Having made my way to Plumstead, conversation with my hosts naturally turned to the best routes to central London. I knew I needed to be at the British Library for opening time at 09:30 in the morning. My friend had one suggestion, her partner a different one, Citymapper preferred three other alternatives. None of them were the one I would choose by default.
On my first morning, I set off on foot heading for Plumstead station. Obviously I had the chance to take in the sights as I went.
I was a regular visitor to this part of the world in 2012 when my partner lived a couple of minutes from Woolwich Dockyard station, so I have views on how best to get to zone 1 and I thought I would try that out. A brisk 10 minute walk had me on the platform at Plumstead for the 08:12 to Cannon Street. While this was peak rush hour, I still secured a seat. We had a smooth run in to London, although it served as a reminder of quite how slow it could feel. Vast swathes of passengers got off at Greenwich, presumably to interchange onto other transport.
Of course, past me would have got off at London Bridge, which is currently closed. We passed through slowly so I got a good look at the work going on – it looks like it will be a genuine improvement once it’s done. The upside of going to Cannon Street is the lovely view as you cross the river. The downside is that it takes an age to exit the station, and I needed to get onto the Northern Line at Bank, which took ages. By the time I got to the British Library, I was hot, sticky and tired – despite the run into Cannon Street having been smooth. It took about 80 minutes door to door.
In the evening, I ended up having dinner with a friend the Westfield Stratford City. Suffice to say that I know getting on the Central Line at Oxford Circus at 17:30 is a stupid idea, but I gave it a go anyway. It is a little surreal to queue at street level for 5 minutes to enter a station that is then functioning adequately below ground. The train was even tolerable once everyone got out at Liverpool Street. My route back to Plumstead was a little different – my friend drove me from Stratford to Pontoon Dock. There as no one there… I was alarmed. Fortunately, I didn’t wait long for my DLR to Woolwich Arsenal. It was a busy train – it’s really gratifying to see that the Arsenal extension is being so well used even late on a school night. In Woolwich, I jumped in a cab as the buses were a long time off – a black cab in what was once upon a time minicab territory.
The next morning – my final one in Plumstead – I tried one of my host’s suggestions for getting to the British Library. Once again, I caught the 08:12 from Plumstead, but I got off at Woolwich Arsenal. Citymapper told me I had two minutes for the connection, and when I saw a group of seasoned looking commuters running I drafted in behind them. I stayed on the DLR as far as West Ham, where I plodded over to the tube platform to catch the Hammersmith and City line to King’s Cross. I made good connections throughout the journey, and despite it being rush hour I got a seat on every leg. Door-to-door I managed the journey in 65 minutes: an excellent outcome. I sent my heartfelt thanks to my hosts.
Of course, there are plenty of other options I could have tried. Citymapper was particularly keen for me to either take a bus from Plumstead to North Greenwich for the Jubilee line, or to follow the same route I took on my second morning but staying on the DLR to Stratford International and then taking the Javelin to St Pancras. While the Javelin was tempting, the cost doesn’t get included in the daily cap. And perhaps it’s worth trying one of the dafter options, such as the Thames Clipper from Woolwich Arsenal or the Dangleway.
What would you have done?
TransportIan 