The busiest day to travel to London this festive season has been revealed – and it’s Saturday, December 7, that will see the most day trippers.
That’s according to London Northwestern Railway (LNR), which made the projection based on its Christmas passenger numbers in recent years.
LNR, which runs trains between London, Birmingham, Crewe and Liverpool, reveals that its busiest festive day in 2023 was Saturday, December 9, when over 27,000 passengers travelled into London.
In 2022, Saturday December 3 was the most popular day, with 32,000 LNR journeys to the capital.
British tourists took over 1.2billion day trips in 2023, with London seeing 23 per cent of all day-trippers across the year.
The busiest day to travel to London this festive season has been revealed – and it’s Saturday, December 7, that will see the most day trippers, according to London Northwestern Railway (LNR)
Visitors enjoy seeing the dazzling Christmas lights on Oxford Street (above) – the activity is trending on TikTok with 41,200 tagged posts
For those willing to face the festive bustle, LNR offers some advice.
It advises you plan your travel ahead of time and draw up an organised itinerary, plus it recommends that travellers secure cheaper travel by booking advance train tickets.
And to maximise the chances of a comfortable journey while laden with shopping bags, LNR has a ‘how busy is my train’ tool that reveals how full your train will be – just input your origin and destination stations, along with the time you’re looking to depart and arrive.
Walking through Covent Garden’s Christmas market fills Brits with a festive glow – it’s featured in 37,800 TikTok posts
Day trippers love to skate on the ice rink at the Natural History Museum, seen here, an experience that is trending on TikTok with 14,300 posts
Wondering what to put on the itinerary for a festive London trip, aside from elbowing your way through the crowds?
LNR has put forward some ideas, based on social media popularity.
Visiting Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is the top-trending activity on TikTok (504,000 posts), followed by watching Christmas-themed West Ends shows from ‘Christmas with Anton Du Beke’ to ‘The Nutcracker’ (124,400 posts) and looking at the dazzling Christmas lights on Oxford Street (41,200 posts).
Walking through Covent Garden’s Christmas market (37,800) is another popular activity, along with skating on the ice rink at the Natural History Museum (14,300 posts).