Getting around London - essential guide

Recommended Apps:

Google Maps will give you real-time information about how to get from A-B by public transport, road or on foot. It will help you plan your journey with realistic travel time.

General Advice:

Ensure all members of your group have a copy of the itinerary with locations and meeting points for all activities, along with contact details for group leaders, etc. This can be digital or on paper. If individual students get lost, they can use this information to get help.

It is a good idea for all members of your group to have something which identifies them as part of that group – a school uniform, matching bag or hat, t-shirt, etc. Something to link them all as one group.

Travel on Transport For London (TFL)

London has one of the best travel networks in the world comprising of the underground, overground, trains, busses, trams and Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

River ferries and cable cars are also available on private networks.

Top Tips:

Advise your group to remember the following to get the most out of their experience:

1. Plan your rout and give your group clear instructions on the journey they are taking.

   1. E.g: “we’re going three stops to on the Jubilee Line to Waterloo then changing for the North-bound Northern Line to Leicester Square”.

2. When approaching the gates, hold your card in your right hand, insert it into the ticket slot on the front of the gate, and collect it from the exit slot on the top. Move through and keep the exit clear for other users.

3. Have one leader lead and a second follow up the rear of your group.

4. On the escalators, stand on the right, walk on the left. Do not block the full width of the escalators or commuters will not hesitate to complain.

5. Don’t linger. If you need to wait for your whole group to pass through the gates, wait out of the way.

6. On the platform, stand behind the yellow line.

7. With groups, we recommend heading to the front or rear of a tube train where capacity is usually best and platforms are quieter.

8. When boarding, move down inside the carriages. Do not crowd the doors.

9. Keep phones, wallets and valuables in closed pockets. Remove backpacks. Thieves do operate, especially on the underground.

10. When disembarking, line up along the wall across the platform. Do not block the platform or wait for friends by the doors. Make space for people to get on/off.

11. If the platform is busy, move along the platform to find a quieter space. Keep to the wall and wait for the platform to clear. Then, when clear, you can all move off together.

Worst case scenarios:

1. If an individual child gets left on the platform, advise them not to move and either:

   1. Wait there. You can travel to the next station, get off, travel back and collect them.

   2. Advise them to get on the next train. Have a teacher or small group meet them at the next station and continue together.

2. If an individual child gets left on the platform, advise them to either:

   1. Get of at the next station and wait in that location. Have a teacher or small group catch the next train, meet them at the next station, then travel back together.

   2. Get off at the next station, make their way to the opposite platform and travel back to you and meet them off the train.  

3. If you loose your travelcard, you can buy another one from ticket machines on the station concourse.

Top Links / More Information:

Visit Britain: https://www.visitlondon.com/traveller-information/getting-around-london. Here you can find more information on different ways to travel around London, access maps and more advice.

TFL: www.tfl.gov.uk. This is the government website for travel in London.