Well, this is basically another one of those suburban stations, though it does have more charm than…read moresome of the fairly basic ones that I have encountered. That is probably because this part of the Tube is underground. I'm sure that there is a lot that I could say, but I do like the large, spacious, ticket hall that you find with stations around here.

Southgate is a major hub on the Piccadilly Line in north London, and one of the Underground's…read morearchitectural landmarks. The station was opened on 13th March 1933 as part of the extension from Finsbury Park to Cockfosters, itself part of a works scheme designed to relieve unemployment. The line was amazingly - built in just under three years, but it is most famous for the modernist / art-deco style surface buildings of its stations, designed by the London Underground architect Frank Holden. All feature tall, drum-like ticket halls with curtains of glass: that at Southgate is lower than the rest, but is very well preserved. It is a Grade II listed building. A unique feature is the futuristic decoration atop the centre of the drum, which resembles an electric insulator. The station also retains its 'London Underground' symbols atop smaller matching concrete drums at the front and back of the station. The whole ensemble is beautifully illuminated at night. The station also has a bus interchange, built sympathetically with a long, gently curved curtain wall of brick following the line of the bus lane around the west of the station, incorporating a parade of shops. It makes for both an effective public transport interchange and an attractive piece of urban design. The station is served by Piccadilly line trains and bus routes 121, 125, 298, 299, 382, W6, W9 and night bus N91.

This really is just a station for purpose. Apart from the trains themselves and a ticket office,…read morethere are no other facilities. It's really in need of modernisation. I don't think there are any facilities for wheelchair access as there's a step up at the entrance and stairs to access the two platforms. Trains run on average at about 1/2 hourly intervals between Cheshunt and Liverpool Street. For some reason the trains into Liverpool Street Station are always a minute or so late. On exiting, there are a couple of local shops about 2 mins to the right (cafe, launderette, newsagents) - and an industrial estate to the left. It feels quite lonely in the evenings.

This station is starting to get into the outer suburbs of London, but it still happens to be…read moreunderground. Also, it does happen to have shops around it, which also works quite well (though there doesn't seem to be a park mind you). Still, it isn't a bad station - the architecture, which is fairly similar along this stretch of line, isn't bad either.

A pleasant enough Underground station on the Northern Line's High Barnet branch, between Archway…read moreand East Finchley, in Travelcard Zone 3. It is the last station that is actually underground on this line before it exits into the open air. Therefore, no wifi or mobile signal here. Interesting factoid: American TV host Jerry Springer was born in this station.

Highgate is a major station on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, serving both Highgate…read moreand part of Crouch End to the east, as well as Southwood hospital. It is used by just under 4.5 million passengers a year. The station has a complex but interesting history. The first station here opened in 1867, on a branch of the Great Northern Railway from Finsbury Park to Edgware. The station at Highgate was in a deep cutting necessary because of the hilly terrain with tunnels at either end. In 1872 a branch was built to the pleasure gardens at Alexandra Palace, diverging just north of the station. Thus it remained until the 1930s, when as part of the planned tube extensions in north London known as the 'Northern Heights' Highgate was connected to Archway (then the terminus of the Northern line) by a pair of deep level tunnels, which emerged north of the station to connect with the Edgware line just before East Finchley. Services began in 1939, although the station did not come into operation until 1941. Part of the plan had also been to bring the Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace line into the tube network, linking it at Finsbury Park to the line to Moorgate. A new 'High Level' station was built at Highgate to act as an interchange. However, economies after the Second World War meant that the unfinished elements of the 'Northern heights' plan were abandoned, and the line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Park continued to be operated by steam until 1954, when it closed to passenger traffic. Parts of the branch were retained until 1971 for freight and empty stock movements. Highgate station today comprises the low level platforms only, served by trains to High Barnet and Mill Hill East. The entrances (to Shepherd's Hill and Priory Gardens) are rather modest, and accessed by paths and steps from the surrounding streets which are mostly at a higher level: the area is heavily planted with mature trees, giving it an almost rural feel (and making it slightly spooky at night). There are escalators to a high level exit on Archway Road close to the junction of Muswell Hill Road, but this is not always open. However, the High Level platforms, together with the original 1867 tunnel entrance towards East Finchley are in very good condition and are clearly visible - from the footpaths, especially in winter when there is less vegetation. Their remains are a testament to what could have been!

Do you love paying boatloads of cash for spotty, questionably-usable wi-fi?…read more How about getting kicked off your train mid-journey, forced to play at being a lemming and herding onto another train due to the failure of a completely unrelated vehicle? And who revels in being surrounded by loud, drunk, pink feather boa-bedecked middled-aged ladies who've tried the wroooong shade of spray-on tan en route to a hen do (or perhaps a birthday bash)? Oh... whilst sitting in the (ostensibly labelled) 'quiet coach'? If you responded 'Yes' to any or all of the above, congratulations! East Coast Trains is the mode of transport for you! You've just won yourself an expensive ticket to Perdition! ... but at least the views out the east-facing windows are quite pretty on the London-Edinburgh route. I mean, if you're going to ride through hell, you might as well take the scenic route, right?

So that was the outbound. The return was not quite as good. I found the ride to be a whole lot…read morebumpier and a number of passengers had some trouble staying upright around a few of the turns, the wi-fi worked maybe 50% of the time and the loo ("toilet" in American) was a sty ("mess"). Sure, the concessions cart was wheeled through the cabins between each of the stops and while I didn't want anything, the guy was through and done in a flash. You'd think he had somewhere else to be. Still for £18 round trip, London to Edinburgh (a 5 hour trip each way), I shouldn't really complain.

First, the positive aspects of our experience with Oakwood Cars. Every driver we had interaction…read morewith were polite, friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. "Costa" our first driver was exceptional. Everything else went downhill fast. We pre-booked several trips with Oakwood for our short visit to England. Out of the four bookings, one was missed completely and had to be re-booked at the last moment. On another of the bookings, they sent a car that wasn't big enough for the four of us and our baggage. Another car had to be requested while we waited. All of our communications with Oakwood was done initially through emails with specific details as to the number of people and the amount of luggage. Even with this done weeks in advance, Oakwood was still able to screw up the logistics and cause confusion. I would suggest using another service, any service other than Oakwood. We certainly will on our next trip.

I emailed Oakwood Cars several times to book a car from Heathrow to Potters Bar in spite of…read morereceiving a quote from them via email I did not receive confirmation of the booking I ended up having to call to confirm and was told that it was booked. Driver was waiting at Heathrow and trip to our hotel was uneventful. We had a few other trips arranged and these were handled poorly. Although we had received emails confirming the arrangements they had them scheduled for the wrong day or did not have the right vehicle. they also did not honor the price quoted in the email for one of the trips. the drivers were all knowledgeable and very pleasant, the organization in the office is definitely lacking. Angela E