What lies beneath! (Underground in general)

Member Name: djw08

Product:	Underground in general
Date:	24/11/08 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reliable service

Disadvantages: can get crowded and smelly

As you may have noticed I have reviewed a few attractions and places in London. I couldn't really end it there without reviewing the London Underground. We used the London Ground most days to get from A to B. We found the underground very efficient and useful. Nowhere is too far in London and with tube stations near most attractions it's possible to hop on and hop off at a variety of attractions. We found the tube station very useful.

The underground mainly serves Greater London although it does stretch outwards; the stations outside the city tend to be more over ground though. The first few stations to be connected on the underground were Waterloo, Paddington and Kings Cross; funnily enough these were our favourite stations as they had a bit of character. We also liked the Westminster station, but we did manage to get lost here.

Funnily enough this was the only time we did get lost. We managed to learn the routes very well and had no problems navigating around London; in fact the tube was our chosen method of travel. We did purchase travel cards which entitled us to bus travel but we thought the tube was the most reliable and more effective way of travelling between points on our map.

We didn't like the fact it was so dusty, dark and gloomy in the tunnels although we were only in there for a few minutes before we were herded onto a crowded train. This was the part we hated most. The trains felt hot and uncomfortable. We didn't enjoy this part of the journey particularly at rush hour but it wasn't like we'd be on the train all day so could put up with it.

We travelled mainly on the Central and District lines which became quite crowded at certain times of the day. We found the services to be very reliable and when we wanted to see a show one night we were amazed that we could get home with no problems, in the South West buses take forever to arrive and are always late. In fact in some parts its impossible to get a bus after 8pm.

I can see how for locals the tube is an invaluable resource. We only took 3-4 trips on the tube to learn the colours and lines we required, by the end of the week we were able to choose the shortest route or the quietest one. I am guessing that for most tourists the tube and travelling around the city is a concern, we were very worried about this aspect, by the end of the week however, we were sad to leave as we got so used to a service that was reliable.

Summary: We really enjoyed using the tube and will miss a regular, reliable service.