London - links golf gets closer

[Mark Chaplin]

With the high speed rail link opening fully in December the 3 championship links courses on the Kent coast will get a little "closer" for London visitors. The traditional golfers train the 0740 from Charing X arriving Deal at 0949 and Sandwich 5 minutes later becomes the 0810 from St Pancras with the same 0949 arrival time.

A day trip is now an hours less travelling which has to be good news and when the train takes the strain that extra glass of kummel will not land you in gaol!

[Scott Warren]

The only spanner in the works is for those living in south London.

That 0740 from Charing X leaves London Bridge at 0750. The journey on the Northern Line of the Tube from London Bridge to Kings Cross/St Pancras is about 20mins.

So if you live in north London, it's great, if you don't, it's busines as usual. Unless they scrap the old service and make you use the "faster" and more expensive service, in which case you get screwed.

[Mark Chaplin]

Scott - for most London visitors "south of the river" is the London Eye!

The normal trains remain but are going to be stoppers so I'm worse off going from 75 mins quickest to just over 90 mins every trip.