

Would be grateful for any advice xx

yes, there's a massive statue called 'the meeting place'!

www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dreamstime.com%2Fmeeting-place-bronze-statue-st-pancras-station-london-uk-metre-revealed-stands-south-end-upper-level-railway-image132695593&psig=AOvVaw3ZbdrRTb0tx4Z9WxjggMZ9&ust=1644704101837000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAgQjRxqFwoTCMidnLDW-PUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

Just wait around the gates for her coming through, or arrange to meet outside one of the shops or by a piano?

It's on an upper concourse so she would need to find it, but any member of station staff would be able to direct her there and then there's no mistaking it.

Where is she coming in from? If we know where she'll be getting off the train it'll be easier to find a landmark that she can see as soon as she comes through the barriers.

I’d pick a specific shop as they’re hard to miss.

[quote DukeofEarlGrey]yes, there's a massive statue called 'the meeting place'!

www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dreamstime.com%2Fmeeting-place-bronze-statue-st-pancras-station-london-uk-metre-revealed-stands-south-end-upper-level-railway-image132695593&psig=AOvVaw3ZbdrRTb0tx4Z9WxjggMZ9&ust=1644704101837000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAgQjRxqFwoTCMidnLDW-PUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ[/quote]
That was my first thought too! That's why I was asking where she was coming in from, as if she'll be getting off on the upper concourse it'll be easy as pie.

I would aim for a shop also.

I too was going to say the statue. It's right by Carluccio so you can even sit and have a drink whilst you wait.

The upper platform area is small and only the one lift, again very close to the statue

If she's coming on the Eurostar, there are sliding doors, a bit like an airport, where passengers come out onto the concourse, and people are always standing there waiting to meet their relatives/friends.

@RandomMess

I too was going to say the statue. It's right by Carluccio so you can even sit and have a drink whilst you wait.

...or the Betjeman Arms!

@saraclara

I don't know the platform she will arrive on, but she will arrive on the Eurostar from Brussels.

I saw that statue on Google, just wasn't sure whether the statue is accessible to everyone in the train station or whether it is in an enclosed space for arrivals xx

@RandomMess

The upper platform area is small and only the one lift, again very close to the statue

It's the same length as the downstairs concourse, and there are escalators at various points.

But if she's downstairs she only needs to look up to see the huge clock upstairs and aim for that.

[quote Cruiser123]@saraclara

I don't know the platform she will arrive on, but she will arrive on the Eurostar from Brussels.

I saw that statue on Google, just wasn't sure whether the statue is accessible to everyone in the train station or whether it is in an enclosed space for arrivals xx[/quote]
It's open to everyone. And the upstairs concourse is quieter so she's more likely to find a space on the benches there.

But like I say, you can wait by the sliding doors for her in the same way that you'd meet someone at an airport.

Huge click and statue mentioned above

If she's anything like my friends and I - the toilets!!!

Clock

Can't you meet her outside the Eurostar terminal. It is in an area just off the main concourse.

Isn't it traditional to meet under the clock at London termini, or is that only in novels?

Here's what arrivals looks like:

i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1f8cd1ffbbca489c3e7cbe4f18abc6dc41274559/0_323_6152_3694/master/6152.jpg?width=1200&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a4cca1969fadf743b2021c3448e71684

Just imagine an airport. St Pancras is basically one long concourse, so not as confusing as many big stations.

Thanks everyone for your advice, it is very helpful 🙂👍I suppose I will tell her to meet at the sliding doors and if we miss each other there, to meet at the statue.

Is she arriving by Eurostar?

If so the arrivals all come through a small exit point on the lower concourse which is clearly marked ‘international arrivals’ so you could just stand there and wait for her to come through.

Or Le Pain Quotidian cafe is v close by within the station, so you could grab a coffee and arrange to meet her there.

The big statue is on the upper concourse, a bit of a trek from Eurostar arrivals.

If you choose a shop, just make sure it's not one with multiple branches eg Boots WHSmith.

If you're not there to meet her, all she has to do is turn to the left as she comes out of the arrivals door. She'll soon come to a glass lift which will drop her right outside the statue.

Le Pain Q is lovely, there is a block of loos nearby too.