Updated 20 August - we have now visited the coach company and taken pictures of the coach!
This page explained our coach to our guests, so that they could decide whether they wished to ride on it or not...
Why a coach?
- Why should the socialising and fun of the wedding only begin when people arrive at the zoo? A coach will give everyone a chance to get together and enjoy themselves on the journey as well!
- Why should people have to try and meet up somewhere at a busy zoo and find each other in the crowd? A coach will let us all arrive together and take it from there!
- Why not a coach?
Where would it pick me up from?
The three coach stops should be as follows:
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Hextable, Kent (13.00)
This stop will allow easy transport into London for the happy couple, along with Paul's family and family friends. The coach will set off from the bus stop opposite the village green, near the home of Paul's parents, who came up with the whole coach idea in the first place!
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King's Cross station, London (14.10)
The next stop will be on Euston Road, opposite King's Cross station. (Streetmap.co.uk page showing approximate location of King's Cross pick-up point.)
This will be useful for anyone arriving there from outside London, and for anyone staying at the Ashlee House hostel (see Accommodation and Travel), which is just a couple of minutes' walk from the stations.
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Great Portland Street station, London (14.15)
This pick-up will be outside Great Portland Street Underground station, which is a couple of minutes' walk from our other two recommended hotels, Meliá White House and Holiday Inn London - Regent's Park. (Streetmap.co.uk page showing approximate location of Great Portland Street pick-up point.)
What time would I be picked up?
We're aiming to arrive at the zoo at 14.30, allowing a couple of hours to tour it before the ceremony, so the pick-ups would be worked backwards from here. This would mean leaving Hextable at 13.00 and picking up from the subsequent stops at 14.10 and 14.15.
These times have been given to us by the coach company, but of course they can only estimate them based on likely traffic levels, so it's hard to be exact about the London times. If you are travelling by coach, and have a mobile phone, please make sure you have filled in your mobile number on the edit your details page. This will enable us to get hold of you if our timings are out and/or we can't find you.
Please don't be late for any of the stops as our route around the zoo is pretty challenging to fit into two hours so we certainly don't want to be squeezing it into any less time!
New! How will I recognise the coach when it comes to pick me up?
The coach we've booked is a 'Kentishmen Continental' coach, which is dark green and has their logo along the side, like this:
The pictures below show the coach - click on each one to view it in full.
![[Coach picture]](http://www.digitalhome.plus.com/zwimg/coach1thumb.jpg)
![[Coach picture]](http://www.digitalhome.plus.com/zwimg/coach2thumb.jpg)
![[Coach interior]](http://www.digitalhome.plus.com/zwimg/coach4thumb.jpg)
Obviously the last one won't help you recognise it when you're waiting for it in London, but at least now you know what it'll look like when you get on board!
What about getting back afterwards?
The wedding reception will not go on any later than midnight, and the coach will then return people to the points from which it picked them up earlier in the day. All three of our recommended accommodation places have 24-hour access, and Saturday night trains from King's Cross appear to run late enough that you should make a late one, but check your specific journey for yourself.
What will it cost?
Nothing - well, nothing for the guests anyway!
Sounds great! How do I get myself a seat on this amazing coach?
Please go to the update your details page and choose the appropriate options.
Sounds rubbish! Count me out!
Please go to the update your details page and choose the appropriate option - it'll be useful if those of you who aren't interested can say so so we get a good idea of numbers.
Sounds mediocre. I have no idea whether I want to take the coach.
Well, you can go to the update your details page and choose this option too, but don't forget about it - we'll be allocating the seats on a first-come, first-served basis and there is the potential for some people to be left sobbing in abject disappointment, having left it too late to sign up! At the time of writing there are just five seats left!
Who else is taking the coach?
The list below shows who's decided what, so far. You can click on the headings to sort the list by that column:
