NW London to Brighton: drive or take the train?

We've somehow never managed to make it to Brighton, and so are thinking we'll head down there for a day trip on Saturday.  We were presuming we'd drive, but are now wondering whether it might be easier & faster to take the train. 

We're coming from NW London (Hampstead area) and will have our 4 & 6 year olds in tow.  The car would obviously give us the flexibility to come and go as we please, but the thought of a day of road rage does not appeal at. all.  What should traffic be like headed down to Brighton (& back) on a Saturday in June?  Mapquest says it's an hour and a half journey, but is that a realistic estimate or will we find ourselves sitting endlessly in stop & go traffic?  What will parking be like once we get there?

On the flip side, what is that train trip like?  Will the trains be incredibly crowded with day trippers?  Will we need to book our tickets in advance in order to get seats and therefore be stuck to a predetermined timeline?  Will we be able to walk from the train station to anywhere we want to go in Brighton or will we find ourselves somewhat stranded without a vehicle?

Any and all advice would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Hi,

I've never driven down there, but I've taken the train from London down to Brighton in the summer, and it was a piece of cake (I live in Finsbury Park, so sort of the same area as you).  You can go from London Bridge or Victoria and it takes about an hour.  When you get there, you just walk down the main street and you're there.  Like any popular destination, it's crowded at the rush hours, but we didn't reserve seats in advance and had no trouble getting a seat.

Hope that helps.

good luck,
Carl

Get the train!

You have a choice between getting the tube/train down to Victoria, London Bridge or Kings Cross, or, as you live in Hampstead, you can get the Watford Junction service, which means driving (or getting the train from South Hampstead) to Harrow and Wealdstone (not far).  

Trains to and from Brighton are very frequent, so you could time it to get the Harrow train down and then come back via Victoria pretty much when you choose.  Because you will be starting at the beginning or very early in the service you will have no problem getting seats.  Because trains are so frequent, the only time the service really gets full is on the Victoria service when you pass through Gatwick, but that won't really affect you.

The train station is pretty central to everything - only a minute or two from the town centre, 5 mins walk from the sea front.  You'd probably find it hard pushed to park there anyway, and I would imagine the traffic down would make the journey time a lot longer than an hour and a half!


Vicky

I believe there is a train to Brighton that runs through King's Cross as well. I usually take it to Gatwick, but I think the ultimate destination is Brighton.

I think I would opt for the train. We drove down from North London on a weekday in January once, and it took at least 1 1/2 hours. The most direct route will take you straight through London, but we went around the M25 to avoid doing that. It added extra miles on to the journey, but avoided a lot of hassle.

Cross-posted with Vicky

Go by train!  The kids will love it.

Just avoid rush hour and you'll be fine.

You can also take the train from West Hampstead (Thameslink) station, and change at either Kings Cross/St Pancras, City Thameslink, or London Bridge (very easy: same platform) for a direct train to Brighton.

Have a look at www.nationalrail.co.uk for more information.

Do the trip a lot - get the train.

Whilst in Brighton head to the Lanes for interesting / quirky shopping.

http://www.visitbrighton.com/interests__themes/brightons_villages/33.asp

We took the train from Victoria with no problems. 

Definitely check out the lanes.  Oh and the Sea Life Centre is cool too.