HELP! Need transit directions in/around London

[davewitley]

Richard wrote:
> Due to a combination of being abroad and busy with other aspects of 
life, 
> I've not had anything to say for several months. However, things 
should be 
> getting back on track...

Welcome back!
 
Anne wrote:

> >2) Do any train lines from Surrey go to other stations, and which 
ones?

Richard:
> No native (even one as unused to rail travel as Harry or even 
Hagrid) would 
> confuse which part of Surrey they're going to, and information at 
train 
> stations (including maps) make it abundantly clear which station is 
> required to go to which part of the country.

Um, Richard, I'm not sure which country you live in, but the 
conjunction of 'rail travel' and 'abundantly clear' is, to say the 
least, an unusual one in the British branch of the English language.  
Unless, of course, by 'abundantly clear' you mean 'wilfully obscure' 
or 'mind-bendingly incoherent'.  Choosing your service means 
simultaneously assessing geographical proximity, timetabling 
convenience, and the fiendish complexities of the fare structure.  I 
think the natives get confused all the time.

Can we be sure, for example, that the Reading service from Waterloo 
does not go near to localities also served from Paddington?  You can 
get to parts of Surrey from London Bridge and I think Thameslink 
stations such as - *tada* - Kings Cross.  You used to be able to do 
it from Broad Street, which is virtually on the opposite side of 
London, via the old North London line to Kew.  There are cross-
country services, too: we can't know for sure that Harry didn't go 
from Paddington to Reading and change there onto the Gatwick line via 
Guildford.

> >3) How would a person get from Paddington Station to Diagon Alley?
> >Would one take the Underground from Paddington to Charing Cross? (I
> >am assuming Diagon Alley is not distant from Charing Cross station,
> >because The Leaky Cauldron is on Charing Cross Rd.) If so, which
> >underground route? If not, would one take a bus? Would it have to 
be
> >a double-decker bus (open-topped) to accommodate Hagrid??

> Most (read "almost all") London 
> buses are modern enclosed vehicles with entry at the front and no 
conductor 
> (you pay the driver). Anyone over 8ft tall would never fit through 
the door 
> (trivia: any object over 6ft long isn't allowed on board).

So you are saying that the bus would be open-topped *after* Hagrid 
had boarded it, right?
> 
> The only way for Hagrid to get from Paddington to Charing Cross 
Road by 
> public transport is by Tube (i.e. Underground). Take the 
District/Circle 
> line (coloured green and yellow respectively) two stops southbound 
to 
> Notting Hill Gate and then the Central Line (red) eastbound to 
Tottenham 
> Court Road (http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/tubemap/). Leave and 
take the 
> appropriate exit for Charing Cross Road and walk southwards to the 
L.C. 
> Allow about 30 minutes for the journey.

I don't have Dumbledore's knee handy, but there are other routes.  
The Bakerloo line goes direct from Paddington to Charing Cross so 
that would be sensible.  I'm ptretty sure PS states they took the 
tube - didn't Hagrid get stuck in the barriers?

David