Jen

My girlfriend and I are coming to England in October for about a week. I have only visited London as a day trip, and felt a bit uneasy, especially after dark. She has never travelled to England before, and has her heart set on staying in London, but I think somewhere outside of London would be a bit safer for two single women. Any thoughts? Also, if we do stay in London, what would be a better area- Marble Arch or Notting Hill Gate? <BR>Thanks!

elvira

My sister and I (alone and separately) have visited London often, and never had a problem. We've stayed in Swiss Cottage, and I stayed in a small hotel near Paddington Station just 2 months ago. <BR> <BR>As Ben Haines has posted before, there are a couple of 'hoods to avoid, but they aren't places that tourists would visit anyway. Notting Hill is very pretty; lots of shops and activity. Marble Arch area is not as active in the evening. <BR> <BR>If you stay outside of London, you may end up at a train or underground station at night that's pretty deserted. If you stay in London on the north side of the river, and in a busy area, you'll be fine. It's a big city, so use common sense and follow your usual precautions and you'll find London safer than most big cities. <BR> <BR>Oh, and the shopping is terrific and the food doesn't stink.

Mavis

Agree with Jen. I've been to London many times on my own. Like any place you stay to the well-lit areas and avoid areas notorious for trouble. Stayed in Kensington and Notting Hill, both were fine. Heard area around Victoria Station can be lively at night, haven't had any problems myself.

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>If you can kindly explain your sense of unease, especially after dark, I may be able to comment. I am flattered to see that Elvira quotes my general view, <BR>though her exclusion of the south side of the river pains me. There are hotels in green settings in Greenwich, Blackheath, and Richmond, not places known for thuggery. <BR> <BR>I think Notting Hill Gate a deal more lively, with more shops and pubs, than Marble Arch, which has richer people and less to do locally. <BR> <BR>Compared to Earls Court, Notting Hill, and Covent Garden, Victoria at night is not very lively. Not dead, but like Marble Arch not the tops. <BR> <BR>I look forward to your comment on your unease. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, south of the river <BR> <BR>

Sally

Jen--I was in London last summer and felt very safe there. I don't know if Paris is considered safer or as safe, but my daughter and I felt very comfortable walking around rather late at night in Paris. In London, I had no qualms about letting my 17 year old daughter and 15 year old son wander around alone during the day.

Mary

Jen--went to London last year with a girlfriend and we felt perfectly safe--safer than our hometown of Washington, D.C. certainly--we never felt uncomfortable and we are two long-time city dwellers that know what to look for. Stay in the city--if you stay outside you will spend too much of your valuable vacation time commuting back and forth! <BR> <BR>Have a grand time and don't worry! <BR> <BR>Mary

jo

Hi. I started going to london on my own <BR>in the mid80s and go almost every year <BR>often on my own. i stay inthe russell <BR>sq area which has lots of traffic at <BR>nite due to the university of london. <BR>its convenient to the airport, either <BR>1 line on the tube or an airbus. I feel <BR>perfectly safe in london even late at nite. there are so many people out and <BR>about unless you really get out of the <BR>main areas which you probably wouldnt. <BR>Much safer than any city in the us and <BR>i live in boston.

Ben Haines

Jren replied to me, and I then wrote: <BR> <BR>If you're confident in Rochester but not in nighttime London then you might gain confidence by walking a bit in nighttime London. When you do so you might try asking the way of people who don't look as if they are in work. I'm afraid dress standards have dropped since the war, and many otrherwise sound people dress poorly. I'm sorry about the people who ignored you or replied rudely. As you say, London is large, and we share our bad manners with Paris, New York, and other large cities. Whether anywhere can match Nashville for manners I have to doubt. Tonbridge Wells ? <BR> <BR>One way of getting better replies is to ask middle aged people of Asian or black origin. Because they remember the old cultures they usually respond better than do we white Londoners. I find the same in Paris. My racism, I'm afraid. <BR> <BR>The National Portrait Gallery is more interesting than Madame Tussaud's, and less tiring. The London Dungeon perhaps apeals to sadists, but has few other attractions. Near to the Dungeon are the galleried St George's Inn on Borough High Street, the Old Operating Theatre between the big railkway station and Guys Hospital, the Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, and to crown it a decent lunch upstairs at the Market Porter pub, in the market. <BR> <BR>Please write again if I can comment further. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>

Larry Lain

Jen, London is a very safe and comfortable place to be. I like being in a big city where, for the most part, even the police don't feel a need to carry guns! <BR> <BR>I've never been concerned about my wife walking anywhere alone at any time of the day or night in London, and that's more than I'd be willing to say about our medium-sized Ohio city. We *always* stay in the central area when we're in London - usually in the Russell Square area <BR> <BR>So don't be nervous about London. If you've never spent much time there (just a daytrip) then the best part of your life is still ahead of you. <BR> <BR>Larry Lain <BR>

Anastasia Watkinson

Hi Jen! <BR> <BR>I have to agree with the posts... London is a lot safer than where I come from...Columbus Ohio! For awhile I worked in Surrey and I remember coming into Victoria Station at 11pm or so at night, changing to the Tube, and walking through Soho or Oxford Street sometimes as late as 2pm! I NEVER felt unsafe at all. Everything is well lit, and there are usually people about. <BR> <BR>One thing I would say though, is to avoid the night buses if you are uncomforable. There have been reports of people getting mugged up on top. Avoid minicabs either - take a black cab if you need to get a taxi. <BR> <BR>I'm running a series in my own newsletter about getting around London, which includes safety tips. If you're interested, please subscribe at my website at www.greatbritaintravelguide.com. <BR> <BR>Cheers! <BR> <BR>Anastasia <BR> <BR>

Elise

Are you crazy Ben!! I have lived in Marble Arch all of my life, because of it's wealth it is possibly the safest area in London, I have been going out around the surrounding area since I was 13 yrs of age, my mother has never worried. It is a very central place and you can most definately get to all the major tourist attractions from here. Notting hill is just as expensive, I would recomend Marble Arch, 1) because I live here and 2) because staying in Notting Hill means that you have to pass Bayswater, this is where a lot of arabic people hang around and can often hastle tourists for their belongings. They are both the same in price and so to stay in Marble Arch means you're a little more central. <BR> <BR>If you need any hints on London I would be more than pleased to help you, e mail me if you wish. <BR> <BR>I hope this is of some help.

Joanna

I can't say I've ever felt uneasy in London as far as safety is concerned. There always seem to be people everywhere, even in the early hours. The commuter suburbs may be a different matter - my sister warned me about being in the area she lives late at night (Dagenham, Barking). The only worry I ever had was being accosted by a strange man in the Vic & Albert, asking if he could "show" me London. As I'd been there several times before and don't generally go out with complete strangers, I turned him down. The weird thing was he then seemed to disappear completely from the museum - my friend joined me about a minute later and I wanted to point him out but he was gone. We scoured all the adjoining rooms, but no sign of him.

Ben Haines

<BR> <BR>For Elise: I expect I am crazy, but too crazy to be sure. <BR> <BR>What I wrote was "I think Notting Hill Gate a deal more lively, with more <BR>shops and pubs, than Marble Arch, which has richer <BR>people and less to do locally. Compared to Earls Court, Notting Hill, and Covent <BR>Garden, Victoria at night is not very lively. Not dead, but <BR>like Marble Arch not the tops." Those words do not suggest that Marble Arch is unsafe -- just that it's more boring than Earls Court, Notting Hill, and Covent Garden. Which is to say, as to safety in Marble Arch I agree with you. <BR> <BR>I'm not often in Bayswater, but you surprise me. The Arabs I see there are rich, and not given to hassling -- rather to being hassled. I wonder whether these hasslers are Somali or even Kossovan ? If they bother a traveller then he or she can just take the bus or the central line straight from Notting Hill Gate to Oxford Street -- or even to Marble Arch, if they can think of somewhere there to go to. <BR> <BR>I think your kind offer of extra information was meant for Jen, not for me. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can comment further. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR> <BR>Ms Watkinsoin wrote to me, and I replied: <BR> <BR>Fodors <BR> <BR>Dear Ms Watkinson, <BR> <BR> <BR>I've just phoned British Transport Police on ++44 3207 388 7541. The chap I reached was not an official spokesman, and his Service doesn't cover busses (the Metropolitan Police do), but of course they hear about bus crime. I've also phoned the desk offficer at Charing Cross Police Station (++44 7240 1212). They said that yes, you do get occasional muggings on tops of night busses, but they are rare, and certainly not common enough to warrant avoiding those busses. The Charing Cross officer said it might be better for an obvious tourist (in shorts and with cameras) to travel downstairs. The Transport Police officer said that it's pretty hard to rob people on a bus, as the driver controls the doors and has a radio telephone to call for help. <BR> <BR>I hope you will find space for some of this in the advice that you give our visitors. London's expensive anyway, without adding late night taxi fares. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>

Carol

A question for the folks who stay in Russell Square area hotels--which ones do you like and what are the rates you paid? Thanks awfully.

Margaret

HiJen <BR> I too have been to London a few times always by myself with absolutely no problems. In fact, I felt so safe, I was taking late nite walks through the city without any incident. <BR> <BR>However, like Joanna, I was approached by a security guard at the V&A who followed me around for a while asking to show me around London and have dinner with him. I told him I was with my husband (the same thing I would do in the US). He persisted but finally went away. <BR> <BR>Have fun in London

Christina

I haven't been in London since the early 90s but I was surprised on the comment about Bayswater as I was going to suggest that as a good area to stay, it's where I've always stayed when there. Bayswater is probably a big area, though, and the part I'm talking about was a small hotel on Lancaster Gate just off Bayswater Rd. If that area is unsafe with people hassling tourists, it sure has changed in a few years, which is a shame. I thought it was great as it was only a few blocks from a tube station (Lancaster Gate) or bus line, plus near the shuttle stop to to the airport, near several good cheap ethnic restaurants (Indian, Italian, etc), a good pub down on the corner (Swans Head) and right across the street from Kensington Gardens and the park. I thought it was great, good transportation, fairly central but not as crowded etc as a lot of other hotels more central. I saw a lot of people walking around there on the streets to local apartments, etc, and in the local stores and restaurants, and it sure didn't look like a bad area to me. I've recommended the small townhouse hotel I stayed in to others who went there even with kids and they raved about that location (great for kids because you can walk across the street to the park easily). The hotel I stayed it was perfectly safe for a single woman as if you are not at all comfortable being out after dark (don't recall how I handled that, as I know I went to the theater), and it does get dark early in October, you can get back to your hotel early and find a decent place to eat within a place of the hotel. I believe when I went out at night, I either walked from the tube station about two blocks (and there were plenty of people about on Bayswater Road so I wasn't worried) or else just took a cab direct to my hotel. I can recommend the hotel I stayed in highly, it's the Mornington Lancaster at 12, Lancaster Gate, and is part of the Best Western chain--very clean (owned and run by Swedes, actually), great buffet breakfast, nice small homey hotel in a Victorian townhouse with a nice front library/tea room. It was reasonable for London and I just reviewed its info for someone so I know it's still in business and on the Best Western Web site (www.bestwestern.com). I think that might be nicer than the Marble Arch area, myself, perhaps the London experts may have an opinion on that one (as I said, my info is old). This Hotel is right next to Craven Terrace just off Bayswater on the side street so it's not noisy with the main traffic; I did walk towards Paddington station once for a chemist or something (back and then down Praed Rd) or I think that was the time I ended up in the British Health Service (don't ask) and there's a hospital back there. Anyway, where I stayed was nicer than more towards Paddington. The BW Mornington has single rooms about 100 pounds and doubles about 130 pounds.