London Abbey wood or Crystal palace (1 Viewer)

[lorger]

Just a quick question for those of you that know London and these sites, I am running the London Marathon in April and originally could only get a pitch at CP today I have been informed there is space at AW.

So couple of questions which one is closest to the start which I believe to be at Greenwich, secondly how easy is it from these sites to visit London and which would you stay at if looking to go to city center.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kevinthecat]

Abbey Wood is a very nice site and would be the nearest for you to the start of the marathon (good luck btw)
The station is a short walk from the site , the train takes you into London Bridge and it is the same train which will take you to Greenwich (Greenwich is before London Bridge ) so not a long journey for you.
Lots of parrots around the site it feels like a big avary, there's so many birds .:thumb:

 

[Detnor]

Personally, I'd use Abbey Wood.
A bit of a pain to get to, the tomtom was wanting me to go one way, road signs another, but worth the effort.
Nice parkland site, very clean and well presented.

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[fatbuddha]

I've done London Marathon twice using Abbey Wood as the base and it's easy.

I've used the site at many other times as well and it's good as others have said - an easy 5 mins walk to the station (give your knackered legs 15mins on the way back as it's slightly uphill ) and depending on your exact start (Red or Blue), you can get a train to Greenwich or Blackheath whichever is closer.

You won't be the only one doing VLM from there - there's usually quite a few booked in so you'll have company if needed.

I'd also suggest taking your change of clothes in a rucksack which you can then fit into the luggage bag you'll be given when registering. A rucksack is much easier to carry than basically a big bag with a closure cord, but you MUST use that bag (so place rucksack in) to get your kit taken from the start to the finish in the baggage trucks.

Good luck! Having done it 3x I have no desire to do it again as it's too crowded.

PS - they're not parrots but ring necked parakeets - different species.. still fecking noisy when roosting but thankfully not overnight!

 

[Chris]

Another vote for Abbey Wood here.

About a 5 minute walk to the station.

I think you need to go into London Bridge and back out again.

I think ( but please check) that Blackheath station is nearer to the start than Greenwich station.

Good luck:thumb:

 

[fatbuddha]

Another vote for Abbey Wood here.

About a 5 minute walk to the station.

I think you need to go into London Bridge and back out again.

I think ( but please check) that Blackheath station is nearer to the start than Greenwich station.

Good luck:thumb:

it depends where your start line is - there are 3 different ones! If memory serves me right, Red start (non charity runners) and Green/Gold start (championship, good for age, celebs) is closer to Blackheath; Blue (charity runners) is Greenwich. you can get to all starts from either station but when it's crowded on race morning, you're best heading for the closest.

they have the different start lines to cope with the numbers and for the 1st couple of miles they follow different routes and then join up between Miles 3 & 4 - by that stage runners have started to spread out so there is more room to run.

it's one of the reasons I won't do London again, you can hardly run for the 1st couple of miles due to crowding so unless you're at the pointy end you don't get a clear run.

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[scotjimland]

bear in mind Abbey Wood site is situated within the LEZ ( London Low Emission Zone. )

are you compliant ?

 

[lorger]

Thank for the replies I have now changed my booking to Abbey Wood. As for the start I think I'm in with the elite runners I'm a non charity runner as got my place through my running club.

 

[lorger]

bear in mind Abbey Wood site is situated within the LEZ ( London Low Emission Zone. )

are you compliant ?

I have checked their website and it says I'm ok, I have a 2010 on a fiat.

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[fatbuddha]

Thank for the replies I have now changed my booking to Abbey Wood. As for the start I think I'm in with the elite runners I'm a non charity runner as got my place through my running club.

sadly not - but I suspect you know that.... club runners are on the Red start along with those who got in via the ballot (which I managed twice - my 1st one was for charidee....)

 

[maison]

Another vote for Abbey wood.

You can catch a bus to the City Centre within 150yds of site entrance. A great tourist trip, passing Lambeth Palace, Houses of Parliament, Picaddily Circus and other sites that identify London. Worth taking the trip for the sights alone.