please empty your brain below

Hi Diamond Geezer

Been reading your blog for a couple of years as a lurker, absolutely love it and think you are a wonderful modern historian and writer.

With a smile on my face can I respectfully ask you to reconsider the phrase "and see you down Brunel's shaft". I love Brunel as much as anybody but ..please!

Thanks for posting these links. I had tried without success to find out how to actually book the visit yesterday and was expecting to have to make loads of phone calls today to find out! Poorly marketed unfortunately.
Now booked though and can't wait!

Sorry I won't be able to join you but if you take your camera and you would like to forward a shot or two to John Bull at London Reconnections we would be most grateful. One random thought - although I have an eclectic and some say eccentric group of friends and acquaintances I have never numbered an Isambard in their midst - have you?
IIRC Brunel's middle name "Kingdom" was his his mothers maiden name.

One more twist - the confirmatory email (which does include the booked time) says the tickets are attached in PDF, but the only attachment I can see is a weirdly incompetent HTML file.

I follow the twitter account of ltmuseum (www.twitter.com/ltmuseum), the last three tweets read:

Brunel Tunnel Tours can booked online here: http://ow.ly/1eGHc

followed by

Apologies to all looking for Brunel tickets, we've had technology meltdown.

and then

You can book Brunel by phone on 020 7565 7298 in working hours but please be patient as we've been busy, that tunnel sure is popular.

i blame you DG for publisicing it!

Those LTmuseum tweets were posted yesterday evening - nothing to do with me!

I just hope my ticket arrives via the post then...

I'm a little disappointed you told the world about this before I had a chance to get tickets, but on the other hand, I don't think I'd have managed to buy any without your handy hints.

Anyhow, I'll now be going into Brunel's hole next Saturday. F'narr.

Thanks for the info DG. I have managed to book for next Saturday. The only challenge will be getting there as the Jubilee Line is fully suspended so it'll be the delights on the bus network instead.

I managed to book a tour using Firefox easily enough on Thursday morning - tried again that afternoon to get the Fancy Fair for some mates... no chance!

Yet again you suffer so I don't have to. Unfortunatey I cannot yet commit to a day let alone a time so I phoned to see if I could book at the door if space was available. Absolutely not! If I don't trust the booking system and want to decide last minute I think I am going to have to visit the LT museum to get the ticket then go to Rotherhithe - but the LT Museum closes at 18.00 which rather kills off a last minute evening visit.

Totally awesome... like a forgotten chapter from Jules Verne.

I can't wait to see the photos.

I booked early Friday morning - didn't even think of booking online, just called the LTM direct - no hassle, got the time I wanted, all sorted! I did check out the Brunel museum website which was a bit redundant... even their holding page is a bit 1996... can't wait for this though - just hope I can fix my camera in time!

I battled with the website (had to use Windows under boot camp on my mac) and got as far as completing Verified by Visa before the website crapped out. Upon trying again, I was informed that the website was having problems interfacing with the payment system.

Got on the phone, job done in just a couple of minutes. Looking forward to seeing the tunnel!

I have been struggling to book this for a couple of days now. I've always had a strange fascination with the tunnel and the tour happens to fall on my birthday, so I thought "Book it! Book it now!"

Sadly, I use a Mac which renders the site unusable, and no one is picking up the phone at the Museum. I am now quite sad as I doubt that any tickets will be left on Monday. We shall see.

Many thanks for the heads up. Went like a dream with IE no problems, thanks for the warnings.

Geezer, your blog is Diamond.

I started reading this post thinking I would definitely go along. By the end I'd decided not to bother. This is possibly the first time an online booking process has terrified me. And I've used Ryanair.

Working OK (for IE, not Firefox) at the moment, but it looks like Saturday is all booked up.

I'm tempted to suspect that the appalling design of the website was a clever way to restrict tickets to those who *really* wanted them.

Just before the closure of the line in 2007, I attended one of these guided tours organised by Brunel Museum - and I was really disappointed to find out that the tour took place on a regular East London Line train with passengers on board, running just a bit slower than usual to allow the guide to tell his story.

Unless my memory is playing tricks, isn't there an option to have the tickets either posted out, or available for collection from the ticket office? I think I selected the latter, assuming 'ticket office' meant at the Brunel Museum.

Having just checked my confirmation email, it confirms that my tickets are available for collection at the ticket office. It doesn't mention which ticket office. A phonecall to Covent Garden just established that it's their ticket office. However, they also said that they've been sending out batches of tickets in the post to everyone who booked, regardless of collection method.

It's all a bit bizarre and disorganised. At least now I know that if my tickets haven't arrived by the end of the week, to trek to Covent Garden to plead with them there. I wouldn't fancy turning up at Rotherhithe on Friday evening (with my parents, who're coming up from Cardiff just for this) to find there's no ticket office there...

I got two tickets for 3pm on the 12th - unfortunately I only realised some time later that the 12th is Friday, and I can't make it. duh... Is anyone interested in buying them off me?

All tickets now sold out.

http://twitter.com/ltmuseum/status/10166523230

I don't think they are sold out - the museum is still selling tickets for the underwater fair. I may or may not have bought some last night - I entered my CC details, but have had no confirmation email.
What I don't understand is the time slots for the Fancy Fair. the website says it's on from 6pm to 10pm, but the tickets have timeslots at 18.05, 19.50, and every 45 mins until 21.50. Does that mean you kicked out of the tunnel after 45 mins of the fair, or can you linger a lit longer?
I called the Brunel Museum, but the chap I spoke to there had less idea than I did about what's happening.

Aha! have just spoken to the goons at East Festival who have "organised" this. Turns out the "underwater" fancy Fair is actually on the wasteland around the museum, and if you are very good they'll let you crawl through a hole into the access shaft, which now has a concrete floor.
I think there might be some rather disappointed people on Friday evening!

If anyone has a spare ticket, please let me know! I'm crying :'(

Me too - I'm really disappointed not to be able to get into this.
When the ELL closed a coupel of years ago, a friend on I went on one of the last trains through the tunnel, accompanied by a chap from the Brunel Museum. The train slowed as we went through the tunnel, and they dimmed the carriage lights so we could peer out at Brunel's architecture. At the time I thought it would be great to be able to get into the tunnel while the train service was suspended, but alas!, it is not to be.

As you say the website is a disaster (with any browser...) so I phone the LT Museum and they said all tickets for the tunnel have gone (there are still tickets for the fair).

At least you can get through to the LT Museum. I can't get them to pick up the phone - am trying to get a refund for this fiasco.
I see Boris is bragging on Twitter about how much fun his walk through the tunnel was.

I have a spare ticket for this as a friend pulled out.

It's for the Friday 1630 tour, so if you are interested and can get to Rotherhithe station before 1615, email me by about 1530

john AT sabine .org.uk (yeah, change the obvious bits)

Ah, I can't make that slot, but thanks for the offer.

The subway system in this city is one of the most efficient in the world.











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