A Newbie's Guide to Learning The London Underground

 Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a nervous traveller. I am typically up for just about anything, at least once, however it is about to be truth time. One of the things that actually made me a little bit nervous about attempting was the London Underground. Everyone that knows me is probably sayings something along the lines of "The girl that got in the Great White Shark Cage in South Africa was nervous about a Subway? Why?" 

Well...here you go friends. The map of the London Underground.

One look at that and I was seriously wondering how I was going to manage walking all over London because there wasn't a chance I was attempting THAT. That right there is a visual cluster that I had no intention of messing with.

So, fast forward to this morning, I was feeling like a big loser for not even thinking about trying it. After some coffee and a pep talk I decided I was going to walk over to a Station and just take a small trip. I am SO happy that I did. It was way easier than I thought and with a few new little tools at my disposal, it is beyond manageable. 

The first thing I would tell anyone traveling (solo or not) is download the Rome 2 Rio app. This app has been a lifesaver for me. You can put in your starting and ending location and it will give you all of your different options to get there, whether it be bus, plane, train, taxi...or the London Underground. After I decided I was going to take my "tiny" excursion to Abbey Road Studios, I put the information in the app and found out the best Station to head to, in this case it was Westminster Station. 

Once I walked over to the Station I was pleasantly surprised at a few things. How clean it was, how easily it was to navigate, and how much help there was if you needed it. 

First thing's first though. You need to be able to actually access the trains, and for that you should have an Oyster Card. You can actually buy one in advance of flying to the UK HERE on the Official London Transport Website, and have it mailed directly to you. You can also do what I did, which was really simple, and buy one directly in the Station. The entire process at the kiosk took me all of 3 minutes. You can pick how much you want to load on the card and you can actually get a refund for the portion you don't use before you return home (or, if you could be here often like me, just keep it handy to use next time.)

Once you have your Oyster Card, just make your way through the turnstiles and head to your train platform.

What I found incredibly helpful today to understand where the proper train was, was using Apple Maps. You can type in the Station you are looking for and it will pull up all the possible lines and you can look for the one that gets you where you need to go. All stops are listed and you can see the times they are coming, if they are delayed and arrival time. It will tell you exactly what platform to go to. Also, you always look for the ENDING spot on the line when getting on the train. They will not list all the stops on the platform information signs. Travel tip-there are a TON of trains so if you aren't sure don't run and just get on the first one you see. Odds are there will be one 1-5 minutes behind it. 

Once you finally get on the train you will see every car has the stops listed above you, has electronic signs that list the next stops, they call out the next Station just in case you are paying absolutely no attention AND if you are looking at the Apple Maps, it continues to track you and update you with the upcoming Station. How easy this THAT!?

Travel can be absolutely terrifying sometimes but you really do feel like a rockstar when you can figure the puzzle out. Then you (maybe) want to kick yourself for overthinking such a wonderful way to get around an amazing City. 

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