Feeling anxious

Sounds like a very exhausting trip to me. I don't quite understand what you mean when you say you'd cancel and go somewhere more accessible?
Will you need to travel at all if you have cancelled? If it were me i'd probably give it a miss.

None of that sounds like fun to me.

I could never do what you are planning to do.fotwx2 (interesting name btw). I am roughly your age. Looks like you are more energetic than I am. And, I am not used to travelling alone. But good luck with your plans !

Nor me fancy. So much hassle and stress to get to a concert, and then you have to do it all again to get home. When you’re there you will be anxious about getting home. I would cancel.

I assume seeing the last performance of this duo is something you really want to do, as you wouldn’t have booked the ticket otherwise?
I’d go, but I’d do everything I could beforehand to make it as stress free as possible.
I’d go the day before the concert, and travel down to Dorset with plenty of time to spare, and I’d book into the same hotel for the night before too.
I’d pre arrange a taxi from where I’m staying to pick me up and take me to the hotel, and to and from the venue on the day of the concert, and I’d leave early so not caught in the traffic for the concert.
I wouldn’t worry about not being able to get up, there are plenty of people who would be more than happy to give you their arm if you ask.
Planning is the key, the more uncertainty you can remove from the trip the better you’ll feel about it, and the more you’ll enjoy it.

Good advice casdon!

I assume by somewhere more accessible you mean to still go see the duo, but at a venue nearer to home, instead of London?

I’m a wimp, would never contemplate chasing around just to go to a concert, but that’s me, would rather stay at home and watch them on the tv, if it’s ever televised.

fancythat

None of that sounds like fun to me.

Nor me.....in fact I was getting anxious personally just reading the OP comments.
In my state of reduced mobility I wouldn't even contemplate a long journey alone - I would drive but not take public transport involving changes, I simply couldn't cope with the stress, steps, crowds, potential delays etc.

Can you contact the concert organiser/venue about the seat situation?

Can you afford a taxi to get to/fro to the gig?
If so, book it now, I suggest- before others think about it.

Could you travel by National Express - easier than a train - you’ll probably need to change at Victoria coach station but should be quite straightforward. Just go for it - life’s too short!

As you say you've booked tickets I assume you will be going with someone else. Can they not help you? If you are in fact going alone then I would try to see the final show on Youtube or buy their CD if they have one..

D go too! If seeing this gig is something you really want to go, then make it work and have a plan B. Are you staying overnight? Are there any good coach companies near you who’s make this trip.

Take some deep breaths and plan it really really well, assessing all risks. Good luck and let us know how it all goes.

OK if you want to be talked out of the trip there's plenty of posts on here that will do that. However, I think you should go. People are really helpful, as are the train and tube staff. I think you'll find the travel will be much easier than you imagine as long as you do your planning. I recently travelled in London after many years of not visiting and it was just so easy, all you need is a card to wave! The hotel being 12 miles from the venue is a bit of a pain but why not contact them and ask their advice about getting to and from the venue on the evening of the event? I think it's that which will be your biggest issue. Good luck with whatever you decide and report back.

flowerofthewest, settle down , relax and ask yourself ' is it worth the anxiety and stress' Your answer will probably be ' no' In which case cancel your arrangements . No concert would be worth all that trouble to me!! I most certainly would not do it !

You have already done some worrying about this so you might as well still go, but make things easy for yourself. So if you can afford to , go for 3 days , so that you travel on one day, stay b/b and you have managed the journey there which is enough for that day. Then you should be able to find out the route to the concert and probably best way there etc from your b/b or if not go to their local library or ask for info re buses and taxis to the concert. Then the next day you have the concert, and on the third day you will be going home having had a rest at the b/b after the concert.

So if you are going by rail I would actually go to the station and speak to a real human who knows your station! and the best journey for you to go. e.g there may be an earlier train, but a little later train may be more direct , or there will be less changes for you to make. If you have booked your seat, you know that you have your place, and you can ask for passenger assistance When that is booked, the assistant will be given your seat information and be waiting for you at that carriage. If you do not see them actually there when you get off, just ask any member of staff or another passenger to tell them you are waiting for booked assistance . Just stand there and they will appear.
I am older than you and have a bad back so have now had to use this service, which has worked quite well I found, although as you say , you are not totally in control .So I have booked this early ,and then the day before travelling I go to the station - but no doubt you could ring up - and confirm that they have booked my assistance and that there is no major hold ups or problems expected for the next day. I go in plenty of time to allow for any hold ups getting to the platform and have a case with wheels. This way I feel in as much control as I am able.

I usually drive and of course am then in total control ,and can choose my times and the way I will go and can change my plans exactly as I wish, so that is my preferred mode of travel, but very long distances I enjoy using the train once I have got on. So using the above methods keeps the anxiety down to a reasonable level.

The main thing now is to think how much you want to see this concert? if they are important to you, I do urge you to go, and allow for the fact that you might have to make more arrangements or stay another night or whatever. However expensive it is, and whatever the uncertainty of the journey , you will ALWAYS regret it if you dont go. You may regret something about the journey or whatever if you go but you have lived this length of time and chosen your way through your life full ,as everyones life is ,of what ifs, some regrets , but if you also look back , so many things that you might not be able to do any longer but were so pleased that you did it when you were able to.

I have sung all my life including being a professional singer in Portugal for 2 years, so music of all sorts matters a lot to me.

More than 40 years ago when I was living in the Nottingham area ,my husband was down in London on business ,and 2 friends and I used to go to concerts together . They had just opened the box office for Glyndebourne in London, for of course at the time , very expensive tickets. We all three worked and I said what do we work for.? So I got my husband to go and queue up and I also bought a ticket for my mother who also was a musician, for her birthday.
He queued and got the tickets, and when the time arrived, we did it in style. You can either have a picnic or eat inside, but the picnic is the thing if it doesnt rain, when you would have to sit in your car to eat it! We took the chance, picked up my mother on the way, had our own lovely picnic that we had made ourselves and bottle of wine etc. Took our lovely dresses packed carefully and drove in trousers etc. We found some woods where we were able to change into our outfits and the weather was beautiful and we had a marvellous evening listening to Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti. We sat out in the interval in the beautiful gardens with the bats flitting overhead and with people all in their groups. - Think a sort of Downton Abbey kind of occasion!

My mother and both my friends have since died, but I have such a wonderful memory of the whole occasion and is was a special day in my and our lives. I have never regretted a single minute of it and when I hear the music from this opera I am transported back to that day. I have long ago forgotten the exact cost of the concert, dresses, food and travel and just remember it as a very special and wonderful day of my life that I have never and will never regret.

I think we worry more as we get older, not just because of our annoying infirmities, but our lifelong experience tells us things can go wrong . But you know, as they say, you could be run over by a bus just outside your house, so at least take the risks for enjoying yourself. Life has been tough and miserable these last few years and we have not had a good summer etc, so take the plunge and GO FOR IT Even if they dont turn out to be as good as you remembered them, or whatever, you might come back saying you wont bother again but stay in charge of your own life and enjoy what you can. Life is for living, Remember there are no pockets in shrouds!! Do let me know if you get there. Best of luck

Actually I’m with Casdon on this.
Pre plan.
You’ll be fine!
Don’t overthink this. Enjoy the concert!
And, when you get home ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ you’ll be SO proud of yourself!

I have only just returned from an event in London we have been many times over the years. Negotiationing the underground is actually not bad and staff are helpful. Providing you know what line or lines you are going on its ok. If you are pretty mobile and get organised try to go you might surprise yourself.

The downside for me was the heat and most of the lifts were not working using the escalators was difficult for me. Give me suburbia any day now because of my health I won't being going again. I couldn't wait to get back to the quiet comfort of home.

As Casdon and Urmstongran say, you should go.

The problem is, you are looking at the whole thing as one huge undertaking. Just take each part of the journey as it happens. Nothing is ever so bad or complicated as it seems, once you are actually there. Afterwards you'll wonder what you were worried about

Treat the whole thing as an adventure.

I think there is some excellent positive advice here for you , in particular about planning, which is the key. I often use Transport for London journey planner.or the advice of the people at the station .I think covid took away confidence for a lot of people.
I live in the Greater London area near the Elizabeth line , so there are usually lifts at the stations and you can get a lot of help on the trains and tubes .Please ask.
An elderly friend would travel into central classes to go to classes. I met her on the train one day and asked her if she needed a hand. She said she was o.k. and later asked a young man standing by the door to help her off . My friend told me later that there was always a young man standing by the door and they were always pleased to help.
I do hope you will be able to go to your concert and that you have a wonderful time.Please let us know.

I'm so pleased that others have said "go". As we get older it's too easy to start limiting what we do. We feel a bit anxious about something and instead of dealing with the anxiety, we avoid it. It's not good for our confidence. We try to build out children's confidence by encouraging to do things that they find worrying or difficult and we should do that ourselves as we get older or our lives get too small and insular. A friend visited me this week, she'd had a small car accident which was not her fault but it had really knocked her confidence. She came on the motorway and was beaming when she arrived despite feeling quite anxious when she left home.

You can book assistance for rail travel and also on the tube network. Go for it!

Great advise given already. I’m in the team of you should go. I think you’re making it worse by looking at what you think are negatives. Break it down work out best way to do one thing at a time. Don’t let your world get small because your mind is taking over. Enjoy

I am 76 like you and not in great health either. I occasionally visit my daughter, so a trip from Surrey to West Yorkshire. I used to go change trains quite happily in London but find it exhausting now with crowds and so few staff on platforms any more. I worked out a different route bypassing London altogether and find it much easier. Do you have to go through London. Have a look at trains your side of the country and see if there is an alternative route. I like to have a go at things but sometimes I have to be realistic and accept it's not for me.

Seems to me that taxis are your friends here. Get black cabs across London, book local minicabs in advance to get you from the hotel to the concert and then back to the hotel. Yes, more expensive, but worth it to relieve the difficulties of travel.