Questions for Londoners please help.

[Puddlewoman]

Also anyone that travels through London and knows their way around.
I am planning a journey I will have with me my two very nervous autistic children so I need to know where I'm going beforehand. I am arriving in paddington and need to get to st pancras. So I'm thinking tube they look to be running regularly im thinking it would be the circle or hammersmith line which one would be best. If it makes a difference we would be there about 11ish on a weekday.
Does anyone know of a website where i can find out how to get from the platforms where we get off at to the tube station part and the same at st pancras end. I don't want to be trying to work out where have to go on the day.
Also and this might sound daft but are these safe routes? Last time I went on the tube was 2004 i think and i remember it stopped and all the lights went out do they still have these issues?
Would it be better to walk? I know it's quite a distance but we walk loads and it would be a break in the journey tbh

Agree that many people love being asked for help. I certainly do!

Thank you so much that's amazing especially the photo of the sign to look out for. I might just bite the bullet and buy physical tickets the contactless is sounding more hassle than its worth

Bloody hell, I've just looked up the fares on TfL website. I knew cash (ie buy a ticket) was more expensive than Oyster or contactless but this is ridiculous.

Adult fare from Paddington to King's Cross:
£2.90 (or £2.80 off peak) - Oyster/contactless
£7 (!!) - cash

Child fare varies depending on age:

• age 16+ = £1.45 Oyster/contactless; £7 cash
• age 11-15 = £1 Oyster/contactless; £3.50 cash
• age 5-10 = free with a 5-10 Zip Oyster; £3.50 cash

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/single-fare-finder?intcmp=54716

OP: do you have 3 methods of being able to pay by contactless? Otherwise prioritise your own fare contactless and only buy cash tickets for the kids.

Black cab. The driver will get you wherever you need to go the quickest possible way safely x

Phenomenally expensive and slow in London traffic.
Lots and lots of kids and parents take the Tube.

@Puddlewoman do your children have their own debit cards (Go Henry etc).
They can use them. They will get charged adult fare but Paddington to St P really isn't that much.

3 of us can do contactless Im guessing its a tap on tap off situation. I will try and set youngest up for an account in time if not I can swallow a childs ticket

Actually @Needmorelego makes a good point and I realise I made a mistake in my post about fares.

The lower child fares are only with an Oyster card in the child's name. Pay with contactless and of course the system doesn't know how old the user is, so will just charge the adult fare.

So with contactless payments, all fares will be £2.90 (or £2.80 off peak) regardless of age.

How old are your kids? If 11 or under they go free, just go through the big gates with contactless

@Puddlewoman actually yes - how old are they?
If under 11 they don't need to pay.
You pay (beep your card) and you all go through the gate together - use the big gate.

If you don't have enough cards to cover all the children, then note you can use a card for one person and then a phone linked to the same card for another.

Buying a paper ticket will be expensive and a hassle and, in your circumstances, not ideal.

Also, given the number of blatant fare dodgers, no one is going to question the age of a 12 year old kid who walks through the large gate with you. On that note and perhaps you are unaware - there are large gates at every tube station to allow people with suitcases and other such baggage e.g. kids.

Take the bus?
The 205 from stop H, towards Bow. until the British Library. Which is 2mins walk from station.
its 28min compared to 22 on the tube.

I imagine you and your kids might be more familiar with buses, and this route is decent and you’ll be above ground. at 11am I’d imagine you could have front seats on the top deck.

St Pancras and Paddington are both pleasant stations .
with a good range of (probably familiar) food shops and coffee etc.

Enjoy your trip.

Sorry I missed the no bus comment

I realise it's not what you're asking about, but if you haven't already booked it, I highly recommend booking Eurostar Special Assistance. No queuing at St Pancras and a quick escorted trip through security all the way to passports. Ditto at the other end.

Yeah, we huff. Don't be afraid to put us in our place. Sometimes all we care about is getting somewhere yesterday without thinking about people's specific needs. I also work on the Tube and see parents tell people off regularly because they are being inconsiderate twats.

A middle aged woman like me is a good person to ask!

Ha! @Lentilweaver Since becoming middle aged, I am invisible in public until someone needs directions or help 🙄

Yeh course and it’s exciting but I noticed OP said one of her little ones was autistic and the tube can be overwhelming

I have an autistic child and live in London. We regularly go on the tube. Honestly Londoners are the best. People are really kind. Definitely take ear defenders and explain (if you can) that the trains make a loud screeching noise but it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong.

The youngest is 11 so is it 11 and under that travel free then? I took under 11 to mean no older than 10

You only pay from 12

You only pay from 12

You pay from 11.

No, it's under 11 years old where you don't have to pay, if they're accompanied by a paying adult.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/5-10-zip-oyster-photocard?intcmp=55572#on-this-page-0

I find it very confusing that they make a big thing of explaining the need for a 5-10 years old Zip Oyster to get free travel, but then slip in that an adult can take 4 children of that age for free. Are there many 5-10 year olds travelling without an adult?

A 5-10 Oyster card allows free travel on the overground trains in London. It costs £10, is valid for six years and the kids find it fun using it. It's certainly not something the OP would need, but if you live in London it is good to have. Plus when they get to 10 and want to jump on a bus, they already have the right card.

Toilets at St Pancras are always really busy.

The ones near the Left Luggage are probably less busy, as they're a bit out of the way. There's often a queue, but it's usually quite fast moving. Or get a coffee in Wetherspoons and use their loos. Follow signs for Platforms 11-13 to find Wspoons - it's opposite the escalators up to those platforms..

You can also get an oyster card and have a child visitor discount applied but you have to pay for the oyster and top it up so wouldn't be worth it for the occasional journey.