Olympic travel "not too bad"

Copyright @elmurphs on Instagram

So says David Cameron of this morning's tube travel.  Considering it is the first day where the Olympics meets us Monday-Friday commuters everyone was holding their breath, hoping they wouldn't have to hold it while pressed up against the armpits of a sweaty man.  And I have to say I am inclined to agree with Mr Cameron.  Yes, I don't have to travel on the roads (which did look quite bad) and yes I am not travelling to/from the busiest Olympic areas.  Nevertheless I was met this morning with fewer people on my regular tube journey than normal and I have heard similar reports from others on different transport routes.  Maybe people have decided to get into work earlier, maybe a lot of people have escaped London during the Olympics (wimps) or maybe we've just been lucky.

In terms of my Games-related travel (Olympics opening ceremony rehearsal, Hyde Park live opening ceremony concert and Sunday's Volleyball at Earl's Court) it has been a story of a lot of walking.  For the rehearsal (before the Olympic games had begun, obviously) we were turfed out of the stadium at 10.15pm to be told that the central line was down (didn't bode well for the coming days......).  I was told my best bet would be West Ham underground station for either the Jubilee or Hammersmith and City line.  My Stratford-working sister had been sitting in a different part of the stadium and we had decided to just make our own ways home.  So without my local Stratford guide, not knowing East London very well and with a dead iPhone battery (standard) I did as I was told and followed the lovely, clear pink signs and was guided by the ever cheerful volunteers.  Having walked for about 10 minutes along with a flowing crowd I thought I could see steps leading up to a platform, not bad, I thought, be home in no time.  Waving a cheery goodbye to the volunteers and bounding up the stairs I discovered, on the other side, some stairs down.  Ok, maybe it's just on the other side here....what's this pink sign saying..........20 minutes walk.......20 minutes walk.  Still to go?!  Sitting down and openly weeping was one option.  Asking frustrated questions to the still cheery volunteers was another (some of my travelling counterparts chose that option, "is it better to just turn back?" being a popular question).  Grimacing, carrying on at an increased pace while trying to Tweet my sister primitively via my Kindle was the option I chose.

To be honest I find it hard to believe that they label West Ham as one of the stations for the stadium without warning that a good pair of hiking boots and maybe a stick will be needed.  However, in the end I made it home before my sister who had made her way to the overground (tweeting on the Kindle was an inspired idea we quickly worked out she was on a train behind me).  And by the look of the queues at Stratford station on the news the next day I think bizarrely it was the right choice.  Similarly at Hyde Park they closed Marble Arch so we had a fifteen minute walk to Bond street.  At the Olympic Volleyball we had a 10 minute walk round to the other side of Earl's Court.  By splitting the crowd into different routes and making us walk a bit the massive crowd of people does, of its own accord, disperse and the Olympic tube travel I have experienced so far has been anything but crowded, and, actually, reasonably pleasant.  Good work TfL!  Just remember to bring your trainers......

Remember to check TfL's Journey Planner for travelling around London, as well as to and from events.