Hampton Court and Greenwich
 

My husband and I are plannning our trip to England in September and are thinking of going to Greenwich and Hampton Court in one day. I know they are on opposite sides of the city, but are they doable in one day? We've been to Greenwich before, but didn't see as much as we wanted. We've never been to Hampton Court. I'd appreciate any advice.

Patsy

Doable - barely, advisable - no.

How long are you in London? Surely there must be a way you can organize your itinerary so these two don't have to be on the same day.

Yes, we could definately redo our schedule. We will be in London about 10 days. I just didn't think either one of these would take a full day. We have other day trips out of London that will definately take a full day. Thanks for your input. Patsy

I agree it's physically possible to visit both places in one day but you'll almost certainly end with the same impression of HCP as you first did about Greenwich: not enough time to see it all.

You'll probably spend at least three hours travelling by train London-Greenwich-Hampton Court-London. In Greenwich, there's the CUTTY SARK, Maritime Museum, painted hall, Observatory, park, market, etc; at Hampton Court, there's the palace, gardens, maze, etc. Each is worth a day - and you still won't see everything.

As the saying goes "anything is possible", :-) but this not something I'd recommend. They are on totally different ends of the city and both have alot to see. We have been to both many times, but never on the same day (nor would we plan something like this duet on the same day).

As Janis said, surely you can organize your schedule so that you can do both but on separate days .. that way you will enjoy what you are seeing. While each may not take a "full day" (how many hours of sightseeing constitute a full day is subjective as well) they will take up the better part of a day. Greenwich is a large place, there is a fair amount of walking just to get anyplace. Likewise for Hampton Court. I would not plan on rushing through either of these sites.

mrsd1: "I just didn't think either one of these would take a full day"

When you add in transport to/from, on their own, each of these places will take most of a day.

If you go to HCP by train in the morning, tour the Palace and grounds and have lunch, it will be at least mid afternoon before you get back to central London. And if you take the boat back into town it will be late afternoon/early evening.

And Greenwich takes as much (or as little) time as you wish. Besides the maritime museum, observatory, etc., if you wander through Greenwich village and go to a couple of pubs, a trip to Greenwich can easily take most of a day.

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare..?"

Allow yourself time to breathe, at least!

..Doable but why bother- take your time and literally smell the roses. If you havent done it before consider taking a trip down the Thames to Greenwich (from the Tower docks)..a great way to get a feel for the city (imagine the condo refits in their first like as warehouses).

Thanks all. We are happily redoing our schedule to spend a full day at both places AND taking the boat to Greenwich AND smelling the roses! It will be a great trip!

When you go to Hampton Court stop in the gift shop when you pay for your tickets. (It's right by the entrance.) You can get some unique gifts to bring home. I found "Knowledge In a Nutshell", a set of cards with all the English rulers on them, with details of their reigns on the back. A friend had bought some there years ago and I always thought it was a great way of learning English history.

After breakfast around 9 or 9:30 a.m., we took a tour boat to Greenwich. The day was lovely, and we saw many wonderful examples of architecture from the river view. We toured the Cutty Sark, a special interest of mine, so we spent a bit of time there, the Maritime Museum, the Observatory and park (with the obligatory straddle of the prime meridian and seeing the clocks), and a nice wander in the park. Very late lunch at a pub, a stop at Carphone Warehouse to buy a cell phone, and home on Docklands Light Rail. We were home at 4:30 pm, having had a very full day, not rushed, but with a few hours of downtime before our play that night. We could have left earlier, gone faster, and perhaps have gotten home at 3 pm, time enough for another activity before dinner, but nothing like HC.

Were I taking the river to Greenwich, I'd take the boat from Westminster Pier. On return, I'd also walk under the Thames from Greenwich Pier to Island Gardens thru the pedestrian tunnel and get the DLR from there. The view across the river back at Greenwich is great. Since you have to change at Canary Wharf to the Jubilee Line you might plan on walking around there for awhile. The Canary Wharf website has a map showing where the artworks are.

Thanks all! Such great ideas! I'm very much looking forward to seeing both these places now, more than before. I'll let you know how it goes. Less than 9 weeks now!

i havent been to greenwich as i couldnt fit it into my last london holiday but i did HC and it is *definately* doable in 1/2 a day. i finished my visit and remember leaving HC on the 12:30 train to waterloo.

we were at the station at 8:30 and caught the train to HC as it was leaving.when we got there got a ticket and we waited 15 min for the first hourly guided tours by a warder (free) to commence.he will show you around the palace and give some history.then we wandered inside ,checked out kitchen re enactments, haunted rooms,royal appartments, chapel, gift shop and see the duck pond and do the maze. the gardens span for a few km and are a nice walk if you want to loose weight or ruin out your feet.
have a nice holiday.