Going to London tomorrow - what to do :(

[pinkunicornsarefluffy]

Posting here for traffic, I am going to London tomorrow, train from here to Paddington, then Euston, then Watford Junction.

Having just seen the news about the bomb, I am now terrified. I rarely go to London and this is so scary. There will be 3 adults and 3 children aged 9, 10 and 13.

If we don't go, we lose £600, but what price your life or your kids life?

We are still thinking of going and doing bus or taxi from Paddington.

Has anyone got any advice on transport ?

What would you do?

I understand you're scared, but there's no logic - that's like never taking your children in a car due to accidents or on a plane due to crashes. Both much much more dangerous by the way.
You can't not travel places because of isolated incidents. Otherwise nobody would go out of the house!

plantsitter exactly!

Id get the bus from Paddington to Euston.

It sounds like your anxiety is quite seriously restricting your life op. That is very sad

Having said that in my opinion YABU to consider cancelling. You'll be fine.

I live slap in the central and have had quite few IRA bombs go off near home and work. It's something when you think 'at least the buggers (sometimes) gave you a warning'.

I know what you are saying MrLovebucket we have to stay aware.

As they keep saying over the loudspeakers 'see it, say it, sorted'. Not quite that simple if it is something serious but yes, the balance between staying clm and staying vigilant is important.

Having said that, yesterday on a train there was a plastic container in a bin bag which I thought belonged to the people opposite and they thought belonged to me. It wasn't till we got off we realised it didn't belong to any of us.

"campervamp thanks for that info it is very helpful. So a surface train from Euston to Watford and then they will run the shuttle buses to there too."

No, the route Harry Potter Studios is suggesting is the Metropolitan Line to Watford. The Metropolitan line is part of the tube network, thogh as someone said, it has bigger trains, and once out of Central London travels above ground.

Your best place to get on the Metropolitan line, if you are staying at Paddington, will be Baker Street. Get cab to Baker St (Not that far from Paddington) , get Metropolitan LIne to Watford, get Harry Potter Shuttle Bus form Watford Metropolitan Line station. Tis is if the fast train from Euston is not running. Check the Harry Potter Studios website again tomorrow!

The Metropolitan Line doesn't feel like a tube, if that helps - it's overground, stops are further apart, and it's bigger than a tube.

Honestly? Get a grip. London is far far safer than it was 20 years ago - less crime, cleaner air, fewer car accidents. Go, have a nice day and don't worry about something unfathomably unlikely.

OP! If you do come then kings cross is a short bus ride or about a 15 minute walk from Euston station and the kids may like to go there and have photos taken by platform 91/2 (I think that's right isn't it). There is usually a bit of a queue but you can take your own photos and not pay for the photographer that is in the area. I hope you come and have a lovely day.

I once saw a man on the tube with a strange living thing in a large carry bag. He kept speaking to this thing (like calming it down) and I could hear it making funny noises. I looked around for policeman on tube and there was none. To this day I hate myself for not having reported it.
It could've have been cruelty to an animal or something else- maybe a child.
It could have been a cow! You had a lucky escape.

At the moment, I now just feel like I just want to get from A to B in the quickest format, which was our original plan.

Good thinking! I've lived most of my life in either London of New York. As pp have pointed out, you're statistically more at risk from your local cows (and me, being a city gal, am scared by animal noises behind the the narrow lanes!)

It's called terrorism because they want to scare you, despite the statistics. This isn't the Blitz, love.

Hope you and DD have a great time!

Keep calm and carry on. That's what we must all do. Put it out of your head and enjoy the day - just get up and go and have a great day out.

It's always sensible to have a "plan" if you're travelling in a group. Perhaps spend a bit of time discussing with your friend your plan of action should you get separated or whatever, discuss with your children how to act in a security alert (assuming they are old enough to discuss this with them) and reassure them that all will be well.

Have a great day!

A taxi from Paddington to Watford Junction? That will cost a fortune (about £65-70 one way if traffic is good) and you might need two as black cabs only seat 5. It will also take twice as long as public transport. And statistically you are more likely to be hurt in a road accident than caught up in a terrorist attack.

You really need to stop catastrophising and start being more rational. I know you suffer from anxiety but I really can't see how spending more money for a less safe, less convenient mode of transport will help you.

OTH Harry Potter World is fabulous and I am sure will be worth stepping out of your comfort zone - but bring snacks, the food is expensive and not very nice.

I am sorry that you experience severe anxiety OP. DH and I met working in London, by St Paul's. Then we moved to the sticks, and the first time we went back, after about 15 years we found things we wouldn't have thought twice about before were quite a challenge, so I don't think you are being unreasonable.
However, as others have said, your chances of being caught up in a terror attack are very small and cancelling the day out is out of proportion to the actual risk.
DH is working at a station in London tomorrow, his company clearly don't think it is necessary to cancel.
I hope you go, and I hope you all have a lovely time.

Having said that, yesterday on a train there was a plastic container in a bin bag which I thought belonged to the people opposite and they thought belonged to me. It wasn't till we got off we realised it didn't belong to any of us.

Very valid point, I hadn't thought of something like that.

@Bananas - again, a very valid point - I'd just got the impression that the bag was writhing rather than having a cage in it!

If the line is closed tomorrow because of the fire there will normally be a replacement bus service (as is usual when a train line is temporarily closed) so I would proceed as normal and there will be information at Euston station. Download and look at the network rail app too as it has live train information.

I still think the calmest way to get from Paddington to Euston is a black cab, the standard ones take 5 people but you can book a large one in advance using an app called 'MyTaxi' which only uses licensed taxis and you can select a large one in the options. When you get the text saying 'on my way' there is an option to phone or text the driver so you can arrange where to stand for a pre-booked taxi. Or you can get two cabs off the rank. It won't cost much as it's not far (agree a taxi all the way to Watford would be very pricey and slow).

Best wishes, go for it and enjoy it. We all have our anxieties and I can understand London is intimidating if you're not used to it. I arrived at Paddington myself as an 18 year old in the early 1970s, to start work and used to say "good morning" to people on the tube in the morning which got some very odd reactions!

thanks for app suggestions, have downloaded Network Rail, Cityplanner and tubetamer, so hopefully will have enough info on there.

I was in London buying school shoes for DS today. We didn't die.

It's fine!

I live near the area and DS was going to get on that train as part of his journey back to Uni but he had too much luggage so I told him to book a cab instead.

Fire was on the train and not anywhere else so Im sure all services will be resumed tomorrow.

It is what it is.

Sit back and think about how many tube trains London has, how many major buildings, how many streets, how many people. Then think about how many seconds in a day. Are you likely to be that one tiny part of London in the exact second a problem happens? Of course not. Go and enjoy it.

You know, pinkunicornsarefluffy, the police and anti-terrorist units (or however it's organized) will probably be on their toes tomorrow (as always but especially tomorrow) so I don't think you have to worry. It'll probably be business as usual from your viewpoint.

We never went to London a couple of days after 7/7 but that was completely different. Actually the concert we were going to was understandably cancelled and it wasn't fear that stopped us from going but the fact that visitors coming in wouldn't help the situation. Think maybe even the trains stopped - although can't really remember.

There has been a few terrorist recently but we took our kids to London for the 1st time the other week. They loved it and we felt incredibly safe.

Terrorist attacks can happen anywhere. We can't stop living because of them even though it is scary.

I hate threads like this, right after an incident, with people nowhere near the incident having a pity party.

Exactly.