Travelling London- Cambridge, mustn't be late

[stayok]

DS has a Cambridge interview at 10am. We live in London.

he could have stayed in college accommodation for free the night before but he turned it down as he doesn't sleep well away from home and is now panicking about being late, given how unreliable trains are these days.

Would you 1) get a very early train eg 7.30am, and have breakfast in Cambridge before the interview if the train gets in on time; 2) drive to Cambridge; or 3) stay the night before in a Travelodge or similar?

Personally I would always get there early as then I can relax. So I would get the early train and then find somewhere for a coffee and brekkie before the interview.

My partner does the trip regularly, and the trains are generally on time.

Definitely travel the day before.

About forty years ago I recall taking the train the night before the entrance exam - and having to stay in a B&B at my own expense. My actual interview was late afternoon so I travelled on the day for that.

Quite honestly, even if he doesn’t sleep well away from home it will be less stressful to be awake overnight in Cambridge than stuck in a three hour accident hold-up on the motorway, or looking at a departure board that’s just repeating the word ‘Cancelled’ along its length.

(He does know he will have to live in Cambridge during term times, yes?)

Where in London? There are three different routes to Cambridge and generally the trains can be late but they are rarely that late as if something goes wrong you switch and go from Liverpool St, Kings across or one of the stops on the Brighton Cambridge train. The Brighton Cambridge train is the most likely to be cancelled or delayed so if you have a choice avoid it. Also which College, if it’s one of the Hill Colleges (Fitz,Churchill,Murray Eds) or Girton allow time to get across town if you take train. Traffic can be poor.

How exciting, good luck to him! I would be temped to get accomm the night before, to be honest. Not because things will go wrong, but it's the lesser evil (and also, staying in college is a great chance to meet people and get a feel for the place - it's a treat really). Is there no chance of taking them up on their offer afterall?

I am based in Cambridge and would recommend staying I. College - it would be a unique and wonderful experience. Even if he ends up not going it will be a life experience and also give a flavour of college life. Grasp the nettle … it might turn into a beautiful flower… good luck!

Stay the night before - either in college or get a Travel lodge (although if he is under 18, you may have to go too for that sort of thing).
Wake up at a sensible time, have a relaxed breakfast and arrive without hassle in plenty of time.

Definitely have an overnight stay. Good luck to him!

Just get the early train. It’s a commuter train and runs very regularly. Plan to get there for 7/8 am

he will be sleeping away from home when he goes to university so really he needs to get used to it.

Don’t drive - we did and we took well over an hour longer than expected. Traffic was bad and it took us a while to find our parking spot (which we had pre booked).
Take an early train.

The Liverpool st to Cambridge route. Is regular and reliable

Overnight. Wouldn't want to cancelled or delayed on the departures board or held up on the motorway

Early train - it's a fairly quick and straightforward journey.

It really doesn’t matter how reliable the train usually is. He gets one chance at this - and if he is late because of travel issues, his decision not to accept overnight accommodation will not look impressive.

Lots of trains usually but occasionally they do cancel all of them and it’s a bastard getting back to Cambridge.

don’t drive the traffic is horrendous

personally I’d go hotel the night before.

Best of luck.
I have friends who work there and do that commute there and back again every day. They would use the Kings X or Finsbury Park connection (the 2nd is slightly more useful to them) and not Liverpool Street.
Do it as early as possible leaving time for a shortish break for calming down but not stewing too much beforehand.
My own tip: more times than this has not happened when I had no car in Cambridge, the heavens have opened as I left the station. I have once walked to town - which then (not joking) soaked through my entire suitcase plus my laptop that was inside, making it impossible to change before things dried enough - and once had to get a taxi having learned from that experience, but the station line for them was incredible and added a very, very long wait due to the conditions.
Maybe it's my luck with the weather. But I will never go there without a large umbrella now.

Early train- I do it weekly for work and rarely have issues. There are 2 lines if there is an issue.
Don’t drive in Cambridge unless you have pre booked parking and know exactly how you’re getting there/ from there to college

good luck!

Overnight

I’m guessing either Trinity or Caius, since those are the only two Cambridge colleges doing in-person interviews? Well done, your son! Is he sure he doesn’t want to stay overnight? It would be an experience!

The trains, when they run, are pretty reliable: those from King’s Cross are fastest, but if you leave in east London, then the slightly faster trains from Liverpool Street (one service is about 1h10min) works out about the same.

Just be prepared to dash across London if one or other line isn’t running (like last night, when I was commuting home, and the KX trains were cancelled because of a death on the line…).

You can catch a bus to the town centre - they’re reasonably frequent. And the U bus will take you to a stop outside Pembroke College on Trumpington St which is only a few minutes walk from both Caius and Trinity. There are plenty of cafes (including Fitzbillies!) on Trumpington St and King’s Parade, so if you arrive in good time, you can have breakfast with King’s Chapel as your backdrop.

Good luck to your son!

I think staying the night before is the wisest option too. He may not sleep well away from home; many people are the same, but for peace of mind, it’s important. He probably won’t sleep that well anyway, before such an important interview.

If he is offered a place, or if he goes to a different university, he’ll be sleeping away from home anyway.

I think it slightly depends where you are in London and how far you are from the station. Assuming you're not far from King's Cross, Liverpool St, or Tottenham Hale, I would go for the early train option. You can check trains before you set out (Trainline will tell you if there are delays or cancellations) and have a backup plan to drive if there's any problems on the trains.

Remember to factor in the walk/bus/taxi at the other end. The station isn't especially close to any of the colleges.

Good luck to your DS!

Adding to the 'don't drive' chorus, the roads into, and in, Cambridge are horrendous. Either train it in early on an early train or stay over.

Might he have a crap night's sleep anyway, even at home, if he knows he has to get up early and travel? I think go with a hotel.

I would stay in college. Will experience what it’s like, meet other people and be on time. Back in the day we had to go to Oxford for 2 days for interviews. It was great.

I would go back and see if he could stay overnight in the college or else stay the night before in a travel lodge. 10 am is quite early and there is too much risk of train delays or traffic accidents on route.

Agree I would ask if he can change his mind and accept a room in college. Even if he doesn't sleep well, it will be an experience, and a far more relaxed experience than having to get up very early, in the dark, to travel to Lpool St or KX for an early train, worrying about whether there will be any problems on the journey.

Best of luck to him.