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!?

We stayed at a premier inn about 10 mins walk from Wembley wasn’t super expensive nice not having to get public transport after show

walk across a field with cows in it. I was bloody terrified.
I'm a country lass but to be fair cows pull some of the angriest faces I've ever seen sometimes.

I think a lot of people probably aren’t sure which cows are bulls and may charge at you.

I think the OP has had a hard time in here and I can actually relate in reverse to how she feels because, to be absolutely honest, I get anxiety in the countryside and actually feel dizzy, depressed and nauseous after about 24 hours. A lot of it is probably Starbucks etc etc withdrawal , but there’s also something more than that which I could never put my finger on. I guess it’s just what you’re used to. I find being in the UK countryside a lot more anxiety-provoking than being abroad, for some reason.

Oh don't, I just find cows really alarming! What if they just decided to run at you? It was a marked pathway and we assumed it was safe because it was pointed out in the house stuff as the best route to the village. But bloody hell. Giant cows all looking at you. Terrifying.

The cows in that picture walk on the road outside my house! I always have visions of them knocking down my fence posts as they get right up and rub against them.
Walk quietly around them not through them and you should always be good, just give them enough space to not feel panicked.

I get anxiety in the countryside and actually feel dizzy, depressed and nauseous after about 24 hours
I had a friend who had the exact same thing when she visited me, she thought perhaps is was the silence that was unnerving her? As you can't hear anything near me but the weather and animals. But she really didn't enjoy it.

I love the idea of the English countryside and of course it’s so stunning in so many places, but for some reason, when I go there, I feel quite “low” and claustrophobic very quickly, especially if it’s grey or raining. I even get this feeling somewhere like Berkshire, to be honest.

We did exactly what you suggest (with DH's guidance) and it was fine. But not something I want to repeat in a hurry! Those big brown cows were not my friends.

I get a bit weirded out by silence, tbh. I live in a big city and always have done, under a flight path and with trains at the end of my garden and a big dual carriageway v close. I can always hear something at home and I find the low rumble quite soothing.

The joy of Citymapper is it calculates the best journey for you right there and then - it’s live. So if there are delays in one line, it will tell you another. It will also show you Uber time and cost, or walking time.

It even tells you where to get on the carriage to be near the exit when you arrive!

I think it is incredibly clever and highly accurate. You won’t need anything else if you have that.

And a big no to black cabs, sadly. I admire the heritage, but in reality - rude and overpriced.

London is amazing, it just requires a mini adjustment.

Download citymapper on to your phone & turn on location so it knows where you are

Didn't a man and his dog get trampled to death by cows last week? I read it in the Metro while sitting safely on the Tube.

Cows do trample people to death reasonably regularly and it is certainly something to be aware of.

Countryfile has given safety advice.

This thread has made me realise that, by living in a large city in northern England, I have had easy access, and hence become accustomed to, most sorts of environments because I am used to big cities, so London isn't any sort of challenge and I go to the very remote parts of our county most weekends, so am also happy in empty, silent wilderness with no-one around and no mobile phone signal.

OP also remember that an awful lot of people in London don't live there or regularly go there, so there is a lot of information to help you get about. Plus in my experience people are happy to give directions if you ask.

Don't drive, you will be surprised at how easy the underground system is to use and how good the public transport is compared to the rest of the UK (when there aren't any strikes). I'm not from London but I travel there a lot. I've driven twice, once because I had to take a huge item and once to drop my son off at Uni. Both were horrendous and if you are travelling in the week, there's the congestion charge.

Give me a packed tube over cows in a field any day.

Premier Inn is coming up as £236 for 2 nights with me

Clear your cookies or use a different browser, the cookie is showing them the previous price you were told.

BTW has anyone mentioned Oyster cards yet? Not a regular in London any more but I believe you cannot use money to pay on buses.

I have lived here all my life and worked in the city for at least 15 years. I had an interview that involved the DLR and had not used it before. Do you think I could figure out the fares. I expected to pay contactless on the platform so had to go back down to the pay machine, think I paid well over the top and when I got off at my stop realised I could have walked it in 10 minutes.

London can be confusing, frustrating and wonderful.

I would get the Uber and keep it simple, but if you get the chance come back and explore the amazing landmarks, food markets, museums and galleries at leisure (getting lost then means making the most wonderful discoveries).
I was fell upon a pub whilst walking across London with friends. The only bar measured roughly 15 ft by 4ft and had a cat that wore a ruffled Edwardian collar.

Hmm. One of my in laws owns a country hotel. Some Londoners (aside from doing things like letting their dogs off leafs, leaving gates open and dropping dangerous litter around animals or feeding them dangerous food) have come out with epic clangers like complaining about the smell of slurry and saying it shouldn’t be allowed, asking the owners to have the local sheep quietened down, complaining that a fence they leaned on was electrified and suggesting they might sue for receiving a shock and ringing the police because they saw a farmer with a rifle and (this one happens all the time) trampling fields of wheat in aid of getting an instagram photo.

I think all the Londoners saying ‘oh it’s so easy’ might want to consider that when they go to the countryside they don’t instantly get everything right either.

If you can use contactless on buses and tubes, is there any need to use an Oyster card any more?

The tube may look easy, but it is often a long and slow way to get anywhere. It's always worth checking how far some of those tube stations really are away from each other. Sometimes it is quicker to walk than go up and down all the escalators, along corridors etc underground.

www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/london-tube-journeys-that-are-quicker-by-foot-a3905211.html

Londoners in the countryside are a PITA.

And countrysiders in London are also a massive pita.

People everywhere can be a pita if they're in somewhere unfamiliar, it's not exclusive to any one location.
I was probably a pita to the people behind me on the bus when I tried to pay in cash on a bus or when I stood looking at the underground map for ages.

Things that feel obvious, paying on a card in London or that some fences are electrified ior that some trains are request stops in the countryside aren't if you're not from there, as why would you need to know this things.

your right barbara no need for oyster if u have contactless

id also like to add its cheaper than getting a simple single or return ticket

BTW has anyone mentioned Oyster cards yet? Not a regular in London any more but I believe you cannot use money to pay on buses.

Oysters aren’t in as much use anymore as you can pay for the tube and buses using your contactless debit or credit card, and pretty much everyone has those now.

Don’t try pay cash on a London bus ffs 😂

JessieLemon

Thanks

Last time I was in London was a few years ago, I had problems trying to get out of a tube station with an Oyster card.

I have a disabled person's bus pass, so at home I can use trains, trams and buses, but in London only the bus.

The machine at the station was trying to read my bus pass because the London, 'freedom pass' uses the same chip and if you have one you can use it on the tube.

I am going to get tickets for Wicked too!

Wicked is absolutely brilliant! And very close to Victoria station.

I hope you both have a wonderful time. Do avoid travelling in rush hour if you can.