jent103 Goes to London!: A Trip Report
Jun 21st, 2009, 08:24 PM
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jent103 Goes to London!: A Trip Report
I decided a few months ago to tack on several days in London to the end of a trip to the Midlands with a group of friends. My youngest brother Adam, convinced at last by great deals on airfare, decided just a couple of months ago to join me. We both spent a semester in London during university and I've been back a couple of times since, but there is still a lot I don't know. So, MANY thanks to the Fodorites who patiently answered questions and gave such great input for both parts of the trip, particularly yk, janisj, flanneruk and PatrickLondon, among others.
I'll start with bare-bones information, in case that's all some are interested in, and talk about what we actually did from there!
<b>Costs</b>
Our trip wasn't super-budget, but we didn't spend a ton, either. Total costs for me (approximations, based on $1.56 exchange rate at the time of our trip):
Flight: $521, booked on Delta in March (Nashville to Heathrow via Atlanta)
Hotel: $485
Train tickets to/from Loughborough: $100
Transit in London: $45
Meals: Less than $150 (average 8 pounds for lunch/dinner)
Theatre tickets: $100
Tours: $85 (with London Walks, including one Explorer Day)
Entrance fees: none! I love London.
So, about $1500 per person, plus souvenirs/shopping (we didn't really do too much of either).
<b>Hotel</b>
Our group stayed at <b><i>Holiday Inn Bloomsbury</i></b> for one night; I booked several rooms on londontown.com for £90/twin. This hotel is pretty big, updated, had two lifts (requiring keycard access), and had bigger rooms than I would ever have thought. Clean with helpful staff. It's in a good location, about a block and a half from Russell Square station, but it's not the absolute most central location (Russell Square is only on one Tube line, and I think the area has some bus service but not as much as other parts of central London). However, I think we got a good deal on a good hotel, and I would definitely stay there again if that's what worked out best.
Adam & I stayed the rest of the week at the <b><i>Morgan Hotel</i></b> on Bloomsbury Street (morganhotel.co.uk), around the corner from the British Museum (next door to Tas). I heard about this hotel first through Fodors poster <b>amyb</b>, so thanks, Amy! Cost was £110/twin, breakfast included. The Morgan's location is hard to beat - 5-10 minutes' walk to three tube lines and several bus routes, not to mention next to the British Museum and within 20 minutes' walk of Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, and tons of theatres. Down sides: It's an older building, so there is no lift (and we were on the top floor!) and thin walls, plus small rooms (though no smaller than I expected, for London). The staff is also small, and the few times we needed to speak with someone we had to wait a little bit. They were very friendly and helpful, though (many thanks to David, who carried my large suitcase up the stairs like it was a pillow). If I'd remembered earplugs the walls would have been no issue. To me, the down sides were very much worth the location.
<b>Transport</b>
<i>Car service:</i> The group used <b>Just Airports</b> (justairports.com) to get to and from Heathrow; we needed two multiple-person vehicles (MPVs) both ways. Cost was £65/MPV from LHR to St Pancras, and I think £44/MPV from the Holiday Inn back to Heathrow (no parking charges on the return, although £20 for parking seems a bit much). Just Airports had great service once we were there, but they were not very communicative (via email) prior to the trip. I tried several times to confirm our reservation and got no response. It took me several emails to even book the reservation. If they hadn't gotten such good reviews here I would have probably gone with someone else. Calling takes more effort with the time difference, plus I think it's just good business sense to answer emails. At any rate, we had no issues with their actual service.
<i>Train:</i> We bought train tickets just a couple of weeks before the trip for £65 return to Loughborough, using nationalrail.co.uk and eastmidlandstrains.co.uk. Our Tuesday afternoon train to Loughborough was half empty and quite relaxing. Our Sunday afternoon return train was packed to the gills and I sat like a pretzel for over an hour. I got an email saying that some trains would be canceled that day, so I'm not sure if the crowds were due to that or just a normal end-of-the-weekend travel pattern.
<i>London transit:</i> Adam and I both got Oysters with 7-day travelcards for about £25, plus additional PAYG credit to get to/from Heathrow (£3 one way during peak period, £1.10 off-peak). We used the Tube a lot, but I used the buses more this trip than I ever had before. And, of course, we walked. A LOT.
<i>Tours:</i> We took three tours with London Walks - two walks and one Explorer Day. They were all fantastic.
<b>A Note On Food</b>
Dinner for me is a meal, not an event; I'd rather have a nice 45 minutes to eat and rest, then get back out and see/do things. So, if you're interested in restaurant reviews, I might recommend NeoPatrick's or janisj's recent reports, among many others.
We ate at (British!) chains a lot, and average meal cost was less than ten pounds each. As long as it tastes good, isn't horrible for me and I can't get the exact same thing at home, I'm happy.
A little bit about me/us: I'm 28 and Adam just turned a ripe old 25. We travel well together - we get along well when we're together, but don't mind being on our own either. As I mentioned, I'd spent a good bit of time in London, so I focused on doing things I hadn't yet done, along with revisiting a few favorites. I'm a planner; although I didn't map out every second of the trip before I left, I did formulate a general plan every morning that was usually pretty full. I'm in London, dang it, and I can nap at home. Adam isn't as much of a planner, but he'd either tag along on what I did when it suited him, or go on his own when it didn't and meet me later. To this end, our <b>cell phones</b> were invaluable. We both bought unlocked phones on eBay (mine was around $60, but I got it a couple of years ago; I'm not sure how much he paid for his). I bought an O2 SIM card in Loughborough and added the "international bolt" to call home. Adam had a friend in London who happened to have an extra SIM, so he just popped hers into his phone.
A note about pictures: All mine are or will be on Flickr. I'll post the link to each day's photos separately, but the entire collection is (or will be) here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7620133977070/
Next: the actual report!
I'll start with bare-bones information, in case that's all some are interested in, and talk about what we actually did from there!
<b>Costs</b>
Our trip wasn't super-budget, but we didn't spend a ton, either. Total costs for me (approximations, based on $1.56 exchange rate at the time of our trip):
Flight: $521, booked on Delta in March (Nashville to Heathrow via Atlanta)
Hotel: $485
Train tickets to/from Loughborough: $100
Transit in London: $45
Meals: Less than $150 (average 8 pounds for lunch/dinner)
Theatre tickets: $100
Tours: $85 (with London Walks, including one Explorer Day)
Entrance fees: none! I love London.
So, about $1500 per person, plus souvenirs/shopping (we didn't really do too much of either).
<b>Hotel</b>
Our group stayed at <b><i>Holiday Inn Bloomsbury</i></b> for one night; I booked several rooms on londontown.com for £90/twin. This hotel is pretty big, updated, had two lifts (requiring keycard access), and had bigger rooms than I would ever have thought. Clean with helpful staff. It's in a good location, about a block and a half from Russell Square station, but it's not the absolute most central location (Russell Square is only on one Tube line, and I think the area has some bus service but not as much as other parts of central London). However, I think we got a good deal on a good hotel, and I would definitely stay there again if that's what worked out best.
Adam & I stayed the rest of the week at the <b><i>Morgan Hotel</i></b> on Bloomsbury Street (morganhotel.co.uk), around the corner from the British Museum (next door to Tas). I heard about this hotel first through Fodors poster <b>amyb</b>, so thanks, Amy! Cost was £110/twin, breakfast included. The Morgan's location is hard to beat - 5-10 minutes' walk to three tube lines and several bus routes, not to mention next to the British Museum and within 20 minutes' walk of Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, and tons of theatres. Down sides: It's an older building, so there is no lift (and we were on the top floor!) and thin walls, plus small rooms (though no smaller than I expected, for London). The staff is also small, and the few times we needed to speak with someone we had to wait a little bit. They were very friendly and helpful, though (many thanks to David, who carried my large suitcase up the stairs like it was a pillow). If I'd remembered earplugs the walls would have been no issue. To me, the down sides were very much worth the location.
<b>Transport</b>
<i>Car service:</i> The group used <b>Just Airports</b> (justairports.com) to get to and from Heathrow; we needed two multiple-person vehicles (MPVs) both ways. Cost was £65/MPV from LHR to St Pancras, and I think £44/MPV from the Holiday Inn back to Heathrow (no parking charges on the return, although £20 for parking seems a bit much). Just Airports had great service once we were there, but they were not very communicative (via email) prior to the trip. I tried several times to confirm our reservation and got no response. It took me several emails to even book the reservation. If they hadn't gotten such good reviews here I would have probably gone with someone else. Calling takes more effort with the time difference, plus I think it's just good business sense to answer emails. At any rate, we had no issues with their actual service.
<i>Train:</i> We bought train tickets just a couple of weeks before the trip for £65 return to Loughborough, using nationalrail.co.uk and eastmidlandstrains.co.uk. Our Tuesday afternoon train to Loughborough was half empty and quite relaxing. Our Sunday afternoon return train was packed to the gills and I sat like a pretzel for over an hour. I got an email saying that some trains would be canceled that day, so I'm not sure if the crowds were due to that or just a normal end-of-the-weekend travel pattern.
<i>London transit:</i> Adam and I both got Oysters with 7-day travelcards for about £25, plus additional PAYG credit to get to/from Heathrow (£3 one way during peak period, £1.10 off-peak). We used the Tube a lot, but I used the buses more this trip than I ever had before. And, of course, we walked. A LOT.
<i>Tours:</i> We took three tours with London Walks - two walks and one Explorer Day. They were all fantastic.
<b>A Note On Food</b>
Dinner for me is a meal, not an event; I'd rather have a nice 45 minutes to eat and rest, then get back out and see/do things. So, if you're interested in restaurant reviews, I might recommend NeoPatrick's or janisj's recent reports, among many others.
We ate at (British!) chains a lot, and average meal cost was less than ten pounds each. As long as it tastes good, isn't horrible for me and I can't get the exact same thing at home, I'm happy.A little bit about me/us: I'm 28 and Adam just turned a ripe old 25. We travel well together - we get along well when we're together, but don't mind being on our own either. As I mentioned, I'd spent a good bit of time in London, so I focused on doing things I hadn't yet done, along with revisiting a few favorites. I'm a planner; although I didn't map out every second of the trip before I left, I did formulate a general plan every morning that was usually pretty full. I'm in London, dang it, and I can nap at home. Adam isn't as much of a planner, but he'd either tag along on what I did when it suited him, or go on his own when it didn't and meet me later. To this end, our <b>cell phones</b> were invaluable. We both bought unlocked phones on eBay (mine was around $60, but I got it a couple of years ago; I'm not sure how much he paid for his). I bought an O2 SIM card in Loughborough and added the "international bolt" to call home. Adam had a friend in London who happened to have an extra SIM, so he just popped hers into his phone.
A note about pictures: All mine are or will be on Flickr. I'll post the link to each day's photos separately, but the entire collection is (or will be) here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7620133977070/
Next: the actual report!
Jun 22nd, 2009, 06:23 AM
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janisj - I doubt mine will be as entertaining as yours; Adam and I are remarkably drama-free compared to your bunch! I'd definitely recommend the Morgan; it's not a luxury hotel, but it definitely met our needs for a good price, and the location was just perfect for me.
four_maccas - thank you! Just one more set to post, hopefully tonight (it was a short trip, unfortunately). yk - hopefully more over lunch!
four_maccas - thank you! Just one more set to post, hopefully tonight (it was a short trip, unfortunately). yk - hopefully more over lunch!
Jun 22nd, 2009, 06:26 AM
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Oh, one other note: Here's a link to Adam's pictures, just in case you're still hungry for more! His night shots in particular are better than mine. (He has a fancier camera that he actually knows how to work.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abthomp...7619320161625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abthomp...7619320161625/
Jun 22nd, 2009, 08:58 AM
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stokebailey - thanks! I'll pass that on to Adam. The album cover is one of my favorites. My friends are pretty hilarious. When we met them that night, one of them was teaching the others the Thriller dance on Millennium Bridge.
Jun 22nd, 2009, 09:01 AM
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<b>Getting There: Monday/Tuesday, May 25/26</b>
I'll admit that I was not looking forward to the actual traveling part of this trip. The last two times I'd done it, we flew through Newark and had horrible delays. As in, sitting in the Nashville airport for seven hours and then sprinting through the Newark airport after having to refuel in Allentown, PA. Or sprinting through the Newark airport while on the phone with Continental customer service trying to catch a flight to Manchester because there was no way we were getting to Birmingham that night. I was tired of sprinting through the Newark airport. So I was elated when the best deal we found on flights happened to be on Delta, through Atlanta. Yeehaw. Maybe coincidence, maybe not, but our flights were incredibly uneventful. Both legs were actually delayed... because they didn't want us to arrive too early. I was amazed. It is this fact to which I attribute my amazingly Zen-like, non-type-A state the rest of the trip (very not like me - one of my friends said it was like I was on drugs, which, for the record, I was not). We had about a three-hour layover in Atlanta, during which we got dinner and changed clothes for our overnight flight. We also did some pre-flight yoga, which attracted an audience of 5- and 7-year-old sisters fascinated by sun salutations. (The propriety of saluting the sun before an nighttime flight is perhaps a topic for the Lounge.)
We arrived at Heathrow around noon on Tuesday. It took us a little more than an hour to go through passport control, collect our bags and get cash. Just Airports was waiting for us, which was a big relief as they'd never answered my emails attempting to confirm our reservation. We piled into two vans and headed to St Pancras, where we were to meet a few friends who had gone over early. (A big thanks here to PatrickLondon, who directed me to maps and gave input on where a good spot would be to meet in the station. That was invaluable, as I hadn't been there since before the Eurostar renovations were completed.) We had a couple of hours to freshen up and eat (dear Pret, how I missed you and your baguettes) before catching our 16:25 train to Loughborough. One quite relaxing train ride later, we were met at the Loughborough station by our friends and spent the rest of the week hanging out with them. In terms of the trip report, then, nothing exciting except...
<b>Day in Nottingham: Thursday, May 28</b>
Nottingham is about a 20-minute, £7 train ride from Loughborough, so I've been a few times with my friends there. This time we spent the morning in the castle (I think £3.50 entrance fee), which is not as castle-y as I expected. It's more a museum than something like Stirling Castle, where you can see the original rooms. It was fun for a couple of hours. They had some art galleries with a few special exhibitions, a couple of rooms that were geared for kids and looked fun, and a storyline of Nottingham history in the basement. And, of course, plenty of open space to joust and pose for pictures on the fake throne. Lots of Robin Hood and Maid Marian gear was purchased in the gift shop. Unfortunately, the lace shop down the street was closed - we may have been there during their lunch hour, I'm not sure.
After the castle, we took everyone to lunch at Wagamama (C_W's favorite). Oh, deliciousness dunked in gyoza sauce. Seriously, the food is good and it's great for a group. And they have Coke in bottles. Yum. After lunch we split up and went shopping; I hit stores I don't have in Nashville - H&M, Marks & Spencer (for Percy Pigs to take to a friend), and Lush. (No, Nashville doesn't have one. Yes, Louisville and Lexington and Atlanta and flippin' Memphis do. Why no, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?) I would have hit Zara and Dorothy Perkins, but upon looking in the windows I was suddenly transported back to the 1980s, and I prefer not to revisit that decade. After shopping, back to Loughborough for the rest of the week.
Pictures from Nottingham: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7619971769332/
I'll admit that I was not looking forward to the actual traveling part of this trip. The last two times I'd done it, we flew through Newark and had horrible delays. As in, sitting in the Nashville airport for seven hours and then sprinting through the Newark airport after having to refuel in Allentown, PA. Or sprinting through the Newark airport while on the phone with Continental customer service trying to catch a flight to Manchester because there was no way we were getting to Birmingham that night. I was tired of sprinting through the Newark airport. So I was elated when the best deal we found on flights happened to be on Delta, through Atlanta. Yeehaw. Maybe coincidence, maybe not, but our flights were incredibly uneventful. Both legs were actually delayed... because they didn't want us to arrive too early. I was amazed. It is this fact to which I attribute my amazingly Zen-like, non-type-A state the rest of the trip (very not like me - one of my friends said it was like I was on drugs, which, for the record, I was not). We had about a three-hour layover in Atlanta, during which we got dinner and changed clothes for our overnight flight. We also did some pre-flight yoga, which attracted an audience of 5- and 7-year-old sisters fascinated by sun salutations. (The propriety of saluting the sun before an nighttime flight is perhaps a topic for the Lounge.)
We arrived at Heathrow around noon on Tuesday. It took us a little more than an hour to go through passport control, collect our bags and get cash. Just Airports was waiting for us, which was a big relief as they'd never answered my emails attempting to confirm our reservation. We piled into two vans and headed to St Pancras, where we were to meet a few friends who had gone over early. (A big thanks here to PatrickLondon, who directed me to maps and gave input on where a good spot would be to meet in the station. That was invaluable, as I hadn't been there since before the Eurostar renovations were completed.) We had a couple of hours to freshen up and eat (dear Pret, how I missed you and your baguettes) before catching our 16:25 train to Loughborough. One quite relaxing train ride later, we were met at the Loughborough station by our friends and spent the rest of the week hanging out with them. In terms of the trip report, then, nothing exciting except...
<b>Day in Nottingham: Thursday, May 28</b>
Nottingham is about a 20-minute, £7 train ride from Loughborough, so I've been a few times with my friends there. This time we spent the morning in the castle (I think £3.50 entrance fee), which is not as castle-y as I expected. It's more a museum than something like Stirling Castle, where you can see the original rooms. It was fun for a couple of hours. They had some art galleries with a few special exhibitions, a couple of rooms that were geared for kids and looked fun, and a storyline of Nottingham history in the basement. And, of course, plenty of open space to joust and pose for pictures on the fake throne. Lots of Robin Hood and Maid Marian gear was purchased in the gift shop. Unfortunately, the lace shop down the street was closed - we may have been there during their lunch hour, I'm not sure.
After the castle, we took everyone to lunch at Wagamama (C_W's favorite). Oh, deliciousness dunked in gyoza sauce. Seriously, the food is good and it's great for a group. And they have Coke in bottles. Yum. After lunch we split up and went shopping; I hit stores I don't have in Nashville - H&M, Marks & Spencer (for Percy Pigs to take to a friend), and Lush. (No, Nashville doesn't have one. Yes, Louisville and Lexington and Atlanta and flippin' Memphis do. Why no, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?) I would have hit Zara and Dorothy Perkins, but upon looking in the windows I was suddenly transported back to the 1980s, and I prefer not to revisit that decade. After shopping, back to Loughborough for the rest of the week.
Pictures from Nottingham: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7619971769332/
Jun 22nd, 2009, 09:17 AM
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yk - I love Nashville and will sing its praises to anyone, but I do very much lament the lack of H&M, Crate & Barrel and Lush. (I keep hoping, though. We finally got a Trader Joe's last year, and we've had Tiffany and Louis Vitton for a few. Not that I know anyone who shops there, but still.) Fortunately, my baby nephew lives about 15 minutes from a Lush, and if I get desperate there's always Atlanta.
Jun 22nd, 2009, 11:05 AM
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Patrick - yes, it worked out perfectly! Unfortunately for all of you, our trip was quite drama-free for the most part. I don't have nearly as many crazy stories as janisj. We did have to buy an extra ticket at the Nashville airport for one of the guys, but that was not his fault - apparently our travel agent booked reservations for everyone, but booked two tickets for one person and no tickets for him. (I didn't even know reservations and tickets were separate.) But that's the most frustrating it got - no SCQ for us!
We did have to buy an extra ticket at the Nashville airport for one of the guys, but that was not his fault - apparently our travel agent booked reservations for everyone, but booked two tickets for one person and no tickets for him. (I didn't even know reservations and tickets were separate.) But that's the most frustrating it got - no SCQ for us!
Jun 22nd, 2009, 02:56 PM
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jent103,
I remember your last trip report(I think it was London/Lakes/Scotland), and I'm really looking forward to hearing more about this trip!
Have yet to look at all the pictures, but it sounds like all of you had a great time - how many were in your group? Alot of our friends keep mentioning how much they want to travel to Europe with my sister and I, which we can't quite understand - they obviously don't realize the torture they would be setting themselves up for. I really enjoy reading group trip reports, and it sounds like yours was one of the few that got along great. More please!
I remember your last trip report(I think it was London/Lakes/Scotland), and I'm really looking forward to hearing more about this trip!
Have yet to look at all the pictures, but it sounds like all of you had a great time - how many were in your group? Alot of our friends keep mentioning how much they want to travel to Europe with my sister and I, which we can't quite understand - they obviously don't realize the torture they would be setting themselves up for. I really enjoy reading group trip reports, and it sounds like yours was one of the few that got along great. More please!
Jun 22nd, 2009, 04:13 PM
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Hi Anna! Yep, that was my last report (with a little bit of Ireland thrown in). That was just two of us - a group is a bit different. There were actually 15 of us who went to the Midlands, but we split up after one night in London. For the rest of the trip (Monday-Friday), it was just me and my brother. We actually did get along remarkably well while we were in the Midlands, for the most part. Even still, we had some frustrations Sunday night trying to figure out what everyone wanted to do, who was going with who... all that. There's no way I'd take a group that big on any major sightseeing trip unless I was a paid tour guide! I think four is a good max for me.
There were actually 15 of us who went to the Midlands, but we split up after one night in London. For the rest of the trip (Monday-Friday), it was just me and my brother. We actually did get along remarkably well while we were in the Midlands, for the most part. Even still, we had some frustrations Sunday night trying to figure out what everyone wanted to do, who was going with who... all that. There's no way I'd take a group that big on any major sightseeing trip unless I was a paid tour guide! I think four is a good max for me.
Jun 22nd, 2009, 06:39 PM
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Jent103,
Wow - that is a big group! Was this the first time to Europe for some in the group? All of my friends that want to go to Europe are newbies, which makes me extremely hesitant as I don't want to be a tour guide 24/7. It sounds like your trip was to sort of meet up with friends, and after a while everyone went separate ways - which to me, sounds like the best way to do it which such a large group.
Oh, by the way, I got to view your Nottingham photos - it seems you all had a blast! I especially loved the one where everyone was on a "battlement" and were pulling arrows
Wow - that is a big group! Was this the first time to Europe for some in the group? All of my friends that want to go to Europe are newbies, which makes me extremely hesitant as I don't want to be a tour guide 24/7. It sounds like your trip was to sort of meet up with friends, and after a while everyone went separate ways - which to me, sounds like the best way to do it which such a large group.
Oh, by the way, I got to view your Nottingham photos - it seems you all had a blast! I especially loved the one where everyone was on a "battlement" and were pulling arrows
