happy_wife

I find myself in a delightful/complex situation. I am planning a surprise (first) trip to London for my husband in May 2013. I want my husband, a college professor and HUGE Britcom and Mystery Masterpiece fanatic, to have the time of his life. We will be in London for 12 days. We are traveling from Florida/USA and will be flying into Heathrow. I would like to take him to some of the places he admires from some of his favorite programs (e.g. Rosemary and Thyme, Miss Marple, Summer Wine, Keeping up Appearances, Inspector Lewis, Are You Being Served, Waiting on God and Dr. Who). Any ideas or suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated. I know several places on the list to visit will be Paddington Station, Kensington, and Oxford University. Do you have any ideas on hotels, places to visit and one or two day excursions? If so, please share. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

mztery

I was going to answer but I'd just be annoying.

albionbythesea

First of all just spending time in London will result in a feeling of seeing things you see all the time in the BBC shows you reference. You don't specifically need to focus on BBC stuff to get the feel... but that said, Morse was mostly in Oxford - and a day trip to Oxford would be great for you especially given the literature/TV tie ins and your husband's academic background. Do a web search for free tours of Morse's Oxford and their area various things you can print off for your own walking tours.

As to Agatha Christie - the Mousetrap play in London is an institution - every fan must see it once. Plan on booking tickets in advance to get good seats.

In the TV shows, Poirots house/flat was filmed in Florin Court, Charterhouse Square (near Barbican tube). You'll recognize the building's art deco look. Her book at Bertrams Hotel is generally believed to be based on Browns Hotel - go there for high tea.

I hope that gives you a few ideas - but as American tourists in London may I also recommend the Benjamin Franklin house - i think its great (go to: http://wp.me/p2r6no-1v for more details) and also given your love of film / TV check out the British Film Institute to see whats on there when you visit - see http://wp.me/s2r6no-bfi for more details.

happy_wife

albionbythesea,

Thanks for the wealth of information. These suggestions will definitely make the trip meaningful. Thank you for taking the time to share. Have a fantastic evening!

Sassafrass

Much as I like London, I would not spend 12 days there at a time. Have you considered spending any time in Bath, Wells, the Cotswolds, etc? In many of the shows people are seen tromping around the countryside. Definitely include Oxford. Fortunately, you have plenty of time to research and choose.

Questions. Does your DH like surprises? Would he like/enjoy helping with the planning?

frogoutofwater

One of the things you can do is google something like Mystery Masterpiece tour (or Britcom tour) and you'll find itineraries for organized tour groups. Not that you're going to take their tour (which could cost thousands), but their itinerary will give you ideas for your own itinerary. See, for example:

http://will.illinois.edu/willtravel/britain/

dorfan2

happy_wife:
Check out the tours (including one-day outside London) on the London Walks website: http://www.walks.com/

No need to pre-book. You show up to the tube station designated in the tour description and pay the guide then. (Good for gauging that day's weather into the decision).

Rastaguytoday

Try www.google.co.uk for getting direct hits on the google UK website.

You will get a lot more information than on the U.S, version.

flanneruk

The only two programmes you list with any real localisation are Lewis (Oxford, and if you really mean JUST Lewis, the locations can be crammed into a day, but if you extend this to the Morse and Endeavour series, they take a great deal longer)) and Last of the Summer Wine (Holmfirth, West Yorks, which can JUST be crammed into a day because it's the sense of Yorkshire Dales that matters rather than specific locations). I seriously doubt any packaged tour would help you in Oxford: just preplan, get a train and walk round for yourself.

The Midsomer Murders (which I assume you just ran out of puff to list) are set in an entirely fictional county, centred on Causton. Most exterior filming of Causton was done in Wallingford, Oxfordshire (accessble with a bit of planning by bus from Oxford). The real-life Midsomer Norton in Somerset has no connection.

The rest are scattered all over the place, and have no one big dominant location. Some of the best known scenes were shot in surprisingly inaccessible places, others in anonymous studios. There is a Doctor Who Experience, now in Cardiff. The BBC have a number of studio tours (www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/tours/), some of which might strike a chord.

Apart from its statue of Paddington Bear and a small stand selling associated tatty memorabilia, I'm puzzled about the relevance of Paddington. London's main stations crop up in all sorts of English literature: maybe it's just my ignorance, but I've never seen obvious fans of anything at Paddington he way you get them at Kings Cross Platform 9 3/4. Ditto Kensington.

Apart from Oxford and its surroundings, Holmfirth and (just possibly) Cardiff, travelling outside London will involve a HUGE amount of travel time for a trivial amount of time spent anywhere recallable from a long-forgotten episode.

PatrickLondon

I'm guessing the Paddington reference might be something to do with all those atmospheric shots of steam train departures? Not many of those in London nowadays, where most of the main station buildings have had a good spring-clean and spruce-up over the years and are gleaming with modern steel, glass and concession shops.

However, next year is the 150th anniversary of the tube and there are plans to run a number of old trains along with the usual hoopla of exhibitions and so on, so keep an eye out for those.

And you might like to consider a day out on one of the privately-run heritage steam trains, like the Watercress Line in Hampshire or the Bluebell Line in Sussex (both an easy day out from London):
http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2011...ersary-events/
http://www.watercressline.co.uk
http://autolycus-london.blogspot.co....rain-sets.html
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/

texasbookworm

What a treat! In 2007 my husband "surprised" me at Christmas with a trip to England the following summer for a big anniversary. Then I got to plan it. So my "surprise" was different than maybe you are planning. How far in advance will he know? As Sassafras asked, will he want to have any input? It will be fantastic, whatever you decide!

In 2008 we stayed in London 2 weeks and took 5 day trips, 4 via train and one via bus. The bus trip was to Oxford and that day is one of my favorite days in all my travels! As flanneruk says, walking around Oxford on your own, with some maps and ideas, is completely feasible. However, we (after a stop to see C. S. Lewis's home and gravesite, which are not reachable via foot from Oxford proper) thoroughly enjoyed an Inspector Morse tour from the Tourist Information office. It was not free but inexpensive and gave us a great overview of the city with specifics about all things Morse that was fun. Look at the Oxford TI website http://www.visitoxfordandoxfordshire.com/ to see dates and times of their special walks. After it we still had time on our own.

If you enjoy and find other people's Trip Reports helpful, here are two of mine, one where we spent two weeks in London and took day trips, http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-day-trips.cfm
and one where we had almost two weeks but left London with a car.http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-and-wales.cfm

Also with 12 days and time to plan, unless there are reasons to stay in a hotel, you might look into Bed and Breakfasts and/or flats to save some money, probably. (B&B's is a rather broader term than I think of it in the States. Some are 1 or a few rooms in someone's home, but many/most are small hotels that include breakfast. If this is something you pursue, just be aware of what type you are actually getting.) We happily used AtHomeinLondon agency twice http://www.athomeinlondon.co.uk/; they serve as agents for Bed and Breakfast-accomodations for a few homeowners who have 1-3 rooms they rent.

The other tip about accomodations is to stay in Zone 1, to stay in central London, to stay within a decent walking distance to a Tube stop. It will probably cost more than staying further out, but when you factor in transport cost and time and inconvenience, it's usually worth it to stay as close to the center as you can. Obviously, (or it will be obvious soon as you plan) there is no "best," most central, "closest to all the tourist spots" place in London. It's huge. That's why being close to Tube stop is important.

I am assuming you are not going to spring the "oh, you are driving us around on the British side of the roads" surprise but are staying in London--probably best idea! You could fill up the 12 days in London, of course, but if you take a few day trips, that is doable, too.

DEFINITELY go to Oxford!

Happy planning and can't wait to see what you come up with!

alanRow

<i>Last of the Summer Wine (Holmfirth, West Yorks, which can JUST be crammed into a day because it's the sense of Yorkshire Dales that matters rather than specific locations).</i>

LotSW is not set in the Yorkshire Dales - it's in the Holme Valley. The Yorkshire Dales are further north

alanRow

As for Oxford you also have to consider it's connections to both J.R.R Tolkein and Philip Pullman as well as Colin Dexter and C.S Lewis

mamcalice

It sounds like a wonderful surprise for your husband and he will be thrilled. However, so much of the fun of a trip like this is in the planning. Tell him about your plans far enough in advance that he can participate. Or, if you want it to be a complete surprise, leave a couple of days free so he can make some suggestions once you arrive.

Mimar

With your interests I'd stay in Oxford a day or 2 (i.e., at least 2 or 3 nights). There's plenty to keep you busy there. We recently did the Morse tour; it's best for real fans of the show. However, you have lots of time before your trip to watch DVDs of Morse ;-)

And do look at the London Walks site. They have so many interesting walks as well as Explorer Days outside London.

If you want recommendations for places to stay, you need to give us a budget.

bluestar

Should you decide to venture out of London, in Somerset is the estate that was known as 'Grantleigh Manor' in the comedy series <i>To The Manor Born</i> and it is now a hotel. http://www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk...ory/index.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_St_Thomas

At one time the Lodge House (where the character Audrey fforbes-Hamilton lived) was offered as a holiday cottage but I'm not sure if that's still the case. We were going to rent it once (in the late 90s) but then our plans changed.

Also outside London on the Berkshire/ Hampshire border is Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey). It's generally only open for visits in summer, Easter and some bank holidays but sometimes for special events at other times. It cannot be seen from the surrounding roads but there are some nearby footpaths where hikers can get a glimpse of the estate.
http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/visting-us.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highclere_Castle

You didn't mention any interest in Harry Potter but just northwest of London is Warner Bros. Studio London (formerly Leavesden Film Studios) -- they opened a tour earlier this year.
http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/

flanneruk

"As for Oxford you also have to consider it's connections to both J.R.R Tolkein and Philip Pullman as well as Colin Dexter and C.S Lewis"

But neither Pullman nor Tolkien have created or inspired cult TV series. Nor has JK Rowling. None of them (nor Downton Abbey) have ever featured in Mystery Masterpiece, or been described as Britcom.

Though it's a mystery to me how anyone can watch tosh like Downton for more than 0.3 seconds and it's certainly a lot funnier - I imagine unintentionally - than To The Manor Born. Mind you, so is the London Telephone Directory (E-K)

Britain has been the source of an absurdly disproportionate share of the last 50 years' TV popular elsewhere in the English speaking world. If she's to stay sane happy_wife needs to focus on one do-able project, and we don't help her by dragging her off into other interesting cultural phenomena.

Otherwise, she'll be getting guided round every sheepdog trial and pub quiz in the country.

chartley

I will try to raise the tone a little and suggest a visit to Lacock in Wiltshire. Aside from Lacock Abbey, important in the history of photography, the village itself is used very frequently as a location and so has no tv aerials, telephone wires, etc.

It was used for Cranford, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, The Other Boleyn Girl, and in Harry Potter films. The Other Boleyn Girl also used Great Chalfont Manor, a few miles from Lacock.

If you are in that area, don't forget Bath. The Royal Crescent in particular has been used in countless films. Who here remembers The Wrong Box?

happy_wife

I am writing to express my profound appreciation for the delightful ideas you have shared with me. Your detailed posts have provided so much valuable information. I will be spending the next couple of days researching this data and creating a "tentative trip agenda." Check back August 30, 2012.

Many thanks!

CaliNurse

Just wanted to say...what a lucky husband you have!!!

Easier said than done, but...don't sweat the details TOO much between now and May.Twelve days in London is bliss, no matter what you do.

One of my fav blogs about London, to help get you in the mood, is Thomas Moore's on the London Connections website. (LC is also a great place from which to rent flats--which i also recommend for you to "feel"more at home vs hotel--but that 's another topic.)

http://blog.londonconnection.com/