Last train to London . . .

Actually, not the first or the last, but the first time for work.

Destination: Kings Hill Hospital in Denmark Hill, an area and Tube station in the London borough of Southwark. Southwark is known for the eponymous judgment which states that councils have a duty to assess young persons ages 16-21 who present with housing needs. I tend to do 2-3 of these housing assessments a week. Do we have a duty to offer accommodation??? Who is "we"??? To Be Determined.

So, to get from AFK (Ashford International) to DMK (Denmark Hill), one can of course drive but parking is at a premium and expensive, and driving can be stressful. It might be cheaper than the train, and it might be faster. It is not as environmentally sound.

The night before, I went online to look up schedules and fares. Here's where it gets tricky. I have a Network Railcard, which offers discounts (but only at certain times of day - - it's intended for leisure trips more than business. Today's trip, according to the ticket clerk, would only offer discounts if I left later than 10 a.m.)

What route should I take??? Well, it depends. I'm used to taking the High Speed One train to St Pancras International in Central London. It's the station from which the Eurostar leaves London and it's twinned with Kings Cross rail and tube station, which offers connections to London and the rest of the UK. That costs 19.95 with a railcard on weekends. Or, I could take the slower train to Victoria station and then the tube from there.

The trouble is that neither of these are the most direct route, and a search on the Southeastern trains web site does not make clear what the most direct route is.

My cold has recently added sniffles to a cough, so I'm not at my most clearheaded in the morning. I'm trying to get to the station for the 8:43 train, but only manage to be at the ticket counter at 8:43. After showing my EverNote to the ticket agent, I leave with a ticket to Denmark Hill with a train change in London Bridge, railcard not applicable, for 22.40.

That was cool until I got to London Bridge and realised I had no idea what train to take to Denmark Hill. There are timetable boards at the station, but I didn't have a clue what line I was taking that included Denmark Hill.

Fortunately, a nice staff person told me what platform to go to. It turned out the train I needed wasn't for about half an hour, so that is probably why I couldn't figure it out from the boards. If it had been sooner the boards would have shown a train calling at that station, but they only showed trains leaving in the next 20 minutes, not 30.

When I got home I looked up the journey again as if I were leaving tomorrow and found a route going through Bromley South. I think if I would have taken that train I could have saved time on the journey b/c I wouldn't have been sitting at London Bridge for those 30 minutes. It would have been less than 10 minutes between connections but 27 minutes from Bromley South to Denmark Hill as opposed to 18 minutes from London Bridge to Denmark Hill.

Maybe it depends on what time you actually get to the station, and how much money you want to save. I could have left sooner than 9:03 from Ashford, but I would have ended up routing through St Pancras, taking the High Speed One and spending more money. I think.

Anyway, it was an education and an experience. I have more meetings coming up in London in the New Year, so the fun will continue.

And now to all a Happy Christmas!!!