jhedrick

My husband is going to the UK for work for 2 weeks, unfortunately I could only get a long weekend to go visit him. My trip looks like this arrive 10 am at Heahrow, I then have the better part of the day to explore on my own in London. Then I have to head toward Evesham (where hubby will be staying) he does have a rental car so could pick me up outside of London (people have suggested taking the tube as far as it will take me and then have him pick me up, or tube then train to Evesham). I then need to do the return route on Monday morning since I depart from London at 4:30 in the afternoon.
So my questions are
1- Best way to London from the airport?
2- Must see's, I only have limited time so what is not to miss, or what things are close together, are the bus tours worth it?
3- Easiest way to get from London to Evesham?
I am sure I will have more questions as it gets closer. But these are the immediate concerns at the moment.
Jessica

Michel_Paris

Heathrow -Tube
What are you doing with your luggage?
Without knowing your interests...Central London: Covent Garden, Trafalgar Sq., Museums here also...and St Martin in the Fields, Banqueting Hall, 10 Downing, Westminster, Big Ben, walk Pall Mall to Buckingham Palace (via St James Palace, St James park). A good walk

bardo1

#1:
My first thought is just hop on the Tube at Heathrow and get off at Covent Garden and start walking around. But that begs the question: Will you be schlepping your luggage around with you all day?! How light are you packing? One small backpack?



#2:
With only 8 hours to see London, don't think in terms of "must sees", you'll never come close to seeing half of them. Pick one museum, one performance, one church, one restaurant, and one neighborhood walk. A bus tour might be OK, just stay on the bus and do a 60-90 minute circuit so you have plenty of time leftover.

#3:
??

rogerdodger

#3-Train from Paddington station to Evesham. Purchase ticket well in advance.

ssachida

actually, for your first day, i'd take the heathrow express to Paddington. Leave luggage at Paddington Left Luggage. Tour London for the day. Return to Paddington and take the train to Evesham. It's a 2 hour journey by train instead of a 4/5 hour return journey for your husband. He could pick you up from the Evesham train station

Touring London: Really depends on your interests, but I'd pick a route from Covent Garden to Westminster via Trafalgar square. If you still have time, take a boat ride from westminster to Tate Modern and see St Pauls just across the river.

flanneruk

There are trains from Paddington to Evesham roughly every hour, taking a bit under 2 hrs. (www.nationalrail.co.uk)

Debatable whether there's much point in your going part of the way only. He really doesn't want to drive into Oxford, and certainly not to Didcot or Reading BUT: he could drive straight along the A44 to Moreton, or a bit further to Charlbury, both of whose stations the Eveshamn train stops at and are easily accessible from the A44, then drive (an hour or so) through the Cotswolds if you'd like a country drive.

Takes longer that way - but it's painless for both of you.

flanneruk

PS.

There are no advance purchase discounts on trains to Evesham. Advance booking is almost pointless: booking substantially in advance is absolutely pointless, but it might be worth booking a day or so beforehand if you're planning on a weekday train between 1550 and 1920 since they fill up at Paddington and advance booking, while saving you nothing, guarantees you a seat without having to turn up early.

jhedrick

Thanks for the responses. My packing plans are one small backpack at least on the way there, the great thing about him returning after me is I can put some stuff in his luggage if need be.
I know there is no way I will ever see all that I want in the limited time I have, I have always wanted to go to London so I pretty much jumped at the chance to go even for just a weekend. I think I would like to see The Tower of London, and have a request for a photo of Big Ben. I really don't care beyond that.
I also haven't traveled out of the US in a long time, is it better to get money ahead of time, or try to use credit cards while there?

Fashionista

The boat trip is a great idea. The Thames IS London for me.

Definitely take the train to Evesham, traffic will be hideous if you stop off earlier.

If the weather is nice get your self a map and walk the city. Most things are close together, and Id recommend the London Eye for another perspective.

bardo1

Michel_Paris and I must have been typing at the same time. His suggested route is a good one.

You'll probably have multiple vantage points to get a photo of Big Ben from many different places on your walk through central London, so that's a given.

The Tower of London, however, is a different story. It's a short tube ride away from the area you be spending most of your time and the lines are LONG. The Tower excursion could easily take half of your time.

flanneruk

"traffic will be hideous if you stop off earlier."

Leaving London between 5-7, so getting to the Cotswolds between 6-8, the A44 from the Cotswold stations is practically empty (I'd do 'state of A44 traffic hour by hour' as my special subject if I went on Mastermind).

In fact, realising how short of time they are, I'd recommend getting off at Hanborough, grabbing a bite in Woodstock, then driving on to Evesham through Chipping Norton and Moreton in Marsh. That way they've had a nice look at a few Eastern Cotswold towns on the Friday night, giving them the weekend to poke rond the west.

Fashionista

Heresy I know, and I may well get drummed off the board for this, but I can never understand why so many people want to go to the Cotswolds.

KayF

Unless you particularly want to see the place your husband is staying, why don't you book a hotel in London for a few nights for the two of you? Then you can go straight to the hotel and dump your bag, then go to The Tower and meet your husband later when he can get there. Then you have the rest of the weekend in London together which sounds more relaxing to me.

You may be interested in London Walks www.walks.com who offer fantastic guided walks, including one at The Tower. You don't need to prebook, just turn up at the appointed time and place and pay your money. They are very good value.

Kay

texasbookworm

What does long weekend mean? Are you arriving on Friday/Saturday/Sunday? Give a bit more specific info so we know how many days you actually have. (Are you really arriving on Sunday, have a half day, and turn around and leave on Monday? Or are you arriving Friday so you actually have all day Sat and Sun?) KayF has a good idea if you have time/money/and can find accomodations in London to save the transportation time back and forth.

alanRow

<<< I think I would like to see The Tower of London, and have a request for a photo of Big Ben. >>>

Go to the Tower of London for opening time then go direct to the Crown Jewels THEN return for the Beefeater tour.

Then take the Tube to Westminster, leave by the Bridge Street exit and remember to close your mouth

cpilgrim

Hi there!

Just wanted to give you my 2 cents, which may be worth nothing. The museum/cathedral/historic sites in London are, of course, overwhelming and with only eight hours I would suggest having only one goal-- for me, it makes the whole experience much more enjoyable if I only have one goal and the rest I can just do as I please, and getting lost or behind on schedule is no big deal.

So what interests you? If you're really interested in UK history, then of course the Tower of London is probably the best if you only have one morning/ afternoon. However, I was there in the dead of winter with no lines (not even for the crown jewels) and it took me about 4 hours to complete the whole complex! And that doesn't count travel to that side of town (of course, coming from the airport you will go through customs, take the express to Paddington and then taking the Circle Line to Tower Hill. In the winter, around 3:00, this whole process took me about 2 hrs). If you want something equally UK-focused, but that will take less time and put you close to Big Ben, I say take a tour of Westminster Abbey. It is beautiful, moving, has a great tour, Poet's Corner, the burial sites of Mary and Elizabeth, the effigies....it is really a must-see, and much quicker than the Tower. Plus, after you're done, it is a quick walk to all the other "postcard" places like Victoria Tower and Parliament for good picture taking. You can also easily walk up to Trafalgar Square and spend an hour people-watching! If you're more into personalities and art (royalty, artists, etc.) than war history, then Westminster is for you (sorry to make such a glaring generalization, because both are amazing but just to help you make your decision). But the Tower is more interactive and you can walk all over it, which makes it pretty special(no pic taking allowed inside Westminster).

If you do decide on the Tower, the lucky thing is that you might have the time to take a train up to St. Paul's-- absolutely beautiful, and the view from the top is to-die-for (check online though, because it often closes early for events and etc....In fact, whatever you decide, make sure to look up the hours because many places have odd hours on the weekends and you want to maximize your time as much as possible). However, a trip to that side of town would almost preclude your being able to get that shot of Big Ben (well, perhaps you could get one from far away) unless you are super stealthy and plan to spend a fair amount of your time on the Tube.

If you're not so much into UK history and want just to see some landmark, world-class, never-see-this-stuff-again-type-stuff I would instead suggest that you go to The National Gallery or British Museum. They are both amazing but will take as much time as you give it! There's so much stuff in each of them I can't even venture to suggest just one thing, but I would advise making a list of must-see things before you go, otherwise you will find yourself wandering around for hours and not see all you meant to!

If you're the bookish type, I would say to go to the reading room at the British Library. It is a small but amazing room filled with precious texts (think Austen, Shakespeare, Hardy, illuminated Bibles, Da Vinci, Beethoven, etc.). For a bookish-type person it is not to be missed. It is also close to Kings Cross Station, a very beautiful train station. I really enjoyed seeing the architecture and people watching in all the train stations.

I found London quite impressive but also very overwhelming-- more so than, for example, NYC and Tokyo, as a way of comparison. Don't get me wrong-- London is easy to navigate and very walkable, much more so than NYC, for example. I found that the maps make things look much farther away than they really are. And the Tube is very navigable. But the attitude is very high-energy and you will find yourself moving fast to keep pace with everyone else on the streets. NYC seems like a breeze comparatively! So find a way to take it slow so you can really enjoy yourself. Once you decide what your one "goal" will be, let us know and we can give you suggestions for other things in the area that are of interest, and maybe places for food as well!

If you decide you can't spend the weekend in London and must join your husband outside of London, enjoy the train ride! We really enjoyed the trains. It is like getting a tour of England without having to do any work. Just grab a coffee and watch the countryside roll by. I assume the sun will be setting quite late this time of the year?

Finally, Heathrow is an incredibly well-organized airport (well, in comparison to my hometown airport, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta). We left out on *Christmas Eve*, and had 2 hours of loaf time in Heathrow AFTER getting to our gate-- whoops!

I don't know a bit about Evesham, but it looks like there's a lot to see around there; you're only a short train ride to many remarkable places. What does the rest of your time look like? You could take a daytrip from Evesham if you're not really interested in sticking around town (interested in Stonehenge or Oxford? Of course, I've only been to the UK once, but when we were there we found that a 2 hr train ride-- that's 4 hrs of travelling per day--was right about the limit for a do-able day trip, and we did leave before the sun rose, although in the winter the sun rises quite late). if I personally enjoyed getting out of London myself so enjoy that! Have fun! I'm quite jealous! I wish I were going back!

ssachida

Hmm, if the Tower of London and Big Ben are your must dos and you are happy to carry your luggage around (no cloak room at the tower), then:
1. Take the tube from Heathrow to South Kensington. Change to the east-bound Circle or District line ad get off at Tower Hill.
2. It will be noon, if not later by the time you get to the Tower of London. Visit the Tower of London and then take a boat from the Tower to Westminster.
3. Big Ben, the parliament and the abbey are right there. You could use the rest of your time to visit the Abbey or go across the bridge to the London Eye and get your panoramic views of London.
4. Walk over to the embankment tube (5 min riverside walk) and take the Bakerloo line to Paddington.
5. Train to Evesham.

janisj

<B>jhedrick</B>: OK - spanner in the works a bit here. "<i>arrive 10 am at Heahrow, I then have the better part of the day to explore on my own in London</i>"

Reality check -- You won't be anywhere interesting in Central London until probably 1PM or later. You don't just get off the plane and voila there you are in London. There is waiting for a gate, immigration, travel in to town and then walking/busing to tubing to any sites. And you'd want to catch a train by 6PM at the latest- so essentially you'll have 4 or 5 hours max. That is barely time enough to squeeze in travel across London to the Tower, a quick look-see, and travel back to Paddington. Certainly not enough time to wander around London.

Plus - are you flying in transatlantic? If so you will be very likely be a walking zombie at least that first day.

So - what I'd do -- have your husband come in to London to meet you and spend the night (or perhaps better yet - the whole weekend) in the city. You'll at least have a chance to see a bit of London.

Unless you have a strong urge to see Evesham -- see London w/ your husband.

Otherwise - I'd skip London since you won't have ANY free/awake time there and just travel directly to Evesham.

jhedrick

Thanks for all the responses. I have flown transatlantic before so I know what to expect. We have talked about him coming to London, however we also want to try to see more of the country than just London, especially since we have a hotel for free in Evesham (his company is paying for it, as well as the rental car, so it seems silly not to use those). I am also trying to coordinate meeting up with an old friend, just waiting to hear back from her, as I know she is in the Evesham area now.
Was just looking for ideas for things to do on a limited time while there.
Thanks again.

lincasanova

Look into the wonderful RV1 bus that will take you from Covent garden, to the London Eye, Tate modern, then over to the tower of London. A great ride. You can get off at the tate Modern and go upstairs to their café for a drink and admire London spread out before you.