Decided to test the time it takes to walk from the prospective new house to the nearest Piccadilly Line station and see if that’s any different to walking to the nearest rail station.

Turns out it takes 15 minutes using two different walking routes to get there, which is about the same time it takes to get to the rail station. The only difference is that the rail station is in Zone 4 and the underground station is in Zone 5.

A single from the Zone 5 station costs £4.70 peak, £3.10 off peak.

A single from the Zone 4 rail station costs £6.00 peak, £4,70 off peak — so it costs MORE to start my journey FURTHER into London. So why do I do it?

Well, if I cap the journey for the week, I pay a 1-4 weekly travelcard, and not a 1-5 weekly travelcard. Plus, the daily cap for a 1-4 is £10.40, and I’ll hit that with two journeys, versus the 1-5 cap of £12.30