This journey is in zones 1-3
- From Balham take the Northern Line
- Leave the train at Leicester Square and walk 5 mins to Covent Garden
Number of stops: 10 · Journey time: Approx 32 mins
Stations on the route: Balham ➜ Clapham South ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham North ➜ Stockwell ➜ Oval ➜ Kennington ➜ Waterloo ➜ Embankment ➜ Charing Cross ➜ Leicester Square [walk to] Covent Garden
Live status and delays
First and last train times
Northern line timetable
Alternative routes include Balham to Leicester Square, Balham to Charing Cross and Balham to Holborn
Stairs, lifts and escalators
Balham is not wheelchair accessible
Covent Garden is not wheelchair accessible
Balham entrance – You must use three flights of stairs between the Chestnut Grove entrance and the booking hall (7 steps down +14 steps down +11 steps down), or 5 steps down +14 steps down +11 steps down between the Balham High Road West entrance and the booking hall, or 21 steps down +10 steps down between the Balham High Road East entrance and the booking hall, plus another escalator or three flights of stairs from the booking hall to the platforms (2x3 steps down +16 steps down)
Leicester Square exit – You must an escalator plus a flight of 20 stairs from the platforms to the booking hall. After that you must use two flights of stairs to the Cranbourn Street exit (13 steps up +18 steps up), or two flights of stairs to the Charing Cross Road eastside exit (13 steps up +10 steps up), or three flights of stairs to the Charing Cross Road westside exit (11 steps up +13 steps up +7 steps up)
This journey is in zones 1-3 and it’s a direct train on the Northern line
- From Leicester Square take the Northern Line
- Leave the train at Balham
Number of stops: 10 · Journey time: Approx 21 mins
Stations on the route: Leicester Square ➜ Charing Cross ➜ Embankment ➜ Waterloo ➜ Kennington ➜ Oval ➜ Stockwell ➜ Clapham North ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham South ➜ Balham
Live status and delays
First and last train times
Northern line timetable
Alternative routes include Leicester Square to Leicester Square, Leicester Square to Charing Cross and Leicester Square to Holborn
Stairs, lifts and escalators
Leicester Square is not wheelchair accessible
Balham is not wheelchair accessible
Leicester Square entrance – You must use two flights of stairs from the Cranbourn Street entrance and the booking hall (18 steps down +13 steps down), or two flights of stairs from the Charing Cross Road eastside entrance (20 steps down +13 steps down), or three flights of stairs from the Charing Cross Road westside entrance (7 steps down +13 steps down +11 steps down). After that you must an escalator plus a flight of 20 stairs down to the platforms
Balham exit – You must use an escalator or three flights of stairs from the platforms to the booking hall (16 steps up +2x3 steps up), plus another three flights of stairs between the booking hall and the Chestnut Grove exit (11 steps up +14 steps up +7 steps up), or 11 steps up +14 steps up +5 steps up between the booking hall and the Balham High Road West exit, or 10 steps up +21 steps up between the booking hall and the Balham High Road East exit
Cash, Oyster & Travelcard fares
The journey is in zones 1-3. The cheapest fare is £3 off-peak (£3.70 peak) when you pay by Oyster or contactless. There are no return tickets, you just pay the same as two singles
| Fare zone | Cash | Oyster & Contactless cards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single fare | Single fare | Daily cap | |||
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | ||
| Zone 1-3 fare | £6.70 | £3.70 | £3 | £10 | £10 |
| Fare Zone | Travelcards (Train, Bus & Tram) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One day travelcard | Week travelcard | Month travelcard | ||
| Anytime | Off-peak | |||
| Zone 1-4 travelcard | £15.90 | n/a | £61.40 | £235.80 |
| Zone 1-6 travelcard | £22.60 | £15.90 | £78 | £299 |
| Zone 1-9 travelcard | £28.50 | £17 | £111.30 | £427.40 |
| Note: Ticket prices are correct as of | ||||
Peak and off-peak times
For Oyster and contactless off-peak is outside the hours of 6.30 AM-9.30 AM and 4 PM-7 PM (Mon-Fri). For travelcards it’s any time after 9.30 AM (Mon-Fri). Weekends are always classed as off-peak.
The fare is based on what time your journey begins. It doesn’t matter when it ends.
Alternative ways to travel
Walking – The distance is around 5 miles, which is too far to walk
By bus – A single ticket is £1.75 (you may need more than one bus). The daily cap is £5.25 and a 1-day travelcard is £6 – Bus fares
By taxi – A five mile ride should cost between £23 and £35.50 and take about 21-35 minutes