rosslang

Our family will be in the UK May 25-June 12. My husband and I have been to London by ourselves several times, and this will be the second trip with the kids - our son who is 20 and daughters, 17 and 9). This trip we'll spend 6 days in London, a week on the Isle of Skye, and 5 days driving back to London.

The kids saw the most famous sights last time we were in London, so I am leaving a couple of the days in London fairly open so we can add something other travelers may suggest.

(I will post the Scotland part of the itinerary separately.)

Here is our basic itinerary for London. Please give suggestions for changes or confirmations!

Sunday:
Arrive 6:30 am
Taxi from Heathrow to apartment (in Kensington). Just Airports for the taxi?
Grocery shopping, walk in the area
Evening service at All Soul’s Church

Monday:
Cabinet War Rooms
Walk from Westminster to Trafalgar Sq
Leaving the rest of the day open for suggestions. (We may see friends that night.)

Tuesday:
Hampton Court
Another thread suggests taking the train from Waterloo. On the Transport for London journey planner it explains the route this way: the train from Waterloo to Kingston Station and then bus 411 or 461 to Hampton Court. Has anyone done this? Is the bus stop just outside the train station? Does the bus go right to Hampton Court so it will be obvious to us where to get off?
(We are getting Travelcards for zones 1-6 and I believe that will cover the trip.)

Wednesday:
11:45 Franklin House
(afternoon open)
7:30 “Les Miserables”

Thursday:
11:00 Beatles Magic Mystery Tour with London Walks
(afternoon open)
7:30 “Wicked”

Friday:
This is the hardest day to plan since we will need to check out of the apartment in the morning and we will not have any place to “land” during the day. The train doesn’t leave until after 11 pm. We have to go to Euston in the morning to store the luggage and back again at night, so I thought we might try to stay in the general area between Euston and the Thames for the day.

We will start by going straight from the apartment to Euston to store the luggage.

Below are some ideas I have for the day (NOT doing all of them, of course):

My husband and I have visited Temple Church before and want to take the children this time (I believe it is open 11:00-12:30 and 2-4 on Fridays). We could go either time.

Covent Garden Market for lunch/shopping

I’m interested in walking through the Inns of Court area – would this fit if we walk from Temple Church to Covent Garden? There is also a London Walks tour (“Legal and Illegal London” on Friday afternoons…)

St Paul’s for evensong at 5:00?

We will have time to kill between the time most possible sights and shops close (5:00 or 6:00?) until we can board the train at 10:30 pm. Some parts of the British Museum stay open until 10:30 on Fridays, so I’m thinking about going there in the evening for a few hours. (The kids have not been before.)

A few random questions:
Since we are staying in Kensington, would Kensington Palace be a good visit (mainly for the girls with the Princess Diana connection)?

Has anyone seen the clothing/fashion exhibits at the Victoria and Albert museum? A friend recently told me that when she was there visitors were allowed to try on some of the Victorian clothing. There is nothing on the V&A website about trying clothes on. (My girls would love that.)

My husband is a used book fanatic. Is Charing Cross Road the best place to roam for second-hand books?

Thank you for any help you can give.

Cholmondley_Warner

On the Transport for London journey planner it explains the route this way: the train from Waterloo to Kingston Station and then bus 411 or 461 to Hampton Court>>>

This is nuts. Hampton Court has it's own station. Get the train from Waterloo to HC station and it's a short walk from there.

yk

Have you been to British Library? Worth an hour or two, close to Euston station.

rosslang

Cholmondley_Warner -- I see the train from Waterloo to Hampton Court on the National Rail website. I don't know why the Transport for London doesn't give the direct route! Am I right to assume my travelcard for zones 1-6 will cover the trip?

yk -- We chose the British Museum over the British Library because we thought there would be more of interest to the kids there. (My husband and I could spend all day in the British Library.)

lennyba

I've seen the clothing exhibit at the V&A and it is great fun. I halfway remember there being some clothes available to try on, but don't remember any details. Kensington Palace IMO is just okay...the grounds, the Orangerie, and the parks adjacent were more interesting to me than the rooms.

rosslang

Thanks for your help and suggestions so far.

Would it be rushed to do the trip to Hampton Court on a day when we have theater tickets in the evening? If we plan to arrive at Hampton Court around 10:00 am would we be able to see everything in a leisurely way and leave by 3:30?

Cholmondley_Warner

A day is plenty for HC. Be prepared to shift your schedule around for the weather.

HC's real glory is it's gardens which would be perfect on a sunny day.

And yes a 1-6 travelcard will cover it (The TFL journey planner can be a bit "eccentric&quot.

noe847

My daughters (now 19 and 22) have enjoyed the Borough Market - we've been on a Friday afternoon/early evening. You could even pick up some wonderful snacks for your train ride.

yk

Hi rosslang- When I was at HCP in Sept 07, I spent about 6 hours there (including a short lunch break). I think 5.5 hrs is enough. BTW, they have costumed guided tours (last about 30 mins each) throughout the day (free). I enjoyed them and I think your kids will like them too.

rosslang

Then Hampton Court is a must for us -- and it is good to know we could go on one of the days we have evening theater tickets -- especially if one of those days is a sunny day so we can see the gardens at their best.

Thanks for mentioning Borough Market. It looks like a great place to pick up things for lunch out. We will cook suppers at the apt, but I want to take along or buy fruit and snacks for lunches in the park if the weather is nice.

samsmom1127

bookmarking...very helpful!

rosslang

I'm still looking for the best area where we can browse through bookshops -- both new and second-hand books. The last time we were in London we spent several happy hours at John Sandoe Books in Chelsea. It is the perfect bookshop - for atmosphere and selection (and we will go back if we don't hear recommendations for a new place to explore).

Many years ago Charing Cross Road was the place to go for bookshops, but I didn't know if that is still the case.

Any suggestions?

Londonres

Charing Cross Road and Cecil Court have the best concentrations of second hand bookshops. This site gives more information about shops:
www.inprint.co.uk/thebookguide/

PatrickLondon

Trying on clothes at the V&A - there are some replica Victorian-style clothes in the costume area, but, if memory serves, they're likely to appeal more to the 9-year old - I have in my mind's eye something vaguely like a Sherlock Holmes Inverness cape. Though I'm sure the V&A are more thorough than that sounds, I suspect it's geared towards children on primary school visits rather than more or less grown-ups.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events/fa...son/index.html

rosslang

What a great site for bookshops! Thank you.

Abut the V&A -- A friend was there last year and told us about getting to try on clothes. She thought my girls would enjoy it. (Our youngest is 9, so it may be just right. )

tod

Before heading home try and go to Queen Mary's Rose Garden in Regents Park as close to the 12th as possible. The roses should just be putting on a spurt and the thousands upon thousands of roses in large beds, trailing over trellises and arbours defies description! Should be well worth it. Walk back (or there) along Broad Walk and enter or leave via Chester Road. This is a beautiful laid out section of flower beds & shrubs in a riot of colour.

helen_belsize

Sorry to be a bore but Monday May 26th is a public holiday (the old Whit Monday standardised to last Monday of May). Most things will be open but suggest you check. It is also half term so you will be competing with English families taking their children out and about.

rosslang

I am a gardener and especially love to grow roses. Thank you for the information about the rose garden at Regent's Park!

Yes, I am aware of the holiday and the probable crowds in London that week. Hopefully we will be able to navigate through the madness! In looking at my proposed itinerary above, are there parts which should be adjusted because of the half term crowds?