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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to be scared to go to London!

203 replies

LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 10:37

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!?

OP posts:
Charley50 · 24/10/2018 11:15

I'm jealous. I probably wouldn't pay what those tickets cost, but I'm still jealous!

LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 11:15

I note the horrible comments. Yes, I know. I am acting like a child.

When you grow up in the welsh countryside and never visit large cities it is a little scary, and thankfully the world (and mumsnet) is full of friendly and helpful people who have made great suggestions.

Being mean isn't helpful and just not very nice. You could have just closed the thread and ignored it :)

OP posts:
LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 11:16

@Charley50 We have the cheapest tickest (£80) so I will probably be watching the show from the car park !

OP posts:
Awaytome · 24/10/2018 11:18

I agree that if you find someone who doesn't look like they are running somewhere, people are very helpful. You're only a 1 minute walk from the bus stop to your hotel, so it's obviously right there when you get off the bus. You'll get used to it - don't worry!

Charley50 · 24/10/2018 11:18

Wow it will still be amazing!

PeachQueen · 24/10/2018 11:18

Why are people being so horrid to the OP?

Going to London would scare me - I don't suffer from anxiety however navigating round the umpteen different travel
Options puts me off ever going!

LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 11:19

Thank you for understanding! I was prepeared to be flame though, AIBU can be a scary place. Not as scary as London though obvs

OP posts:
firawla · 24/10/2018 11:19

If you feel stressed about the travel, I’d just get an uber and relax!

LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 11:19

prepared flamed grr

OP posts:
Pringlecat · 24/10/2018 11:20

A couple of tips:

Use the Journey Planner on tfl.gov.uk. Its 'average' pace is actually slower than my slow pace, so the default search actually builds in a bit of leeway for most people. Unlike some other planners, it will automatically disregard routes that take you along a section of track that is closed etc - so it will give you a route that currently works. (You can plug in dates and it will factor in planned closures for then.)

Download Bus London and Tube Map onto your smartphone. (Assuming you have a smart phone?) Also, WhatsApp if you don't already have it.

The Underground is pretty easy to work out, with a paper map or a map app. The only trick you need is to check planned closures for the weekend you're down. It's too early to check now - TfL publish a 6 month look ahead. Nearer the time, go onto the TfL website and input your dates: tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status/

Buses are harder. I would avoid buses unless you have no other choice, given your anxiety. When you have to get a bus, use the app to check what time your next bus is coming. If there are no buses on the app, that bus stop has been diverted (this is why having an app is a jolly good good idea).

Download Uber. There's no substitute for a black cab driver's Knowledge, but if you're just doing an uncomplicated A to B journey, an Uber driver will plug in your postcodes and happily zoom off. The Knowledge is for when you're stuck in traffic in central London and need a driver who knows if he takes a left down that side street and a right, there's a quiet street he can drive down and bypass that big jam, getting you to your destination on tim.

Uber is usually cheaper than a black cab, but if there's anything major on like a tube strike, the 'surge' pricing is ridiculous. You'll know before you book an Uber though.

Do not drive. If you're this anxious trying to plan a bus journey, you are not ready to drive on London roads!

Make a plan for what happens if you get separated. You say your DP is even more anxious than you, so if you are both boarding a train and one of you doesn't make it and gets stuck on the platform, then the plan perhaps should be DP stays put (if she is the one who couldn't get on the train) or DP gets off at the next stop and waits (if she is the one who got on the train without you). Agree in advance which person is the person who comes to find the other.

Consider getting tube wifi (it's free for EE, T-Mobile, Orange, Giffgaff, O2, Three, Vodafone and Virgin Media): tfl.gov.uk/campaign/station-wifi

Spend a few minutes setting up tube wifi together when you first arrive in London, that way if you do get separated, you can send an iMessage (if you both have Apple phones) or WhatsApp (any smartphones will do) and figure out a plan if you get separated. Tube wifi works in stations only, not whilst travelling, but it could feed into your backup plan for what to do if separated.

Enjoy yourself. London is great!

Awaytome · 24/10/2018 11:20

Of course it's daunting. Some of us were new here a while ago too!

PeachQueen · 24/10/2018 11:20

@LifesABeachCoaster

I think some people come on just to be horrid!

abacucat · 24/10/2018 11:20

If I am anxious about going somewhere new, I use google streetview to do the journey before hand. You could do the whole journey on google streetview as many times as you want so you know what the journey actually looks like. Helps loads.

LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 11:20

I think I will get an Uber. In fact I definitely will. I wonder how accurate the fare estimaters are.

I got mugged off by Uber in Manchester once after a gig and they kept leaving with other fares or not turning up. We ended up stranded for hours!

OP posts:
MereDintofPandiculation · 24/10/2018 11:21

No need for all the sneeriness. I worked in London for over 20years, but I'd find it daunting to visit now. Our local buses have only just begun to go contactless, and certainly do not display the next stop, so I'd need to find about how to pay for London buses and how to recognise my stop in strange city.

It's not strange to be apprehensive about London when you live somewhere where buses and car parks still take cash, and it's not crowded so if you do dither over an unfamiliar machine you don't have a group of angry people tut-tutting at you, and uber isn't quite so ubiquitous. Of course you find it easy when you live there, and have got used to it bit by bit.

LifesABeachCoaster · 24/10/2018 11:21

@abacucat that is a good idea. Familiarise myself

OP posts:
abacucat · 24/10/2018 11:21

And the best way to reduce anxiety is to do what you are doing. Be worried but plan and do it anyway.

spidey66 · 24/10/2018 11:22

Cricklewood Broadway's nearest station is Willesden Green (Jubilee). Take the metropolitan from Paddington to Finchley Rd then Jubilee, then a bus from outside the station (same side). I think it's 266 or 260, but it's been a while since I've lived in the area.

To get to the venue, I think you'll need a bus, but not sure of the route. I think you'd have been better off staying in Wembley tbh Cricklewood isn't blessed with great transport connections.

itssquidstella · 24/10/2018 11:24

I wouldn't try to use uber after the concert, it'll be ridiculously busy and you'll have to wait ages (plus there will probably be a massive surge charge).

I'd get an uber to the concert then get the bus or tube back (probably bus as Cricklewood isn't that near the tube). Or you could pre-book a taxi back, but you'd need to know where you'll be exiting Wembley to arrange a convenient pick-up spot.

Don't stress, OP - London is surprisingly easy to navigate and people aren't as scary here as you might think!

Awaytome · 24/10/2018 11:24

And whatever you do, don't stand on the left side of an escalator. That's for the people in a rush. You stand on the right. ;)

Pringlecat · 24/10/2018 11:25

PS As a Londoner, I do not talk on the tube. I have my earphones in. I exude a 'don't-talk-to-me' vibe.

However, if someone asks me for help, I immediately flash them a reassuring smile and help them plan their journey. This is normal of most Londoners. Even if we don't look approachable, that doesn't mean we're not ready to jump in and help lost tourists. The 'don't-talk-to-me' vibe is aimed at other seasoned commuters, it's not aimed at you!

If you really get stuck, just ask the nearest person.

abacucat · 24/10/2018 11:25

Yes if I have used google streetview beforehand, I find it really helps when actually doing the journey to be able to recognise landmarks. Just reassures me that I am going the right way.
Also leave plenty of time before going there. It means if you make a mistake going there it is no big deal. Do journey from hotel to wembley, and easier then to do it on your way back.

Awaytome · 24/10/2018 11:26

Spidey - TFL journey planner is advising Bakerloo to Kilburn and then a bus. Don't confuse her!

mrssmiling · 24/10/2018 11:27

Lots of great advice and helpful support. Do wonder if it might be worth staying in Wembley though....the Premier Inn has availability now, and is within budget. Might save stress, and you can walk! Smile

Awaytome · 24/10/2018 11:28

You can also ask the bus driver (they've never once refused me) to remind you when to get off if you're not sure. If you tell him the stop, the woman on the bus (sound system) will announce it about 1 minute before the actual stop anyway, but he'll hear your accent, ask him politely and will look out for you.

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