- You know what it's like, there are just some mornings
in life when you wake up and you think,
"I wonder how long it would take to get around
all 45 DLR stations."
Today it's one of those mornings.
(bright upbeat music)
I mean, this has kinda been on my tick list for a while.
There's a kind of an unofficial,
there's a link in the description right now.
There's a sort of an unofficial record leaderboard of
how long it takes people to get around all 45 DLR stations.
It's not a world record.
It's not official.
It's just a bit of fun.
There's a link on screen now.
And in the description, I don't think I'll beat the time
but who knows?
I'm hoping for a time of around two hours,
but I'll get on the train
and then I will explain my route
about how I plan to do this.
- [Announcer 1] (indistinct)
- Although, you can see on the board behind me,
I'm very specifically waiting for the 9:04.
That's the last morning train out of Lewisham
it goes all the way to Stratford.
Normally during the day you get a Canary Wharf
to Stratford surface but in the peak
the DLR do things a little different.
(bright upbeat music)
(beeping)
(bright upbeat music)
And so with the stopwatch running,
here's the route that I'm taking for today's challenge.
Starting at Lewisham, we had North
up through Greenwich and Cutty Sark onto Canary Wharf.
And from there round through Poplar
and up the branch towards Stratford.
That's where our first change is
and we'll go one stop up to Stratford International
where we'll turn around
and staying on the train that comes down
all the way through Canning Town
and then down the branch that goes through
London City Airport and to Woolwich.
At this point, I double back
but get out the King George V
and use a bus to connect to the Beckton branch.
And at that point, I get a train
heading back into Central London,
through Canning Town again
then on through Westferry and Limehouse
and ending up by going to both Tower Gateway
and Bank for the finish.
(bright upbeat music)
(indistinct chattering)
(beeping) Canary Wharf normally,
trains from Stratford terminate here
on the outside platform.
They're coming on the middle platform
and you'd have to change
but by getting that 9:04.
It goes all the way through to Stratford.
(indistinct chattering) (bright upbeat music)
Poplar station
13.
In time recorded done in like 20 minutes.
(beeping)
This will take no time at all. (chuckles)
Okay, put a middle name.
So first change coming up
oh, Olympic stadium.
Now the West Ham stadium.
When we get into Stratford,
gotta run down, change to the other DLR branch
- [Announcer 1] The next stop - And go one stop
- [Announcer 1] Is Stratford where this train terminates.
- Go one stop to - [Announcer 1] Please
remember to take - Stratford
all your belongings with you. - International.
- But if I just miss one,
then there's the dilemma that it might be quicker to go
through the Westfield shopping centre on foot.
(train moving) We'll see.
(beeping)
So down onto the other platform 16 at Stratford,
the other branch of the DLR.
I was hoping to get the 9:36 out of here but
I arrived into the upper DLR platform later than I'd hoped.
So, I'm just gonna wait for the next one, which is the nine,
9:44
in three minutes.
(beeping)
(bright upbeat music)
Stratford International that's 20 stations.
On a map it looks easy, but this is our second connection.
My destination is now determined by the fact that
I wasn't sure if some trains
where they went to from here
but they're all appeared to be going to Woolwich.
So, next I would just get back on the same train
- [Announcer 2] (indistinct) - Go to Woolwich.
(bright upbeat music) (beeping)
- [Announcer 3] The train (indistinct)
The train is calling all stations
to Woolwich Arsenal. - Canning Town.
Taking off, heading to Woowich.
(beeping) (bright upbeat music)
(train screeching) King George V.
I'll be back here in a minute because
the way I'm gonna do Woolwich, it's interesting.
Someone that I know that once did this before
once time did they didn't start their day at Woolwich.
They started it at the Bank on Tower Hill
and they got a Southeastern train timed perfectly between
Woolwich and Lewisham, it was at Lewisham and Woolwich.
The point is they used Southeastern
to get between those two, because I started at Lewisham
I can't do that.
So I'm gonna have to reverse at Woolwich,
come back here - [Announcer 4] The next stop
- In a second - [Announcer 4] Is Woolwich,
Arsenal. Where this train - Come back here in a second
- [Announcer 3] Terminates. - To King George V.
And then make a connection on foot or using a bus
over to Beckton and Gallions Reach.
(beeping)
We now just stopped 30, 1 hour seven minutes in.
I just missed one.
(chuckles) It left as we arrived
but the one I've just come in on now
it's going out in one minute.
So, we'll just get the same train again.
(beeping)
(indistinct)
Okay. 474 bus deposits you by the Adsta over there.
At Beckton, there's a train leaving from here at Beckton.
They alternate from Canning Town to Tower Gateway.
I don't wanna have to change at Canning Town,
that would be tricky.
I'm happy just to sit on a Tower Gateway train
all the way through
and then there's one more tricky
thing to do
to tick off Bank station to complete.
(train engine revving)
He left and headed for the front.
Is somebody sat in the front seat
or is that the... - [Announcer 4] Set off train.
- Is that the PSA?
Oh no the PSA sat in front seat
so I can't, - [Announcer 4] Gates
will not open. - I can't seat there.
(bright upbeat music)
Very clearly some purple rambles.
I think I will go one stop.
Just walk down, nip down to the tube.
(beeping) Tower Hill.
Just go one stop westbound Circle District
to Monument.
Walk through the corridors
from Monument to Bank, go to the DLR platforms.
The moment I leave the DLR at Bank
I'll have to travel to Shadwell
but I can stop the stopwatch the moment I depart
Bank
on the DLR.
Probably be around
two hours ten.
(bright upbeat music)
(beeping) One hour 49 minutes in.
Station 41, Westferry. (beeping)
(bright upbeat music)
- [Announcer 5] This train is (indistinct)
- I can never remember which side
the doors open in Tower Gateway.
That side.
(beeping)
Tower Hill.
On to the tube and the train within 30 seconds.
Be at the front
to change at Monument.
- [Announcer 6] The Central, Northern
and Waterloo and City (indistinct) and DLR for Bank.
(beeping)
- [Announcer 7] (indistinct)
(indistinct chattering)
- On to the DLR (laughs)
at Bank.
As soon as it moves
I can still put on two hours,
two minutes
and 45 seconds.
(indistinct chattering) (beeping)
(train moving)
Complete. (laughs)
Let's chat at Shadwell.
(bright upbeat music) (beeping)
All right. Shadwell.
Let's...
Let's have a little debrief about
what the point of that was.
(bright upbeat music)
Hello, we're at the back entrance of Shadwell DLR.
Two hours,
three minutes and seconds to make it round all 45 DLR stops.
It is an unofficial time.
It's not a world record.
If you look on this website, explorerticket
it points out that there's all these other
unofficial challenges you can do,
but only the tube stations that for 270
is the actual one approved by Guinness.
The others are just for fun.
There's one in there, which I might do some time,
travelling to all the overground stations on the network.
It would be remiss of me if I didn't point out
that my friend Hugo,
that you'll know for some of my bus adventures
is actually the man, one on Hugo
to actually get round in 1:00:53.
So just 10 minutes faster than what I did today.
Kind of a thing that if I'd have made the earlier trains
I should have done, at Stratford,
going to Stratford International,
I might've been a whole train up on the whole thing
and maybe I would have come in closer to 1:00:53,
but there you go.
All 45 DLR stops in two hours.
It is possible to do it in under two hours.
Maybe I'll do it again someday, maybe not.
Thanks for watching.
(bright upbeat music)