Quickest way to get from Oxford to Covent Garden on a Saturday afternoon

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It's sod's law that ds's offer holder day is on the same Saturday that his dad is taking him to the opera at Covent Garden. The Oxford event ends at 4pm and the opera starts at 7.30. Is there anyway of doing this and getting there on time or is it too risky? I know on paper it is doable, but I'm after a realistic view from people who have made that or a similar journey.

I'm thinking ds may have to leave Oxford say an hour early? Does that sound reasonable? Also, I can't decide whether he should get the train or whether I should drive him to a tube station on the outskirts. If it's the latter, any recommendations for tube stations would be great - we usually do Stanmore but that is coming from the Midlands. I can't decide which method is quicker door to door and/or least prone to delay. The college is around 30 mins on foot to the station, or I could put him in an uber?

Any advice would be brilliant - he is so looking forward to both events so I just want it to go smoothly.

Use the Oxford tube coach down the A40 into victoria quiet cheap too.

There isn't uber in Oxford so you'd have to pre-book a local taxi, but tbh with all the one way systems he'd probably be better walking to Oxford station. There is a 5pm train to London Paddington which gets in just before 6, this will give him loads of time to get the Bakerloo line to Charing Cross and walk to Covent Garden. It's about a 10 minute walk max to Covent Garden. He probably won't be able to have a full dinner as well, but it is plenty of time just to do the journey.

Brooks or uni? If Brooks catch the oxford tube to shepherds bush and then central line to tot ct road and walk down. Oxford Brooks is on the coach route out. If uni then rail is probably quicker (which college?)

There are plenty of regular trains from Oxford to Marylebone, approx 1 hour 15 minutes. Then Bakerloo line to Piccadilly Circus and onto Covent Garden. Should be fairly easy to do in 3.5 hours.

Oh, I didn't know Oxford didn't have Uber! I did think walking would be quicker and it's why I didn't consider the bus.

Never heard of Oxford Tube either, which looks great- but is the stop far out? It's Magdalen college so quite a way from the station, but if I drive him we'd have to get back to the park and ride anyway.

The Oxford Tube stops at High St and St Clements, either side of Magdalen. Just check the times. I think that would be the easiest by far, get off at Shepherds Bush and switch to the tube there.

There’s a direct train from Oxford to London Paddington that takes about 55 minutes. Then a tube.

The Oxford Tube is great but I think it will still be too tight. If he got the 16.30 (and yes, best stop is St Clements - walk over Magdalen Bridge) he’d get to Victoria just before 19.00 and then he’s got to get across the city to CG with no buffer for bad traffic. Train - Oxford station is the other side of the city and a half hour walk from Magdalen.

It will be stressful. Personally I’d look seriously into exchanging the opera tickets for another date.

As long as trains are running, it's super easy and plenty of time to do it.
Walk between 24-30 minutes to Oxford train station and then catch a train from theses choices 5pm 5:03, 5:16, 5:32, 6pm (all except one is under an hour, and the longest is 1 hr 2 mins) and then either get the Lizzy line to Tottenham Court Rd and then walk 12-15 mins or the Bakerloo line to Charring Cross and walk 5-12 mins depending on whether it's ENO or ROH.
Either have a sandwich for dinner before the train, during train ride or in the interval.

It is about a 20 minute walk to the station so a young fit teenager will be able to walk there with no problems!

From Paddington, I’d definitely get the Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road and walk from there. Have a look on the TfL website for exact timings in case there are any engineering works.

Get the train. The Oxford Tube has to slog into town along the A40, which will be busy on a Saturday afternoon.

But he wouldn't stay on until Victoria. Best to change at Sheperds Bush and avoid all the central London traffic. Tube to Tottenham Court Road then walk. I think it's tight but doable.

Yes, sensible point and much better than staying on until Victoria.

I still think it’s tight and potentially stressful if OP’s DS isn’t used to navigating the tube confidently. We’re also assuming that he can leave the offer day bang on time, and it might be helpful to have a bit of capacity here in case there is an opportunity to chat informally to his tutors or fellow offerees rather than dashing off.

I’d still look seriously into exchanging or swapping the opera tickets, depending on how rare and highly-sought after they are.

Agree straight train into London Marylebone on the 16:45pm train from Oxford. It gets in at 18:10 so plenty of time to get to Covent Farden.
Book it today Oxford to London train

If your driving him in, then you could park at Oxford Parkway, buses into town from there,and get the train from Parkway to Marylebone, then Tube to Picadilly circus

Only thing to think about on this route is the amount of time to get to Parkway, and that line (Chiltern Line).is slightly longer than Oxford-Paddington (GWR Line)

Oxford - London Paddington.
Walk to Lancaster Gate tube (7 minutes).
Central Line to Holborn.
Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden.

Dont understand the problem. Very easy by train from London to Oxford.
No Oxford College is more than half an hour walk from station. Trains take an hour and go at least every half an hour. No more than half an hour to Covent Garden from Paddington by underground. So should easily be there by 6.30pm. Loads of time.

This is completely doable! Don’t panic!

He can get the 5 o clock train - gives him an hour to get to the train station which is more than enough time.

what an interesting day!

I live in London and worked in Oxford for a while. Assuming the trains are running, it’s going to be fine.

I used to commute from Oxford to Piccadilly circus every day. It wasn't particularly fun, but it really isn't a major expedition!

I live in Oxford and - barring cancellations - I wouldn’t consider that a terribly risky journey in terms of time. I’d much prefer the train to the (otherwise splendid) Oxford Tube on a Saturday afternoon - simply because of traffic.

He can jump on a bus directly across the road from Magdalen which would get him to the station in less than 20 minutes- assuming he doesn’t feel like walking. Then hop on a train to Paddington - tube from there.

No Uber at all in Oxford,is there Bolt? I'll be spending a bit of time at the hospital soon and will need cabs.

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Thank you so much everyone! It's one of those things where I know it's simple and in ordinary circumstances I wouldn't give it a thought, but the opera is a gift from his dad (my ex) so if anything does go wrong with timings, it could lead to issues/resentment/blame from ex to me, but via ds. It's unfortunate to say the least, but it's how it is.

Ds wants to leave Oxford early, which I'm sure they will be fine with, just to be sure. He's more than happy on the train and tube alone as we visit London quite a bit, so no worries there. It's just if it does go wrong, the fall out will be significant, so I want to minimise the risk.

I think train is probably the least risky, if he gets one at 4ish.

I’m old school and use the Yell app on my phone if I need to book a cab in Oxford. (Do not leave it to the last minute!)

You can pick up a black cab in the street - but you may expire from frustration whilst waiting for one to appear. Cab ranks at the station and at the top of the High St outside the Covered Market are generally reliable.

(I should say, for anyone mobile or using a wheelchair, buses are regular and plentiful all around the city and everyone uses them. Driving is utter torture and not to be recommended.)