Zone 1 Attempt 14/02/20
Posted: 16 Feb 2020, 13:02
What a better way to spend Valentine's Day than with my one true love, the London Underground?
On Friday, four friends and I completed the Zone 1 Challenge in 2:55:55! It was my second attempt and their first. We started at Vauxhall at 14:09:24 taking the Victoria line up to Victoria, where we changed to a (late) Circle line train to Sloane Square. After that we changed over the platforms to catch an Eastbound District which we took to Aldgate East. Next, we ran to Aldgate and hopped on the Circle line over to Paddington H&C and then ran again to Paddington B, catching a Bakerloo line train to Waterloo. At Waterloo we took the Jubilee line to double back at Southwark, and we were especially lucky as there was a Westbound train with its doors open right as we arrived on our Eastbound train. After that, we got back on the Bakerloo to Elephant & Castle and took the Northern line up to Euston. At Euston we had the joyous task of changing over to the Charing Cross branch and when we got to the platform there was a train already there, waiting. Perfect! I waited for the rest of my group, one was right behind me, another following him, but the other two, where were they? We waited at the doors in anticipation and just as they closed, we could see them barrelling down the stairs as we pulled out of the station. On our journey south to Tottenham Court Road figured out a way to meet up with them again with all 5 of us completing the challenge at the same time. After a swift connection to the Central line at TCR, we were on our way to Queensway. Of course, we had planned to do the classic Queensway/Bayswater run however, we had to catch a District line train to knock off Earl's Court. Those only come every 10 minutes and so we got out of Queensway at 16:21, having to catch a train at 16:29. So we had a leisurely stroll with a stop off at Sainsbury's to get some snacks. Now our other two members were just one train behind us, so we thought that they'd be able to catch up with us for the 16:29 Bayswater train, and as we were standing on the platform, sure enough, they made it in time. Reunited at last!! After that, we went down to Earl's Court, hopped on the Piccadilly line to Russell Square, doubled backed to Holborn and took the Central line to finish at St Paul's at 17:05:19! 20 minutes faster than my previous attempt.
We were running ahead of schedule for most of the route but were held back by the Bayswater train. I'll see about adjusting some of the timings and tinker with the route a little, those double backs at Russell Square and Southwark aren't really ideal and hopefully we'll do it even faster!
We're also planning on doing a FNC sometime in July and planning for that is going quite well. Stay tuned!
On Friday, four friends and I completed the Zone 1 Challenge in 2:55:55! It was my second attempt and their first. We started at Vauxhall at 14:09:24 taking the Victoria line up to Victoria, where we changed to a (late) Circle line train to Sloane Square. After that we changed over the platforms to catch an Eastbound District which we took to Aldgate East. Next, we ran to Aldgate and hopped on the Circle line over to Paddington H&C and then ran again to Paddington B, catching a Bakerloo line train to Waterloo. At Waterloo we took the Jubilee line to double back at Southwark, and we were especially lucky as there was a Westbound train with its doors open right as we arrived on our Eastbound train. After that, we got back on the Bakerloo to Elephant & Castle and took the Northern line up to Euston. At Euston we had the joyous task of changing over to the Charing Cross branch and when we got to the platform there was a train already there, waiting. Perfect! I waited for the rest of my group, one was right behind me, another following him, but the other two, where were they? We waited at the doors in anticipation and just as they closed, we could see them barrelling down the stairs as we pulled out of the station. On our journey south to Tottenham Court Road figured out a way to meet up with them again with all 5 of us completing the challenge at the same time. After a swift connection to the Central line at TCR, we were on our way to Queensway. Of course, we had planned to do the classic Queensway/Bayswater run however, we had to catch a District line train to knock off Earl's Court. Those only come every 10 minutes and so we got out of Queensway at 16:21, having to catch a train at 16:29. So we had a leisurely stroll with a stop off at Sainsbury's to get some snacks. Now our other two members were just one train behind us, so we thought that they'd be able to catch up with us for the 16:29 Bayswater train, and as we were standing on the platform, sure enough, they made it in time. Reunited at last!! After that, we went down to Earl's Court, hopped on the Piccadilly line to Russell Square, doubled backed to Holborn and took the Central line to finish at St Paul's at 17:05:19! 20 minutes faster than my previous attempt.
We were running ahead of schedule for most of the route but were held back by the Bayswater train. I'll see about adjusting some of the timings and tinker with the route a little, those double backs at Russell Square and Southwark aren't really ideal and hopefully we'll do it even faster!
We're also planning on doing a FNC sometime in July and planning for that is going quite well. Stay tuned!