Trip Report - London
 

TRIP REPORT: London October 7-14, 2008
Our third trip in the last four years — this time with another couple who had never been to London.

Day 1

Arrive at Gatwick from Philadelphia. Took Southern Railway (good price, 4-for-2 group fare, and 2-for-1 attraction coupons) from LGW to Victoria; walked to Cherry Court Hotel on Hugh Street and dropped our bags. Took the #11 bus from Victoria to mid-Fleet Sat. Lunch at a sandwich place recommended by the man at the Cortauld Gallery (their cafeteria, which is great, was closed for renovations). Walked along the river; then a harp concert at St. Martin-in-the-fields. Walked down Whitehall to Parliament Sq. Back to the hotel to check in and rest a bit. Dinner at the St. George (corner of Hugh St. and Eccleston Bridge. Finished up at the British Library.

Day 2

Morning walk to Sloane Sq; then went the British Museum. Lunch at Spicy Food Plus, a super cheap Indian place frequented by locals. City Cruises (2-for-1 coupon) boat to the Tower (2-for-1 coupon), which is always good, no matter how many times we’ve been there before. Back to hotel for a rest; then the National Gallery. Dinner at The Willow Walk pub on Wilton St.

Day 3

Day trip to Windsor. Saw the castle, and had lunch at a place called The Firehouse in town. This was a place we had never been to before — very impressive. Dinner at The Willow Walk again; then rushed to Piccadilly Circus to see if there were any half-price senior (we’re over 60) tickets to The 39 Steps. There were, and it was great.

Day 4

Bought 11:00 tickets to the London Eye online (10% discount – plus senior discount). Then noticed that there was no line at all at 9:30 check-in for the 10:00 flight. Exchanged the tix and took it. Then visited Westminister Abbey. Lunch at a sandwich shop right across the street from the Farringdon tube stop — it’s a favorite of ours, so we had no problem going that far. Then went to Southwark; a pint at the George Inn, snacks at the Borough Market, and a visit to Southwark Cathedral. Then a walk along the river to the Milennium Bridge. After a rest at the hotel, we went to the London Transport Museum, and finished up with dinner at a burger joint.

Day 5

Another walk around the neighborhood; then a bus to Knightsbridge and Harrod’s. Another bus to the V&A Museum, where we also had lunch — their cafeteria is fantastic. After some more walking around the area, we took the tube to Warwick Avenue and walked along the canal from Little Venice to Camden. (We had taken a boat on a previous trip; the walk was a first, and the weather was beautiful!) Then the John Soanes Museum. After a rest, we had dinner at the Royal Oak pub. It’s a tremendously atmospheric place near the Borough tube stop. Unfortunately, the stop is only open during rush hour, so we had to go to London Bridge and then take a bus back. Finished up at the Tate Modern and a walk across the millennium bridge to St. Paul’s to catch the bus back.

Day 6

Docklands Museum and Jack the Ripper Exhibit (new for us; used 2-for-1 coupon). This was a really impressive attraction, especially for real London buffs. The DLR was under construction south of Canary Wharf, so we took the long bus ride (a real time-waster) to Greenwich. To return, we walked the tunnel under the Thames, and caught a local bus back to Canary Wharf. Since it was Sunday, we got off near Trafalgar and walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. After a rest, dinner back at The Willow Walk (we’re getting lazy).

Day 7

Visited the Cortauld Gallery (free the first Mon. of the month) — this is a gem that we have visited every time we’re been to London. Then a walk to Temple Church, and continuing along Fleet St to St. Bride’s Crypt. Here we parted company with our friends. They went to see St. Paul’s and we went to All Hallows Undercroft church; a little-known gem that we had never been to before. We met up back at our lunch place at Farringdon. Then we took a self-guided walk through the St. James neighborhood. finishing up browsing the book shops in Cecil Ct and seeing the National Portrait Gallery. Our last dinner was at our local pub, the St. George Tavern, after which we walked to Sloane Square and back to Hugh St. Then packing for tomorrow’s flight back to Philadelphia.

Enjoyed your report very much.

Thanks for sharing!

I love the V&A cafe and enjoy meeting friends there when I'm in London.

Did your friends like London?

Thanks for the report. If you don't mind me asking, what was your overall budget for the trip? We thought of seeing The 39 Steps when we were in London. Did it work having only four characters do all the roles?

Our friends loved it -- of course!

The 39 Steps was one of the highlights of our trip. The four actors did a fantatic job. In one scene, one of them played two parts in the same conversation. We were amazed that we could get such great seats 20 minutes before curatin time...but it was October, and there were no lines anywhere.

Our total cost was just under $2,000 for the two of us...BUT...we used freq flyer miles for our airfare (just tax/fees of $119 each)...so it would have been around $3,000 for the two of us had we paid full fare.

Still, it was a very cheap trip. The Cherry Court Hotel only cost us 55 GBP per night (it is Rick Steves recommended ... very, vey small but convenient, clean, and run by wonderful people).

We've become experts at finding cheap food in London. For example, all Wetherspoons-associated pubs have a selection of complete meals (incl. a pint) for ~7 GBP or under. The food is not gourmet, but it is good and plentiful. We also have a couple of cheap sandwich places we go to where you can eat lunch for under 5 or 6 GBP -- we do NOT go to sandwich chains, such as Pret.

Other cost-savings involved using Southern instead of the Gatwick Express -- we we get all those 2-for-1 coupons. Because we had four poeple, all out train tix (Gatwick and Windsor) were half price, using the Group Save fare - 4 for the price of 2.

We always put a 7-day zone 1-2 tranport pass on our Oyster cards. Never cabs. We also do a lot of self-directed walks that we find in books. Frommers has a great book of walks, but there are others that are good, too.

We generally do one play per visit, but there is lots of free music around lunchtime in the churches.


Here is a rough breakdown:

Air -- $238
Hotel -- ~$675
Tube/Bus Pass -- $85
Gatwick Rail -- $38
Food -- approx. $600
Sights/Entertainment -- $350


Steve

Thanks Steve. Your cost information is very helpful.

Steve- quick question:
Since you loaded the 7-day Travelcard onto your Oyster, I assume then you bought round-trip tickets on Southern Railway for London/Gatwick and used the Southern Railway ticket as your 2-for-1 "qualifier"?

For four years I lived 45 minutes outside of London and every time I read a trip report, I realize how much I missed in all the Saturdays I went up to London. Looking at it as glass half full, I have such a great list of new "must sees" from all the excellent trip reports on this site! Thanks.

ssander, we will be in London for a total of 4 days. is it at all possible to squeeze your 7 days into our 4 days there?

YK...

Yes, we have used the Southern Railway Gatwick-Victoria tickets as 2-for-1 qualifiers all three times we've visited in the past four years. It has saved us, perhaps, $300 over that time. (Plus, the fare is cheaper than the GX and it only takes about 5 minutes longer).

SS

Yup, that's a great deal. I just wanted to confirm that the r/t Southern Railway tickets are acceptable for 2-for-1 deal (even though you didn't take the Rail every day).

Unfortunately, it won't work for me as we now fly into LHR, and I tend to travel solo.

Summagold...

I doubt it...we dragged our friends from pillar to post each day...plus, we are very familiar with the bus/tube network, so we wasted no time figuring out how to get from one place to the next.

Having said that, I encourage you to do your best to achieve it. :-)

You could drop Windsor, since the Tower is similar. I'd also recommend dropping the Tate Modern. We only went there because our firends wanted to...I really don't think it's very good. You'll see better 20th c. art at the Cortauld in a smaller place.


Also, if you only have 4 days, skip the play. Check out which places have late hours, and use one of your evenings for that.

Best of luck.

SS

<b>ssander:</b> Great report! Your friends are lucky to have &quot;London old pros&quot; to guide them around.

<b>SUMMAGOLD:</b> &quot;<i>is it at all possible to squeeze your 7 days into our 4 days there? </i>&quot;

ssander has already basically answered you but just a bit more: It would be pretty difficult for most people to do that 7 day itinerary in <u>seven days</u> let alone four :)

For someone who has been to London several times and really knows their way around, it is possible to move that fast. But for many those are are full day marches

A good rule of thumb is to squeeze in 2 major sites a day - a few are close enough to each other to manage 3, but by then things tend to blur a bit.

for instance day 2 covered the British Museum, a river cruise, the Tower of London and the National Gallery. That is a lot of travel and a lot to absorb.

I'm jealous of the harp concert. Wiould love to have heard that.

You actually took a bus from Harrods to the V&amp;A???

janisj...

You're right...we did pack alot in. And to be fair, we could have spent alot more time in the British Museum and the Nat. Gallery (we only did highlights, since we were with newbies and we wanted them to &quot;taste&quot; as much as possible.)

SS

Carrybean...

The bus from Harrod's to the V&amp;A is only an easy 5-minute ride...of course we could have walked...but we were just starting out a day that was going to include the canal walk and a walk from the V&amp;A to the High St. Kensington station, so we were trying to take it easy early on.

Sorry about the wimpishness. :-)

SS

I don't think there's anything wrong with riding the bus from Harrods to V&amp;A, esp given that you have the 7-day pass! I would have done the same.

Back in the days of Routemaster, I routinely jumped on/off a bus as I see them... even if it waw just for 1 stop.

Maybe that's why they had gotten rid of the routemasters, because of people like me who got on/off when it's not at a stop (esp along Oxford St where the bus stopped every 10 ft due to traffic lights and/or tourists who didn't cross at crosswalks).

Great report.

I would agree that that ssander and friends did a lot in their week.

Get a good map with all the sites and try to cluster things that are near each other.

ssander,

Thanks for putting up your trip report, and I'm glad that all of you had a great time. I think it's really nice that you were able to travel with friends(and still stay friends) who were unfamiliar with the area.

My DS and I might, and it's a very big might, go to Europe with our parents. Any tips, either during preparation or the trip itself, that you could offer for those traveling with friends/family?

I noticed you took the bus alot - do you prefer that over the tube? I've heard so many positive comments of taking the bus instead of the tube, but I do find the idea of understanding how it works daunting.

RE: Travelling with friends

These were very good friends with whom we have shared an apartment at the beach for a week every year for the past twenty years or so (our kids were good friends when they were young). We know each other well, and our arguments, when they occur, are always about trivial things. I think traveling with friends works out if you know each other well enough to accurately assess when you need to have time apart during the trip.

SS

Anna1013:

Try this simple rule of thumb for buses:

1. The route network is extraordinarily complex. Trust anyone who tells you how easy it is to depend entirely on buses just like you'd trust a computer geek who tells how easy automating your life will be. That is: not in a million years

2. So don't assume you'll rely 100% on buses.

3. But every bus stop in central London has phenomenally clear directions and maps. After investing 5-10 mins at the beginning of your stay getting the hang of the maps, make a point for each new journey of checking at the stop you're at whether the journey is easily doable by bus.

4. If it is, wait for the next bus. (HINT: trust the GSM displays at the stop for when the next bus will arrive: not the printed ttable). If you can't work out how to do the bus journey, get the tube.

RE: Using the bus


Here are some bus tips. I do not pretend to be an expert, and I welcome additions/corrections from others:

- Bus vs. tube: This is a tough call. It depends on traffic, distance, time of day, and routes. For that you need a little experience and a good study of the maps.

- Generally, don't use the bus for a long trip…tube is always faster.

- Look at the traffic. London’s congestion fee has cut the traffic in the city center a lot, but you still need to be aware of when the buses will be really slow.

- Use the “spider maps”. At most stops, they have maps showing all the routes radiating out. You can quickly see which buses go to your destination. These maps are also available in PDF format on the TFL (Transport for London - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/) site. Download and study the major stop nearest your hotel. Example: We stayed near Victoria station and used this spider map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...toria-2277.pdf

- Be aware that some stops the buses only stop to pick up passengers “on request.” You have to hold your hand out and flag down the bus as it approaches, or it will drive right by. I can’t remember which is which, but one has a red sign with white insignia and the other has a white sign with red insignia.

- We have an Oyster card. It’s typical of load-up cards in major US cities, such as DC. When we arrive, we load it up with a week-pass for zones 1-2 (which cover nearly all major sights). Then we just hold it near the yellow reader as we get on the bus — you don’t even have to remove it from your wallet; just hold the wallet near. I believe the cards cost 5 GBP but include 5 GBP of credit which you can apply to your week pass, so they are essentially free.

- Sometimes the slower bus ride can be better than the tube, if you are tired and need to sit down and relax between sights, especially if the tube ride involves some walking to/from the stop (bus stops are everywhere) and a long-walk transfer between lines. For this decision, you need some experience with the tube lines.

Hope this helps.

<i>&quot;I don't think there's anything wrong with riding the bus from Harrods to V&amp;A, esp given that you have the 7-day pass! I would have done the same.&quot;</i>

Chill out, yk. Nowhere did I say there was anything &quot;wrong&quot; with taking the bus. I was surprised they bothered with the bus judging from the amount of walking they had done on the first day.

How was Tate? It was being rebuilt when DH and I visited London some years ago. I really want to see some Sargent paintings there-are they in the Modern?

Enjoyed &quot;revisiting&quot; a wonderful city with your TR!

Carrybean - It wasn't a criticism directed against your comment. I guess I should have put a :) at the end of my comment yesterday. I was just saying I would have done the same if my feet were tired and I had a travelcard.

Anna -
Steve has explained the bus system very well already. Just my 2 cents:
I'm a huge fan of taking the bus in London as it is far more interesting than the tube. Other pluses include:
1) Less walking involved compared to the tube. Esp if the tube involves a change, you'll never know how far you have to walk at the interchange station.
2) I dislike the feeling of &quot;disoriented&quot; when I come out of a tube station, not knowing which way is N/S/E/W.
3) Bus is cheaper than a tube ride, if you are using Oyster PAYG
4) Some destinations aren't served by the tube (or at least the station isn't close enough).

They have done some remarkable improvements on the bus system in the last several years, making the bus much more user-friendly:
1) Like steve said, most of the bus stops have a map showing which routes stop there and where they go.
2) All the buses now have an LED screen inside showing you (with announcements) what the next stop is, so you can know in advance to ring the bell for your stop.

Having said that, I won't take the bus IF I'm in a hurry, and/or IF I need to cover a long distance.

TDudette...

I really don't like the Tate Modern very much..a lot of wasted space (a fact) and a small amount of really good art (an opinion).

No Sargent's at all...I believe they're in Tate Britain (Millbank), which we did not go to this time.

I think the Cortauld has better 20th c. art -- though I admit I prefer the first half of the centuray to the second...love the Fauves and Expressionists.

Don't get me wrong -- I like a lot of the non-objective and abstract expressionist stuff, but I tend to discount any art I can paint myself with a gallon of Easy Living Interior Satin Latex and a $5 roller purchased at Sears. Just MHO.

SS

Oh, I have to say, I LOVE Tate Modern. but that's just my taste. Definitely no Sargent.. you should come here to Boston for Sargents.

Courtauld's &quot;modern&quot; section is very different from Tate Modern's &quot;modern&quot;. Courtauld's work are mainly turn of century, whereas Modern's works are a bit more recent than that.

YK...

One more thing I forgot to mention about Southern Railway. Since we had four people, we got to get our train tickets half-price with the Group Save option...but what was amazing, was that we were still able to use the 2-for-1 attraction coupons, essentially combining two special offers.

This hardly ever happens with special offers, coupons, etc. I expected it not to be allowed, so I emailed Southern before we left the USA to be sure we could take advantage of both discounts. (I didn't want to buy the group-save tix at Gatwick and then find out later that the attraction coupons would not be accepted.)

They replied promptly with the response I'd hoped for.

I l-o-v-e Southern!!

SS

ssander, flanner, yk - thanks for all your tips on using the bus. Are the GSM displays sort of like the digital signs for tubes telling you it's coming in 1 minute? It's things like needing to ring a bell to get off(yes, I am that stupid when it comes to public trans. - I'm guessing they just pass by a stop if no one rings the bell) or how to scan a card to get on the bus that I need to know.

As yk said, getting out of the tube disorients me also, and I like that fact that I can at least still see parts of London on the bus.

Thanks for the Tate and Boston info. Am wild about Sargent after seeing a huge exhibit in D.C. some years ago.

Anna1013...

(1) Yes, those stops that have displays do give a time approximation for the next bus.

(2) You are correct...they will pass a stop if one buzzes to get off AND if no one is at the stop waiting to get on. However, the display at the front of the bus indicates if anyone on the bus has buzzed, so you know that the bus will stop.

(3) I, also, sometimes get disoriented exiting an unfamilar tube stop. To help, check the neighborhood maps inside most stops. The exits are often numbered, so you can follow the signs to your desired exit. They also show most attractions/buildings.

(4) As a tourist, the upper levels of the buses are the greatest. This makes bus-riding in London so much more fun than in Rome or Paris.

One thing, though -- some Paris buses have GPS screens showing exactly where the bus is on the map -- great for tourists! Does anyone know if this is planned for London?

SS

To add a few more points re:buses

1) Not all bus stops have the LED displays showing when the next bus will arrive. Usually the busy stops in central areas do, but smaller stops that serve 1-2 lines don't.

2) The LED displays INSIDE the buses will show the next stop as soon as the bus departs the current stop, giving you enough time to ring the bell for the next stop. There are LED displays on both levels of the buses, in case of the double deckers.

3) For popular routes along busy areas, the buses pretty much have to stop at every stop anyway due to # of people getting on/off.

4) At the bus stop, apart from a map showing the routes of the bus lines that stop there, there are also bus schedules, so you can tell how long you'd have to wait (if no LCD display is there). Buses tend to run less frequent on weekends, and if you're out late, check if the bus is still running. If not, the bus stop also has a map for the NIGHT buses (which run all night long) which you can take.

BTW, Anna, if you have taken the buses in Paris, the ones in London aren't that different (in terms of procedures and complexity). I have been taking buses in London for years, but I was always scared to take buses in Paris. Finally I did on my last trip in Paris, and it was SO EASY!. So, I think you don't need to worry much, esp when everyone in London speaks English and you can always ask the driver when you get on to make sure you're on the right bus. If you miss your stop, just get off the next one. The stops are rarely too far apart (unlike the tube!)

Lastly, I especially prefer taking the bus during rush hour. I find the tube tends to be packed to the gills during this time, which is rather unpleasant. Buses don't nearly get as crowded.

ssander:

Well done - thanks for sharing.

Sandy