Old Street tube - should I brave it with buggy?

[franch]

I always take the bus rather than the tube with the DDs, but on Wed I have to go from Clapham Common to Old St and it'll take about half an hour less if I do it by tube. Need to take DD2 in her big Mamas & Papas buggy. Will it be hell?

phone them and ask re steps etc. my dim memory is not thousands of steps inside but all entrances / exits down subway and not sure re ramps... good luck.

I've managed Clapham Common before, even an interchange at Kings Cross with dd2, but i have a pretty light buggy which i can fold up if i need to.
Clapham Common has stairs to go down before you reach the station .. not sure about Old St, but having a big buggy is going to be a struggle, unless a kind stranger offers you some help.

There are steps out of old street tube station (from what I remember of it).
I had a hell of a time carrying dd2's buggy up stairs this weekend when I went to visit a friend at swiss cottage, and her buggy is pretty light.

I was kind of counting on the kind stranger thing mythumb! Hate folding up buggies - always have loads of stuff in the basket underneath. Could always bump it down the steps if necessary I suppose ... Probably worth it to save half an hour each way ...

Someone will help! You're not going at rush hour, are you?

They're both fairly busy stations ... surely there'll be someone who'll take pity on me ... ?!

No blu leaving about 10am

TELL someone to help you. Firmly. I always used to and it always worked.

I' not sure about the actual underground part (as I'v eoly used Old Street on the "train" part) but there is an escalator (or two) to get nearer the platforms, not too many steps (about three) from the main concourse part to the ticket barrier and then a ramp up to the outside world.

The worst thing I had was the steps from the platform and no one offering to help . So I'd say it's not the best station but probably doable.

BTW franch, come back to the September thread. It's all got a bit quiet :)

Old St is accessed via a subway which I'm pretty sure has a ramp down to it, but there are steps from there down to the ticket hall. The escalator is also pretty long (jolly Northern Line) and there might be more steps at the bottom to get to the platforms.

Not v helpful I know!

Hello MI! I like it

(Moved to SW4 a few weeks ago btw - met wilbur recently - I gather you're not far away?)

Identify someone who looks capable of carrying the buggy with you, and ask them to do so, politely. They almost certainly will.

ooh yes am not too far from the lovely wilbur!

Agh, escalators - have never attempted them with buggy. Are there stairs as an alternative then?

PC - I will post on Sept thread NOW :)

Would be lovely to meet you sometime MI :) - keep an eye on \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1368&threadid=144389\this thread} if you're interested

Franch, yes, i've always had kind strangers offer their help with stairs, but once during busy rush hour i decided to fold up the buggy.
One man even helped carry dd2 all the way down a out-of-order escalators.
I've never asked strangers for help, but once i asked a tube worker and he refused!!

Well I travel from Hackney via Bank to Waterloo then on to Kingston at least 3 times per week for past 15mths plus have to carry additional stuff for dd who is now 22mth ( so now needs less stuff) and loads of work stuff, it is hard on L.T. Not worth relying on anyone I find its best to travel earlier than rush hour so more space, around 6-7.30 am is good.