St. Katherine Dock area flat for first time visit?
 

My husband and I are contemplating staying in an apartment in June in the St. Katherine Dock area. We are told it is a 4 minute walk to the Tower Hill tube. This will be our first visit to London. We don't have a problem with walking, but wonder if this location is too far out from the major attractions and getting to Paddington Station.

Thanks for any input!

I really like the area, and it is close the many sites and tower hill station. Janisj will hopefully comment as she has stayed in the area.

Why do you need to get to padding ton? If it is because you are thinking if using the heathrow express there is no reason to pay for that and it will be a pain to get to from your hotel or flat.

To get to heathrow use the district line and change at hammersmith. Change to the Piccadilly line, just across the platform. Will take about an hour.

My reaction is that anything within half an hour's ride with the Underground is acceptable in a city as large as London, but then we did not mind staying in the Limehouse Basin.

This is a brilliant location and is also very near to the river bus which avoids all the traffic. There are plentry of restaurants closeby and a large Waitrose (upmarket) supermarket which is 2 minutes walk away.

Visit the attractions at Greenwick, very easy by river bus and a fascinating insight into our marine history. The cafe at the maritime museum is great!

This location is good for historic sites but a little far for SW shopping but again you have the tube very close.

Some of the apartments are lovely, they look out onto the dock marina.

We loved the area when we stayed last spring. Stayed at the Chamberlain Hotel, not far from the Docks. River bus is a great suggestion from Dickie_Gr as an alternative to the Tube if you're going to Greenwich or to Westminster.

BTW--some great Indian restaurants nearby.

<i>My reaction is that anything within half an hour's ride with the Underground is acceptable in a city as large as London, but then we did not mind staying in the Limehouse Basin.</i>

Thankfully St. Kat's Dock isn't nearly that far out. And it's in prime location to get to the Tower early.

Where's Greenwick? There's a Greenwich that houses the National Maritime Museum and is home to the Cutty Sark and the Naval Observatory.

Thinking a Greenwick is something you might find on a green candle. ;-)

I also stayed in an apartment in that area my first trip to London and we found it perfect. Tower Hill station is a great access point for most all of London - very easy for first-timers.

And walking up the stairs from the underground to the view of the Tower of London is priceless. It's almost as if that is your back yard. :)

Big russ

Typo, I lived there for a year!

Thanks, everyone.

I was under the impression that to get to and from Heathrow, we'd need to go thru the Paddington station. I will look into your suggestion, jamikins about using the 'direct'line to-->Hammersmith-->Piccadilly. Any other suggestions on transport to and from Heathrow from St. Katherine's Dock?

I am not familiar with the river bus as we are in the beginning stages of our planning our 7 night stay. Greenwich is on our list to visit for a day.

>> was under the impression that to get to and from Heathrow, we'd need to go thru the Paddington station.<<

Absolutely NOT -- especially for the Marina. You would take the Piccadilly tube line to Hammersmith and then walk across the platform to the next District line train and get off at Tower Hill. BUT the hike w/ long stairs at the tube station is not fun w/ any sort of luggage.

So I would pre-book a car service like justairports.com and be door to door w/ no hiking at all - for approx £40 for two. Well - the car can't take you to the door of the flat - but it can get you in to near the Dickens Inn which is just a few feet from the entrance to the flats. Plus if you are booking through Hamlet UK, their on-site manager meets you there and carries your bags up.

(If you take the train from LHR to Paddington you will spend a fortune, then have either a hugely expensive cab ride, or a looooong tube ride and still have to schelpp your bags at LHR, at Paddington, and at Tower Hill - a car service will be much cheaper and more convenient)

I've stayed there twice and it is a really terrific location - but to say you'll be 4 minutes from Tower Hill station is just a <i>bit</i> optimistic. It takes at least 4 minutes just to walk around the yacht basins to the street. I'd count on 7-10 minutes to the tube station depending on how fit you are.

For river services:
www.thamesclippers.com
www.tfl.gov.uk

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/tick...iscounts-deals

Heathrow Express or HEX has special deals - two folks round trip for 50 pounds or 12.50 pounds a piece per trip and you will be guaranteed to get to the airport on time - any road vehicle can become mired in London's notorious traffic so if booking a car - not saying that is a bad idea and probably the best idea but leave lots of time in that case.

PQ -- the HEX/Connect makes absolutely NO sense for this location - none.

>>any road vehicle can become mired in London's notorious traffic so if booking a car - not saying that is a bad idea and probably the best idea but leave lots of time in that case.<<

The drivers know London traffic better than most anyone - I suppose you think they drive across the middle of London. Nope . . . Not usually

Plus just the walk and tube journey from the flat to Paddington would take 40+ minutes.

Bookmarking!

janisj----I have sent justairports an email for further details on transportation. Sounds like a better option than schlepping luggage on the tube. We are active 63 yr olds, so if the walk to Tower Hill is longer, it shouldn't be a problem. We are thinking this location will be a nice respite from being more in town..and perhaps quieter at night.

patricklondon--thanks for the links to the river services.

Thanks again, everyone. Fodorites are the greatest!!

The walk to/from the tube station is certainly doable (and even much of it is under cover if the weather is nasty -- there is a large pedestrian subway under the big intersection at Tower Hill/Tower Bridge Approach) -- but just not after an overnight flight, w/ jetlag and luggage

I have always used justairports (thanks to recommendations on this website) to and from Heathrow. Never have had an issue and never been late to the airport - even when my flight was early morning. The driver was amazing at avoiding traffic from north London.

Look at a map and you'll see that the H'Ex is the worst possible solution to your LHR to rental dilemma. Car services work just fine and the drivers are savvy enough to avoid driving through central London except where it's absolutely necessary.

Wondering if PalQ even reads anything but the comments about trains.

Flat booked for St. Katherine's!! Thanks for all your guidance.

Great, if you are self catering rather than eating out the Waitrose is difficult to find but very close.