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third trip to london-looking for off the beaten path
making the third trip to london in october.
i've done all the biggies on the first two trips. (buckingham palace, westminster, the globe, river cruise, tower of london, jack the ripper walk, hampstead heath, john keats house, tea at the brown, harrods, etc...etc...) would love to do something i haven't done before, the list i have is: waterloo bridge sunset tate museum sherlock holmes museum ben franklin house charles dickens house and a side trip to: windsor/eton oxford cambridge any thoughts? thank you. |
You have two Tates, the Modern (which you can combine it with a stroll to or from Waterloo all along the South Bank, and if on a Friday or Saturday to Borough Market) and Tate Britain nearer Victoria, which focusses on British art - there's a boat service between the two.
If you like literary museums, what about Dr Johnson's House? You might also be interested in the Museum of London's newly reopened modern London galleries. |
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...he-big-sights- what-else-to-see-in-london.cfm
This thread has links to several other threads with lots of ideas. |
would love to do something i haven't done before, the list i have is:
waterloo bridge sunset>>>>> As you like. I would carry on and get a beer in the Red Lion, a very old pub and worth a beer (good beer too) tate museum>>>> There are two – Britain and Modern. Both are excellent. There is a boat that travels between the two sherlock holmes museum Pony. Utter pony. Swerve. ben franklin house charles dickens house>>> I’ve not been to either. and a side trip to: windsor/eton Excellent. oxford Cambridge>>>> Both wonderful. Also what about somewhere like Winchester or Canterbury? |
I would recommend Hampton Court Palace and Richmond for a nice day trip. October should still be warm enough to get outside! Windsor is okay, but you can really only spend an hour or two there before it gets boring. Cambridge and Oxford are both lovely also, esp. if you like churches/schools/museums.
You might want to check out Sadler's Wells if you want to see some really good theatre/dance (but that is NOT touristy). Also, we really enjoyed the V&A, because it's less stuffy than some of the other museums. Also, we did the day-trip on the bus that included Stonehenge and Bath, and while the bus was mildly annoying, overall it was a lovely day out and definitely worth it. That might be a nice option! We've blogged that trip here: http://changehere.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/bath-time/ http://changehere.wordpress.com/2010...enge-of-stone/ |
This is the correct link to above with lots of suggestions and further links:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-london.cfm |
I hear that the Sir John Soanes Museum is fascinating. It's on my own list of places to visit when I get a chance.
www.soane.org |
The Sir John Soane Museum is indeed great. It is like the world's most upmarket jumble sale.
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Brick Lane
Little Venice Hampstead Tour of Royal Albert Hall |
HI Otto,
Have you been to Greenwich? Royal Observatory and Maritime Museum are really fascinating. I also loved the British Library. Who knew it would be so exciting to see the lyrics to She Loves You scrawled on a cocktail napkin! Patti |
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thanks all!
@patrick...dr. johnson's house does look interesting, thank you. literary culture is my interest, and always try to go to famous gravesites of authors and the like when i travel! @cholmondley...about the sherlock holmes house, that is consistant with what i've read. perhaps i'll pass. how far is canterbury? @asterodeia...i've been to hampton court! (seems i've done a lot already!) thank you. @tahl...never heard of the sir john soanes museum. if my mother comes with me, i know that's something she would love. @michel...been to brick lane, but the royal albert hall is an idea. @patti...no, never been to greenwich. (live 5 minutes from greenwich, connecticut ;-) )oooh!! does seeing that in the library would be fun! that's definitely an idea. |
Besides the V&A (my rainy-day retreat) and Sir John Soames you could add the Geffrye http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/
If you're there on a Monday evening consider Dennis Severs House http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/ |
Take the walk in the tunnel under the Thames from Greenwich.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_foot_tunnel |
....Take the walk in the tunnel under the Thames from Greenwich......
Otherwise known to paint imbibers as the Grunnel ;) ;-) You could visit Spitalfields. There's the market and a wonderful Hawksmoor church Christ Church. |
@cholmondley...about the sherlock holmes house, that is consistant with what i've read. perhaps i'll pass. how far is canterbury?>>>
About an hour and half on the train. Winchester has the better cathedral and is only an hour. Your choice, but I would do one of them. |
Tate Modern (the big old power station by St Pauls) has a Gauguin exhibition running in October. You can pre book on line the timed tickets and collect at the venue. These exhibtions are really excellent.
Of the two Tates, if you only plan to do one, Id recommend Tate Modern. http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibi...n/default.shtm Also, take the train out to Kew Gardens. They are magnificent. http://www.kew.org/ You could take a look at Kensal Green Cemetery. Some interesting people there though check opening times before you go. http://www.kensalgreen.co.uk/documents/KG_notables.html For shopping have a look at the Kings Road - this is my fave shop but there are lots there! http://www.vanilla-paris.co.uk/ |
A good book that I've used for self-guided walks around London is <i>Walking London: Thirty Original Walks In and Around London</i>:
http://amzn.to/ba67p7 The Hampstead Heath walk and ending up at the Holly Bush pub (my addition to the walk) was lovely. |
You could pop down to Diggerland in Kent
http://www.diggerland.com/kent/ What about going on a cultural treasure hunt. 84 Charring Cross Road, Saville Row, the site of Whites and Almacks. There are quite a few quirky but interesting places here: http://www.shadyoldlady.com/ Take in a day at the races. http://www.ascot.co.uk/virtour/ascottour.php Finally, how about a tour of the hallowed turf of Lords. You will not have the time to understand the game, but it is quintessentially English. http://www.lords.org/history/tours-of-lords/ |
The Wallace Collection is worth an hour or so of your time, or you could spend all day there if you wanted. Entry is free and because it's fairly small it doesn't feel overwhelming like some of the huge museums.
You could start at Bond Street tube, walk up towards Marylebone High Street and look in shop windows and have some coffee or lunch, detour a few minutes to the Wallace Collection, keep walking up Marylebone High Street and end the day at Regents Park. Or continue walking across the top of the park to the canal paths and Camden Lock, finishing in Little Venice. Kay |
Did see these mentioned above: The Imperial War Museum and The Cabinet War Rooms with Churchill museum.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/ http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/ |
Bookmarking for next trip, too!
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The Sherlock Holmes museum is, of course, a real museum about a fake person, so of course it's easy to consider it, er, pony. (So much nicer than saying the word that goes along with it...rhymes with trap.) But, on the other hand, it's fun in a kitschy way and really doesn't take all that long, plus you could check out the tiles in Baker Street Station. :)
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/227...53546425hltDwr The Franklin house is cool in an obscure way, but you have to be a pretty big Friend of Ben to really appreciate it. (I did.) Oh, and Shakespeare in Regent's Park is fun! Actually, one of my favorite things in London is nattering around in bookshops, preferably old ones. Can't steer you to any in particular, but I'm sure there are those who can. |
Re bookstores, if you are a mystery lover, check out the Murder One shop on Charing Cross Road.
I have been to the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and it seems to me to be more for the diehard fans of the books. The Victorian rooms are delightful, but lots of the items have to do with specific stories. Walking back to the tube, we passed Sherlock himself going toward the museum, deerstalker cap, cane, and all. I didn't think fast enough to ask if I could get a photograph. There is a Sherlock Holmes Pub on Northampton Street. At the top of the stairs to the upper dining room, there is a glassed-in Victorian room with Sherlock seated at a table surrounded by his case-solving stuff. |
Mention of Sir John Soane made me think of the Dulwich picture gallery. It has an excellent Old Masters collection in a great building designed by Sir John with nice gardens to explore--a short train ride from victoria or London Bridge.
http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/default.aspx |
Sorry carolyn, Murder One closed some time ago, and now only operates online.
If Greenwich is on the agenda, you could include - the Fan Museum (nice cream teas on Sundays and Tuesdays) http://www.fan-museum.org/ - trip on the DLR to include stopping at - West India Quay for the Museum in Docklands http://www.museumindocklands.org.uk/English/ - Mudchute for the City Farm http://www.mudchute.org/ |
Finally, how about a tour of the hallowed turf of Lords. You will not have the time to understand the game, but it is quintessentially English.
http://www.lords.org/history/tours-of-lords/>>>> In October? Good luck with that. |
I thought you could tour any time?
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On the Cabinet War Rooms mentioned by Betty, is this something one must book online or is it easy to just go get admission tickets and go in?
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Off the beaten path:
Museum of Garden History, now called Garden Museum, at Lambeth Bridge is the gravesite of Captain Bligh (Mutiny on the Bounty). Florence Nightingale Museum to the east at Westminster Bridge has just reopened to excellent reviews. The Brunel Museum in southest London (Rotherhithe) would be a unique experience. The Brunels were the engineering family responsible for, amongst other achievements, the first Thames tunnel, Great Eastern Railway and Waterloo station. Dependin on your ability (desire) to walk, the first two could be combined with a visit to the Imperial War Museum. The Wallace Collection includes an extensive collection of armor (armour) including, I believe, that for a dog. Someone may want to correct that if I'm incorrect. The Dulwich Picture Gallery, already mentioned, is an exquisite small museum, designed by Sir John Soane, and contains 3 Rembrandts. It is a short walk into the village for lunch if the museum rest. is closed. |
St Albans is a very worthwhile daytrip. Actually it`s probably worth a night or two, but I haven`t done that.
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Should hsve said Great WESTERN not Eastern.
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This may or may not be something of interest to you, but in our case, it was truly a highlight of our last trip to London (Thanksgiving week, 2009). We were on an afternoon walk to view the Houses of Parliament and my eagle-eyed husband noticed the Supreme Court building. We were quite amazed that visitors were welcome and (after merely walking thru a security scanner) we were allowed to sit in on proceedings! We could not believe our luck. The building itself is beautiful and the Court proceedings were incredibly interesting. We could not imagine being allowed a similar experience here in the US. Two tourists (complete with a couple of shopping bags) sitting in on the Supreme Court. Amazing!
The building is located opposite Parliament and Big Ben. Really & truly a fabulous (and in our case, completely unplanned) experience. Evidently, the Court just started sitting in October 2009, so we were quite fortunate! |
Bookmarking... I'm leaving on a 3 month work trip to London and leave in 1.5 weeks. Great suggestions on this thread, and I really appreciate it!
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PatrickLondon, your news about Murder One has broken my heart.
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We have been to London many times and always find something new... No one mentioned the London Museum that I saw... always good... and then there are the day trips... looks at Hampton Court, Canterbury, Arundel, Dover, Hever Castle... Stonehenge, Stratford-on-Avon and Bath may be a tad far for a day trip but definitely worth checking for possibilities! Heading that way ourselves in a few weeks so we're also looking for new things to see and do!
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>>Should hsve said Great WESTERN not Eastern.<<
Great Western Railway - Great Eastern (ship - you can see the remains of the slipway where it was launched, but they're not the most inspiring collection of old timbers). >>PatrickLondon, your news about Murder One has broken my heart.<< A whodunnit in itself. Or maybe not. Blame the property speculators. |
You could get a train to Barnes, you can use your Oyster.
The London Wetland centre is interesting if you like wildlife. You could have lunch at the Brown Dog or walk along the Thames path to Hammersmith. There are some nice pubs along the way. |
Surfergirl: Just buy a ticket there.
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