Dru

Well, I'm just 3 weeks away from the big trip I have been planning for so long!! Thanks to everyone who has provided info on this forum-- it has been so helpful. We'll be staying in London for 2 weeks (Swiss House Hotel- already booked). The London days we will be deciding on the evening before, so I won't go in to much detail here (however, we will be breaking the days up by area & using a lot of the suggestions from this forum). Here's what we came up with: <BR>Saturday: arrive London early am, drop off bags, see Kensington Palace, Leighton Museum (I recently bought a copy of 1 of his paintings & thought it would be neat to see his home), check in at hotel, walk Cheyne Walk <BR>Sunday: big bus tour, Original London Walks Tour <BR>Monday: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Back to Tower for Ceremony of the Keys <BR>Tuesday: London <BR>Wednesday: early train to Bath, if time permits, train to Salisbury bus to Stonehenge <BR>Thursday: Hampton Court Palace <BR>Friday: organized tour to Canterbury/ Dover/Leeds Castle <BR>Saturday: London, 2pm showing of The Tempest at the Globe <BR>Sunday: London <BR>Monday-Tuesday: Edinburgh via train (staying at the Elmview B&B {thanks Jeff}) <BR>Wednesday: organized tour to Oxford/ Stratford-upon-Avon/Warwick Castle <BR>Thursday: day trip to Cotswolds via train, probably use taxi to see area <BR>Friday: London <BR>Saturday: leave in am <BR>Would appreciate any thoughts you guys have. Thanks again, Dru

Mavis

Wow. I'm exhausted just reading it - you will certainly have had a taste of a lot of things. My only comment, and I don't suppose it's that helpful since you've already booked your accommodation, is that I would have stayed somewhere outside London, much, much cheaper, and then gone in for the day using a 3/5 day Travelcard when I needed to. But if you've got the bucks, go for it. Have a great time.

Patrick

I disagree with Mavis. You are smart to stay in London. Not only do you avoid the crush and the half hour or so of travel back and forth, but you certainly make it easier to do the day trips out of London without having to go into London on the tube, transfer to another train station, then take another train out to your destination. I am a firm believer in not staying out in the "boonies".

dru

Thanks Mavis for the input. After all the research we did, the Swiss House seemed pretty reasonable (L80ish per night). Any other thoughts?

shelley

Your trip sounds well thought through. Have a great time.

Linda

I just got back... wanted to put in a good word for Leighton Hall. You will not want to leave!!! I also walked along the Chelsea embankment to Cheyne Walk... not terribly much to see there, but it's fun to spot the blue plaques saying who lived where if you're into literary/artistic pilgrimages. The National Trust opens Thomas Carlyle's house at 24 Cheyne Row (phone 0171-352-7087); you might be interested in adding this if you can fit it into your schedule (we were too late for it). Also, the Victoria and Albert Museum has a gallery with Leighton murals -- although most of their British collection is temporarily not on view, these are. If you only have a little time, I believe the V&A offers free admission between 4:30 and closing time at 5:45. Enjoy!

Ray

For your Sunday in London we enjoyed attending morning worship at St.Pauls then had a lite lunch in the dinning room in the crypt of St.Pauls. Onto Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery great CD tour at your own pace also across the street from the Gallery is St. Martin's in the Field Church with a good cafe in the crypt. Have fun, walking tours in London were the best.