An opinion thread on #London railway termini.
VICTORIA: Huge. Half-station, half-shopping centre. Could probably do with another tube line. Never close enough to the coach station as you need it to be. Buses to everywhere. Was doing free toilets before all the others were.
VICTORIA: Huge. Half-station, half-shopping centre. Could probably do with another tube line. Never close enough to the coach station as you need it to be. Buses to everywhere. Was doing free toilets before all the others were.
PADDINGTON: A pain to get to from anywhere other than Paddington. F&B offering is ok but not the best. Freezing cold. Nothing to do nearby. Named after a bear.
MARYLEBONE: Awww. Old-school vibe. Beautiful exterior. Fancy carport. Flowers outside. Very unique name. Need to go here more.
EUSTON: No redeeming qualities. Just horrid. Best avoided at all times. Very ugly.
ST PANCRAS: Absolute masterpiece of a train station. Puts everywhere else in the world to shame. Trains to Paris, trains to airports, trains to Brighton. Champagne bar, macarons, Spice Girls hotel. Sometimes called 'St Pancreas'. Highly recommend.
KING'S CROSS: Also excellent, a bit in St P's shadow (not its fault). Old/new architecture. Food market outside sometimes. Harry Potter pilgrimage site. Trains to Scotland. Sometimes referred to as KCX which sounds cool. Probs Top 3.
ST PANCRAS: Absolute masterpiece of a train station. Puts everywhere else in the world to shame. Trains to Paris, trains to airports, trains to Brighton. Champagne bar, macarons, Spice Girls hotel. Sometimes called 'St Pancreas'. Highly recommend.
MOORGATE: Not counting this tbh as is more of a tube station with trains to Letchworth. Pretty depressing. No windows.
LIVERPOOL STREET: Shirley Carter of the London station circuit. Fine. Good connections. Best avoided on Friday and Saturday nights. Loads of places to eat, not necessarily all good. Tanning shop on mezzanine at back. Fancy WHSmith. Very suspect male toilets.
LONDON BRIDGE: Probably in Top 5. Improved a lot in past decade. Seems to get bigger every time you go there. Platforms everywhere: upstairs, downstairs, underground, on the roof. Too many exits. Excellent part of town. Once vomited here.
FENCHURCH STREET: Where?
CANNON STREET: Apparently has a great (but rarely open) rooftop garden. To look into this.
BLACKFRIARS: Built OVER the river with amazing views. Nothing to do here but it's BUILT OVER THE RIVER.
CHARING CROSS: Heart is in the right place but hugely disappointing for such a central station, overshadowed by Embankment down the road. Dirty. Underpass always stinks of piss. Handily close to McDonald's and Five Guys after a night out at Heaven.
WATERLOO: Most middle-class station. Always used in news segments about "chaos on the railways". Name triggering for French imperialists. Famous clock. Childhood memories of trips to London. Great F&B offering, amazing location. Named after an ABBA song.
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