Re: Rail in England

"Keith Willshaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|
| "HH" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
| news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
| > Please help me with planning for rail travel in England. I will arrive
at
| > Dover by Hoverspeed or ferry. To avoid driving in London, I am pondering
| > picking up a rental car northeast of the city, perhaps in Chelmsford.
| Please
| > advise me on rail travel from Dover to Chelmsford. I understand that the
| > train from Dover arrives at Charing Cross station while the train for
| > Chelmsford departs from Liverpool Station. How far apart are the two
| > stations? I have had some difficulty finding schedules and prices, but I
| am
| > a bit confused on the rules governing one-way and return fares. Any
advice
| > you can give me on fares and the best web site for schedules would also
be
| > appreciated. I would appreciate an email reply as well as a posting
here.
| > Many thanks.
| >
| > Harlan
| > -----
|
| Where are you driving too ?
|
| You dont actually need to drive in London at all
| if you are heading north from Dover you can simply
| go through the Dartford tunnel and round the orbital
| motorway.
|
| Chelmsford is a particularly odd choice in that unless
| you are heading for Colchester or Ipswich its rather
| out of your way.
|
| If you do want to pick up a car outside London it may be
| better to do so at somewhere closer to your destination
| but I suspect picking it up in Dover and driving up the
| M2 is a reasonable option.
|
| Keith
|
Thank you so much! I had completely forgotten about the Dartford tunnel.
Actually I would prefer to pick up the car in Dover so we can spend a few
days in the southeast before going to East Anglia. (BTW, when I said that I
would pick up the car at Chelmsford, it was just an example of someplace
where I could get the car northeastward of London.) You have simplified my
task and itinerary substantially. Thanks so much. I will indeed pick up a
car at Dover. If we decide to tour the southeast at the end of the trip--we
are flying home to the U.S. from Gatwick--I can drive straight from Dover on
the M2 to Dartford. One thing I must do immediately on arriving in England
is buy some current maps. The map I am consulting at the moment shows the
segment from Dover past Canterbury as the A2. I have had some grief in past
trips when I relied on old maps. I'll not make that mistake again.