My first day as a commuter from Brighton to London is over. I have to say it was almost pleasant!
Naturally, I got lucky on my first day. I have tried the commute out before fully committing to living in Brighton and had a sharply contrasting experience. Today my day started at 5.45am and I left the office at 5.15pm. Not everyone will be able to stick to such timings.
Here, based on my first day’s experience, is my guide on how to commute from Brighton to London successfully – and still get home relaxed. I may, and no doubt will, revise this list as time goes by. For the sake of experiment, however, I thought it would be fun to note my impressions down now, after day 1 commuting from Brighton to London.
- Buy your ticket in advance – when the ticket clerk asked me for over £40 for my return ticket from Preston Park to London Bridge this morning, I thought it was a joke. It wasn’t. Season ticket holders with annual passes pay about half this. You can save about 15% buying online. If you have a passport photo, get a photocard id and even buying a seven day season ticket will save you significantly over the full price peak return bought on the day
- Board the train at the end of the line – try and get on a train in the station it starts at. In the morning that means Brighton (rather than Preston Park), in the evening that means a Southern service at London Bridge or Victoria. It means you’ve more chance of getting a seat
- Get to the station early – the earlier you get to the station, the better a chance of a seat it seems. In London Bridge today the train nearly filled completely with the people waiting 10 minutes before the train arrived on platform. Once they had all boarded there was just one or two seats free in each carriage for those who arrived 5 minutes before departure
- Keep occupied – bring a riveting read – book, newspaper or magazine, a laptop, iPad, iPod, iPhone, Palm Pre, Blackberry (okay, you get the idea) – whatever will make one hour seem like ten minutes for you. Without external stimulation, or a wildly exciting imagination, the journey time can feel like an eternity
It’s also a great idea to try to frame your commute in a positive way somehow. For me, I’ve got really excited about getting lots of reading done and being more well read. My 20 minute commute across London always left me with many unfinished books as the commute never afforded me much time to get absorbed in what I was reading.
I also like the discipline it gives me for getting up and into the office earlier, not to mention having a good reason to leave earlier.
Hopefully you can find similar positive reasons to be excited about your commute – don’t forget coming back to wonderful Brighton and being 60 miles from London as one of them!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Forty quid return! Can’t remember what I paid when I did this commute between 1982 and 1988 but it was obviously a lot less than that. Nothing else has changed though, with the exception perhaps of the iPod. So thanks, I enjoyed your nostalgic (for me) post. Even made me a bit homesick. BTW Audio books are simply brilliant as they allow you to close your eyes, or look around, and even keep reading while getting on and off the train. I’ve read 16 books this year so far, just walking the dog!
Good tips. Also, remember to sit on the carriage that affords you a quick exit at your destination station and get to the platform quick enough to always get a seat in it. If you want to grab a coffee at Brighton station to sip on the train, factor that in – the queues at the kiosks inside and outside can be long. If you are travelling on FCC, take a jacket on a hot day as the air con can be freezing. I’m sure there are other tips, but I can’t think of them all right now…!