The Shortest Tube Journey that Ticks off the Alphabet

Here's something ... which is fun puzzle that you can try from home (with a tube map) without you even needing to make a journey ... What's the shortest route which ticks off all 26 letters of the alphabet?
By travelling through Underground stations only I came up with a route that passes through 13 consecutive stations and takes just 4 trains. But can you beat it !?
There are also some alternative challenges to try as well, see the pinned comment below.
Note : Every solution MUST use Belsize Park, the only station on the network to contain the letter 'Z' !!

[@geofftech2]

ALTERNATIVE CHALLENGES: - So my route goes via 13 stations using 4 trains ... can it be done in a smaller number of stations? Or smaller number of trains? - Is there a faster time that it can done - even if it uses more trains or stations - What's the fewest number of tube stations required so that every letter of the alphabet appears at least once? (The stations don't have to be adjacent, they can be anywhere on the network)

[@princessdaisy6]

i got belsize park to willsden junction via kings cross and oxford circus but 4 trains 16 stations

[@logisticallychallenged]

The letter 'J' is weirdly difficult.

[@sihollett]

swapping Charing Cross and Embankment for Green Park in order to get the 'G' between getting the 'Y' from Piccadilly Circus and the 'J' at St James's Park drops it down to 12 stations, but adds 2 more trains.

[@kailomonkey]

Here's an alternate challenge. With the same travelling restrictions as above, ticking off only 1 letter of your choice from each station you pass through; can you complete the alphabet without going through a station with no letter available to tick off and preferably without using the same station twice! Shortest in any respect does not matter especially since it will definitely take exactly 26 stations. Just is it possible? There will either be no way, loads of ways or hopefully just few enough to make it a challenge!

[@Sim0nTrains]

Sadly my ideas for the quickest time are 15 storeys high of fail plans :p

[@richburrow4268]

A good challenge would be an alphabet challenge where you can only tick off one letter per station. So 26 stations need to be visited in the quickest order. Or do this as an actual A to Z starting off with A and finishing with a place with Z.

[@steffenfrost995]

These where what I thought the video would actually be

[@ScotRail380018]

Then you may be interested in what's dropping in an hour's time ;)

[@mordecai8841]

Arnos grove- Bounds green- Caledonian Road- (northern line from king's cross) olD street- moorgatE- (circle, hammersmith and city or metropolitan line)- Farringdon- kinG's cross - (victoria line)- Highbury and islington- fInsbury park- (jubilee line from green park)- st Johns wood- baKer street- (circle hammersmith and city metropolitan)- great portLand street- (jubilee line from baker street)- Marylebone- RegeNts park- Oxford circus- Piccadilly circus- (central line from oxford circus)- Queensway- holland paRk- Shepherd's bush- whiTe city- tottenham coUrt road- (victoria line from oxford circus)- Victoria- (circle and district line)- Westminster- (victoria line from victoria)- vauXhall- (district line from victroia, central line from bank/monument)- chancerY lane- (northern line from tottenham court road)- belsiZe park.

[@hannahparsonson7272]

So would x be covered by charing cross?

[@ChrisGBusby]

Start with the Z at Belsize Park then collect each letter in reverse alphabetical order (or do it the other way ending there), You can collect more than one letter per station, but they must be in order.

[@fToo]

Yes. Alphabetical order has to be the pinnacle !

[@TheM0JEC]

How about in alphabetical order but via the longest route possible?

[@leestoddart7014]

I tried to do this in alpabetical order. I think the minimum number of stations might be 9 - for example Barbican (ABC) Northfields (DEF) Charing Cross (GHI) St. James's Park (JK) Clapham Common (LMNOP) Euston Square (QRSTU) Warwick Avenue (VW) Croxley (XY) Belsize Park (Z) But what is the least number of stations if you count all the ones you go through where you collect no letters? 1 Blackhorse Road (ABCDE) 2 Tottenham Hale 3 Finsbury Park (F) 4 Highbury & Islington (GHI) 5 Kings Cross St Pancras 6 Euston 7 Warren Street 8 Oxford Circus 9 Green Park 10 Victoria 11 St. James's Park (JK) 12 Westminster 13 Embankment 14 Temple (LM) 15 Blackfriars 16 Mansion House (NO) 17 Cannon Street 19 Monument/Bank 20 St. Paul's (P) 21 Chancery Lane 22 Holborn 23 Covent Garden 24 Leicester Square (QRSTU) 25 Piccadilly Circus 26 Green Park 27 Victoria (V) 28 Green Park 29 Oxford Circus 30 Warren Street (W) 31 Oxford Circus (X) 32 Piccadilly Circus (Y) 33 Oxford Circus 34 Warren Street 35 Euston 36 Camden Town 37 Chalk Farm 38 Belsize Park (Z) @geoff - great challenge!

[@John_259]

We have received a letter from a Mrs Trellis of North Wales. She writes: Dear Judith Chalmers, how you can invent a Tube game which doesn't finish at Mornington Crescent?

[@cheesedoff-with4410]

I'm late getting to see this video, and just thought I'd check to make sure there was no other mention of Mornington Crescent .... You beat me to it. Well done.

[@Rekowagen]

This is taking nerdiness to a new level.

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

thats why its so good!

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

This reminds me of Tracey Ullman ... "you broke my heart in 17 places, Shepherds Bush was only one"

[@StrangerHereMyself]

You'd have to cheat to do this here in Berlin: no letter "Q" on either U- or S-Bahn so you'd have to include one tram stop in the outskirts. (Stendaler Straße/Quedlinburger Straße, also the ONLY tram stop with a Q). Then onto the U5 all the way into the city center, which takes care of most of the alphabet before you reach the first interchange to another subway line at Alexanderplatz. Then via U8 to Kottbusser Tor on to the U1 via Möckernbrücke to catch the elusive "Ö". At Gleisdreieck change to the U2 to mop up the pesky "Y" at Mendelsohn-Batoldy-Park before finally catching the most central of our six "V"s at Hausvogteiplatz. Travel time: 1 hour 11 minutes.

[@isaaccisa]

How to do this in Barcelona: Trams must be included. You have to connect these four letters, all the others can be obtained easily. K - Av. Tibidabo-Pl. John F. Kennedy Q - Roquetes or Urquinaona W - Walden or Wellington Z - Can Zam or Zona Universitària While the Y is relatively scarce (3 stations) two of them are central hubs (Catalunya and Espanya). You can get X for free while going to K (El Putxet). If and when the central branch of L9 finally opens, this will be much easier and faster. Currently, you can get all the letters except for S and Z on a relatively straight trip from Wellington to Av. Tibidabo, but must take a significant detour to go to Zona Universitària.

[@jfwfreo]

If you are going to do it in Barcelona do you need to include letters like à or ñ?

[@asheiou]

@@jfwfreo accents aren't considered seperate letters, but ñ is, so yes

[@davidbull1914]

@@jfwfreo Station names in Barcelona are in Catalan not Spanish, Catalan doesn't use ñ

[@kenaikuskokwim9694]

Paris Metro has a single W, at Wagram. Apparently Avenue du Président Wilson doesn't have an eponymous station. Anvers is sometimes referred to as Anvers (Sacré-Cœur), so there's a ligature for you. Berlin has every letter but Q.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Let me try this for Chicago. The only station with an X is SOX-35TH, so that must be included. There are two stations with a Q: LOGAN SQUARE and QUINCY. SOX-35TH is on the red line. From there, go north (toward the Loop), passing through CERMAK-CHINATOWN, ROOSEVELT, HARRISON, JACKSON, and MONROE, then get off at LAKE. We have now covered 17 letters [ACEHIJKLMNORSTVWX]. Transfer to STATE/LAKE. We need to get to QUINCY to cover the Q. Take either the pink line clockwise through WASHINGTON/WABASH, ADAMS/WABASH, HAROLD WASHINGTON LIBRARY-STATE/VAN BUREN, LASALLE/VAN BUREN, and QUINCY. We have now covered 23 letters [ABCDEGHIJKLMNOQRSTUVWXY]. After that, you want to continue along the pink line, passing CLINTON, MORGAN, ASHLAND, POLK, 18TH, DAMEN, WESTERN, CALIFORNIA, and KEDZIE. We have now covered all 26 letters. Complete route has 22 stops on 2 lines: Red line: *SOX-35TH* -> *CERMAK-CHINATOWN* -> *ROOSEVELT* -> *HARRISON* -> *JACKSON* -> *MONROE* -> *LAKE* Pink line: *STATE/LAKE* -> *WASHINGTON/WABASH* -> *ADAMS/WABASH* -> *HAROLD WASHINGTON LIBRARY-STATE/VAN BUREN* -> *LASALLE/VAN BUREN* -> *QUINCY* -> *CLINTON* -> *MORGAN* -> *ASHLAND* -> *POLK* -> *18TH* -> *DAMEN* -> *WESTERN* -> *CALIFORNIA* -> *KEDZIE*

[@tapchangerproductions]

I have a fewer stations solution. Start at St. James’ Park, and get a westbound train to Victoria. Then get a northbound Victoria line train to Green Park. Change for the Piccadilly line to Leicester Square, the Northern line to Tottenham Court Road, and the Central line to Oxford Circus. Finally get the Victoria line again to Euston and change to the Northern line to Belsize Park. This route passes through 12 stations IF you get the Bank branch from Euston to Camden Town. However, this route is quite train intensive, with 7 trains used. Edit: this is a brute force method

[@matibustaniwood3495]

that would take longer i think

[@imsbvs]

Using those stations will require long interchange walks, no cross platform changes included.

[@marvintpandroid2213]

Mornington crescent... ops, wrong game.

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

that ticks off 10 letters I believe :)

[@thelonesculler]

I feel like this has potential for a new leaderboard on the unofficial Tube Challenges

[@engineeringvision9507]

Its too easy to reach the optimal value

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

@@engineeringvision9507 I disagree once optimal stations are found then it becomes a matter of time. I do feel however a collect only 1 letter from any tube station would be better and have far more permuatations

[@michaelraasch5496]

For someone who has successfully completed the London Monopoly pub crawl twice and the (old/original) Circle Line pub crawl I salute you. Fab idea.

[@MartinAtkinsQ]

This reminds me of how in the early 2000s I tried to sneakily extract New Johnston from a tube map PDF and found that, at that point at least, there was no lowercase J anywhere on the map!

[@zedcharlie]

3 letters spring to mind. . . .o c d 😁👍

[@harrymiles2652]

I’ll have to time this in practise but in theory you can do it quicker ⚫️ Belsize Park - Leicester Square - Hit Mornington Crescent for G (Side-note: when Geoff changed at Camden Town I went “GEOFF NO”) 🔵 Leicester Square - Piccadilly Circus - Gets Y 🟤 Piccadilly Circus - Oxford Circus 🔵 Oxford Circus - Victoria 🟡🟢 Victoria - St James’s Park More changes, haven’t tried it out yet, but I looked up and the times between each station beat 31 mins Edit: King's Cross St Pancras would've got G before Charing Cross so idk how necessary Charing Cross is in Geoff's route

[@insignificantaftermathPROJECTS]

Does Geoff wake up at 4am and have these random miscellaneous Eureka moments for obscure train ride challenges?

[@WhatColourIsYourBugatti_]

Variation: you can only pick one letter from the station name

[@tardismole]

Oh boy. We haven't seen this many train-spotters this excited for two years (myself included). Anoraks on, thermos filled, cameras ready, challange accepted... I'm too far away to join in. However I have a challenge to add. How many underground stations can you board/disembark at that are truly wheelchair friendly (as in no lip, step or drop), in one hour? Starting point anywhere in zone one and going no further than zone 2/3, underground only, and visiting every major landmark/museum.

[@anonandon71]

I wonder if anoraks now spend a lot of their time on youtube.

[@tardismole]

@@anonandon71 I do. :) I'm housebound unless aided, so I suppose that counts for something. And of course there are fewer 'anoraks' about becasuse of the pandemic. But we will come out of the woodwork again at some point. And youtube will become defunct.

[@gillchatfield3231]

Geoff, you're definitely bonkers!

[@michaeldwyer3352]

I recommend including Knightsbridge as a possible inclusion as it ticks off 12 letters immediately. Merry Christmas.

[@adamwhite648]

I absolutely LOVE your videos, Geoff, as I've been a train fan myself ever since I was a little boy (and I'm 48 now!) Here in Toronto, we can't do that challenge. Out of 75 stations, none of them includes the letter Z. But in terms of first letters for every station, the alphabet is covered except for A, T, X, and Z. Not bad for a smaller system compared to yours. Keep up the great work!

[@mrjoneseastend]

Hi Geoff, this challenge is a little too easy because the are not many different routes that can be taken. What would be more interesting and have many possibilities is to start at a station beginning with the letter 'A', then onto 'B' and 'C' etc. I think you get the idea. Finish at Belsize Park. There are no stations beginning with 'J' and 'Y' so simply travel through.

[@davidwhitfield7864]

I absolutely adore videos like this. Keep up the good work, Geoff.

[@timchown1]

Love watching you complete these challenges ! Thanks

[@ZGryphon]

I'm vaguely surprised there isn't a Tube stop somewhere in London called The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog, named after a much-loved neighborhood pub that was bombed in 1940 and never reopened after the war. Also, now I'm picturing a German equivalent, which would have to bag letters like ü and ß. That could be tricky, since I seem to recall from my long-ago semesters studying the language that the German government has been trying to get rid of ß on official signage for decades.

[@paulwilliamdixon3674]

In der Deutschenuntergrundstationen, the names are probably so long you don't have a platform long enough.

[@PopeLando]

I was hoping you'd find a way to finish your route at Mornington Crescent, but we can't have everything.

[@highpath4776]

So should Belsize Park be the new mornington crescent ?

[@microserf]

In Montreal you can get all except for F on just the Orange line, between Cremazie (for the Z) and Snowdon (one of two Ws). A one station detour at Jean-Talon on the Blue line to pick up Fabre gets you the whole alphabet. If you need the distinct accented vowels, then you have to stay all the way to Du Collège to pick up the one è station.

[@mremumerm]

interesting. Assumed you would have to go to Pie-IX to get the X, forgot Lionel-GroulX. You can reduce number of station by doing Crémazie to Lionel-Groulx, with the detour to Fabre on the blue, and at Lionel Groulx one station on the Green to Atwater for the W so 3 less station. depending on connection time this might also be faster.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Challenge Accepted.... just need to plan it first and visit London. Great video Geoff.

[@hannahk1306]

This seems like a classic computing problem. The tube map is already a graph with nodes and edges, so all you would need to do is add a few things like weights for journey times (or whichever version you're doing) then plug it into something like a shortest path algorithm and it should spit out various permutations for you.

[@anniesoernym]

I feel like "for ultimate nerdiness" would be a great subtitle for your channel, Geoff 😉 And I'm greatly enjoying it!

[@gpan62]

That's why there should be a station called Bazelgette. That, and because he saved thousands of lives.

[@kenaikuskokwim9694]

I tried this on the New York City system. You can almost do it entirely within Queens. A great start with Jamaica-Van Wyck, then Van Wyck Blvd, Union Turnpike, Forest Hills-71 Ave, thence to Queens Plaza for the Q and Z. All,that's left is X. Unless you cheat and get that from 67, 63, 46, etc, you have to cross into Manhattan to Lexington Ave. Adding all ten digits would make it even more fun!

[@kenaikuskokwim9694]

Oops... I left out Grand Ave-Newtown. Or just use the G in Lexington, since you're going there anyway.

[@TransferPoint9346]

A weekend E train service would hit all the letters. Using Briarwood for the B.

[@TransferPoint9346]

If you're looking for all letters and digits in one trip, take the 7 from Flushing to Grand Central, then take a 4, 5, or 6 train to 51st or 59th for the Lexington Avenue station it connects to.

[@lofcmatt]

Santa needs to bring Geoff a clipboard 🎅🏻

[@TheSpotify95]

Interesting... think you could do a challenge on this one, like how you did the "what's the quickest route to Stratford?" challenge a few years ago :). Also, you could do a few different challenges, such as: shortest time, shortest distance, least number of stations, least number of interchanges, lowest price of the total route, etc. :)

[@zdavis4222]

I have enjoyed watching many of Geoff's videos and, despite living in the UK all my life, I have never lived in London or really understood the London mindset. This must have been the video whose reason for being made was most beyond me! That having been said, it was easy to go with the flow. I await the next video in the series.

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

I think the London mindset is mainly not appreciating their great public transport system compared to the rest of the country

[@AaronOfMpls]

Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St Paul, Minnesota, US), it's not _quite_ possible on our two METRO light rail lines. You can get Z at Government Plaza (on both Green and Blue lines); X at Lexington Parkway (Green)*; V, W, J, Y, and F in multiple stations, and most of the rest in more still. But there's no Q or J anywhere! Nor will the Green Line extension (under construction now) add either letter. 🙁 The Blue Line extension is still under study -- but it's not likely to add a Q or a J either, however it turns out. In any case, this has been surprisingly interesting, Geoff! 😎 I'm tempted to try it for NYC or Chicago, but I'm afraid I'll end up even more nerd sniped! * and arguably another X at 46th Street (Blue) too, if you spell out "Forty-Sixth"

[@chrnovids]

Let me know if I'm wrong but 12 stations could be: Belsize Park > Chalk Farm > Camden Town (Switch Branch here) > Euston > Warren Street > Oxford Circus > Tottenham Court Road > Liecester Square > Picaddily Circus > Green Park > Victoria > St James Park

[@goombacraft]

Q?

[@KitsuneKiera]

@@goombacraft Leicester Square contains the Q

[@christinecamley]

Fabulous video Geoff!! Thanks so much!! I enjoyed it so much!! Cheers!! :-)

[@jackbates7467]

Tried to see if this can be done in Texas, ironically their are no stations/streetcar stops of any sort with an X in the whole state

[@funkyworms]

None of your X’s live in Texas?

[@highpath4776]

can you not count Texas ?

[@LadyAnuB]

@@funkyworms 😅

[@howdyhamster]

You could cheat a bit with Fort Worth T&P, which is initials for Texas & Pacific, but it's not spelled out as such on the map. There's no 'Q' in the DART/Trinity/DCTA network however.

[@philh1462]

Clearly one letter per station, and in alphabetical order, is the purest form of this particular challenge. Probably getting out and changing trains as well. Go on, Geoff - do it!

[@davidrawkins1851]

Hi Geoff, I used 22 stations and 2 lines. I've only consulted the map at the moment so have not tried the timing out. I used Northern and Bakerloo Starting at Belsize Park finishing at Willesden Junction. Belsize Park, Chalk Farm, Camden Town, Mornington Crescent Euston, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus Maida Vale, Willesden Junction.

[@user-jt1jv8vl9r]

"I will tick off every letter"... promptly followed by him crossing them out instead. Confusion follows.. 😆

[@simonthompson9858]

This is classic Geoff :)

[@96GLpaljWth6]

I was looking at this for DC, but the only station with an "X" is Vienna/Fairfax-GMU at the end of the Orange Line, so I suppose you'd have to do the following: Start at Vienna/Fairfax-GMU (remaining letters: BCDHJKLMOPQSTWYZ) Pass through Dunn Loring-Merrifield (remaining letters: BCHJKPQSTWYZ) Pass through West Falls Church-VT/UVA (remaining letters: BCJKPQYZ) Pass through Ballston-MU (remaining letters: CJKPQYZ) Pass through Virginia Square-GMU (remaining letters: CJKPYZ) Pass through Clarendon (remaining letters: JKPYZ) Pass through McPherson Square (remaining letters: JKYZ) At L'Enfant Plaza, transfer to the Green/Yellow Lines northbound (remaining letters: JKY) At Gallery Place/Chinatown, transfer to the Red Line eastbound (remaining letters: JKY) Pass through Judiciary Square (remaining letter: K) Stop at Brookland-CUA 23 stations, 2 transfers, and knowing how far out Vienna/Fairfax-GMU is, probably a good hour and a half?

[@raybolasco9457]

Love al the history of the tube u do ,&over ground since i been waching i been lerning so much . Love the one on queensbury &stanmore &bellmont.

[@hamswakii]

Watching Geoff with the "help" of automatically generated Dutch subtitles is...interesting (I can't speak any eating-while-speaking languages such as Dutch or Danish).

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

I speak Dutch and I think the subtitles are even more hilarious this way

[@lauppfrosch]

Great challenge 👌 And I am happy with new underground videos 🤗

[@tyrozone5]

Sounds like a fun game! Gonna try that when I’m back on the tube.

[@KinzleySnow]

Love this idea - I’ve just worked out that this actually wouldn’t be possible within Sydney as no train stations run by Sydney trains contain X or Z, you’d have to go into regional NSW!

[@SomeYouTubeGuy]

Not possible in Perth either. No station has the letter x in either our current or proposed station names.

[@LondonWalkbyLondonSocialite]

the story is very interesting. 🦋🦋🦋 thans for sharing 🦋🦋🦋

[@BigKelvPark]

I don't know how this ended up in my feed but kudos for such a fun idea. I won't be trying it as I avoid London as much as possible. I blame the Whitewicks for bringing me this!

[@barryjenkins4742]

Hi Geoff, still watching from new Zealand ,great videos love watching them,a merry Christmas to you and all your supporters

[@caw25sha]

I'm sure there must be Kiwi equivalent of this. Have you got any Zs or Qs?

[@andrewdempsey6529]

Looks great Geoff 👏🏻

[@scottlad2768]

Another interesting challenge to do might be; using all underground lines in the quickest time, but you can’t change lines at a station at which you’ve already changed lines at

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

Very creative on this one Geoff.

[@thomasjones8648]

Fantastic video, the challenge seems fun!

[@Mainyehc]

Heh, I just checked, and if you take out K, W and Y (which are foreign letters by our standards, anyway), you can actually do this in Lisbon Metro. Much like in London we have a grand total of: • 1 (one!) station with an F in its name (Alfornelos, and I totally did not expect that letter to be that hard to find, but that’s what you get from them renaming adjacent Falagueira to Amadora Este right before its grand opening); • 2 with an X (surprisingly common, yes, except Ameixoeira and Baixa-Chiado sit at opposite ends of the network, but fortunately the latter is a busy interchange - its name means, quite literally, “Downtown-Chiado” - which you’d likely stop at anyway during such a challenge); • 3 with a Z (even more surprisingly common, namely the obvious Jardim Zoológico - the stop at, it should go without saying, the Lisbon Zoo - and the stealthier Martim Moniz and Colégio Militar/Luz); • 4 with a Q (the adjacent Parque and Marquês de Pombal, along with Campo Pequeno and the farther Quinta das Conchas); • 9 with the comparatively rarer U vowel (the latter four, because Qs and Us go hand-in-hand in Romance languages, plus the aforementioned Colégio Militar/Luz, Restauradores, Lumiar, Cidade Universitária and Cabo Ruivo); • And finally, considering it’s a somewhat rarer consonant, a staggering 8 (!!) with a V (the latter two, plus nearby Moscavide, Olivais, Bela Vista, Alvalade, Odivelas and Avenida). From then on, all other letters become prevalent enough for finding them to not be an issue at all, but I’ll give a honourable mention to stations with a (sadly but predictably incomplete) set of letters including diacritics on their names, namely: • 1 with Á (Cidade Universitária); • 1 with Ê (Marquês de Pombal); • 2 with É (Cais do Sodré and Colégio Militar/Luz); • 2 with Ó (Santa Apolónia and Jardim Zoológico); • 2 with Ã, for a grand total of 3 of those (São Sebastião, which counts two for good measure, and Encarnação); • And finally, 3 with Ç (the latter, plus Praça de Espanha and Terreiro do Paço). None of the latter count as letters in their own right, unlike other diacritics and digraphs such as the Spanish Ñ and LL, or the Dutch IJ, but you can always add them to an advanced version of the challenge. With only four lines and 50 stations, of which 6 are simple, two-line interchanges, there aren’t that many different path combinations you could come up with, but it should still be interesting to give it a try. Also, seeing how the urban area of the yellow line will be merged with the green line to form a circle, it should be interesting to do this challenge before and after those works are completed, because they are certain to mess up with the service patterns and interchange dynamics (that will also be a big, daily issue over here, but it’s a can of worms I’m not opening and getting into now… Maybe some other day, at the comment section from that video by RM Transit on circles, which I’ve been meaning to watch 😅).

[@yorkshirepullman4584]

Bakerloo line has 25 letters except Z. Thats the most of any line

[@darrenduffy1227]

Ride the Bakerloo all the way through then jump on the Northern at Elephant & Castle to go to Belsize Park.

[@MorganMagnus]

You can *almost* play this in Toronto. . . No Z in any station name. Start on Line 2 at Coxwell (only X), westbound to St. George, southbound on Line 1 two stops to Queen's Park, back north to St. George, westbound on Line 2 again to Jane (only J). Done! you can do it in about 40 minutes using two lines and four trains.

[@andrewcole1323]

Hi Geoff, in a previous video I think you asked for ideas for future projects. Now that you've done "all the request stops", would you consider doing one for "all the staggered stations". Not sure how many there are UK wide but it would be interesting to find out.

[@Einveldi]

Shout out for Whittlesea!

[@andrewcole1323]

@@Einveldi yes that's one. I live near there too. Another one closeby is Waterbeach.

[@rosemarywarner6759]

I grew up in a town with one (Mirfield) and now live near Waterbeach, they're following me!

[@andrewcole1323]

I think we need Geoff to visit them all and see which region of the country has the highest concentration.

[@paulwilliamdixon3674]

Or 'The least used fish and chip shops in each county'

[@joebennett6815]

I think you should try a similar challenge but you can only tick off one letter for each station you visit, for example Belsize Park station would only count for the ‘Z’ then if you went to Chalk Farm next that would only count for the ‘K’ and so on and so on. Hope that makes sense. Could be a fun challenge.

[@MrGreatplum]

Wonderfully nerdy - gets my like!

[@michaelcampin1464]

Love the challenges. I lived in Upminster so that's a good starter lol

[@briangentle5515]

Trouble with Upminster is that it is at the very end of the District line, so you would have a long ride before changing trains...

[@michaelcampin1464]

@@briangentle5515 yes probable first change at Mile End. Or possibly at West Ham now.

[@1stonie95]

I have tried it in Hamburg and it actually works: In short: Start in Buxtehude (S3), change in Elbbrücken to U4 and change in Jungfernstieg to U1. Arrive in Stephanzplatz. 15 Stations, 3 trains. In long: 1. Start in Buxtehude (S3), because it´s the only station with X. Missing letters: ACFGIJKLMNOPQRSVWYZ 2. Pass through Neu Wulmstorf. Missing letters: ACGIJKPQVYZ 3. Pass through Fischbek. Missing letters: AGJPQVYZ 4. Pass through Neugraben. Missing letters: JPQVYZ 5. Pass through Neuwiedenthal, Heimfeld, Harburg Rathaus, Harburg und Wilhelmsburg. No new letters ticked 6. Pass through Veddel. Missing letters: JPQYZ 7. Arrive in Elbbrücken. No new letters ticked. 8. Change to U4, because on there is the only Q in Hamburg (not counting the AKN). 9. Pass through HafenCity Universität. Missing letters: JPQZ 10. Pass through Überseequartier. Missing letters: JPZ 11. Arrive in Jungfernstieg. Missing letters: PZ 12. Change to U1, because there´s the nearest station with P and Z. 13. Arrive in Stephansplatz. No more missing letters! If you wan´t to check all German letters and not just English ones (most of the additional letters are already included in the way above): 1. take the route until step 12. Missing letters: PZÖß 2. walk the pedestrian-tunnel from Jungfernstieg to Rathaus (U3). No new letters ticked 3. Pass through Rödingsmarkt. Missing letters: PZß 4. Pass through Baumwalland Landungsbrücken. No new letters ticked 5. Pass through St. Pauli. Missing letters: Zß 6. Pass through Feldstraße. Missing letters: Z 7. Arrive in Sternschanze. No more missing letters! New stats: 21 stations, 3 trains

[@tidborough]

My mind is now blown away at what idea's you have! but really great to watch. On another note what is the deepest London underground line/station? Love your channel

[@Lynxfan2]

The deepest London Underground station is Hampstead on the Northern line and access is by lifts or emergency stairs (the same also applies to Belsize Park). Best wishes and take care. Kind regards, Peter Skuce. St Albans. Hertfordshire.

[@highpath4776]

@@Lynxfan2 Is hampstead only deep because there is a hill on top. what is the deepest below uk mean sea level ?

[@johnmurrell3175]

@@highpath4776 It was the DLR platforms at Bank but does that count ?

[@highpath4776]

@@johnmurrell3175 If we say the deepest platforms on the tube network it is a bit of a trick answer that fits

[@wjt10]

0:00 Belize Park enterence 1:01 Belsize Park Northern line platform 1:59 Chalk farm 2:06 Camden town (Northern line interchange) 2:23 euston (Northern to Victoria line interchange) 2:45 Oxford Circus (Victoria line to bakerloo line interchange) 2:57 Oxford circus bakerloo line platform 3:08 Charing Cross 3:28 embankment (bakerloo to district line interchange) 3:50 Embankment (district line) 4:03 Victoria 4:09 Sloane square sub surface platform 4:33 Sloane square enterence

[@wjt10]

Time stamps

[@andreypetrov7891]

The fewest number of stations is 6. The minimal number of letters in them 42. These would be Belsize Park, Chalk Farm, St. John's Wood, Uxbridge, Queensway, and Oval.

[@timdutton1282]

6 is the fewest stations to my calculations. I think you're on the money with the fewest letters, but those stations have 52 letters in total. So well done!

[@andreypetrov7891]

@@timdutton1282 Sorry, yes, it is 52 - not sure how I got 42 initially.

[@timdutton1282]

@@andreypetrov7891 No apology needed. Was just letting you know! Great work getting the 6 stations so quickly

[@williamrubinstein3442]

Very ingenious!

[@iankemp1131]

There was a challenge in the past to visit stations with the first letter in alphabetical order; it took about 5 hours. Ickenham has to be included as it's the only station beginning with I; some letters such as J, X, Y and Z are missing. A variant could have been to do them in any order. Likewise Geoff's challenge could be changed to collecting the letters alphabetically, obviously finishing with Belsize Park.

[@skyblazeeterno]

I tried this challenge a few weeks ago. I did some planning but I forgot to check that services were operational on the day I attempted. I was due to go to Ickenham but there was service disruption so I abandoned the attempt. Anyone interested the Travelling With Charlie channel has done this with the added condition of taking a selfie of a roundel at each stop. I think the whole challenge took them the best part of the day

[@sebxiou-lifestyle4465]

And they still let you out to use the Tube? Happy Crimble, Geoff, thanks for some great programmes this year... but you may need a rest now. Cheers :) Nurse!

[@petedunsford2915]

I’ve also planned a route doing this using mainl8ne stations ‘round my way’. Regardless of where you live in the UK the letter J is likely to be the spanner in the works! If you can find a Z somewhere near your J then you are very privileged!

[@cyberi4a]

I thought the same thing as others have mentioned, about doing them in Alphabetical order forward and backwards, including your option (i.e. least stations, trains, shortest time, etc).

[@HjjMemes]

I've got my own tube challenge. I call it "the zone 1 challenge" Aim of the game: Travel to all tube stations in zone 1 with the shortest time possible. You must return to the station you started at. Try and use the minimum number of lines as possible.

[@ladyclovenstone]

Merry Christmas 🌲🌲 thanks for being you

[@sayethvexus8332]

Before watching the entire video, I paused at 0:38 and devised a route that should work. I figured X and Q would probably be troublesome letters, so I tried to figure out a way of getting those checked off. The route I came up with used three lines, not entirely sure about the number of transfers needed since I'm not quite sure how the Northern Line works (not a Londoner, forgive me), but depending on that, it might be possible on three trains. Anyway, start at Belsize Park. That checks off A, B, E, I, K, L, P, R, S and Z. Go southbound. Chalk Farm ticks off C, F and M. Camden Town ticks off D, N, O, T and W. Here's possibly where you might have to change, just to make sure you're on the Charing Cross branch (though we're not going that far on the Northern). You can tick off G at Mornington Crescent, though you don't have to. Alternatively, you could change at Euston (again, if you need to) and tick off U while you're there. Now that you're unambiguously on the Charing Cross branch, check off W at Warren Street, then G at Goodge Street if you skipped Mornington Crescent. Then conclude your trip on the Northern Line at Tottenham Court Road, tick off H, and transfer to the westbound Central line. One line down, and you should still have J, K, Q, V, X and Y left. From Tottenham Court Road, the first stop is Oxford Circus, letting you tick off X. Go through Queensway for Q and Y, then transfer to the anti-clockwise(?) Circle Line at Notting Hill Gate. Bless the Central Line for taking care of what I thought would be the two most troublesome letters after Z! Now we're on the Circle Line, we just have J, K and V left. The first stop is High Street Kensington for K, then you just stay on it through Victoria for V and finally, St James's Park for J. First attempt, more stations than it says in the description, but potentially one train fewer if the Northern Line works the way I hope it does. At worst, it's still the same number of trains which for someone not from London, I'm pretty pleased with. Intrigued to see the "actual" solution.

[@antonydicesare4632]

Excellent video geoff

[@alandargie9358]

This is one of the reasons I love being British! No other nationality would be interested in wonderful things like this !!!!!

[@mattjackson9859]

Am I the only one who has a peurile giggle at the name "Belsize"...? 😄

[@Ellyerre]

*Only solution for the Lisbon Metro:* *_Alfornelos_* to *_Baixa-Chiado_* (or vice-versa) on the Blue line, which is 13 stops (including the starting stop) and about 20 min without the need to change lines/trains. Interestingly, F is the only letter with only one station in the whole network ( *_Alfornelos_* ) so that had to be the start/end station. X has 2 but only one in the Blue line, which is *_Baixa/Chiado_* , the other start/stop station. Both G, J and Z have 3 stations but only one has all three ( *_Jardim Zoológico_* ) and is on the Blue line between the start and stop stations. Every other letter is trivial. Note that K, W and Y don't exist in the standard Portuguese alphabet, so they are not used. *Alternative solution with Carris trams (my favourite):* *_Praça da Figueira_* to *_Praça do Comércio_* on the 15E or 25E and then *_Baixa-Chiado_* to *_Jardim Zoológico_* . It's only 10 stations (2 tram and 8 metro) and it may be less than 20 min if you are lucky with waiting times for trains at *_Baixa-Chiado_* and you run between *_Pç. do Comércio_* and *_Baixa-Chiado_* . *Alternative solution with CP trains:* *_Benfica_* to *_Sete Rios_* on suburban train and then *_Jardim Zoológico_* to *_Baixa-Chiado_* on the Blue line. It's again 10 stations (2 railway and 8 metro) but about 20-25 min total, with at least 5 min walking and waiting for a train. The inverse route would probably be longer unless you are lucky with waiting times for a suburban train in *_Sete Rios_* .

[@castell1301]

Awesome vid Geoff

[@Pokecatch03]

Ok so! While I doubt it's perfect, I have tried to do the "any stations, no route" bit for the Stockholm tube map! Firstly, there are no tube stations in Stockholm with the letters W or Q, since these letters are very rare in the Swedish language (W is often not even said when reciting the Swedish alphabet and I genuinely can't think of a single place name in Sweden with the letter Q in it). However, you do have to include the letters Å, Ä and Ö! Secondly, there are two letters (X and Z) that only appear once on the tube map, with the stations Axelsberg and Zinkensdamm. This means that you must include these two stations. So, automatically inputting those, I tried to find the rest of the alphabet somewhat quickly and here is my list of stations: Axelsberg Zinkensdamm Fittja Duvbo Hökarängen Råcksta Ängbyplan 7 stations, 57 letters! This was harder than I thought it would be, and I'm sure someone less tired could do it better if they tried (maybe something for future me), but consider that the Swedish tube has only got 100 stations compared to London's 272. Much fewer stations to choose from! Very fun video, though, and I'll see if I can try a continuous route some other time!

[@johanfaxer2809]

That's why the new extension on the blue line should have a station at Saltsjöqwarn.

[@transportandservicestation3809]

Awsome video love it

[@MrKpsuk84]

What a great challenge to set

[@martinsundquist4548]

I tried the fewest amount of tube stations without journey and the best i could figure out was 6. Took a list of London underground stations and copied it to a spreadsheet. Started off with Belsize Park and coloured in the letters it ticked off. Then I searched for the ones with Q, and coloured in the letters they each checked off, to see which had the most kinda rare letters. I went with Queensway. Did the same with X, got Oxford circus, and V, Victoria. Had tree letters left, G, H, J, M. Searched for J and took St. James' Park, which crossed off the M too. Finaly i searched for the gh combination which gave me several results, Loughton got my pick. Realized Victoria only got me a V, all other letters was found in at least one other station so tried to change up the V if i could tick off any extra letters and cut it down to 5, but no luck. Maybe someone with better excel skills, or even better: coding, could cut it down but for me, my best is Belsize Park, Oxford Circus, Queensway, St. James' Park, Victoria and Loughton.

[@mikeelliott2736]

You should only be able to count ONE letter at each station. So you'd have to visit 26 stations...

[@jont4504]

Also suggest you have to change tranes when you tick off a letter, this would give a variable journey time.

[@MyNameIsNeutron]

If you start from Sloane Square, you can get all the letters except Z in just two trains.

[@READYTEDDYBEAR]

Can you do a video about Grange Hill Station? It was one of my favourite TV shows in the 80's and I always wonder if there is anything interesting about the station or the area around it. 👍

[@howdyhamster]

My favorite piece of completely useless trivia is the fact that St. John's Wood is the only station on the Underground whose name does not contain any letters from the word "mackerel". Hoxton is the only Overground station with the same property.

[@cr10001]

Thank you! My life is now complete, I can die happy. :)

[@PMA65537]

@@cr10001 counterproductive balham, troubleshooters wapping

[@cr10001]

@@PMA65537 Cryptic but understood.

[@andyidk]

If you ever go to NYC, do this challenge again, but also include numbers :)

[@ThomasJM]

Sadly there is a way to do a similar challenge in Toronto as we don't have any sations with a "z" in them.

[@TheSpotify95]

If I lived anywhere near London, I would certainly have a go at this :D (COVID permitting).

[@barneyward9431]

I've got one. I haven't actually done it and/but I've looked at the map. Start at St James's Park, then go to Victoria on the Circle line, High Street Kensington. Go to Notting Hill Gate from HSK and get the Central line to Queensway. Then go a few stops to Oxford Circus, and then one to Tottenham Court Road. Change to Northern Line and go to Belsize Park. 19 stations and 5 trains.

[@mrpstapley]

LONG CHALLENGE: Complete the alphabet BUT you are only allowed to use one letter from the station name. eg Belsize Park, you can only tick off the Z, you have to go to another station to, for example, tick off the B. etc. Basically, you will have to visit 26 stations, but how fast can it be done? How many trains does it take and how many changes?

[@coasterb1]

This was what I thought he was going to do. Similar to the alphabet game while driving, depending on your house rules.

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

This is the best idea imo

[@AndreiTupolev]

209 steps from street level going down, and 189 steps to street level going up. A slight space-time anomaly there

[@chicagonorthwesternrailfan5043]

Could you do another secrets of the underground or an abandoned video?

[@moocow4899]

I feel like a great game of scrabble could be played here, not sure of the rules but something like seeing who could get the highest score in a certain time

You are in luck with the English ABC. I have 44 letters in my language (Hungarian) and I would not be able to meet the same challenge on the 4 metro lines in Budapest. 🤣

[@notthatcreativewithnames]

I can do in 12 stations. BELSIZe PARK - CHalk FarM - camDeN TOWn - eUston - warren street - oXford circus - piccadillY circus - Green park - westminster - st James's park - Victoria - sloane sQuare For least number of trains, 2 trains: Train 1: BELSIZe PARK - CHalk FarM - camDeN TOWn - morninGton crescent - eUston - warren street - goodge street - tottenham court road - leicester sQuare - charing cross Train 2: charing cross - piccadillY circus - oXford circus - regent's park - baker street - marylebone - edgware road - paddington - warwick aVenue - maida vale - kilburn park - queen's park - kensal green - willesden Junction

[@raybolasco9457]

Have u done one on camden town ,about the mother red cap &black cap? Please

[@davekirwin]

The Z was my fave bit of trivia, now thousands know it!