Transport/By public transport - Revision history

Cjr23: /* Why not Stanstead? */

2018-08-16T16:03:52Z

‎Why not Stanstead?

Andrew Oakley: /* Rail */ Fix dodgy link/bold

2016-07-11T16:16:08Z

‎Rail: Fix dodgy link/bold

Andrew Oakley: Assorted 2016 fixings

2016-07-11T16:15:35Z

Assorted 2016 fixings

Andrew Oakley: Remove lift offers - AndrewO not available for 2015

2015-08-13T11:12:20Z

Remove lift offers - AndrewO not available for 2015

Andrew Oakley: Add taxis

2014-08-08T11:16:08Z

Add taxis

Andrew Oakley: /* Local buses */

2014-06-20T09:55:31Z

‎Local buses

Andrew Oakley: /* Local buses */

2014-06-20T09:55:07Z

‎Local buses

Andrew Oakley: /* Local buses */

2014-06-20T09:54:26Z

‎Local buses

Andrew Oakley: /* Local buses */ 42 now split to 42A but is the same route as far as Cheltenham is concerned (divides at Tewkesbury)

2014-06-20T09:53:58Z

‎Local buses: 42 now split to 42A but is the same route as far as Cheltenham is concerned (divides at Tewkesbury)

Andrew Oakley: /* Rail */

2014-01-29T14:44:53Z

‎Rail

@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 Stanstead offers great value for money, for the simple reason that it is quite difficult to get from there to anywhere other than London and Cambridge. You may need to get a train or coach to London in order to get a lift or a connecting service on to Cheltenham.
-East-west travel across central England is made quite difficult by the rather steep Cotswold Hills being in the way. The only fully east-west motorway is the M4, which links London to Swindon, Bristol and Wales. The Great Western train line runs nearby along a similar route. However there is no east-west motorway to the west of England from Stanstead, Cambridge, Ipswitch or anywhere else in the east of England. You have to go around Birmingham or London first.
+East-west travel across central England is made quite difficult by the rather steep Cotswold Hills being in the way. The only fully east-west motorway is the M4, which links London to Swindon, Bristol and Wales. The Great Western train line runs nearby along a similar route. However there is no east-west motorway to the west of England from Stanstead, Cambridge, Ipswich or anywhere else in the east of England. You have to go around Birmingham or London first.
 ===Best airports for onward public transport===

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 * Cheltenham Spa CNM (1 mile / 1.5km)
-A taxi from the railway station to the town centre, to most hotels or to the Gas Green venue will typically cost around £6. Alternatively, use Stagecoach bus service D directly from the railway station to the town centre, then take bus C/41/42 to the venue (see [[#Local_Buses|local buses section]] above.
+A taxi from the railway station to the town centre, to most hotels or to the Gas Green venue will typically cost around £6. Alternatively, use Stagecoach bus service D directly from the railway station to the town centre, then take bus C/41/42 to the venue (see [[#Local_Buses|local buses section]] above).
 ==Coach==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 * [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] buses '''41, 42 and 42A''' (Cheltenham - Tewkesbury) run from Superdry Clothing on Clarence Street to Old Gas Works on Tewkesbury Road (near Gas Green), every 15 minutes. The Old Gas Works bus stop is easily spotted by the enormous out-of-town Tesco next to it. These buses also serve the Premier Inn motel on Tewkesbury Road.
 * [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] bus '''C''', goes from McDonalds on Cheltenham High Street to the Old Gas Works every 15 minutes.
 ==Taxis and private hire==
@@ Line 20: / Line 22: @@
 Convenient train station:
 * Cheltenham Spa CNM (1 mile / 1.5km)
 ==Coach==
@@ Line 36: / Line 40: @@
 If you are driving from London Heathrow, you will usually find it faster to take the M4 junction 15 to Swindon, and then the A419/A417 trunk road past Cirencester, as this is usually faster than going via M40 Oxford. See [[Transport/By car]].
 ===Suggested airlines from Scandinavia===
@@ Line 49: / Line 55: @@
 ===Why not Gloucestershire Airport?===
-Cheltenham does have its own airport, but the only scheduled civilian flights from Gloucestershire Airport at Staverton are to the Channel Islands. The Isle of Man service stopped last year.
+Cheltenham does have its own airport, but the only scheduled civilian flights from Gloucestershire Airport at Staverton are to the Channel Islands. The Isle of Man service stopped in 2014.
 Staverton is a short runway, essentially an airfield, not a full service airport. It can only accommodate small high-wing airliners (STOL, 60-70 seaters, typically propeller-driven, not large jets), small private craft and helicopters. You cannot land a full-sized jet there; you would crash into the motorway or Gloucester bypass before you came to a halt.
@@ Line 59: / Line 65: @@
 ===Why not Stanstead?===
-Stanstead offers great value for money, for the simple reason that it is quite
+Stanstead offers great value for money, for the simple reason that it is quite difficult to get from there to anywhere other than London and Cambridge. You may need to get a train or coach to London in order to get a lift or a connecting service on to Cheltenham.
 difficult to get from there to anywhere other than London and Cambridge. You may
 need to get a train or coach to London in order to get a lift or a connecting
-service on to Cheltenham.
-−
-East-west travel across central England is made quite difficult by the rather
-steep Cotswold Hills being in the way. The only fully east-west motorway is the
-M4, which links London to Swindon, Bristol and Wales. The Great Western train
-line runs nearby along a similar route. However there is no east-west motorway
-to the west of England from Stanstead, Cambridge, Ipswitch or anywhere else in
-the east of England. You have to go around Birmingham or London first.
-===Best airports for lifts and onward public transport===
+East-west travel across central England is made quite difficult by the rather steep Cotswold Hills being in the way. The only fully east-west motorway is the M4, which links London to Swindon, Bristol and Wales. The Great Western train line runs nearby along a similar route. However there is no east-west motorway to the west of England from Stanstead, Cambridge, Ipswitch or anywhere else in the east of England. You have to go around Birmingham or London first.
-You are more likely to get lifts if you can book for Bristol BRS or Birmingham
+===Best airports for onward public transport===
-BHX, or even London Heathrow LHR.
-You can easily get a direct coach from Heathrow LHR to Cheltenham. National
+You can easily get a direct coach from Heathrow LHR to Cheltenham. National Express offer a direct coach service every 2-3 hours for around £20 each way. You can also get an indirect train, change at either Reading, Swindon or Paddington, but trains near London can be expensive.
 Express offer a direct coach service every 2-3 hours for around £20 each way.
 You can also get an indirect train, change at either Reading, Swindon or
 Paddington, but trains near London can be expensive.
-You can also easily get a train from Birmingham Airport (the train station is
+You can also easily get a train from Birmingham Airport (the train station is called Birmingham International), change at Birmingham New Street and then to Cheltenham Spa railway station. The fare is around £25 return. National Express also do a coach service, which changes at Birmingham Coach Station, but the change is very slow and you could spend a couple of hours stuck at the coach station.
 called Birmingham International), change at Birmingham New Street and then to
 Cheltenham Spa railway station. The fare is around £25 return. National Express
 also do a coach service, which changes at Birmingham Coach Station, but the
 change is very slow and you could spend a couple of hours stuck at the coach
 station.
-Bristol airport has no railway station, but you can get an indirect coach.
+Bristol airport has no railway station, but you can get an indirect coach. National Express charge around £12 each way and you will need to change at Bristol Coach Station, and the change tends to be an acceptable half hour or so with frequent alternatives. We also tend to have quite a few attendees from the south-west of England, so you stand a good chance of being able to get a lift from Bristol Airport, although it is a few miles from the motorway. There is also a [http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/getting-to-the-airport/by-train.aspx transfer bus from Bristol airport] to Bristol's main railway stations, from where it is easy to get a train to Cheltenham.
 National Express charge around £12 each way and you will need to change at
 Bristol Coach Station, and the change tends to be an acceptable half hour or so
 with frequent alternatives. We also tend to have quite a few attendees from the
 south-west of England, so you stand a good chance of being able to get a lift
 from Bristol Airport, although it is a few miles from the motorway. There is also a [http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/getting-to-the-airport/by-train.aspx transfer bus from Bristol airport] to Bristol's main railway stations, from where it is easy to get a train to Cheltenham.
-If you decide to go by coach or train, I strongly recommend booking at least two
+If you decide to go by coach or train, I strongly recommend booking at least two weeks in advance and allowing plenty of time to transfer/change. Coaches get full. Train tickets are much, much more expensive on the day, than in advance.
 weeks in advance and allowing plenty of time to transfer/change. Coaches get
 full. Train tickets are much, much more expensive on the day, than in advance.
 [http://www.nationalexpress.com nationalexpress.com] - Coaches
 <br/>[http://www.nationalrail.co.uk nationalrail.co.uk] - Trains

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 Convenient train station:
 * Cheltenham Spa CNM (1 mile / 1.5km)
 ==Coach==
@@ Line 28: / Line 26: @@
 * [http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/destinations/locations/cheltenham.aspx National Express] (Royal Well bus station, 1.5 miles / 2km)
 * [http://uk.megabus.com Megabus] (Promenade, 1.5 miles / 2km)
 ==Air==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 * [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] buses '''41, 42 and 42A''' (Cheltenham - Tewkesbury) run from Superdry Clothing on Clarence Street to Old Gas Works on Tewkesbury Road (near Gas Green), every 15 minutes. The Old Gas Works bus stop is easily spotted by the enormous out-of-town Tesco next to it. These buses also serve the Premier Inn motel on Tewkesbury Road.
 * [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] bus '''C''', goes from McDonalds on Cheltenham High Street to the Old Gas Works every 15 minutes.
 ==Rail==

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 * [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] bus '''D''' (Hatherley - Racecourse - Bishops Cleeve) runs from railway station to Clarence Street (near Promenade & Royal Well), every 10 minutes. The return bus back to the railway station departs from near McDonalds on High Street.
-* [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] buses '''41, 42 and 42A''' (Cheltenham - Tewkesbury) run from Superdry Clothing on Clarence Street to Old Gas Works on Tewkesbury Road (near Gas Green), every 15 minutes. The Old Gas Works bus stop is easily spotted by the enormous out-of-town Tesco next to it. The 41 and 42 buses also serve the Premier Inn motel on Tewkesbury Road.
+* [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] buses '''41, 42 and 42A''' (Cheltenham - Tewkesbury) run from Superdry Clothing on Clarence Street to Old Gas Works on Tewkesbury Road (near Gas Green), every 15 minutes. The Old Gas Works bus stop is easily spotted by the enormous out-of-town Tesco next to it. These buses also serve the Premier Inn motel on Tewkesbury Road.
 * [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Cheltenham Stagecoach] bus '''C''', goes from McDonalds on Cheltenham High Street to the Old Gas Works every 15 minutes.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 * Cheltenham Spa CNM (1 mile / 1.5km)
-Lifts are available to/from Cheltenham Spa railway station before 10am on Saturday and after 4pm on Sunday - contact [[Andrew Oakley]]. There are [[Sunday roadworks|roadworks on Sunday]] which may affect your route back to the railway station.
+Lifts are available to/from Cheltenham Spa railway station before 10am on Saturday and after 4pm on Sunday - contact [[Andrew Oakley]].
 ==Coach==