On Sat, Jul 6, 2019, 3:57 PM Peter Corlett via cctech <cct...@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 06, 2019 at 12:54:28PM +0300, Bill Degnan via cctech wrote: > > Hi...I am arriving at Gatwick Airport this weds evening1045pm and I have > a > > 17 hour layover. I'd like to visit the national computer museum at > > bletchley park about an hour north. [...] > > It's actually *two* hours north; three if you want to add a safety margin. > Remember the old saying: 200 years is a long time in the USA, and 200 > miles is > a long way in the UK. > > I advise against driving, especially if you're unfamiliar with British > roads. > It will be both slower and more expensive than the train for this > particular > route because London is in the way. Petrol works out at over $7/gal, and > you > get to navigate the infamous M25 motorway-cum-car-park. It's debatable > whether > it will be more convenient. > > There are railway stations at both Gatwick and Bletchley. Bletchley Park > is a 3 > minute walk from the station. > > If you do the standard tourist thing at the ticket office/machine, they'll > screw you to the tune of £42.10 for an "any permitted" return ticket, which > sends you on the Gatwick Express to the wrong side of London, the Tube back > across London, and then another train to Bletchley. More changes between > more > modes of transport mean more risk of things going wrong. > > A "via Ken[sington] Olympia" ticket is £28.80, which would be my preferred > route anyway. Gatwick to Clapham Junction, a quick change to the next > platform, > then onward to Bletchley. You do not need to stop at or change at Olympia. > > Both train routes take about two hours; the Olympia one is less frequent > and > slower by a few minutes according to the optimistic routing models which > think > the Tube pays any sort of attention to the timetable, but tends to be > faster in > practice. You might consider buying the more expensive "any permitted" > ticket > anyway as insurance to give you more flexibility if things go wrong. > > Have a play with https://traintimes.org.uk/GTW/BLY, but if you don't > change the > date, it won't show you Olympia routes because they've closed the West > London > Line this weekend, ostensibly for maintenance, but possibly just spite. > This > won't be the case on Thursday when you're travelling. > I believe getting to a hotel in the Bletchely area just before midnight on Weds from Gatwick will not be so bad due to the later time/less traffic. The issue it the return. Refined question - When would I have to depart the museum in order to travel by rental car (driving legal speeds) from Bletchley to Gatwick Airport in time for a 4PM flight on 7/11 (A Thursday)? I will have left the airport originally on an extended layover between flights, I assume I on my return I will have to go through security all over again. I greatly appreciate all of the advice given. I really don't like the idea of pushing it given the times involved but I have the enthusiasm to try if possible. Bill
