London/Wimbledon
 

My husband & I are going to London for the first time in 15 years & to Wimbledon for the first time. What should we know? We'll be staying in the Covent Garden area for the 5 days thast we're there.

...What should we know?...

Now Lynne, you gotta admit that's in the top five of general questions.

What should you know about what?

hi, lynnesm,

what exactly do you want to know?

Assuming that you mean that you are going to the tennis championships, if you want to know how to get there,- see their web-site, but the usual way is to get the train/underground to Wimbledon, then get the shuttle bus that goes straight to the grounds.

food/drink on site costs a fortune, so take your picnic and plenty of sun-block [and a brolly!]

as you are staying in Covent Garden do go and have a look at the "temple" - a lovely secluded part of london, the efforts of Dan Brown not withstanding.

have a great time,

regards, ann

Do you mean what should you know about Wimbledon?

Apart from the fact that most of the crowd will be supporting Andy Murray should his wrist improve enough to let him play? But maybe you are going on a Ladies Day?

Well, you should wait for the Audacious and Facetious One (aka audere et facere) to read this post and respond impolitely!

Oh, and take sunscreen and an umbrella/waterproof so you are prepared for any eventuality weatherwise.

Above all, HAVE FUN!

Annhig and Julia thanks for your thoughts. We'll be at the matches on 7/4 and 7/6-don't know if they're Ladies Days or not. For the matches my questions were transportation, food, dress. A special food stall that someone knew about. Some particularly pleasurable sight or experience that wasn't obvious that someone might want to share. And sort of the same thing about London. I was there after college, then twice again after that. Been to all of the major sights each time and all of the Art Museums. Will go back and visit the Art Museums, but was looking for people's secret favorite places. Fidel, you couldn't figure all of that out?!

London 2004-my favorites:
((*)) Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms
((*)) St. Martins in the Field Church concert-FREE at 1:05pm - students from the Royal Academy
((*)) Tower of London - Evening Key Ceremony
BTW - I will be routing for Roger Federer! ;)

OR rooting, rather for Rog!

Hi, lynnesm

the dates you give [4th and 6th July, or 4/7 and 6/7 to us brits] are the wed and fri of the second week.

if all goes to plan, they should be men's quarter final and semi final days respectively. however, this being england in July, the chance that the schedule won't be disrupted by rain is remote.

so there is every chance that there should be sdome high quality women's tennis being played those days as well, plus good doubles/mixed doubles.

do you have tickets for centre or no 1 court? this will make a real difference to what you see, as the big matches are almost always on the "show" courts. However, "Henman Hill" is a good place for a picnic, watching the mian match on the big screen.

the last time I went [admittedly a while ago], there were no restrictions on taking in a cooler with your own picnic. [check their web-site to see if this still applies]. just remember that even if you hve tickets for a coutr, if you want to leave to get tea, go shopping, etc. etc. even if you are intending to come back, you can't leave anything behind [unless just one of you goes of course]. if you do leave, you won't be allowed back in until a change of ends, no matter how exciting the tennis.

don't worry about clothes, unless you're in the royal box! the seats aren't very comfortable, so you might like to take a cushion, but no bulky clothes, as they're not very wide either!

hope this helps,

regards, ann

Other thing to remember is spelling and pronunciation WimbleDon – Amazing how many North Americans say WimbleTon – even so called “Sports reporters” who should know better.

And of course watch out for Uncle Bulgaria!

Well I suppose this is one subject I can be Audacious and Facetious about as I live very near the bloody courts. I also hate tennis - all those women in cofortable shoes, and all that American Hair!.

I've never been in the grounds so can't help there. However I can tell you that the local area is really really local and small - and simply can't cope with the numbers that come, so if you're bringing food and drink - buy it before you come.

If you are looking for somewhere decent to eat afterwards there is a VERY goood Gastro Pub Called the Earl Spencer nearby (and the hairy legged ladies don't know about it, nor the big haired colonials). It's at the bottom of Replingham Rd (That's the road that heads down hill with the shops on it). when you get to the bottom by the school, turn right and wqalk past The Gardener's Arms (proper local pub - but doesn't really do food) and the Earl Spencer is next door.

http://www.theearlspencer.co.uk/

A somewhat off the wall option for people who find themselves with some time on their hands in Wimbledon is at 14 Calonne Road - walk down the side entrance of a standard Victorian villa, and you suddenly find yourself facing the most ornate Thai Buddhist temple:

http://www.buddhapadipa.org/pages/temple.html

Or you can have a wander over the common (beware the Wombles - viscious little critters when they're cornered) and look at the windmill:

http://www.wimbledonwindmillmuseum.org.uk/

Thank you. Thank you for all of your tips. We are really looking forward to the visit and this info will help with our logistics and give us some places to look for that we didn't know about. The search is always half the fun even if you never make it to the destination.

Where are you staying in Covent Garden?

Staying at One Aldwych. I'm trying to figure out how to get from there to the tennis. I'm very confused. Can someone please help with the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to get there?

Sorry, I just saw that you answered my question on your other post.

We go to Wimbledon most years, and this year we have tickets for Friday July 6th. I have to assume you already have tickets for one of the showcourts, if not you can expect some difficulty getting in on the day (I can give some info on this also however)

A few tips from me:-

1. Get there early. Even ticketholders have to queue up to go through the airport-style security at the gates. Check carefully on the wimbledon website what is and is not allowed inside (www.wimbledon.org) - they are very strict about things like large bags, and obviously anything like knives are not allowed.

2. Try to see some of the action on the "outside" courts before your showcourt match starts at 1pm (BTW "outside" doesn't mean outside the grounds, just a smaller court without a large stand). In the 2nd week when you're going the outside courts will mainly have Junior matches (a chance to see an up and coming star) and doubles matches.

3. Check the weather forecast carefully on the morning and bring plenty of sunblock or an umbrella as conditions dictate!

4. If there is some inclement weather visit the on-site Wimbledon museum which had a big facelift last year.

5. Switch your mobile phone off when watching a match - nothing irritates true fans like me more than morons taking/or making calls. You may well be asked to leave the court.

6. Have a nice lunch and delicious snacks during the day/evening. Yes, the food is rather pricey as Ann says (no worse than other London prices though), but it is a very high standard. Don't miss out on the Wimbledon staples: a Pimms No1 (popular English summer alcoholic drink) and strawberries and cream.

7. Don't take flash photography in the courts, non-flash photos are fine though. If you bring a pair of binoculars you may be able to spot someone well-known such as John McEnroe in the commentary box or someone in the Royal box on Centre Court. Bill Clinton was there a few years ago.

8. After the day's play has finished on your court, and you're not too tired, you can move to another court and see some late evening play. If the weather is good, play sometimes continues to 9pm. Last year we saw Martina Navratilova play her last match at SW19 on No2 court this way -a unique moment.

9. Be aware that Centre Court is in the middle of a massive upgrade right now, so the roof that partially covered the upper tiers of the stands will be missing this yar - so no shelter from the elements on this court.

10. There's no dress code, wear what you feel comfortable in. You'll see everything from students in T-shirts and shorts through to men in shirts & ties and women in summer dresses.

To get from Covent Garden to Wimbledon, you can plan your route using the journey planner facility at

www.tfl.gov.uk

You can also download tube maps, because I think you will have to change lines at least once. (At work right now, no access to tube map so can't help further!)

If this doesn't help, try starting a new thread with a title like Getting from Covent Garden to Wimbledon? That way you are more likely to get specific help. Good luck and have a great time.

John McPhee wrote a fascinating book (as always) about Wimbledon and the famous 1/8" rolled grass courts. The book is 35 years old, so it's quite out of date, but interesting nonetheless, and unusually for McPhee it is profusely illustrated with great atmospheric black and white photographs.

Rumor has it they're going to concrete over that grass someday soon, as the players don't like it and it costs a fortune to keep up, but it's a huge part of the tradition of the event.

Gordon and Julia thank you so much. If someone wrote asking about a first time visit to the US Open that's the kind of info I would give them. And Finanf I'll look for that book in my town library. Thanks again.