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Help me with my Itinerary!
I will be in London for 8.5 days from 20th to 29th June.
This is what I've planned. I'm female, staying with friends, and may be traveling alone. My local time +8 GMT Stuff I've used to calculate distance and time: http://www.walkit.com/london http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp Jun 20, 2009 Sunrise4:43 AM Sunset9:21 PM DAY 1 (Saturday) - 20th June - 12:25pm Reach Gatwick Go through Customs Either take Southern Train (35m) to Victoria Station (1 HR) OR rent car and drive directly down to Shepherd's Bush - 1:30pm Take C1 or 148 to Shepherd's Bush, dump stuff (1hr?) - 2:30pm Head to Portobello Market (3 hrs) (8.30am to 6.00pm) Buses include: 7, 12, 23, 27, 28, 31, 52, 70 & 328 - 5:30pm Nottingham, Dinner (1 HR) - 6:30pm Walk through Holland Park - 7.30pm Go home. (0.5 hr) - 8.00pm SLEEP home. 6 hours sleep DAY 2 (Sunday) - 21st June Renting to be there at Sunrise - 2:00am WAKE UP (note it's 10am at my local time +8GMT) - 2:30am Drive to Stonehenge (2 hours drive?) Will it be easy to drive there? - 4:30am At Stonehenge for Sunrise, picnic? (2HR) - 6:30am Drive to Avebury (1HR) http://www.stonehenge-avebury.net/stnhngeinfo.html - 7:30am At Avebury (1.5HR) - 9:00am Drive to Salisbury (1HR) - 10:00am Walking around Salisbury, packed lunch (3HR) - 1:00pm Drive to Bath (1.5HR) http://visitbath.co.uk/site/city-and-area-guide - 2:30pm Sightseeing at Bath, Dinner (if tired, sleep early) - 9:00pm SLEEP at Bath, where? OR take day trip Bus Tour http://www.viator.com/tours/London/S...d737-3858EE020 Pros - Cheaper to take a bus tour than to rent, safer Cons - Can't be there at sunrise, miss out Avebury, less time around towns. 8.5 hours sleep DAY 3 (Monday) - 22nd June - 6:30am CHECK OUT - 7:00am Drive through Cotswolds to Oxford (8HR) Ideas? Routes? Stops??? Where to stop for lunch/tea? - 3:00pm Walking around Oxford, Dinner (4HR) - 7:00pm Drive back to London (2HR) - 9:00pm Return Car - 10:00pm SLEEP home. OR take day trip Bus Tour http://www.viator.com/tours/London/L...n/d737-2452T12 8/10 hours sleep DAY 4 (Tuesday) - 23rd June - 8:00am - Take Train to Windsor - 9:45am - VISIT Windsor (3 hours) Afternoon - Hampton Court OR Just do one, Hampton Court Palace/Windsor and RELAX. - 7:30pm West End Production? DAY 5 (Wednesday) - 24th June - 6:00am/8:00am Hyde Park and/or Kensington Gardens - 10:00am Kensington Palace - 12:00pm VISIT: Victoria & Albert Museum Museum Opening Hours 10.00 to 17.45 daily 10.00 to 22.00 Fridays (selected galleries remain open after 18.00. ). Closed 24, 25 & 26 December AND/OR Natural History Museum Opening times Open every day 10.00 - 17.50 Last admission 17.30 - 4:00pm Window Shop around Kingsbridge - 6:00pmHarrods and/or Harvey Nichols Harrods Monday to Saturday 10am to 8pm Harvey Nichols Mon - Sat: 10.00am - 9.00pm until 22nd August 2009. - 9:00pm See Apsley House, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace at Night. - 10:00pm HOME Day 6 (Thursday) - 25th June Morning - SEE Westminster Abbey, Big Ben - Walk along Victoria Embankment - VISIT Somerset House Lunch - Covent Garden Afternoon - Walk along Strand, Trafalgar - VISIT National Gallery Evening - SHOP along Regent/Oxford Street Day 7 (Friday) - 26th June - 6:00am Visit Bermondsey Market - 8:00am SEE Design Museum (1.1km 20 min), and Leisurely walk across tower bridge (1.1km 20 min) (PHOTOS) - 9:00am VISIT Tower of London (2 hours) Yeoman Warder Tour (1 hour) - 11:00am SEE Leadenhall Market (0.8km 15 min), Monument (0.4km 10 min), over London Bridge, Southwark Cathedral (0.7km 15 min) to Borough Market - 12:00pm Visit Borough Market (Lunch) - 2:00pm Walk over Southwark Bridge - 2:30pm VISIT St Paul's Cathedral (2 hours) - 4:30pm VISIT Tate Modern (2.5 hours) - 7:00pm Quick Bite - 7:30pm Watch Romeo and Juliet at Globe - 11:00pm SLEEP Day 8 (Saturday) - 27th June Richmond Park (morning) Kew Gardens (Afternoon) Day 9 (Sunday) - 28th June Brick Lane Market (morning) Camden Town (afternoon) Regent Park (evening) |
I'm speechless....
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I'm exhausted. Good luck and have a good trip.
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step away from the computer (and especially all the timelines and fine tuned schedules) and take a deep DEEP breath.
You are over-planning and under-estimating just about everything. Your "or" options for the simpler day plans are the better choices. Take away all the times and .5 hour bits and spell it out in a simple list and then start from there. |
phew.
ok.... Stonehenge - were you expecting to just turn up at sunrise and get access? The site does not open until 9am and you can't get right in among the stones anyway (if that's what you were hoping). I suppose you could park somewhere nearby (you can see Stonehenge from the road) but you won't be able to get very close. There is a special early morning or evening access for only 26 people each day, where you can get among the stones, but this has to be pre-booked and gets booked up very quickly. I don't think it is timed for sunrise. Check out the English Heritage site. |
For the day trips, I would only be doing the car rental IF my friends are coming along (3 drivers in their mid twenties), or else I would be doing the bus tours.
I do have a simple list, but I guess I just micromanage everything! Does this looks better? DAY 4 (Tuesday) - 23rd June 1. Windsor Castle 2. Hampton Court OR 1. Hampton Court 2. Westend DAY 5 (Wednesday) - 24th June Walk through Kensington Gardens from Lancester Gate to Kensington Palace Victoria & Albert Museum Or Natural History Museum. Walk around Kingsbridge to Harrods/Harvey Nichols. Day 6 (Thursday) - 25th June Walk along Victoria Embankment to Somerset House Lunch at Covent Garden National Gallery Shop at Regent Str/Oxford Street Day 7 (Friday) - 26th June Bermondsey Market (Early!) Tower of London Borough Market (Lunch) St Paul's Cathedral Tate Modern Watch Romeo and Juliet at Globe (Evening) Day 8 (Saturday) - 27th June Depending on Level of Energy, either Richmond Park (morning) Kew Gardens (Afternoon) OR Richmond Park/Kew Gardens. Which is more worth Visiting? Day 9 (Sunday) - 28th June Brick Lane Market (morning) Camden Town (afternoon) Regent Park (evening) OR Brick Lane Market OR Camden Town Regent Park. |
To nona1:
Actually I'm not planning on entering the grounds. I'm thinking of something more for photography http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/sh...-dos-and-donts Excerpt "You can either try to shoot through the fence (a lens with small diameter is needed) or**** go up the nearby dust road to shoot from a far.**** This time lapse photograph is taken from that road, using the wooden fence as tripod, with a 50mm prime." |
I do understand that the day trips looks tiring, but if i'm doing the day trip, it will be just Hampton Court the next day, but if I'm doing the bus tours, I'll do Windsor and Hampton on the same day.
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Some guided bus tours do HCP and Windsor on the same day - but that doesn't make it a good idea. There is no quick/easy mode of transport between the two and each take more than half a day including transport from central London. So do HCP one day and something in the late afternoon back in London. Another day do Windsor and then something back in London that afternoon -
don't try to do both on the same day. Your simplified list from day 4 onwards is fine - needs a bit of fine tuning - especially day 7/Friday which simply isn't doable. But the really messy parts of your plan are days 1-3. Most of those make no sense. And where are you planning to rent a car late on a Saturday or early on a Sunday and dropping it late on a Monday night?? Unless you travel out to Heathrow - city rental agencies don't have those sorts of opening hours. |
DAY 1
Definitely DONT drive to Shephards Bush! Take public transit!!!! DAY 2 = IMPOSSIBLE There is no way you can do stonehenge, avebury, salisbury, and Bath in one day. Bath is a few hours drive from London! I would train to Salisbury (1.5 hours I think) then immediately take the Stonehenge bus from the train station to Stonehenge. You cant access it at sunrise anyways. I hope you realize its the summer solstice and will be VERY busy that day... then bus back to Salisbury for the afternoon (see cathedral etc and do lunch) and then train back to London. That is a full day! OR better yet, swap this with June 23 (this becomes day 4)and do the London Walks Explorer Day and take the hassle out of everything. http://www.walks.com/Homepage/Stoneh...t/default.aspx I've done this twice and always send my guests on it...its great! DAY 3 - on June 21 London Walks has a Cotswolds in the summer explorer day. I've also done this one (same link as above) and it is great as well. You take the train and then a coach into the heart of the cotswolds, doing a walk in the morning (we did chipping camden and had lunch) and then another drive to Upper Slaughter then walked to Lower Slaughter). DAY 4 (Tuesday) - 23rd June (this becomes Day 2) 1. Windsor Castle 2. Hampton Court Choose one or the other...each will likely take the better part of the day. I'd go out first thing spend 5 or so hours including lunch and then head into London for some relaxation...i.e. go for a walk along embankment or south bank Waterloo to London Bridge... OR 1. Hampton Court 2. Westend This option is MUCH better. DAY 5 (Wednesday) - 24th June Walk through Kensington Gardens from Lancester Gate to Kensington Palace Victoria & Albert Museum Or Natural History Museum. Walk around Kingsbridge to Harrods/Harvey Nichols. This day is fine. Day 6 (Thursday) - 25th June Walk along Victoria Embankment to Somerset House Lunch at Covent Garden National Gallery Shop at Regent Str/Oxford Street This day is fine Day 7 (Friday) - 26th June Bermondsey Market (Early!) Tower of London Borough Market (Lunch) St Paul's Cathedral Tate Modern Watch Romeo and Juliet at Globe (Evening) Expect to spend 4-5 hours at the Tower. Then you can walk across Tower Bridge to Borough Market for lunch. Then walk along the Thames Walk to the Tate Modern (there are lots of pubs for a quick pint if you wish, then across the pedestrian bridge to St Pauls. I doubt you will have time for both the Tate Modern and going INSIDE St Pauls so be prepared to be flexible. Day 8 (Saturday) - 27th June Depending on Level of Energy, either Richmond Park (morning) Kew Gardens (Afternoon) OR Richmond Park/Kew Gardens. Which is more worth Visiting? Cant help you here... Day 9 (Sunday) - 28th June Brick Lane Market (morning) Camden Town (afternoon) Regent Park (evening) OR Brick Lane Market OR Camden Town Regent Park. Sounds ok Have you been to London before? What about Parliament and Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace? I'd do this on day 8 instead! Hope this helps! |
Sorry, it would look like this:
Day 1 arrive and do something fun in london Day 2 - Cotswolds Day 3 - Hampton Court Day 4 - Stonehenge/Salisbury I think thats too many day trips in a row, but it would work. |
Re: And where are you planning to rent a car late on a Saturday or early on a Sunday and dropping it late on a Monday night??
I'm thinking, either my friend rents it on Saturday morning Or I'll rent directly from Gatwick (I've checked europcar and enterprise), and drive down to london. |
I would seriously reconsider driving. Have you driven on the 'wrong' side of the road before? Driving into London is scary, wven without the driving on the wrong side bit. If you really want to be at stonehenge at dawn why dont you just train there from Gatwick (you likely have to make a change) and stay overnight in Salisbury your first night?
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jamikins,
The reason why I want to do all the day trips around the same time, is due travelcard/london pass. So it can be Day1-3 oyster card 4-9 (6 days) London pass/travel card 10 (Day 7 on Travelcard) take Heathrow express with Travel card |
That doesnt make sense. Oysters are not valid for any of your day trips....?
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@jamikins,
I do drive on the wrong side of the road, lol, I'm from Singapore, Lived in Australia, and I've always drove on the wrong side on the road |
I meant
if i'm taking the bus tours, it's probably starting at waterloo station? or victoria station? I can take the tube there. Else, if my friends and I are driving, it will just be the oystercard on the first day. |
Oh and you cant take the heathrow express with a travel card. I believe its a separate fair.
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Would it be possible to take the tube/train to heathrow with a travel card?
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"<i> . . . Or I'll rent directly from Gatwick (I've checked europcar and enterprise), and drive down to london</i>"
OK - That makes absolutely NO sense at all. Even IF you are foolhardy enough to drive from Gatwick to Shepherd's Bush, where would you return the car late Monday night? Same if your friends rent the car early. The silliest bit (of several) is: "<i>6 hours sleep DAY 2 (Sunday) - 21st June Renting to be there at Sunrise - 2:00am WAKE UP (note it's 10am at my local time +8GMT)</i>" If you plan on getting up at 0200 on your first morning you will never get over the jet lag. You can't plan things based on local time back home. I love the planning of things like 6 hours sleep, 8.5 hours sleep, 8/10 hours sleep. We often get over-scheduled itineraries - but over-scheduled sleep time may be a first. Sorry if this sounds snarky - but you really can't plan out every minute of every day. EVERYTHING takes longer and is more complicated than it looks on paper. |
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