janisj

>> Is there a lot of traffic which would cost more for cabs?<<

There is a LOT of traffic everywhere so cab rides cane be expensive to/from anywhere.

>> also is there Uber in London?<<

Yes -- but I'm the wrong one to ask -- I never EVER use uber in London. A legit cab driver spends many years qualifying. Any schmoe with a satnav (GPS) can be an uber driver. Not a fair playing field. Just don't think its appropriate.

The Bankside Hilton would be fine. My only qualification is the bus service in that part of the Southbank is not as 'robust' as in some other areas.

>>Janisj do you have info on Wimbly stadium? i<<

Wembley - there is Wembley Park tube station -- but better in your situation is the regular train to Wembley Stadium station. Trains from Marylebone. Trains are easier than the tube when one has mobility issues. HOWEVER, getting tickets to games is difficult.

I'll have a chance to look over the rest of your list this evening.

janisj

OK - here goes:

>>1. Tower of London whole thing with Jewels (any advice best time to go and best way to see it - again if injured and have a 12 yo)<<

Get there just before opening time - would be a short cab ride from your hotel. Very small line right at the opening. Head directly to the Jewel House - don't dilly dally -- go there first. You will have the Crown Jewels almost to yourselves. Then walk back to near the entrance and catch on with the next Yeoman Warder tour. If you can't keep up -- let the others go and you can rest on one of the benches scattered around.

>>2. Changing of Guards - Buckingham palace? same question - and any tips advice.<<

This one will be hard - you really do have to get there quite a long time before the actual guard change/band. Then you just stand there -- for close to 2 hours from the time you arrive -- just standing. This 'might' be a thing to let the others do and you meet up with them for lunch somewhere.

>>3. London Eye - do they have a disabled ticked / tour<<

Absolutely no need -- the entire thing is handicap accessible and there is not one step involved. Heck - it is even wheel chair accessible. Book in the morning for later in the day you want to to ride it. Wait until you know what the weather us like.

>> 3.5 Themes River cruise<<

Most are handicap accessible.

>>4. The Beatles street (music area) forgot the name<<

That would be Abbey Road

>> 5. Wimbley stadium for a game that starts at 3 pm (not sure how much time to allocate for travel and getting in etc) imagine most of the day would be gone?<<

See my post above

>>6. Food Markets<<

Your hotel is close to Borough Market - about half a mile.

>>7. Westminister church (assuming you mean Westminster Abbey) or St. Paul's Cathedral - I'm hoping we would have time. <<

Either would be easily reachable by taxi - St Paul's would be the shorter ride.

Lilly2016

Janisj -- You are an angel sent from above. I can't tell you how much you just helped me .... do you live in London?

Ok -- because I'm injured I don't think I could walk to trains and tubes ... and would mostly take the cab.
The other 2 hotels we are looking at are Park Plaza Westminister and Me London (much cheaper and I think closer to sights I want to see)? Am I right?

Do cabs run on meters or are there flat rates? I'm just concerned about paying like $1000 in just cab fair for being over on the Bankside? I have no idea what cab rates are and how much it would be to the sights we are interested in...

By handicap - I meant.. do they have a separate entrance or area for handicap at the changing of guards or the tower?

So for the 4 days how would you plan the itinerary - Day 4 is the soccer game (if we can get tickets) so that leaves day 1-3.
How should I plan the day , which sights to see together in the day and in what order?
Ex. If we do the Tower of London in AM should we do the London eye in the afternoon or evening? and how would you plan it for an injured person that can't walk a lot and a 12-year-old.
Please let me know, thanks a million ...

janisj

ME Londdon is in the very center of town -- at Aldwych and the Strand. If you are taking taxis -- that is the one I would choose - hands down. Plus there is excellent bus service in that area -- the buses are step free (no need to walk upstairs)

You can take a taxi to Marylebone station and then the train to Wembley -- but I wouldn't even worry about that UNTIL you find out if you can get tickets to the match . . . you may be very surprised hoe difficult the is. Don't get your heart set on Wembley.

>>Do cabs run on meters or are there flat rates? <<. meters -- Cabs are expensive but you won't spend anywhere near $1000 on cab fares . . . and do consider the buses. Very easy and the hotel can help you with which route(s) you need to get to specific places.

>>Janisj -- You are an angel sent from above. I can't tell you how much you just helped me .... do you live in London? <<

No - more of a LOL. I'm in Northern Calif. but lived in the UK for several years and go to London at least twice a year (just got home last week from a great visit). Three trips ago (winter of '17) I had an injured knee and was on a cane -- could not use the tube at all. Used taxis, buses, regular trains and the Docklands Light rail (the DLR isn't relevant to your itinerary) and had no problems getting around

>>By handicap - I meant.. do they have a separate entrance or area for handicap at the changing of guards or the tower? <<

There is no separate entrance at the Tower - there will be walking involved - you might consider renting, or taking, a wheelchair on the trip.. As for the Changing of the guard- there is no 'entrance'. It is just out on public spaces out in front of Buckingham Place -- there are no seats or tickets or entrance or gates. You just have to show up an hour or so in advance and claim a space and stand there waiting and waiting and waiting. That is why it is one thing I think you should skip and let the others do it.

Since you will be taking cabs a lot you can probably do things in almost any order. The Tower in the AM and St Paul's in the afternoon is a good pair.

janisj

. . . and I would do the Eye in the evening since it runs late and doesn't take time away from other sites that have general opening hours from around 9:30 or 10:00 to 5 or 6PM-ish.

janisj

. . . and the Abbey Road zebra crossing is a long way from other sites -- but it IS maybe 1.5 miles from London zoo in Regent's Park (much closer to other parts of the park ) if that is of any interest.

nonconformist2

I guess the football match is the Community Shield final between Liverpool and Man City. I would honestly be surprised if you managed to get tickets, so definitely have a fallback option. for that day.

Lilly2016

Janisj - Great advice - Abbey road crossing -- is that the famous Beatles?
So I finalized hotel - I booked via Expedia - I hope it's legit ... I have to verify with the hotel tomorrow. so we are staying in Bankside. Reviews said it was quieter.

I was thinking Day 1 arrive, check-in, sleep than go to see something if the family can and if my knee allows.
Day 2 - Change of Guards than - lunch then-No idea which sight to see (i assume all of them are busy in the afternoon and better in Am)?
Day 3 - Tower of London (probably 4 -5 hours with my walking )
Day 4 - soccer stadium - which shows about 45 min away from Bankside.

Idk where to put in the London Eye, the church, and Abbey or the Market.

Also now that we know we are in Bankside - any restaurant recommendations? although it doesn't have to be there, we will be all around.

We thought 1-2 nights fancy restaurant really good food, and the rest casual. My son wants to try "authentic British food"... He thought the restaurants in the Paris Market was the best food he ever had, and better than restaurants that cost us $400 for 3 people in Paris. I agree

What do you think ? Thank youuuu again

Lilly2016

nonconformist2 - yes that's the game, my husband thinks he found tickets and they are $$ i just hope it's not a scam. Fingers crossed. My husband is a hard core soccer fan.

I'm wondering if they'll let us tour the facilities first , if we go early.

janisj

>>I have to verify with the hotel tomorrow. so we are staying in Bankside. Reviews said it was quieter. <<

Only time for a couple of quick comments --- I thought you were leaning to the ME hotel. Since you are slightly immobile that would be a MUCH more convenient/central location than the Bankside. Plus the ME is very modern so it will be quiet indoors.

>>I'm wondering if they'll let us tour the facilities first , if we go early.<<

Definitely NOT! Not on a march day when there will be 90,000 people in attendance.

walkinaround

I have never stayed at the ME but I have spent A LOT of time on the roof of it as it was the hang out spot for a group of business associates that I needed to tolerate for a period. The whole hotel feels like a nightclub. If a quiet and a less chaotic environment is desired, ME would certainly not be my first choice. I'm not saying the rooms are loud or not. No idea. But the busy and loud external environment is not the worry here. It's that the whole place is a major party scene.

"Quiet indoors"???? not sure where you get this but perhaps you are assuming that a modern structure creates an oasis inside. That might be the case if the many public areas weren't major party spaces. I don't want to over play this as it's a nice hotel but if the OP is after quiet and tranquil, the ME is certainly not this kind of hotel!

janisj

I can't vouch one way or the other since I haven't stayed there, but do know someone who was there in March and they didn't mention any noise in the room. In fact I was surprised the OP said it was their cheapest option.

Doesn't matter in any case -- they are staying south of the river (I was talking it up for the location - not the bar )

With her mobility limitations I actually wouldn't stay in either property but the ME is by far the more central of the two.

jc_uk

With regards to a hotel pool the vast majority of hotels in London have indoor pools so the idea of having a pool to jump into in order to cool off is a bit off the mark. If a hotel has an indoor pool it's likely to have A/C therefore by the time you've got to the hotel, got changed and are ready to enter the pool you're way past cooling off. Many hotels that have a pool also have a gym and both typically form part of a gym membership that is open to the public. Those members have the same rights and access as hotel guests, there is no preferential treatment of either.

thursdaysd

Huh? Do you perhaps mean that the vast majority of London hotels that have pools have indoor pools?

jc_uk

Yes.

Lilly2016

Emergecny



We are currently in London, had tickets to fly LHR to Shannon Ireland on Aug. 5 in AM.

To start the tour, which is non refundable. And The best part of the tour for us was the first day. We needed to be in Shannon by 12 noon on Aug 5 to start tour.

We were just informed by Ireland airline that LHR will possibly be on strike and flights will be canceled or delayed. I have never experienced this and have no info. Hotel has no info. Travel agent will not help… we don’t know what to do- meanwhile seats are selling fast.



We have to either keep our itinerary and hope for the best!



No earlier flights available on Aug 5 and strike happening anyways.



Aug 4ththere is a 9 pm flight – roads are closed due to cycling event Sat. and Sunday.



Aug 4thwe have the soccer tickets at Wembley. Game at 3 pm realistically probably out by 6 pm

Stadium 1 hour away from hotel in Bankside .. with road closure not sure if it’s feasible to come back get our stuff and make it to LHR.



Please help us guide us… I didn’t know who else to reach out to…. Thanks so much.

dugi_otok

Hope this helps

https://www.express.co.uk/travel/art...ights-holidays

thursdaysd

You may have to choose between starting the tour on time, or seeing the soccer match. I don't think it's feasible to pick up your luggage and make it to LHR for the evening flight.

I was thinking you could take the overland route - train and ferry, but that doesn't work on a Sunday, and won't get you there on time on Monday (https://www.seat61.com/Ireland.htm#recommended_option )

Correction: according to the Irish Ferries website there are sailings on Sunday, but since there is no night sailing you'd still have to skip the soccer match: https://www5.irishferries.com/anitex...?Step=EN_S2_QQ

MmePerdu

Regarding getting to Shannon: You'll likely have to choose (as mentioned) between seeing the match & getting to your tour on time. I'd choose a certain arrival on time in Ireland but then I have no interest in stadium sports. Your choice.

I've taken the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry but Liverpool to Dublin would probably work better for you, assuming you have a choice of options with others opting for the ferries. I think it would be a good idea to buy your ferry tickets asap if you choose that option. I'd very much consider this an opportunity as I love trains & ferries, but I'm not you.

janisj

See my post on dugi_otok's thread.

Not a huge crisis. Book a night at one of the hotels next to Wembley and go to LHR from there.