To want to delay trip to London?

[Charlotteremains]

Typically we’ve booked to go Wednesday and come back Sunday.
How bad is it likely to be on Sunday?
We can’t get there Wednesday on the train but DH is suggesting we go Tuesday to Sunday (I’m not keen, I think five nights with two small kids is a lot in London) but even if so how bad will it be getting back on Sunday? The football match is on on Saturday night.
I’ve suggested Thursday to Sunday, two full days with young primary aged dc feels enough to me anyway, but again - the issue is the Sunday.
We can cancel / move the hotel. I’ve suggested we just move it to the summer holiday but DH is adamant and is now looking at driving on Wednesday. It would be three hours for us even under normal conditions.

anyone got any advice around how tricky this journey is likely to be?

If Sunday is the issue why not leave on Saturday?

I live in London and have no idea what you are referencing, is it train strikes or something?

Agree with pp - why not go weds-sat?

What's happening in London? (Also travelling there and wondering if I've missed something!).

Snap

There are train strikes on Fri and Sat.

What's going on on Sunday?

trains on strike on Saturday.
no trains on Wednesday or Saturday.

What's bad about Sunday?

FA cup final on Saturday

But if you are booked to come back Sunday I don’t see the issue?

Sunday they are running but it says expect disruption as none of them will be in the right places from Saturday.

Then it would be busy around the stadium and on the tube but wouldn’t effect a trip to London in anyway.

The FA cup final will not make sunday trains worse. The stations get v crowded on weekend anyway, it will make a negligible difference as anyone who stayedwaiting to go back sunday will be spread across many stations and times of the day.

Saturday is the FA cup final and it’s both Manchester teams so a lot of people heading in and out of London.
OP what direction are you coming from? I’m sure someone here can recommend a tube or train station you can drive to and park at so you can get in and out easier.

I think the OP was thinking of the FA cup final in which case I would say Sunday will not be too bad but it might depend on what part of London you will be on and what route you’re planning on taking, However, as PP have said, beware of train strikes!

If you are travelling by train from Manchester it could be a problem.
I would think that the coach firms in the North West will make a killing this weekend.

It’s more that the trains won’t be in the right places.
Ive no experience of trying to travel after a strike day on the trains. I don’t know if it’ll be fine or trains will be delayed / cancelled.

I'm not sure about the trains, it's going to depend on your specific route. London will be fine because the tube isn't on strike.

In terms of whether five nights in London is 'too much' for small children....you know small children live in London? What on earth do you think is going to happen?! It's too much to drag them round sightseeing all day, but then just have a chill day in between! Spend the day in a park or a playground. Go and see a show. Do something relaxing!

It will be v dependent on which train you're getting how much disruption from strike there is. They still run quite a few trains an hour out of central London to my part of outer London and beyond so barely notice apart from trains not running until 7.

If you’re coming from the north, drive and park at one of the Elizabeth line stations like Iver.

DH will want to drag them out the whole time we are there.
It’s the Manchester line - through Wolverhampton.

Wednesday is showing as nothing running at all from any of the stations we would use.

I also couldn't figure out what the heck you were on about, and I live here.

London is big. Even a big football match really only affects the area around the stadium. On Sunday you should be fine on the trains as long as you're not dead set on taking the earliest ones in the morning. A couple of hours after things start running again they're generally pretty close to normal.

You sound very unhappy at having to do the trip at all. Tell your husband that two days in London is more than enough for you if you feel the need to offer a compromise. Us Londoners are not that scary- honest! 😂