Getting on Northern Line at Euston-How busy at rush hour?

[Mamantraileuse]

We're considering making an offer on a house in Berkhampstead...trains into London seem fast and frequent, but we'd then need to get onto the Northern Line to Charing Cross.

We both lived and commuted in London for years so general busyness is a problem, but we wondered if anyone had insights on if its absolutely packed at rush hour I.e having to wait for several tubes to be able to get on.

Many thanks!

I would say it's generally/averagely busy rather than ridiculously so (by London standards of course!). The 'flow' at Euston from the national rail platforms to the underground is a bit annoying if you're in a rush as you have to weave your way through crowds of people with luggage etc waiting to board trains and tourists/slow moving/lost people do occasionally block the entrance and exits to the escalators and stand on the wrong side etc. The charing cross southbound northern line platform has one extra set of escalators to go down as well, but once you get there are usually OK (the Bank branch would be busier) - don't get me wrong you'll be squeezing on and hanging on under someone's armpit, unlikely to get a seat unless elderly/pregnant but you can usually get on the first train that comes in unless there's a problem on the line....

This might not be workable, but it's a relatively short distance from Euston to Charing Cross. Could you walk instead?

It’s easy. I do the commute very frequently, no problems beyond the expected.

Do-able, yes. Busy, yes.

(It's spelt Berkhamsted)

It's 1.6 miles and would take approx 35 minutes

Yes, but if OP is actually aiming for somewhere north of CX it might be less. I had a commute once that ended up being simpler if I just walked from one station to another rather than trying to do a couple of changes on the tube, and I actually really valued that quiet time just walking on my own. It wasn't quite as long as 1.6 miles, though.

I used to walk from Euston to Oxford Circus everyday, took about 15 minutes.

The commute isn't quite so busy these days, now that so many people work from home a lot.

Euston to Charing Cross doesn't involve changing lines though. It's straight down on the Northern.

Many thanks everyone for your replies, really helpful sense check

I travel on that exact strip of the Northern Line at rush hour (usually southbound around 7.30am and back northbound around 5 or 5.30pm) and it's so much better than pre-Covid. Since Covid I don't think I've ever had to queue to get on a train /wait for several packed trains to go past. I've also never (post-Covid) been totally squished into someone's armpit once on the tube on that line. I even get a seat from time to time!

So I'd definitely say don't let that commute put you off.