It is amazing how much relief you feel as the checklist gets shorter and shorter!

Look out, UK! ;)

That's for sure sarge! Now I can concentrate on more important things like which pubs we will visit.

((H))

Tom, in honor of your trip, I am finally going to post my London trip report, which is mostly about food.

Watch for it!

" I am finally going to post my London trip report, which is mostly about food. "

Looking forward to it since I haven't even looked into London restaurants yet.

((H))

>>why can't they use the oyster cards like London transport?<<

They do, for most stations within the TfL area.

The 2for1s are restricted to their paper tickets because TfL isn't in that promotional scheme (it's a national scheme to encourage offpeak travel - TfL doesn't need to do that and doesn't need to bear whatever cost there is of promoting attractions outside the TfL area, which presumably the national rail companies do as part of the overall scheme).

Annhig,

I read an article about Brit Rail a few years back that discussed the evolution of its name:
First it was British Railways, then Brit Rail. The next name, according to the author, would be Bri Ra. I'm still waiting:)

I'm sure I remember them being BR during a recent incarnation.

but I lose track [!]. And interest.

A little bit of trivia - we used to live in a house which had previously been owned by Dr. Beeching.

that didn't make me like him any more.

Tuscanlifedit, I'll be very interested in your London trip report, though we're only there three nights! Hurry, leaving in 3 weeks!

"First it was British Railways, then Brit Rail. "

It wasn't.

British Railways was invented in 1948 and rebranded British Rail more or less as Beeching left the business in 1965. The company kept the name for the following 30 years: twice as long as the widely disliked British Railways had kept its name and in many cases, the longest period a route's operator had kept the same name for over 150 years. It was then turned into scores of successor companies and the name disappeared.

Brit Rail is a completely different business, which sells overpriced railway passes to unsuspecting foreign tourists in their own countries, but has never owned or operated any trains, track or railway stations. It's never actually done anything at all in Britain.

Topping in the event the trip report notice gets posted here...

Well, our apartment fell through (as I feared it might), so maybe time to look at hotels again.

On Londontown sight, there is at first glance these two places that might be of interest:

Sloan Square Hotel
Crown Plaza London Kensington

Does anyone have familiarity with either? Thanks.

((H))

Crowne Plaza London Kensington is in a great locstion, practically across the street from the Gloucester Road Underground (Circle, District and Picadilly lines)walking distance to Albert Hall, V & A, Natural History, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park et al, two nearby supermarkets (Waitrose and a really great Sainsbury's), decent selection of neighborhood restaurants, excellent patisserie for breakfast, lively pub for watching matches.

We've never been inside the hotel but stay in an apartment near there and love the neighborhood.

The hotel appears to be fashioned from a series of old houses and is not to be confused with the purpose-built Holiday Inn across the street.

I can get a good deal on Regency Hotel, 100 Queens Gate. Thoughts? Thanks.

((H))

I have stayed at the Sloane Square hotel and loved it. The location is great, tube station across the square, also across the square is the Royal Court Theatre, lots of good restaurants and shopping in the area. (and not all super high end expensive either, although there are lots of those too) The Saatchi gallery is close by and free if you are into modern art.

Loved the hotel itself, it was stylish, the room we had was small but nicely fitted out. The staff was great, we enjoyed a couple of very good dinners in their restaurant and drinks after in the bar, nice ambience.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was breakfast so after the first one we went next door to the Botanist every morning and loved it there. The Botanist also gets very lively for drinks in the evening.

I sent friends there last year and they loved it too. I'm going back to London in July and would have stayed again at Sloane Square but decided to try something new and am staying at the Ampersand in South Kensington.

Ampersand looks really nice. Have a great trip. Tom

Thanks, you too! We'll warm up the pubs for you.

I don't know the Regency Hotel, but the area is fabulous! We stayed in an apartment a few blocks from there and loved the location. Very close to the tube (and several note a bad walk), lots of great restaurants close by, and just in general a beautiful spot.