Commuting London to Bristol

Waveydavey63

Waveydavey63

Waveydavey63

Associate
Joined
10 Nov 2022
Posts
5
Location
London
I need to visit my office around once a week, travelling from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads.
I need to be reasonably careful re COVID, but want/need to be at office before 10am and leave before 6pm.
Does anyone know how busy trains are? GWR website suggests that I’ll be travelling ‘against the traffic’ and trains leaving around 8am will be fine - but I’d feel more comfortable with real feedback from here!
I realise that First Class would be ‘safer’ but the fares are horrendous!
 
Welcome to the forums! The train will have it's busy moments, definitely between Bath and Bristol. I'd be bothered more about the train itself, it might be an IET but the seats are rock hard and the lighting is clinical. They're nasty things to travel on.
 
You may stick out a bit, but may be worth getting some high quality masks (or one with replaceable filters) to wear on the train and in stations etc. With current infection rates you likely to be near someone that's infected at some point if you're travelling every week. Especially if you have a particular reason for wanting to avoid Covid.
 
If you are that worried about covid then ask your company book a room.
Your contact might say they have to pay if you need to travel to another part of the country.
google reasonable traveling distance paying for overtime.
If you have mobility issues then they have to have reasonable adjustments.
 
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Make sure you don’t go on a Friday - it seems to be the most frequent day of the week that unfortunates decide to end their lives on the tracks. I commuted in the other direction for 2 or 3 days a week for 3 years, and quickly learned not to go on Fridays
 
Thanks for all comments. The morning London to Bristol train (8:00 from Paddington) was almost empty. Oddly, the return (4:30) was really busy - may have been worth 1st class for that leg.
 
Did you put "commuting advice between 2 major UK cities" into Google and it came up with the OcUK forum as the first result? :D

In all seriousness though, welcome to OcUK :-)

I had a similar dilemma, albeit in the 2000s, where I was offered a job placement in either London or Bristol (same firm). I decided on Bristol in the end as Bristol is more central in the UK imo, so ended up working/living there for a year and loved it! Not sure about now, but nightlife was great back then over there with a handful of dance / indie clubs. Easy city to walk / bus it everywhere.
 
A potential tip - the trains to Bristol Parkway from Paddington tend to be much quicker (1 hour 15 minutes-ish). Could be useful depending on where your offices are. Obviously if you need to be in the centre, then makes sense to take the slow coach train to BTM.
 
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I take it you're a clinically vulnerable person? I suppose the train is the best way, but presumably driving wouldn't be an option? Or a bus service? I'm not sure which would be "safest" as admittedly it's not something that personally have had to worry about.

The train would be much simpler and depending on the time the train may be relatively empty, but I think if you're that worried, you should get a really high performing mask, I believe they're called FFP2 or even Ffp3 I think are suitable? Just be warned though 99% of people will not be wearing them and for the non vulnerable life is back to normal - whether you agree or not.

My office is 2hrs away. But I drive as it's cheaper and quicker than the train, but I far prefer the train. Fortunately I only do it twice a week and the rest of the time I go into London. Perhaps try all different modes and see which works out best for you?
 
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Had to commute via FGW for a year or so (1hrs train ride) and wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. In fact, I opted to give my hard-earned to a London landlord rather than down the snouts of that awful train company.
 
FGW weren't that bad. Similar experience to Cross Country too. When things run fine they're all no problem. It's when things don't run fine that they all fall apart.
 
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