Monday, July 14, 2008

Accommodation and day trips

Q: We intend to come into London on 1st or 2nd August and we will have free time until Tuesday 5th August.
Do you have any suggestions for good but inexpensive accommodation in or near London My wife and I would be interested in possible tours or a Thames cruise in or around London.
We have seen some of the obvious attractions like St Pauls Cathedral, Westminster Abbey Tower of London, Victoria and Albert Museum.
Possible points of interest could be Cambridge or Windsor Castle. We can consider events which involve modest costs To put you in the picture I am a retired Anglican clergyman age 71. We are able bodied but anything involving strenuous excercise would be beyond us.
We look forward to your advice.

A: In terms of accommodation, I'd recommend staying on the south side of the river near the south bank or bankside. There are a few hotels in this area and I suspect they would be a lot less expensive than the ones on the north side.

For example, there are two fairly new hotels just on the south side of southwark bridge, really good location for siteseeing, just behind the Tate Modern. I think one might be called the London Rose or something like that.

To do a Thames cruise, rather than paying loads for an organised one, go to Westminster Pier and ask for a return ticket to Greenwich on the regular ferry service. Naturally, you won't get the running commentary on the journey, but if you don't mind this, the regular service is I think much cheaper. (Check return times for boats though.)

A day trip to Windsor is nice. I would say there might be more to enjoy there than at Cambridge, though both are worth visiting if you have the time. I think you can get a train to Windsor from Waterloo station (easy walking distance from the south bank, if you were to stay in that area.) Windsor is nice, and so is Eton, nearby.

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