***Marlow*** do you live there/know it - commuting questions!

[Tutter]

we visited today and liked the place a lot.

just trying to figure out the logistics of the commute for dh. don't like the sound of the 'marlow donkey' to change at maidenhead, so wondering whether driving to maidenhead is a better option. are there plentiful car parking spaces at the station? traffic OK between marlow and maidenhead>

or is another town/station a better option? high wycombe?

I used to have a boyfriend who lived in Little Marlow, and we used to shop for his mum in Waitrose in Marlow.
That was about 20 years ago and I was a student, so trains and buses for me.

Absolutely no use to you whatsoever, but fond memories of summers drinking down by the Thames. (I also went swimming in the Thames at Marlow once - am still here to tell the tale.)

Marlow to Maidenhead link is fine if you get your train cos if you miss it you really miss it! Better than driving to Maidenhead for sure. Presume its to get into Paddington at rush hour? so long as you work out a good routine it'll be fine. Marlow is lovely, really like the place a lot, good feel good factor but it is our rival town over things like christmas lights, flower displays etc as if i could give a f!!!! The towns great

great info, thanks all. it does seem an idyllic place - river, bridge, park etc all so pretty - and good shops. if we can get comfortable with dh's commute i think it'll be perfect for us.

had heard about good schools. ds only 16mo so not an immediate issue, but still an important consideration.

californi - what was the wycombe commute like? is into paddington or marylebone?

good to hear there's a reasonable sleb count (although can't get too excited about tezza wogan) as we live in a sleb-rich place right now and i shall miss it .

You are just down the road from Bourne End and Henley - very high sleb count down by the Thames (FBH's my boyfriend and I used to call them - F@@kin' Big Houses)

Hi Tutter
I grew up in Marlow, too (hi, Californifrau!) and agree with everyone else that it is a lovely place - if much posher these days than it used to be.
The Marlow to London commute by train isn't so bad in the morning because the Marlow Donkey only runs to Lane End (next stop) and then the Lane End train goes straight to Paddington (no change at Maidenhead). There is a car park at Marlow station and another at Lane End.
The Wycombe train stops at Marylebone - there's also a tube connection now, I think.
HTH

hi porpoise - do you mean bourne end?

God - sorry - yes Bourne End...
We used to live on the road to Lane End - was obviously typing nostalgically!

and how long do you reckon it would take to drive to wycombe from marlow?

15/20 mins but that's not in the rush hour. You'd have to double that at least in the morning.
Bourne End is closer but on a winding road; road to Wycombe is dual carriageway.

I live in High Wycombe and you have a station there.
There's also one in Amersham which is a bit further up the road.
One in Bourne End.
There's also one in Gerrards cross.
It depends where you need to get to, as to which station would be best for your husband.

Marlow is a lovely place.

Did you know that Mel B from Spice Girls used to live in Little Marlow??? (bit of useless information for you!!!)

What part of Marlow are you going to?

marylebone would be fine, as his closest tube to work is piccadilly circus (on the bakerloo line).

but it surprises me that it would take so long to drive into wycombe. the aa route finder says only 9 mins, but that wouldn't take account of bad traffic. dh would be leaving at 6:45am ish and aiming to get home at 7pm.

Tutter: OK, at that time in the morning, it probably wouldn't take your dh that long - from what I remember, the traffic only gets really bad at school-run time (schools at top of hill going into wycombe and another on the hill going out past the station). My brother-in-law does that trip some mornings - I'll see if I can get a more reliable timing from him for you.
CaliforniFrau: my mum's family are farmers and, in various incarnations, mow and plough the fields between marlow and lane end. So maybe we did know each other...spooky!

thanks porpoise - would be great to hear how your bil finds it

oh and could you please ask him what the parking is like at wycombe station? lots of places? expensive?

fussymummy - haven't got as far as househunting yet. have still to sell our current place. then tbh we'll prob rent for a while, to be sure that it's a place we want to stay. would like to be walk-able to the centre. have heard that the west side of town is the smarter - is that right?

sadly no CaliforniFrau - both me and my sister have always been called by our (boring) original names (am itching to know who the real namechangers are though!).
And yes I probably did have a thing for your brother - but then I had a thing for everything in trousers in my teens!
Actually, I suspect I am many years older than you. Let's just say Borlase was boys only when I was a child and I can just about remember when what is now Boots was an ancient and cobwebby branch of Woolworth's.
Off to polish my Zimmer now..
(Tutter - haven't forgotten you - bil hasn't returned my call yet)

The car park is called Easton Street and there are loads of spaces in there, will probably be empty early in the morning.

thanks fussy. you can even get reserved parking spaces there - could be worth considering.

no news from your bil yet porpoise?

CHANNEL 4 IS FILMING A DOCUMENTARY
ABOUT TRAFFIC IN MARLOW

We would like to talk to local residents and workers who drive in Marlow on a daily basis and have issues or opinions about the traffic situation.

Please call Sophie as soon as possible on 020 7307 2743 or email [email protected]

We are interested in all points of view, so please do get in touch.

OK, Tutter, have finally got message back from my bil. Sorry for the long wait.
He says he often gets the 7.10am train from Wycombe and for that he leaves home (1 mile or so out of Marlow) at 6.45am. Mind you, he's not exactly a last-minute kind of guy and he also has to buy a ticket, so I reckon your dh wouldn't need to take that long. HTH
CaliforniFrau: think i know who the namechangers are! And I was right - you are a mere slip of a girl compared to me. You were hardly in your WHS uniform when I was doing A-levels
And WHY are they making a film about traffic in Marlow? Maybe it's another 4x4 thing!

Tutter have just remembered, there's another car park behind the railway station.

Just off of Duke Street, and you can cut through an alley, and your at the station in a few minutes.

Or there's a really small one on Totteridge Road.

You go up Amersham Hill and turn right just past station, and car park is on right.

Probably be empty at 7am.

thanks both - really useful. we're going to have a nose around henley and its environs tomorrow, but i have a good feeling about marlow and think we may end up there.

just have to sell this fecking place first [impatient emoticon]