Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

to take a pram on the tube?

49 replies

MrsGruffalo · 09/03/2011 18:58

Just wondering whether I could get from Victoria to London Zoo on the tube with a pram..?

Would other passengers hate us? Is it reasonable to expect there to be space for me & my fairly chunky Britax travel system?? Is it possible? Would the escalators be too much?

OP posts:

microserf · 09/03/2011 21:12

in my view, buses are best, once you master the tfl interactive bus maps. i use them everywhere, as no bloody stairs.

only i have a stupidly large buggy, and the general rule is 2 buggies per bus, and there's always a post in the wrong place!

nora12 · 09/03/2011 21:16

We once took our buggy onto the tube on a weekend - then couldn't get off due to crowds. Buses and taxis are much better.

MilkNoSugarPlease · 09/03/2011 21:29

Buses are much much easier, I use the tube alot with a buggy and it can be a bloody PITA especially with stairs etc, and it's a small Maclaren

Save your sanity and get the bus!

Melfish · 09/03/2011 21:39

would not bother getting the tube from Victoria to London Zoo- as far as I know the nearest station is Regents Park and you'd have to interchange at the hell that is Oxford Circus.

Victoria is being done up and all my colleagues who use it are avoiding it as it is really busy, and they don't even have prams. Would definitely get the bus- think the C2 goes near the zoo and you can get it from the bus station. Check out the tfl maps on the website.

I have a maclaren and only use the tube if desparate, the bus is far more convenient and probably not that much slower if you factor in lugging your pram up and down stairs and trying and failing to get on to the tube train. Whilst some people do offer to help you can't guarantee that you'll get assistance.

Underachieving · 09/03/2011 21:44

YANBU, babies live in London too, it's not soley popluated by suits. You have as much right to be on that tube as any other fare paying passengers. It's just a fact of life that babies travel by pram or similar, they have for centuraries. I'd scowl back if anyone pulled faces at me for it.

Wigeon · 09/03/2011 21:53

Underachieving - that's absolutely true, but have you been at Victoria station in rush hour recently? Practicalities trump principles here. It's a blimming nightmare at rush hour due to the escalator refurb. You can hardly get on a tube at Victoria even if you are a suit, let alone a mum with a pushchair. Or with a large bump (ie me). Last time I was there (last week) I had to wait for two tubes to come and go before I could get to the front of the platform and push my way on.

Agree with others that the tube is actually ok with a pushchair at non-rush hour - rush hour being, by the way, from about 7:45am to 9:30am and 4:30pm to 6:45pm.

But if at all possible: sling sling sling. Or bus (as others have said), or even bus plus sling. How old is your DD / DS?

meditrina · 09/03/2011 21:57

Agree with Widgeon - this isn't about rights, it's about trying to recommend the least stressy journey. Especially with Victoria so very much up the creek at the moment.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 09/03/2011 22:07

Another vote for the C2 bus. You can get off at the last stop in Albany Street or first stop on Parkway and you are only 5-10 mins walk to the entrance of the zoo.
I have taken a travel system on the tube. Its doable but the stairs are a PITA.

LadyBiscuit · 09/03/2011 22:12

Definitely bus. Victoria is a mare, even with a light buggy and Regents Park tube station is bloody miles from the zoo anyway so you really have to get a bus from there.

Underachieving · 09/03/2011 22:21

Practicalities is a whole other matter, and I can't disagree at all that a pram on the tube can be very impractical. I was only answering if it was reasonable or not. I leave the practicalities to the locals with the more detailled knowledge.

hardhatdonned · 09/03/2011 22:24

ANy day of the week at any time of day it is unreasonable to take a pram or a suitcase on wheels onto the underground. This is purely my own personal grievance at being battered in the legs by people not paying attention to the front of the pram or the back of the suitcase though.

Go with the other ladies and for your sanity and the sanity (and ankles) of other travellers get the bus

Original poster

MrsGruffalo · 10/03/2011 11:56

I think the bus wins my vote then! I have the Britax B-Smart 3 with a 4 month old DS. I really would like to take the Britax as I find I can't do an entire day with DS in the sling as I'm just not strong enough - he's about 14lbs now. I haven't bought a stroller yet...although I will think about it.

For now, I'll aim to get into London after rush hour, with both sling and Britax - take the bus - and then try and get back on the overground out of Victoria by about 4pm.

Fingers crossed!

OP posts:

meditrina · 10/03/2011 11:59

Hope you have a great day!

iskra · 10/03/2011 12:03

I see you are taking the bus, but just by the by, the change from the Victoria line to the Bakerloo line at Oxford Circus is fine, you just cross the platform. I do agree that Victoria is hellish at the moment.

iskra · 10/03/2011 12:04

Also by the by, someone told me that if you go to London Zoo by train - at any point of your journey - you can get 2 for 1 tickets, or something. So if you are taking the train into Victoria it might be worth saving your ticket & asking at the gates. That zoo is seriously expensive!

lurkerspeaks · 10/03/2011 12:09

Or use tesco clubcard vouchers!

atthecarwash · 10/03/2011 12:26

I've done that loads with a double buggy....and it was fine. I avoided rush hour though

caramelgirl · 10/03/2011 12:35

I have a Britax travel system (yes it is v clunky, yes I do regret buying it, grr). Anyway, I would actually prefer tube to bus as a) britax vigour won't fit down the aisle of some buses so you have to ask to get on the back, hoick buggy up adn then run down to pay, b) if more than one buggy on they sometimes won't let you on and c) Victoria station, lots of people with big suitcases taking up all the buggy room, no?
On the tube- which tbf I've only taken a few times and I am a hideous wimp with escalators- my absolute saving grace has been that TfL staff will always help (are apparently required to with job) on the escalators. So I will take my dd out and carry her whilst they take buggy down. Found it okay going up as you have more control over weight of buggy. Obv not necessary if a lift, but there isn't one at Baker Street or any nearby iirc. Look online and check for disabled sign on tube map to show where lifts are.
Appreciate it is does take up resources to help people with buggy but I am a bit indignant that there aren't lifts in all the tubes yet.HTH and enjoy the zoo, we went to a wedding there last summer and it was lovely!

jasminetom · 10/03/2011 12:37

I can't say how easy it will be but sod the other passengers, you have as much right as them. Ask for help if you need it.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 10/03/2011 13:10

As ladybiscuit said Regents Park and Baker St tubes are at the bottom end of the park and the zoo is at the top so its quite a long walk to the zoo. The nearest tubes are Camden Town and Chalk Farm on the northern line. So Vic line to Kings Cross then Northern to Camden Town, rather than Vic line to Oxford Circus and then Bakerloo.

Bus is definitely easier. C2 is the simplest option but if you fancy doing some sightseeing on the way then get the 24 from Victoria going towards the Royal Free Hospital and get off at Camden Town Station - the 24 goes around Parliament Sq so you get Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey then up Whitehall (Centotaph, Downing Street,Horseguards) and on to Trafalgar Sq

Its one of the really good routes to take if you are visiting London and you don't want to shell out for a tourist bus.

LDNmummy · 10/03/2011 14:06

As long as its not rush hour then no one will care. Rush hour on the other hand = you being made to feel like the biggest burden to humankind on the planet and not very nice, so be warned

Check which stations have easy access too, in central its not hard to find an adequate root, just look on journeyplanner and tick the step free access option.

Good luck

HipHopopotomus · 10/03/2011 15:42

I'd def go by bus - sounds like Chaz has some good suggestions re the route. make sure you use an oyster card, then your London travels won't cost you anymore than a daily travelcard no matter how many buses you jump on/off. Be careful you don't get caught in the rush hour at the end of the day (spoken by someone who spent all day at London Zoo last summer - it's easy to do, and then who had several very squashy bus journeys with sleeping child in buggy to get home).

RJRabbit · 10/03/2011 16:31

With the 2 for 1 tickets, I think you have to ask at the train station first. My friend and I presented our train tickets at the zoo gates only to be told we needed something from the train station people.

I'd prefer the tube as well. I've found people really helpful whenever I've gone anywhere with a pram/stroller. Someone will always stop and ask if they can help. And the stroll across Regent's Park is lovely.

BettyCash · 10/03/2011 16:42

mad, take a bus

Flip

1 2