London or Brighton? Vote here.

[Matrix]

Train Leeds to London Return (roughly £75)
http://www.qjump.co.uk/

Soho Hotel -THE RATHBONE- Roughly £100 for 1 night....
30 Rathbone Street, West End, London
0.3 Miles** North of Soho

Add ticket price for entry and your general snackking needs and youre at a very peeky £200 to £250 ... thats a lot for 3 - 5 hours entertainment by anyones standards.... especially if they arent working.

If anyone has cheaper options without running the risk of having some git rummage thru your valuables while asleep in a hostel, ill be interested.

So thats London..... Now Brighton:

In the car... 2 tanks of fuel = £80 for return journey from Leeds.
Hotel:
Ramada Jarvis Brighton,
Royal Albion Hotel ,
Kings Hotel ,
Queens Hotel (And Lanes Leisure Club) ,

Roughly £50 a night (if you stay the night... in the car you can just drive home after the gig).

Total saving £100 (minus entry fee, food and parking fee).

Some1 must see the common sense in this surely ? - Raise the ticket price to take account of the hire of a minibus - i for one would be happy to pay more, a LOT more, for entry to an event under these conditions.... plus any guests benefit from cheaper accomodation (thats good for chris), which means more funds freed up for transport.

Heres a thought.... Do a limited edition release of the BL2003 DVD with some added bits and bung a tenner on top - ill pay it gladly, and again, thats more funding for trasporting guests. Have a signed one up for auction or £1 entry competition, theres lots of ways to raise cash.

Which leaves us with the slight inconvenience of a 40 min trip down the m25.

The locale is much better too, less smog.

Thoughts ?

[Chris Abbott]

When I checked at "Thetrainline.com", prices for a return from Leeds to London were as low as £19.00 if you book in advance, though by the looks of it there are not very many of the cheap tickets available.

When I checked National Express, the journey is 4.5 hours, and the fare is £23.50. It gets as low as £19 if you travel on a Saturday, not a Friday.

Second, if you go for B&B I found, for instance, one in Oxford Street: only a two star, but £60 odd pound a night. If you can find someone to share with off this board, then that would go down to £42.50 a night, or even £50.00 a night for the more expensive hotel.

That takes the whole london experience down to £70 + ticket + food.

Sharing a hotel room makes an awful lot of sense though

Chris

[tas]

£75 from leeds to london? holy cow!!!!

I mentioned this before, there's some good tips on getting cheap train travel...

1) Don't book through agents such as q-jump etc (they are far more expensive)

2) Book your train EARLY and direct at the station.

3) Ask for the cheapest tickets. If you don't ask, you won't get.

4) If there are no cheap tickets available, ask about other trains around that time. The next train could save you £30 or more pounds.

It's a little picky, but last month i went down to Aylesbury and was originally quoted a whopping £125. In the end i wangled it down to £52 pound. Could have got it cheaper but i booked on the day, but it goes to show that if you are a bit sneaky you can make some massive savings.

[dan gillgrass]

Train Leeds to London Return (roughly £75)
http://www.qjump.co.uk/

Soho Hotel -THE RATHBONE- Roughly £100 for 1 night....
30 Rathbone Street, West End, London
0.3 Miles** North of Soho

Thats a most extreme case,as Chris said book at least two weeks in advance and the train tickets are a lot cheaper. Also, you can get some good deals on hotels in the west end if you use something like lastminute.com or have a good shop around. Plus if you can get double or twin rooms it can knock down the price considerably if the hotel charges by the room.

[DHS]

About hotels, last time we were in 4 for room in a cheap hotel near paddington, i paid something like 50 euros for 3 nights....

(it was really cheap in all the meaning of the word. But who cares?)

[tas]

50 Euros for 3 nights in an hotel.

WOW!!!! great deal you got there DHS

[DHS]

Yep, and think: all inclusive! (rats, bugs and dirt under the bed)!

[Matrix]

Wow, National Express told me it was single £47 return from leeds.... and it was that last time i went down to London too last year.

Ill leave some1 else who knows the area to point out the best places to stay, i clearly have no clue.. and, i dont think ive ever been cheeky enough to ask about cheaper tickets, ive always just asked the price and accepted it... so ur figures really surprise me !!

I could be swayed to London at those prices. But id need a solid date for the gig b4 i book. One condition tho - i dont wana have to stay in Steptoe n Sons back yard Capeiche'

[Slaygon]

I voted for London for the simple reason that it's much cheaper for me to get there.

First time around, we were in Birmingham. That got a bit pricey. The train from London cost more than the flight from Sweden to London.
Not fun at all. ;)

I loved the setup in Brighton. Nice town, nice venue, hellishly nice weather (make sure you book that on the next event, Chris), and best of all - the minibus. Since Chris said there will be no bus this time around, I voted London.
As Andreas said, if I can get a ride again this year, I would go to Brighton again.

Anyway, don't really matter where it's held, I will be there unless something really unexpected happens.

[Makke]

As Andreas said, if I can get a ride again this year, I would go to Brighton again.

Same here. I really liked Brighton, and probably more so because of the smooth mini-bus. If something similar can't be arranged, then I vote for London.

Oh, and I still don't understand you brits and your reluctance to travel more than a mile from your home!

"If it's not in my backyard, I'm not coming!"

[Chappers]

As Andreas said, if I can get a ride again this year, I would go to Brighton again.

Same here. I really liked Brighton, and probably more so because of the smooth mini-bus. If something similar can't be arranged, then I vote for London.

Oh, and I still don't understand you brits and your reluctance to travel more than a mile from your home!

"If it's not in my backyard, I'm not coming!"

Sometimes, even us Brits that do travel don't understand other Brits' reluctance to travel.

Must be a British thing about being happy enough with an area you know to such a degree that you don't want to explore further than your county boundaries. A kind of comfort zone that's hard to escape from for some people.

Paul

[Matrix]

I think Slaygon covers it Makke when he says:

First time around, we were in Birmingham. That got a bit pricey. The train from London cost more than the flight from Sweden to London.
Not fun at all.

Now, considering "us up norf" have twice that distance to cover..... Makke, all ur transport is cheap, we have gluttonous money barrons over here that charge 10x more than anytings worth, unfortunately they own pretty much everything. Its not a relucatnce to travel, its simple maths. ... Low Wages vs High Cost Travel.

[Chappers]

I think Slaygon covers it Makke when he says:

First time around, we were in Birmingham. That got a bit pricey. The train from London cost more than the flight from Sweden to London.
Not fun at all.

Now, considering "us up norf" have twice that distance to cover..... Makke, all ur transport is cheap, we have gluttonous money barrons over here that charge 10x more than anytings worth, unfortunately they own pretty much everything. Its not a relucatnce to travel, its simple maths. ... Low Wages vs High Cost Travel.

Oh yeah, that's right. Knew I had missed out something important....

The daylight robbery that masquerades as British public transport costs. Arguably, a modern-day version of Dick Turpin really.

Paul

[dan gillgrass]

Winge winge winge....shut up and get yer arse there! I was unemployed when I went to Brighton (and with mega debts) but I still turned up!