15/06/2012 Carwyn's 1st Attempt

[palkanetoijala31]

Why dont the two of you team up together for your next attempt?Allthough i didnt even read the route planned what interested me most was staying in Cranfield Travelodge the night before?WHY?

[Iain]

Our route from the end of May is available if you want to see how we did the Vic line, although we did change from our plan on the day that bit is pretty much as planned. We got Warren Street and Euston while doing the Northern line, Oxford Circus on the Bakerloo, and Green Park on the Picc, as well as Victoria on the Circle/Dist.

I did a couple of attempts on my own, I enjoy it much more doing it with a team mate so it would be worth considering Andi's idea, plus you get to share ideas and knowledge

[Adelante_CCT]

Of course I will be looking at ways of improving, the Vic line was one section that I was trying to improve on, however I felt by not going through central London it compromised other parts of my route. I will be trying to improve on this route for any future attempts, however this won't be for a while as the missus is having our 2nd child next month and we're moving in a fortnight, but as soon as I can I will be out to try attempt no. 2.

The reason I chose Cranford was because it was the cheapest hotel I could find for 2 nights in a row that was close to Heathrow which is where I wanted to start my challenge. I wanted to stay there the night after as well as I didn't want to carry excess baggage around with me (such as clothes from the day before/for the day after).
Whether I would stay at that hotel again I don't know, in terms of the challenge it seemed like a fairly sensible cheap option for me.

[Nigel]

The reason I chose Cranford was because it was the cheapest hotel I could find for 2 nights in a row that was close to Heathrow which is where I wanted to start my challenge.

I've found that the Ibis budget (previously Etap) hotel in Hounslow is usually fairly cheap, and only a short walk from Hounslow Central station. It also has the advantage that it usually costs only a few pounds more to make a booking which can be cancelled at no penalty up until lunchtime on the day. So on a couple of occasions when things have gone wrong early on, I managed to abort without having to pay for a hotel.

[palkanetoijala31]

The reason I chose Cranford was because it was the cheapest hotel I could find for 2 nights in a row that was close to Heathrow which is where I wanted to start my challenge.

I've found that the Ibis budget (previously Etap) hotel in Hounslow is usually fairly cheap, and only a short walk from Hounslow Central station. It also has the advantage that it usually costs only a few pounds more to make a booking which can be cancelled at no penalty up until lunchtime on the day. So on a couple of occasions when things have gone wrong early on, I managed to abort without having to pay for a hotel.

travelodge are ok if u pay well in advance u can get them quite cheap i do find that a lot of hotels in slough are quite good especially the skylark!.

[Adelante_CCT]

@ Nigel, thank you for the advice, I didn't know about that hotel, what the price would have been for those two nights I just stayed I don't know, although the £23/night I paid at Travelodge didn't seem to bad.

[Nigel]

@ Nigel, thank you for the advice, I didn't know about that hotel, what the price would have been for those two nights I just stayed I don't know, although the £23/night I paid at Travelodge didn't seem to bad.

As with all hotels these days, the price seems to vary according to what night you want and when you book it. I've not normally paid above about £36, so it may be a bit more expensive than yours. (One tip: if you are staying after a challenge and don't have to leave before dawn, don't bother booking breakfast in advance. Each time I've stayed there I've had breakfast & told them about it, but their express checkout system seems to have no means for charging you for it )