Best route to Hampton Court?? (AND OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT HAMPTON COURT)
 

From the County Hall Marriott area, what is the best route to the Hampton Court Palace? Also, is there a better day of the week to go? What time is best? Morning? How long should we allow, etc.? Thanks!

go to Waterloo station and take the train. HCP is in zone 6 so you need to have an extension loaded onto your Oyster (if you get the usual zone 1-2 travelcard).

Just like your trip in from LHR will be a zone 6 extension.

When I went last year, I spent about 6 hours there (including a short lunch break there). They offer free costumed guided tours of several parts of the castle which I thought was worthwhile. Anticipate spending quite some time at the various gardens.

By the time you make the journey it is a whole day exercise. So allow this to be a day trip and don't mix it with much else. It is quite an exhausting day. I would imagine the weekends would also be busy with locals, or visiting nearby locals so maybe choose a week day if you can. Check opening hours and any days it closes, to be on the safe side.

Don't forget the maze.

Trains to Hampton Court leave Waterloo station every half hour, usually from the far end of the station (platforms 1-2). Hampton Court is the end of the line, so it will appear on the departure screens as the train's diestination.
You cannot yet get an extension on an Oyster Card to go by train to Hampton Court. You need to buy a paper ticket to cover the extra journey. If you have an Oystercard loaded with a travelcard for zones 1 and 2, you need to go to the ticket office at Waterloo station, show the Oystercard, and buy a paper ticket to cover the journey from the boundary of zone 2 to Hampton Court.

Ditto on the trains. I think we spent 4-5 hours there. They have truly fattening tea and scones in the little shop by the gardens. Loved Hampton Court, just saw it a few days ago in a movie, if I could only remember the name. It was a Pocahontas film with Christian Bale and Colin Ferrell.

How long it takes depends a bit on the weather. The crowning glory of HC is it's gardens - so go on a dry day (we have them occasionaly).

See other threads about combining it with a river trip if you've the time and the weather's nice. I'd suggest taking the boat back to Richmond and getting a train back to Waterloo from there - that wouldn't take up too much extra time, though it would obviously be a bit more expensive than getting a day return to and from Hampton Court from Waterloo.

As suggested above, make a day of it. We took a Thames cruise to get there & took the train back. The cruise was about 3 hours & it was cool to approach Hampton on the water. A Man for All Seasons fantasy thing, y'know.

Ian

If you do take the train, you can use the 2 for 1 London site for discount tickets http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/. You just show your rail tickets along with the coupon you print from this site and you get the discounted entrance fee. We did this last month.

Yes, good one Leslie28, we were able to get the same deal a few years ago.

I went to the Days Out site and printed out some vouchers. The terms and conditions say that they are only valid until May 31 2008. Is it likely that they will extend these 2 for 1 offerings for the summer months?

Will the printed vouchers for the next period look different? Or might they just extend the expiration date and I'll be able to use the ones I just printed out?

HCP is about 5min walk from the train station. I would start early-ish in the morning. I would also check to see if you can buy tickets in advance--that way you don't have to queue up. We pack a picnic lunch--you can find many benches in the garden. Weekdays vs weekends--the former is definitely less crowded, but may have fewer family activities (unless during school holidays/summer). Don't miss the turor kitchen tour. Excellent guided tours (usually thematic, quite short).

About the boat trip... We've done it from HCP to Kew Gardens before. I think it is quite lovely, if the weather is nice. Though it can be a quite slow ride, esp depending on tides. The boat will have to go through several locks. The first few ones are quite interesting, but the law of diminishing returns (of interests) applies here.

Thanks jonmck just the question I was going to ask. We would like to also visit Wimbledon on our way to Hampton Court , can anyone suggest the easiest and quickest route.

mariebut -

Wimbledon is one of the stops on the line from Waterloo to Hampton Court, so no problem.

You will need to get a bus from Wimbledon station:

http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about...m_visitor.html

If you join the Historic Royal Palaces for £38 you have unlimited admission for a year to the Tower, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace, Banqueting House & Kew Palace and there is also a family rate.

With it you get 10% off purchases in the gift shops which have great souvenirs, newsletters & a book that sells for £10 in the gift shop.

Why on earth do you want to go to Wimbledon? I lived there for five years and would be happy never to see it again.

LynAK, they will likely just extend the 2-for-1 deals for summer. I went two summers ago and remember waiting for the summer deals to show up and they were the same as the spring. Not sure if the coupon looks the same, but you can always print it again if they come out with the summer specials.

Warner, as avid tennis fans from Australia, we are keen to visit the Wimbledon museum and tour the courts.

Then I will save you a wasted trip. The tennis courts aren't actually in Wimbledon. They're in Southfields. That's some way from Wimbledon Town centre.

You can either get the district line to Southfields and follow the signs or if you're in Wimbledon yopu get the 156 bus which will also drop you at southfields station.

A word of warning: Southfields is tiny. It doesn't have a lot of options for food and drink.

Don't ask me about anything inside as I've never been in as I'm afraid tennis holds no interest for me.

When you're finished with the tennis you could go to the greyhound track - much more my kind of thing!

Sorry to confuse you Warner, I was never interested in Wimbledon the township just the infamous tennis complex. Thanks for your suggestions

mariebut - Ignore the derogatory comments about Wimbledon, I went to school there for 10 years and it is a charming place. At the top of the hill is Wimbledon village which leads to Wimbledon Common, one of the green lungs of Greater London and a pleasant place for a stroll. I think CW is referring to the dull dormitory suburbs that surround it.

I have fond memories of walking to the Lawn Tennis Championships after school, when it was possible to get in after 5pm for very little and get unused seats on the show courts to see the end of play. Don't know if they do that any more, it was a few years ago. One of my proudest possessions is a 1964 programme signed by Billie-Jean Moffitt, as she was then. I've never been to the museum, hope you enjoy it. You might be surprised how small the area occupied by the AELTC is, considering it puts on one of the major championships.

Wimbledon Village is indeed nice - and you might even see a womble. But it's not so nice that i would make an effort to go there especially.

Wimbledon town centre is a typical london chav-infested hovel.

"...we are keen to visit the Wimbledon museum and tour the courts..."

Yes, well worth a visit if you're even remotely interested in tennis. The museum was upgraded a couple of years ago and the behind the scenes tour is really good (though a pricey extra). Be sure to book your places on a specific timed tour a few days ahead of your visit as they fill up quickly.

Thanks for the info Gordon and stfc, looking forward to our visit