Sberg

I will be traveling to London for a week with my husband in August. We are both very active and do lots of walking. Three of the days he will be working so I will be on my own. Suggestions? I was thinking of taking a photography class one of those days. I hope Jamikins is reading as I know she has mentioned taking photography classes in Italy and thought maybe she had in London as she is a local ( and she takes beautiful pictures). I'm open to pretty much anything if anyone has ideas for checking out the city ( or taking a day trip) alone. Thanks.

mjs

Have ever been to London?

Sberg

I have never been to London or anywhere in the U.K. It is funny as we had already planned our vacation in Scotland for two weeks at the end of the summer before this business trip popped up. My husband has been on business in London before but has never seen much. We will have three days together before he heads to work. I'm looking forward to my U.K. Summer.

doloresmercado

If you have never been to London..why would you take classes instead of discovering this huge city????? !!!

For a glimpse, you can take the hop on hop off 24hours
https://www.goldentours.com/hop-on-h...24-hour-ticket

If you are used to walk I have walked from Kensignton Gardens to Waterloo or Victoria station along the parks, Kensington, Hyde, Green and St James.

Take a one hour cruise to Greenwich
http://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk/

Take the train to Bath and visit these amazing roman baths!
https://visitbath.co.uk/
http://cityofbath.co.uk/
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/
There are FREE walking tours in the morning and in the afternoon by local guides.
Take the train at Paddington.
YOu can even rent a bike

Take the train to Windsor Castle
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle
you just walk one block to the Castle from the station

In London you have heaps of walking tours
https://strawberrytours.com/london/


Cheers

janisj

I agree. If you haven't been before I would use the time to see a teensy bit of London

I'm at dinner so don't have time to post more just now

Will post some more ideas when I get home

Sberg

Thanks to both of you for the tips. Keep them coming. The photography class I was looking at is a walking tour of London. They take you to different places to show you a different perspective and give tips on lighting and how to use your camera more effectively. I love to walk around and see the sites. I am planning on doing a few walking tours too. I think being alone I would feel more comfortable being in a group.

Mimar

Look at London Walks, www.walks.com. Loads of options in London and some daytrip excursions.

janisj

" think being alone I would feel more comfortable being in a group."

Perhaps so -- But London is probably the very easiest/most comfortable major city anywhere for solo travelers. I wouldn't worry at all about being on your own. That being said, London Walks has an amazing range of walking tours offered every day.

Sberg

Janisj as I will be with my husband the first few days I might feel totally comfortable being on my own. I am used to riding subways in a variety of cities so I think I will be fine. Some of those walking tours do look interesting. Any particular favorite places or restaurants in London I should investigate? I have been doing research but it has quite a bit of territory to cover.

Sue81

OK here is my suggestion, get up early, and probably get a cab over to the Tower of London, find out when they open and be there when it opens. Head for the back building (get info from google/travel book on London) and see the Crown jewels all in a darkened room with spot lights on the lovely crowns/ loaded with precious jewels, all made for the royalty/queen etc, etc. There is a revolving floor that takes you around to get a good perspective of all the crowns. To me they were amazing to see. Then check out the rest of the Tower of London. If you do not get there early, you will wait in lines. Also check out the plays that are on in London, you might be lucky and get a ticket to one. Also the British Museum is fascinating, also of course check out Buckingham Palace. Forget the courses, just enjoy the city, also Herods is fun to walk thru, and ride the double decker bus around town. Sue

jamikins

Hi there, thank you for the kind words!

I understand wanting to be in a group! Here are some photography companies I have done walks with and enjoyed:

http://www.frui.co.uk/courses/photog...ourses_london/

https://hairygoat.net

Both the above have group tours with good instructors.

Enjoy your trip!

jamikins

I note that someone above suggested taking the boat to Greenwich, which is a lovely idea.

If you do, I highly recommend this special tour that is only available while they are doing renovations

https://www.ornc.org/painted-hall-ceiling-tours-tickets

You get up close and personal with the painted hall, which is gorgeous.

Sberg

Thank you everybody. Jamikins, the Hairygoat is the photo tour I was looking st. Thanks for the confirmation. Looks like I will have lots to keep me busy. I think I might trek out to Windsor Castle on my own and explore the village while I am there. Looks like it is easy to get to.

Sberg

Thank you doloresmercado for all the links. They were very helpful!

Pepper_von_snoot

If you are an avid reader, you should visit Foyle's Books in Charing Cross Road.

Thin

dorfan2

Sberg: Make sure you don't visit Windsor Castle on a Sunday, or you'll miss entry to St. George's Chapel on the grounds. It was as interesting to me as the Castle.

Sberg

Thanks again for the tips. They are greatly appreciated. I will be visiting Windsor mid week so hopefully I will be ok.

PatrickLondon

If you haven't already, visit www.tfl.gov.uk to familiarise yourself with the public transport system, and particularly the map of visitor attractions in central London. For Windsor, though, you'd need a mainline suburban train from Waterloo or Paddington.

texasbookworm

When you work out a tentative itinerary, you might post here so experts or at least those with some experience (I just returned from my 7th trip there, but I'm still no expert!) can see if there are any glitches/hitches.

I'd recommend for first time visit you definitely see the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum--not all on same day! Windsor is great, as is Greenwich, but you can fill 3 days in a snap just in Zone 1.

I don't know why you'd need to take a taxi to the Tower--the Tube stop is 5 minute walk from entrance. Do be there when ticket office opens, though, and as said above, go straight to Crown Jewels.

London Walks has great list of walks, but few of them (correct me if I'm wrong) go INTO sites, so work out a balance between seeing IN something (like the Tower) and just walking by.

thursdaysd

"I don't know why you'd need to take a taxi to the Tower--the Tube stop is 5 minute walk from entrance."

Agree. I don't know why a solo traveler would take a taxi anywhere in Central London. It may make economic sense for a group of three or four but not for a solo unless burdened with luggage (why?) at the beginning or end of a trip.

"Also check out the plays that are on in London, you might be lucky and get a ticket to one."

You can get half price tickets for some shows on the day at the booth in Leicester Square - just make sure it IS the booth and not a shop pretending to be the booth:

http://www.tkts.co.uk/leicester-square/

Or check out https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/ and buy tickets "will call" direct from the theater. I have found the National often has tickets available and they can be very cheap: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/travelex

"Also the British Museum is fascinating, also of course check out Buckingham Palace."

Don't bother with Buckingham Palace unless you book a tour of the inside. There is lots (and lots...) to see in the British Museum but my favorite London museum is the V&A which is also a great place to eat lunch or have afternoon tea/coffee in their gorgeous tea rooms: https://www.vam.ac.uk/visit#cafe