How to get to London 2012

This week, as the official games mascots Wenlock and Mandeville were launched to the world, I had the opportunity to visit East London to see for myself the progress being made on the Olympic Park.

An unpromising start…

For those wondering if there’s anything interesting for members of the public to see yet, the answer has to be a resounding yes. In fact walking tours of the main site, such as the one I joined, led by an official blue badge guide, are now available.

The tours start from Bromley By Bow station(one of the stops on the District Line going towards Upminster). You might think on arrival that you’ve come to the wrong place, as you emerge from the station onto a dual carriageway, and believe me, the traffic noise is pretty horrendous, and the fragile looking skeleton of the Olympic stadium is only just visible in the middle distance.

Worry not. Hang on in there, and seemingly in a flash the guide leads you down a flight of steps below the road level. You then cross under the road, and pass down the side of a Tesco superstore occupying land reclaimed from former use as a chemical factory. This unlikely start then takes you over a bridge into a new side of East London, starting with The Three Mills, a conservation area and home of a restored tidal water mill on the River Lea, called House Mill. Incidentally the river Lea has been the beneficiary of a huge clean up operation, and is now part of a network of restored navigable waterways that are adding to the area’s emerging attractiveness.  Also nearby is a large park and the Three Mills film studios, Londons largest, but least well known.

Of the original three mills (one of which is now demolished),  House Mill has  recently been restored and converted into a visitor attraction, with the ground floor of the Millers House turned into a pleasant waterfront cafe.   Plans are afoot and money is being raised to convert the mill to generate hydro electricity in the future. It’s one of the  earliest known tidal mills in England, and was one of several providing flour for the bakers of Stratford-atte-Bow, who supplied bread to the City of London.

A surprising discovery in a watery grave

Our guide explained that the original plan had been to use the recently restored waterway network around the Olympic Park to transport visitors to the games; but this plan has not been actioned because of security fears.

Continuing along an adjacent waterway, we were astounded to hear about recent plans to  rescue the original Euston Arch, which was discovered dumped in a watery resting place here,  in Prescott Channel (NOT named incidentally, after a certain former UK deputy Prime Minister of the last government).

The Euston Arch originally stood  outside the London railway station of the same name, but was demolished in 1961 following the failure of a campaign to save it led by the late Sir John Betjeman. The campaign to rescue the arch and restore it to a position outside the current Euston station, is being led by historian Dan Cruickshank, who located the remains after some persistent detective work. Read about his campaign. You can support the campaign to re-erect the arch by contributing to the blog, or join the Facebook group.

The green way to Stratford

On our tour we also heard about the Greenway to the Olympic Park, a flat walking route for pedestrians to access it,  which will run all the way from Beckton on the north bank of the Thames in East London.  Our guide told us that the route is not yet fully complete as I write. However it seems that it could be a good move for Londoners in 2012 to get to the Olympic Park by taking the District or Hammersmith and City line tube to West Ham, one of the three designated Olympic gateway stations, from where the Greenway will be well signposted.

Another option for locals and visitors will be to take the tube to Stratford at the end of the Jubilee line, particularly convenient for the new Westfield shopping centre which is scheduled to open at the Olympic Park at the end of 2011; but I bet that’s going to experience a huge volume of passengers! Incidentally, having seen what it’s like at the moment, my advice is to not bother going to Stratford for shopping until Westfield opens.

Coming from Kent, it already seems to be obvious that the best way to get to the Olympic Park from there will be to leave the car at home, and take a Javelin high speed train to Stratford International, which links in to the other end of the Westfield complex from the Jubilee line station. Read my post about the high speed Javelin service.

At the Park site
The closest station to the stadium construction site at the moment is Pudding Mill Lane on the Docklands light railway; but that particular station will be closed for the duration of the games, because it will be unable to handle the large volume of visitors that would otherwise be experienced.

To view the Olympic Park construction site, including the stadium and the Aquatic Centre, already dubbed ‘The Pringle’ (owing to the shape of its curved roof like the eponymous potato crisp brand), a viewing platform, visitor interpretation centre and small cafe has been set up, called the View Tube, which can be booked for group visits.

In conclusion, a walking tour is probably the best option at the moment to find your way around the Olympic Park and receive informed commentary about the games.

News and information about London 2012. Or visit Inside the Games.

Can I help you?

Are you looking for insider information and informed comment about destinations or tourism in Britain? You could commission me as a freelance photo journalist, to undertake desk research or market intelligence  work. For more information contact me at Manifold Associates.

Until next time…

Travel by Javelin: benefit from high speed

As soon as I found myself planning to attend an event at the British Library, which is adjacent to London St Pancras, I decided it would be an ideal opportunity for me to try out South Eastern’s  new domestic Javelin high speed rail service. It started operating a permanent full daily timetable at the beginning of this week, following several months of less frequent ‘preview’ services on weekdays only.

What’s new?

The new services allow for better use to be made of High Speed One, Britain’s first and only high speed rail line,  linking London to the Channel Tunnel, and on to Paris and Brussels. Previously it was only accessible to international travellers using Eurostar services to Calais, Lille, Paris or Brussels.

Javelin trains have brought a dramtic reduction in domestic journey times between London and large swathes of Kent, making commuting from and visiting the ‘Garden of England’  a much more attractive proposition on new or upgraded track. Ashford is now down to a journey time of 37 minutes from London St Pancras; and passengers from Ebbsfleet International can make the trip to St Pancras or vice versa in under 20 minutes. It’s also now possible for domestic rail passengers to interchange with international services in Ebbsfleet International for the first time, in addition to Ashford International.

Javelins are now operating beyond Ebbsfleet International, to Gravesend, the Medway towns where Charles Dickens grew up (Strood, Rochester,  Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham) and continue down the north Kent coast to Sittingbourne, the foodie haven of Faversham, and stations to Margate and Broadstairs, including trendy Whitstable and more sedate Herne Bay. Taking the high speed line to Ashford, Javelins now continue beyond it to the World Heritage city of Canterbury(West), Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate; or Folkestone, and Dover. More information about visiting Kent.

Javelin timetable information

What’s different about the trains?

Once you activate and enter inside sliding doors, you’lll find smart dove grey and Air Force blue interiors with concealed lighting and overhead digital information signs updating you with information about the next station stop and connecting services, in addition to audible information announcements. Plush comfortable seats are set two by two each side of a central aisle. I particularly noticed almost half in the less popular backward facing position in my carriage. There are relatively shallow overhead luggage racks above the seating,  some space for luggage under seats, and at least one open storage rack in each carriage as well.

Currently it is not possible to make seat reservations, although I noticed an electronic system in place on the outside wall above each row of seats, to make it possible in the future.  Ticket checks were made on both legs of my particular journey. As far as I was aware there were no refreshments on offer on the train.

My opinion

As expected, both my journeys were fast, smooth and comfortable, with  smooth acceleration and braking, and no noticeable vibration, even when the train reached its top speed of 140mph/225.3kph. There are 200 Javelin services running each weekday, with a reduced service at weekends. Neither of the trains I travelled on were crowded.

In addition to making it easier for visitors to travel in comfort and style to or from 21 stations in Kent, the new service has the added advantage of making it much easier for passengers planning to travel to the north of Britain on the east coast line, to places like Leeds, Tyneside, Edinburgh or anywhere else served by rail from London St Pancras or adjacent Kings Cross. This also applies if your journey starts in the north or east of England and you’re journeying in the opposite direction to Kent. The high speed service  arrives and departs from Platforms 11-13 at London St. Pancras. To find it simply follow the signs for ‘National Rail’ and you’ll find you ascend to these platforms by escalator or lift/elevator.

On a north Kent Javelin journey from Margate, the Javelin trains only join the high-speed line at Ebbsfleet, west of Gravesend, for the final 20 miles into London, so the time saving benefits of  using the high speed services does lessen as you go further east. Services via Ashford will however run on the high-speed line for longer, and will be quicker than existing services, with  the journey from Dover  shorter by 15 minutes, and Canterbury shorter by 23 minutes, compared to other routes.

Another consideration, whichever direction you’re travelling in, is that if the high speed route is a travel option for your particular journey between Kent and Edinburgh in Scotland, the north east, or east of England, you’ll find it’s no longer necessary to endure the hassle of travel across London by bus, tube or taxi! This alone can shave an hour off your total journey time, which is another great reason to travel by Javelin. Try it soon. In many cases it’s worth the small premium on the cost of the regular service. I shall certainly use it again.

Javelin trains are also going to be used to transport people travelling to London 2012, with the Olympic Park at Stratford International, the intermediate stop between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras, just a few hundred metres away from the station. Watch the video.

Until next time…