A useful bus route the 85, especially at this time of year (end of March) as it's ideal for getting…read moreyou to the Putney riverbank to spectate the Boat Race. This bus route runs from Kingston upon Thames, via Kingston Hill, (gets busy in the vicinity of the University). Then it meanders along the busy Robin Hood Roundabout stretch of the A3, close to Richmond Park and onwards through Putney, terminating at Putney Bridge Station. The route runs a 24 hour service, although - beware some of the drivers could do with upgrading their braking skills, so - prepare for a bumpy ride, on occasion. It's also quite entertaining (depending on your mood) late at night with groups of enthusiastic clubbers en route to Kingston's hotspots If you're in a hurry, you'll require reserves of patience, as it regularly barely crawls along the stretch from Putney Heath to Putney Bridge. It's handy for shopping in Kingston or Putney, for the glories of Kingston and Putney riversides, for its proximity to the Robin Hood or Ladderstile Gates at Richmond Park, and for the Kingston Hill and Roehampton Vale campuses of Kingston University.

A useful route and the only way to get from Kingston to Fulham on one bus there is no route from…read moreKingston to Hammersmith although the 71 used to (by a circuitous route via Richmond). The 85 is however pretty quick until it gets snarled up in the heavy traffic south of Putney Bridge. On one occasion all 85s were cancelled which was disconcerting.

Friendly staff. Train to Waterloo leaves twice per hour.read more

Make sure you get to the station in plenty of time as the ticket office and ticket machine gets…read morevery busy between 7:15 and 8:30 -

How can you be here so quickly from Waterloo? Like 18 minutes. I've not got so far out of London so…read morequickly ever before, that I can remember. Lucky locals (although....the train felt like a packed sauna during the post work rush hour). There's lots of stuff around the train station too.

Surbiton railway station is an original art deco Southern Railway masterpiece now somewhat more…read morehumbly served by South West Trains. A great fast, often non-stop service to London offers a quick getaway and you can also get to the countryside easily by going the other way. In Zone 6 so Travelcard prices apply. Almost always staffed, it's the centrepiece of Surbiton and is busy all day long. Plenty of shops just outside and a McDonalds to the left if you can face it. Buses leave from across the road to Kingston upon Thames and a busy taxi rank is right in front of the station.

Located near the Thames off the Kingston Road (sort of Surbiton/Thames Ditton I guess) I have…read morevisited and eaten at Raintree restaurant 3 times. The food is always splendid: far more authentic than the generic Bangladeshi cuisine in city centres that the UK public have come to associate with "Indian" food. Meats from the tandoor are superbly seasoned and moist. Curries are full of flavour and have true character rather than being all "samey". The side dishes tried on last visit: okra, daal, tandoori roti and rice all truly excellent. Costs is cheap to reasonable. My only real criticism is that the place is a bit dead (never more than 2 or 3 tables occupied), which is a shame as the restaurant deserves a full house rather than a few loyal regulars... Thoroughly recommended.

No A/C. Wireless only worked on the ground floor. No outlets in the bathroom. No easy fix if you…read moreneed something since no one on site. The major hit was Just after having long day out and wanting to hit the sack I discovered blood stains on the pillow. Maybe this was karma getting me back from all the hotel sheets I've destroyed in the past, but that was definitely a deal breaker for me. I checked out the next day. Had a minor issue coz I prepaid for a week, but was able to bail with the manager promising to give me a refund. Place a little out of the way if you're using public transport. No reason to go back there. On way out the door, random employee asks for my phone number so he can order some electronics from the states and have me ship it to him.

I was sorry to see that my favourite taxi service, Headway Cars had been replaced. Headway were…read moreaffordable, reliable and prompt. Never let me down. They were replaced about 6 months ago by Claremont Cars, but many of the drivers are the same, so hopefully the quality of services will remain the same. The prices have already gone up. I used to be able to get a car to take me from Surbiton station to my house for £7.50. Now it is £10.00. This is still cheaper than the black cabs that sit outside the station though, so for the time being I will keep with Claremont Cars. They are usually fine with picking me up from strange locations at extremely odd times of the night. Watch out for weekend nights though, it can often be impossible to get a car past midnight. I was at a party recently and tried to get one to take me home at 6am; nothing was available! I guess that as I was finishing my night, the airport runs were starting.

If only I could rate 0 stars…read more Use this company at your own peril !!! Do not use this company for anything you need to rely on! They have let me down twice now for trains and airport. Ddisgusting! Use Albany in West Molesey instead!

Deutsche Bahn UK…read more Note! Call centre 08718 80 80 66 (8p per min.) sales@bahn.co.uk http://www.bahn.de/db_uk/view/index.shtml Have you ever thought about going to Germany? Wonderful Berlin, Hamburg (home of Qype and Xing), the pretty Rhineland, boisterous Bavaria, the magical Black Forest I have and it's quite a spiffing place. I lived there for over 12 years in fact. The natives are quite affable and jolly, many speak passable English, the food is good, many of the wines are severely potable and the cost and quality of life are really rather acceptable. The lavatories are generally very clean, they build good cars and have been very successful in exporting royal families throughout Europe. You can get away with eccentric behaviour as long as you remember not to mention the war, (as I was reminded by an eminent German Qype professor last week). I rather fancy that few people here in fact realise that the Germans are actually quite fond of us and I can certainly testify that their sense of humour is the closest you can get to ours, even although they are foreigners. On a more serious note, German culture over the ages is something that you can spend a long time studying. Land of thinkers, poets, musicians and efficient machine builders. The public transport system there is 'somewhat' better than here, ranging from a serious network of amazing high-speed trains to environmentally-friendly trams in most cities. Their various packages can cover anything from the whole country to a region or locality and often if not always include tram/bus tickets. The prices are staggeringly good value. After St. Pancras had opened its portals last year I happened to be lurking in the Black Forest. One day in Freiburg, I nipped into the main station to go to the Deutsche Bahn information centre, where they are always very friendly and go to great trouble, insisting on digging out the best deal for you from their computer. I asked for a 'quote' to St. Pancras. The guy needed to know when I intended to travel so I came clean and explained that I was just being nosey. How about a price for tomorrow? He typed, muttered, clicked and moused about and eventually came up with a price which was pretty good. He pointed that if you are over 60, you travel for half price on Eurostar. Fascinated, I bore it all in mind and buggered off home by air via Switzerland as planned. So: recently I was intending to find out doing this the other way round and going from here. I needed a Eurostar ticket to Brussels, from where I wanted to go on the German ICE high speeder through to Duesseldorf and on further south. I called Eurostar who explained that this was not really on, but they could book me through to either Cologne or Aachen via Brussels (which was not what I wanted). However, they told me to contact another company called Eurotravel or similar, who could book me through to anywhere I bloody well felt like. Fine, I called these guys who explained that they could do anything I wanted. Except book me on Eurostar. For that, I must contact Eurostar. Bugger and damnation! Since the Deutsche Bahn in Deutschland had told me they could me get me from Germany in one fell swoop, I wondered whether they could get me to Germany as well. In a moment of inspiration, I Googled Deutsche Bahn UK and CRUNCH! Calling the number, I asked whether they could book me from London right through to wherever I wanted to sodding well go in Germany and they said Yes sir, of course! They searched for deals and came up with a package which took me from St. Pancras, delivering me in a relaxed mood at Duesseldorf at 15:00 the same day. 52 Euros, including 1st class travel on the amazing ICE trains from Brussels to Duesseldorf. NUFF SAID? Check out their website

Anyone who has visited Kingston upon Thames recently, by car, will know how notorious, and often…read morefrustrating, the vagaries of the one-way system are. Add to that the pretty harsh parking restrictions (which have just become even stricter) and it can take quite significant determination and patience to want to visit, in a private four-wheeled vehicle. Happily, in this context, public transport or my own two feet are usually my preferred means of arrival. On Sunday evening, however, my companion and I needed to park here. We took a long while to chance upon this sweet little car park, by the river, heading towards Teddington. It was a bargain, at just £1 for the whole evening, and worked efficiently in terms of access and obtaining the relevant ticket. Recommended for a great view, too!

We just used this service and it was terrific. Richard (?), the owner is very friendly and gave us…read moresome interesting details about the surrounding area while we sat in a comfortable coach. This service is a quicker and cheaper way to get either to/from Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle than train. Tip: Due to huge coach crowds in the morning at Windsor Castle (on their way to Stonehenge and Bath), it's best to go to Hampton Court first, then take the later (not the first one) shuttle to Windsor because there's really a lot more to see at Hampton Court.