Travel to sidmouth festival

Subject: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: GUEST,david heath
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 11:04 AM

Hi,

I'm planning on coming to the sidmouth festival for the first time this year and I wonder if some old hands can advise me. I'm coming from london for the long weekend (out fri evening, back tues evening). I'll probably go by train. Is it best to get off at honiton or exeter? Is it easy to get to the campsite from honiton? How does one get from the campsite to the venues?

Any tips would be welcome!

Thanks

David

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 11:25 AM

Hi David
I think the bus timetables for Stagecoach are available on line, so perhaps Google Stagecoach Honiton or Exeter to Sidmouth and see if this coincides with your train timetables.
I know that the station in Exeter is not very close to the bus station - when I've done this before, I've got a taxi from train to bus station.
The bus from Exeter will go past the campsite - not sure where the stops are!
The bus from Honiton MIGHT come down on the other road. the bus "station" in Sidmouth is at the Triangle on Station Road. There's a bus service from the camp site to the town - details are in your working programme.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy the festival.
Derek

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Steve in Sidmouth
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 11:52 AM

Either option is OK.

At Honiton you can sometimes (if you are lucky) align train and bus and some buses (Stagecoach 52B) call direct at Honiton rail station. For example includes 23 past hour until 16.23,then 17.43, 18.43 and 19.43 Mon to Fri. as far as I am aware.

Easy walk from Honiton Rail to Honiton High St for hourly buses(52A,B,C). These will all go direct into Sidmouth via Sidbury and Sidford (not past main campsite).

Walking from Exeter St Davids (main rail) to bus station is a pain (2 miles at a guess and hilly) but you could likely get a local train from Exeter St Davids to Exeter High St (rail) which is much closer to the bus station and quite walkable. Intercity trains only use St Davids as far as I know.

If you can get reservations, www.megatrain.com can be very cheap between Exeter and London. Same trains as everyone else travels on but they block-buy tickets and sell them cheap for advance travel plans. Just don't miss the appointed train!!

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Steve in Sidmouth
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 12:06 PM

By the way, Derek is incorrect in thinking normal service buses from Exeter go past campsite. The main bus is the 52 which does NOT do this. The 382 does, but it is not an Exeter bus! So does the 157, but again it doesn't go to/from Exeter, but from Exmouth.

Just to be exceeding helpful, I'm loading a bus map from stagecoach timetable onto this webpage -

http://www.seered.co.uk/busmap.htm

give it five minutes and it should be online.

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Steve in Sidmouth
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 12:27 PM

OK, that works. A fast bus from Exeter past Waitrose is the X53 - coastal scenic bus every 2 hours or so.

Otherwise 52 takes you to Waitrose, down Stowford Rise to Woolbrook and into Sidmouth.

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Steve in Sidmouth
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 12:32 PM

AND FINALLY, if you get off the 52 bus in Woolbrook area you can trudge up (and I do mean up) Alexandria Rd or better still up Ice House Lane to get to the campsite without the bother of going into Sidmouth and out again.

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Rumncoke
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 01:18 PM

What time will you be arriving in Honiton?

Anne Croucher

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Declan
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 01:40 PM

There's a fairly regular bus service between Exeter St. David's and the Coach station.

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Surreysinger
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 01:55 PM

Speaking as one who has caught the train from Woking to Honiton, and the bus from Honiton Railway station for the last two years - yes it is perfectly possible to align the train and bus (which takes 20 minutes from Honiton to the stop outside the Volunteer - my stopping off point). The bus stop is immediately outside the exit from the station, so no long walk involved. Check the times of your trains into Honiton, and align with the bus timetable, and away you go .... no problem at all. I can't speak for the link up with the campsite bus, as I don't camp (shudder) ... :-)

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Surreysinger
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 02:04 PM

And having checked the bus timetable/journey planner site shown in the link below, the bus times out of Honiton station on the Friday are
1527
1627
1747
1842
1942
This site
has a very useful journey planner which allows you to specify exact bus stop, gives you walking times between locations etc etc .... Now all you need to do is check the rail times!

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: steve_harris
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 04:14 PM

better still up Ice House Lane to get to the campsite

I did a map of this route for friends last year, see here

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Steve in Sidmouth
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 04:28 AM

Choice fatigue is setting in here.

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Surreysinger
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 04:39 AM

Having done the trip, I'd say "No choice" ... Honiton is the most direct, and straightforward method (and since it's one stop shorter on rail, I'm assuming it might also be marginally cheaper .... although I haven't checked that one out).

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 08:15 AM

The train from Waterloo stops at Both Honiton and Exeter Central. Most people I know get off at Honiton.

Subject: RE: Travel to sidmouth festival
From: Chris Partington
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 02:45 PM

Don't forget to check Megabus here
which offers train and bus to Honiton, and they are very inexpensive.