AIBU to be scared to go to London!

[LifesABeachCoaster]

I have only been to London once and that was with a city savvy friend who had planned everything.

I have just purchased Fleetwood Mac tickets for Wembley for my DP and now I have no clue what to do.

I will be staying in a hotel in NW2. So I need to get a train to Paddington Stop H? What is this Stop H? How many stops are in Paddington, is it not just one station?

I am worried because I have bad anxiety about things like this. Does anyone care to plan my trip!?

Please don't drive, it can take hours to get out of the area after Wembley concerts as roads get gridlocked.

bus stops are announced. once you are there it week be much easier. if you miss a stop and get horribly lost (you won't) there is always uber.

Why make life difficult? Just stay at the Wembley Travelodge.

Dont bother with buses if not confident, just take the underground

Is it just London or do you have anxiety problems when visiting anywhere new?

All the buses tell you which stop is next on the route, both via an announcement and a banner sign at the front. so you just need to know which stop you want.
Underground is probably less stressful though.
On no account drive if you are getting freaked out by a bus journey though!!

You need to know the nearest tube station to your hotel, or just give us the name, and we can direct you properly. Don't bus it. Use the underground.

Op your going with your Dp so not even going to be alone. This level of anxiety is too much. I did wembley last week alone travelling from the north and i found everything via google.

That looks like a shortish drive, an uber would be the cheapest option, black cabs can be a bit pricier.

Don't dread it, it's really not that bad. I will warn you that after the concert there will be hordes of people all making their way to the same buses and tubes - it will be busy. If that makes you anxious I would definitely recommend a cab or leaving just before the end.

No point driving.

Stops are announced and displayed as you go on the buses so no problem there. If you have Google maps on your phone you can even watch your progress on the journey. You won't be the only person going in that direction either.

Cricklewood and Wembley aren't London proper so you could drive to where you are staying then use public transport to and from the concert. Driving and parking in Wembley on event days are not recommended.

Why are you staying in Cricklewood? Not that covenient or nice an area

Don’t drive, I’ve lived in several cities in Europe, Asia and the US and driving in London is just a completely different breed, you have to be SO aggressive. Then congestion charge/dart charge probably comes similar to the cost of a cab.

DP will be with me but she's worse than me with anxiety and crowds! I looked at Travelodge in Wembley but its £400 for the 2 nights which isn't that bad if I was paying on the day (time to save) but spent my money on tickets today. I am travelling from Cardiff.

I do get anxious in new places, not to the point I would have a meltdown though. The hotel is Clayton Crowne hotel :) you have all been great!

Cricklewood and Wembley are pretty close, so you could take an Uber, otherwise buses won't be very difficult. Nowadays they have to announce stops so there is a LED sign and a speaker telling you the stops. Once you get to Wembley you just follow the crowds.

Actually looking at the bus spider map , there is a bus going from Cricklewood Broadway to Wembley North where you can jump on the tube or walk it

content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/cricklewood-broadway.pdf

Reasons why I have booked hotel is because hotels are selling out fast on booking.com.

Basically I need 2 nights 15.06.19 and 16.06.18 but it must come with no pre pay required. I am open to other areas. Budget is about £500!

Ok, so it is the Bakerloo line you'll be taking. See instructions above:

Bakerloo line to Kilburn Park

Bakerloo line to Kilburn Park Journey time: 5 min View stops
Step 2
DepartKilburn Park Station - Boarding at Stop KA at 11:20via 32 bus or 316 bus to Cricklewood Broadway / The Crown

32 bus or 316 bus to Cricklewood Broadway / The Crown Journey time: 26 min View stops
Step 3
DepartCricklewood Broadway / The Crown at 11:46via Walk to Yew Grove, Brondesbury

Walk to Yew Grove, Brondesbury Journey time: 1 min View directions
Arrive atYew Grove, Brondesbury at 11:47 Yew Grove, Brondesbury

Download Citymapper and Uber, use the former for all public transport planing, if that is too much of an effort use the latter for a door to door service.

Contrary to popular belief on here London folk generally are quite helpful if asked for directions or other assistance and we stopped stabbing each other years ago.

Uber is estimating a £13 fare between hotel and wembley so that is really good

London isn’t a super special place where super special scary stuff happens, honest! It’s a big city just like any other big city, so the same sensible guidelines apply... don’t go stumbling around unknown areas lost in the dark etc.

If you’re worried about getting buses to your hotel I’d get a taxi, especially after the show when it will be late at night. If money if an issue I’d save cabs for late at night /darkness. You can use the tube to get close then get out at a station which will have cabs passing by, and get a cab for just the last bit as well, to save on costs.

Cricklewood isnt a main tourist area and can be a bit out of the way at night, though fine in the day, so I wouldn’t be roaming around back streets at midnight visibly lost and tourist-y if there’s a better plan. However, if your hotel if near the main overland station or super close to a main bus route, then you’ll be fine.

It’s a stones throw from West Hampstead and if you can I’d head over there and have either a pre-theatre dinner (then tube into town from there?), or a leisurely stroll around the next day.

It’s good to make a plan before you go, and then you can relax and enjoy it. I find it a bit odd on mumsnet when people get all scared about coming to London, as they seem to forget that loads of us live here and just get on with it every day with no problems! However then I look at the news and I can understand why it can be scary the way the media hype stuff up.

I hope you have a lovely time

Don’t you have a smartphone with google maps on? Just use that. Tells you everything including which tube to get and which stops etc.

Come on OP, I know you have anxiety but shouldn’t you be using this as an opportunity to take the reins a bit and plan it yourself instead of offloading onto others? In the kindest way possible, time to grow up!

So, when you come off the train, follow the signs to underground. It will say 'Underground' and is a circle with a line across it. You then follow signs for the Bakerloo line - again, it's a brown coloured line. Make sure to get onto the NORTH bound tube.
You are going 3 stops to the station called 'Kilburn Park'.
Come out of the station and find the stop KA. You have two options for buses, either the 32 or the 316. Both are going to where you need to go.
You need to get off at 'Cricklewood Broadway' or 'The Crown' bus stop. (26 minutes on bus).
Then you're just a walk from hotel.

I use Google street view to acquaint myself with routes I need to take in London — eg streets and landmarks the bus will pass so I know when we are approaching my stop, how to get from destination bus stop to final destination on foot. The familiarity gives one added confidence.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy the performance

No need to be unpleasant @Seniorcitizen1.

I know, I know! But this is part of my planning. Like I would nevr have considered an Uber and assumed they would be too expensive but now I know I can get one reasonably priced. I now know about the TFL journey planner and that the area I am staying in is quite unsavoury!

Thank you all so much for the information.

We are getting there on the Saturday so I will use my TFL planner and smartphone to navigate. May even catch a show!

Paddington Stop H can be seen here: <a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x48761ab2ea3f28fb:0x8ad4d78df8010357!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4slh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMqYfAWyGU1sP3_82aJpXG-xinI86SXrWvmBY_j%3Dw333-h250-k-no!5spaddington+stop+h+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipMqYfAWyGU1sP3_82aJpXG-xinI86SXrWvmBY_j&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzw8jI657eAhXPgVwKHbQ1AMAQoiowD3oECAoQCQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x48761ab2ea3f28fb:0x8ad4d78df8010357!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4slh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMqYfAWyGU1sP3_82aJpXG-xinI86SXrWvmBY_j%3Dw333-h250-k-no!5spaddington+stop+h+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipMqYfAWyGU1sP3_82aJpXG-xinI86SXrWvmBY_j&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzw8jI657eAhXPgVwKHbQ1AMAQoiowD3oECAoQCQ