... to ask for Mumnsnetters' help: travel from London to Hastings on train strike day

[AccidentallyFabulous]

It's quite possible we're missing something quite straightforward but I need to arrange travel on 22nd July from London to Ore, Hastings.

It's a train strike day so I am looking for buses/coaches but can't find ANYTHING online. Travelling in to London from a distance so can't leave any earlier than about 11 I would say.

Alternatively, does anyone know what it's actually like trying to travel by train on a strike day? I have always managed to rearrange things so as to avoid strike days completely so I don't really know whether to expect no trains at all, or whether it would be worth getting to, say, Victoria and just waiting until there is a train.

This trip is to coincide with a birthday so it would be a real shame to have to rearrange completely.

Thank you!

Are you sure there are no national express coaches? They normally leave from Victoria station

Book a taxi? Expensive but if it a special thing eg wedding etc..an option

You can pre range a taxi and know it's cost

A taxi would be v v expensive, cheaper to hire a car (if you drive) I would think.

Are you flying to London? How about a hire car at the airport?

On strike days I've travelled on mega bus, they get booked up as soon as strikes are announced
I fear you've left it too late for the coach operators now
You could advertise online for people doing live shares maybe

www.checkmybus.co.uk/search#departureDate=2023-07-10&origin=London%252C%2520United%2520Kingdom%2451.5073509%2C-0.1277583%24e5ce9f1d-26da-11e3-be7f-e006e67fadda%2400000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000%24true%24false&destination=Hastings%252C%2520United%2520Kingdom%2450.854259%2C0.573453%243d83d993-9fab-11e3-be8c-b8ca3aab439d%2400000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000%24true%24false&sortValue=Relevance&sortOrder=ascending&radius=15&adults=1

Oh and travelling by train on actual strikes days is very hit and miss, I've never had any luck from Manchester but a colleague managed to travel from Cheltenham to London still

Going to be a pain to get to without the train, I would say. Could you get a coach to Eastbourne or Hastings and then get a taxi from there?

You can get a National Express bus at 11 gets you into Brighton at 2.15, then I haven't found a local bus from Brighton to Hastings but I bet there is one, or a local taxi might be your best bet, it's 36 miles at that point. That's the nearest you can get to Hastings by any national coach that I can see.
So you could probably get there by 3. How's that for you OP?

Not all train strikes are equal.
This week there have been train strikes but I've travelled to work every day on my normal route however there were fewer trains and some were 8 carriage rather than 12.
Other train strike days the trains have run but shorter hours and terminated at a different point.
And some have no trains running at all.

The problem is that they don't often publish what the service is until the day before....

I have travelled from London to Hayward's Heath on strike days twice. You may get lucky with trains as some do run (depending on the line) but they tend to get more crowded as the day goes on.

The coach service from London to Tunbridge Wells is fairly good, around 12 coaches a day (DNiece has used it a few times recently) and there's a bus service from TW to Hastings.

Then local bus or taxi out to Ore.

I think @LakieLady has probably nailed your best and most reliable option.

254 bus from TW. Sometimes you have to change at Hawkhurst for Hastings. It will take ages though.

Thanks everyone, sorry I disappeared, it's been quite a day!

Will look into the various possibilities, but I'm also weirdly reassured that I wasn't just missing something obvious....

12 and 12A buses go from Brighton to Eastbourne then 98 goes to Hastings. Whereabouts in Hastings - in the town or out