Is Kingston really a great transport hub?

One of the things that inspired me to look at living in Kingston 5 years ago was its dual billing as an excellent shopping destination (which I still agree with - who needs Oxford Street?) and a great transport hub.

Having been both reliant on public transport and a motorist, I still agree with this but think that Kingston's accessibility to London from a commuter perspective has been hiding its proverbial light under a bushel and it is time to wax a little lyrical about it.

Since July last year, I had been commuting in to High Street Kensington using the 85 bus (into Putney Bridge Station) and District Line (into High Street Kensington tube), quite a good journey of about 45-50mins 'door-to-door'. 

Much to my dismay, it was announced mid November that we were moving offices to Holborn - just near the corner of Gray's Inn and Theobalds Roads actually - and my heart sank.  While excited by the opportunity of working in the new location, the thought of the additional commute just filled me with dread!

So 30th November came around and I dutifully changed at Earls Court for the Piccadilly Line trip into Holborn tube - all told another half an hour on the journey - and that's if everything went well.  Add to this the snow-y conditions we've been experiencing and the journey was getting up to a ridiculous 2+ hours each way on a regular basis despite trying a varying combination of buses (85 then the 14 into Green Park) to avoid the inevitable tube delays and get further into town.  But there was a light at the end of the tunnel...

With the advent of Oyster Card Readers at Norbiton Station on 2nd January, the overland train became a more affordable option so I decided to try a new route.  So it was into Waterloo on the 7:51am train and then onto the 243 bus to Wood Green for 10 mins...which dropped me right at the bottom of John St where the office is.  Excluding the 15min walk to Norbiton Station, that's 55mins from getting on the train to the office.  Hallelujah!!!

I think what this served as a reminder of is that with a little creativity and willingness to break 'habits', there is always a way to get about and despite having no tube station, the network of transport options in and around Kingston really is excellent. 

We just need to convince the government/TFL that Kingston should be in Zone 5!