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.

Thank you, I will download the Yell app.

He really doesn't need to leave early. If the event finishes at 4pm he has 3.5 hrs to travel just over 50 miles.

Buy a ticket in advance
It's a 25 min walk to the station. Train at 5pm (possibly 4.30 if walking smartish). Arriving in Paddington at 17.53. To get to Covent Grn I usually reckon on about 30mins on Bakerloo to Charing Cross and then 8 min walk up into Covent Grn along the Strand. So could be comfortably standing in Covent Grn by 6.45 - no sweat and time to spare.

There possibly are quicker ways but this is a tried and test route by yours truly!

Hope he enjoys the college opening day and the opera

Probably Elizabeth line from Paddington to Tottenham Court road then walk from there. But really, Google Maps is your friend. Or your son's friend. It's currently saying 1 hr 39 from Magdalen College to Covent Garden door to door by public transport and walking.

Sorry OP but I would really dissuade DS from leaving early. The whole point of an offer day is to get to know a few faces and meet tutors informally in anticipation of October and it would be so valuable for him to be able to talk to people without undue pressure of time.

IMHO it would be a mistake to be the guy who ditched the day early 🤷‍♀️ but I can see I’m in a minority of one here.

could you borrow a bicycle and or combine it with train ? assuming no issues with the bike and using google maps, can avoid any traffic ? just realised the distance

I don't think there's any reason to leave early anyway. But at the offer holder days at my own College, subject tutors are not involved. Just admisssions office staff and current students.

Take the train- the walk from Magdalen is easy. Don't drive to the station! Driving in Oxford is a nightmare.

No, I agree with you, @ThanksItHasPockets.

An offer day at Oxford is significant. His father should be so proud that he’s chilled about whether (in the very worst case scenario) his son is forced to miss the first half of an opera. That won’t happen - but it would only be a thrilling story to pass down generations.

Awful to put so much pressure on the son that he won’t be able to enjoy the day fully.

It must vary between colleges and I can’t comment on Magdalen but at my old college offerees meet the Principal and tutors on the offer-holders’ day.

Having worked an Oxford college offer holder day recently, I am 99.9% sure that nobody will care. As long as he's not disrupting a talk and ideally times his exit with a gap, nobody will even notice! There are some tutors but definitely not all of them, and even if his tutor was there, the offer holder days are optional and not part of the assessment process, so it's very unlikely the tutor even remembers who came (as opposed to who they saw at the interview) nevermind who left early, by October

If it makes a difference the day is not a 'standard' offer-holders' day but a contextual one. I don't know whether that makes it more or less likely that it would put ds in a bad light if he had to leave early, but I can't believe that it will be an unheard of event or that it would matter in the grand scheme of things in the context of a 3 year-long course. However, I can imagine that on the day ds will feel bad about leaving early and will want to participate in whatever is planned for the last hour. I don't want to be the one putting pressure on him to stay though, just in case.

No, I really think you're right that it's not going to be a crucial event for the whole three year course! If he books an anytime train ticket, he can leave early if he's panicking about time, or leave on time if he decides he needs to stay - as PPs have suggested it should be doable in the time. Then you don't have to push him either way (which might be best, given the strange sort of longing-for-independence-but-also-need-help thing at that age!)

How old are you? I wasn't aware of colleges even doing offer holder days until after interviews went online but Covid was over. Of course that doesn't mean there weren't exceptions.

I matriculated in the early 2000s when offer days were not even thought of, but I am involved with the access team as an alumna so am familiar with the format of the new system of offer days.

It’s not just about first impressions on tutors. He’ll meet a lot of his course-mates and it will be helpful to have some familiar faces in October.

I just think it would be a shame if he felt he had to leave an enjoyable event early because his dad might throw a strop.

Oh I agree. He shouldn't leave early. It'll just make him uncomfortable and he really doesn't need to. There is loads of time. If he's very anxious about this sort of thing then you should try to rearrange the opera, but for most people this jouney and time allowed would not be a worry at all.

Am I alone in thinking that a young man with an offer to study at Oxford should be more than capable of working this out for himself?

(I dunno, I went to Cambridge myself, maybe my standards are higher 😂)

Do you even need to go to the offer-holder day with him?

He does not have to get on a train at 4pm. A train just after 5 will still give him loads of time to get to Covent Garden.

I used to live in Oxford. It is a small city and the walk from Magdalen to the station is very easy.

This is one of the most hilariously middle class threads I have ever read on here. I do hope Sebastian makes it to Covent Garden on time. 🙏

Train? Get to Paddington by 5:30

Oh dear - there's always one...he is more than capable, but I'm asking here because it involves me if people had advised giving a lift part of the way, for example. As I've said more than once, I know it's doable on paper but I was looking for people saying, for example, that they use the trains regularly and they are hideously unreliable etc. And, yes, I'm excited about him going to Oxford, as I would be wherever he was going, and since one parent is invited I am going - rather than just not bothering! Why on earth wouldn't I?

Edit - thought I quoted @HotCrossBunplease

As I’ve been wandering around various woods and fields and meadows in the centre of the city recently, @MyFlightWasAwfulThanksForAsking, I’ve fulminated over the evil former government attempting to persuade prospective students from poorer homes that they should stay in their lane and attend the uni at the end of their road in Bradford or Luton or wherever.

There should be nothing ‘middle class’ about receiving an offer from Oxford.

And frankly, people should be more knowledgable about opera. It’s not all about a box at Covent Garden. And of course you don’t have to be middle class to attend.

Tsk!

Yeah sorry the trains are perfectly reliable.

I suppose if parents are actually invited to participate in the offer holder day that makes more sense. Would have been seen as very odd in my day but that was decades ago and I suppose now with fees it’s a different world. Have a lovely day and please don’t spend it worrying about the journey into London.

Look at trains from Oxford parkway direct to marylebone as well

Thank you @HotCrossBunplease . I'm sure it will be fine judging by the hideously middle-class thread, which I've found really helpful so I'm glad I started it 🙂.

I used to travel between London and Oxford regularly and 3.5 hours is honestly loads of time. Just make sure you check ahead for weekend engineering work. The TfL site is very helpful.

I would echo the advice re the Elizabeth line from Paddington to Tottenham Court Road. If you head for the exit towards St Giles he’ll be there in no time. Encourage him to download City Mapper app in case he has to make last minute adjustments.

Oxford to Paddington or Marylebone
Bakerloo Line Paddington or Marylebone to Charing Cross Station
(barely) 10 Minute walk from Charing Cross station to Covent Garden