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.

Getting into London for the bus tour

Q: Hello... First off, I VERY much enjoy and appreciate your excellent web site. Not so the sites for National Express bus or British Rail. On 10 March I would like to come to London from the vicinity of Fordingbridge, Hampshire, and spend a day taking your wonderful bus tour. To take the bus would occupy half the day getting there and returning. Apparently there are not really any express busses. I can get nothing but errors from the British Rail web site. Any advice? Which station should I aim for, in London, by train or bus, to be closest to a stop on your tour? Waterloo, perhaps? What would you do about this situation? Thank you VERY much for any help with vexing problem. I have been to England several times but have not visited London before.

Location USA

A: I'm not very familiar with the area where you will be staying but from google maps, it appears you might be near Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst.

If so, then I believe you could get a train into Waterloo, which would be fine for joining the bus tour.

From Waterloo, you could actually walk to the London Eye - and begin the bus tour by joining the number 12 at Westminster.

Tea for a group

Q: I will be in London with 25 of my students in mid-April. Looking for inexpensive ways to explore with them so that they can EXPERIENCE London - rather than just do the "tourist" thing...

Also looking for a nice place to have tea with my young ladies... any suggestions would be most helpful and appreciated.

Many thanks!

Location USA

A: I think the best, easiest and cheapest way of experiencing London is by foot - simply walk around the different areas of interest. In April, the weather should be perfect for doing this.

As for having tea, if you mean "English high tea" and you have the money to afford it, perhaps its worth booking afternoon tea at the Ritz hotel.

New years Day

Q: We will be arriving in London on New Years Eve and wonder if there are any attractions/shops/museums open in London on New Years Day.

A: Yes, most places should be open in London on New Years Day, though if you have some specific museums in mind it might be worth checking on their websites.

You may however find that some places operate Sunday opening hours so for example, might not open until after lunchtime.

Lord Mayors Show

Q: I will visit london during 9nov-13nov, how's the weather during this period? is this a rainy season? do i need to bring wind-breaker? when is the lord mayar day, i know usually is during nov but what date?

A: The 2007 Lord Mayors show will be on Saturday 10th November from 11am. More info here

http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/

The weather during early November is not normally too cold, but you might get some rain. Yes, I'd bring a wind breaker.

A bus trip for a 5 year old

Q: I am taking my 5 year old granddaughter to London for the first time in October. We only have about 2 hours for sightseeing before going to the theatre. She would love to ride on a bus. Any suggestions for a bus tour.

A: This will depend a bit on which part of London the theatre is in but I'd suggest she might like to ride on one of the few remaining routemasters. The famous double decker buses still run on these routes:

Heritage Route 15 Trafalgar Square - Strand - Fleet Street - Ludgate Hill - Cannon Street - Eastcheap - Tower Hilll (Operator - Stagecoach)

Bus Route 9: Royal Albert Hall - Kensington Road - Knightsbridge - Piccadilly - Trafalgar Square - Strand - Aldwych (Operator - First)

Perhaps the number 15 from Trafalgar Square to Ludgate Hill and back might be a nice trip to do. As far as fares go, these are normal London bus routes so you can travel on them using a London transport travelcard, oystercard or buying a ticket at some of the stops.

Windsor Castle and GAY

Q: Can i travel to windsor castle just for 1/2 day? is there a bus tour for this trip? what are cheapest hotel near the victoria coash station? where is GAY pub?

A:
1 - Travelling to Windsor Castle, and bus trips there

You might find some chargeable organised bus tours from central London to Windsor Castle but I think the cheapest way of getting there is to go by train and then walk to the castle. As its an hour or so from Waterloo to Windsor by train, a half day trip might not do the visit justice. But I guess it depends how long you want to spend there.

http://www.londonforfree.net/trips/windsor.shtml

2 - Hotels near Victoria coach station

Unfortunately, I don't know any to recommend to you but there are loads of hotels along the side street leading to the coach station, and I think there's an accommodation booth in the station itself.

3 - GAY pub

The GAY pub (actually a bar) is in Old Compton Street (Soho). The GAY nightclub is on Charing Cross Road, up near Oxford Street.

From Victoria to the US Embassy

Q: I`m visiting london on september 4th because in the up-coming months I have an appointment at the american embassy in london to get my visa to go back to america,so I just basically need to know how far it is from the national express coach station at victoria station to the embassy on foot as I`ll be walking,and if there are any cheap hotels nearby as I may have to stop over..thankyou for your time There are quite a few cheap hotels around Victoria, on the roads surrounding the station. I've not stayed in any but I think there is also an accommodation booth in the station concourse.

A: I think you should probably allow half hour to walk from Victoria to the American embassy (its in grosvenor square, isn't it??) To get there, I'd go from victoria across St James park (passing the front of Buckingham palace), up to Piccadilly, cross and then go up old Park Lane and Audley Street.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Victoria,+Westminster,+London,+United+Kingdom&sll=54.162434,-3.647461&sspn=10.99834,41.132813&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=0,51.496031,-0.143638&ll=51.506392,-0.155697&spn=0.011406,0.040169&z=15&om=1

One day tour from Waterloo station

Q: Is it possible to board and pay for a bus tour from Waterloo Station to visit some sites in London during a one day layover? We will be arriving via the Eurostar at 09:30 am and flying out the following morning, and we would like to check our luggage at Waterloo, then visit a few sights before making our way to the Comfort Hotel at Heathrow.

A: I'm not sure you can pick up a bus tour from Waterloo station but you are ideally placed for easily seeing lots of London sites.

From Waterloo station, it is a short walk to the river, where you can walk east along to Tower Bridge. That would take you past places such as the London Eye, the south bank centre (entertainment area), the Globe theatre, Tate Modern, borough market, HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge. (Have a look at my cultural walk).

Or from Waterloo, once you hit the river you can walk west, then across Westminster bridge to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and through St James Park to Buckingham Palace. Also Trafalgar Square and number 10. (Have a look at my royal and political walk).

Then you could make your way back to Waterloo station and take the underground to Paddington station, where you can catch the Heathrow Express to the airport.

Cheap bus tour and places to rest

Q: Hi I'm going to London this weekend with my husband and

one year old son. We want to take the free bus tour (which looks great).

The thing is we usually carry my son in a back carrier - very handy for buses.

Could you tell me if there is a handy park or quiet hotel near the the bus

route that if he was going to sleep for an hour on a blanket we can relax

and have a drink? - I know this is probably a very awkward question.

A: Just one point of clarification as I'd hate you to be disappointed when you

arrived - the bus tour isn't completely free (you need to buy one day travel

cards for both your husband and yourself, these cost about £3 I think and you

can buy them from most grocers / newsagents and any underground ticket

offices.) But its a lot cheaper than the organised bus tours, which cost

about £16 per adult I think.

To park areas on the bus route: there are many.

Firstly, you have Kensington Gardens, near the Albert Hall. Princess Diana

used to live in a house there, and the gardens are lovely.

Then you also have Trafalgar Square - not exactly grassland but

pedestrianised and a nice place to rest.

And there are also lots of park areas near Tower Hill and along the South

Bank - anywhere along the south side of the Thames, really, between Tower Bridge

and Westminster.

So you should easily spot places to rest when you are on the bus tour, and

simply jump off at the next stop, etc.

Shortened "free" bus tour

Q: I am absolutely thrilled by your bus tour of london as I have been looking for something like this. One thing I want to ask. I want to take my elderly mum on the tour next Tuesday and she can't walk far. I don't know these places and I wanted to ask if the walks in between bus stops are long...she can walk 5-8 minutes in between rests. also, any idea how long the whole tour would take? I look forward to hearing from you.

A: The entire journey - if you do it all - would probably take around 3 - 4 hours, largely dependent on traffic and on waiting times between buses. Tuesday there is likely to be more traffic, though buses should be more frequent than over the Xmas period.

If your mum isn't up to doing the whole tour, can I suggest you do the following shortened version, cutting out the parts that go west to Kensington and north of Piccadilly.

The shortened tour would be as follows (starting and finishing at Trafalgar Square):

Bus 15 from Trafalgar Square to Tower of London

Change at Tower of London for bus RV1 (you may need to walk around the corner and join it at the top of Tower Bridge)

Bus RV1 from Tower of London to London Eye

Walk along the river front to the end of Westminster Bridge, cross the road and wait outside St Thomas hospital for bus number 12

Bus number 12 from London Eye to Trafalgar Square

That tour would probably take around 2 hours, I guess - again, depending on traffic and waiting times.

The distances between stops at all changing points on the whole tour have been deliberately selected to be as close as possible together, so you shouldn't need to walk more than a few minutes to get from one stop to another at each point.

Day trips to Stonehenge

Q: Are there tours to just Stonehenge or do you have to include Bath and Salisbury?

A: This company seems to go direct to Stonehenge.

http://www.stonehengetours.com/

Their web site says:

We operate daily tours, departing from London which include Stonehenge and explore the surrounding area - rich in History, Myths, Legends and Mysteries. We also offer a unique opportunity to go beyond the Stonehenge fences and touch the stones. Which ever tour you choose we promise a truly memorable experience.

Probably best to email them to get prices and times.

Free events at Christmas

Q: I am visiting London with 12 Dutch bilingual teenagers, (15-16 yrs) the week before Christmas. I would love to hear of any suitable (Christmassy) events during that week on top of the usual. Especially the 'for free' things. We are already planning St.Pauls Evensong. But I am short on any disco (ok, with a fee) or 'cool' items in London during that week. I hope you can help me.

A: There are bound to be loads of christmassy events happening the week before Christmas in London. I'd suggest looking at the following web sites for ideas. You might need to keep visiting them over the next few weeks, as new things get added.

Time Out
Lists lots of events including music, theatre and film. The free stuff isn't listed separately, however.

www.timeout.com/london

London Free List
Not the best designed web site you'll ever see but nice and practical. It lists free events, enough said!

www.londonfreelist.com

All in London
Provides a nice list of events that are totally or partly free.

www.allinlondon.co.uk

Visit London
Free events and exhibitions.

http://na.visitlondon.com

What to see on a 3 day visit to London

Q: I am visiting London with my kids for three days. I was wondering if you could tell me an efficient way to cover major attractions on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 between 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. We would like to see The Natural History Museum, Wax museum, London Tower, Big Ben, London Eye, Change of guards, Parliament etc. I need help in where to start from and what to see on Day 1,Day 2 and Day 3.

Finally for my three day stay, which kind of travel card is economical?. I read kids travel free after 9.30 am. Thanks so much for your time.

A:

Hi there,

Ok, here's how I'd tackle seeing the places you listed over 3 days. As for transport, I suggest you get an oyster card with pay as you go, but London Transport are always changing their fare offers so it might be best to ask them this question on your first day before getting on the train.

Day 1:

- start from Westminster station. Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, changing of the guard, across the river to London Eye. On to Waterloo station or back across to westminster station.

Day 2:

start from south kensington station. Natural History museum, also (if you want) Science museum (good for kids), back on train to Baker Street. Wax museum. back to Baker street station.

Day 3:

Start from Tower Hill station. Tower of London, Tower bridge, walk across bridge along south bank to Tate Modern museum, Shakespeares Globe and the London Dungeon. On train at London Bridge station.

Getting to Stonehenge from London

Question: How do I get from London to StoneHenge & back, is it better to take a tour?

Answer: I think it depends on how confident you would feel using public transport. I suggest it is perfectly safe to use but you may find it easier to take a tour, especially one that collects you from your hotel and drops you back. (Tours are likely to be more expensive though.)

If you wish to use public transport, you can take a train from London Waterloo to Salisbury station. The train journey takes around 90 minutes, and trains run every hour. From Salisbury, you then need to get the number 3 bus, which leaves from near the station hourly and takes 40 minutes.

Indoor London

Q: I will be going to London in late November of this year. There will be 18 of us (all family) ranging in ages 7-72. How cold is it normally that time of year? What are some things you can do indoors and still get the typical London experience? (This will be my 2nd trip to London)

A: it is normally around 15 degrees during the day in London at that time of year and can drop to around 5 or less during the evening, (of course it is even colder if there is a wind blowing) - not exactly freezing but also not short sleeves and shorts weather. However, sometimes we do get extreme weather and it is quite mild.

Some typical indoor London things to do include:

- the various museums and galleries
- the iMax cinema at Waterloo

- London Dungeon, madame Tussauds, etc

- shopping in say Kings Road, Oxford street, Knightsbridge, Old Bond street,Piccadilly

- wandering through some charming arcades such as on Piccadilly

- exploring the silver vaults in the city (near Old Holborn / Fleet Street I think)

- wandering through some undercover markets - eg. at leadenhall, coventgarden and camden

London in 9 hours

Q: While enroute to Athens, myself, my wife and two children (age 12 and 14) will have a nine

hour stopover at Heathrow. Not being a fan of airports and since my kids have not been to London - would you think it possible for us to hop on an express train to Paddington station and see a few of the mainsights.

We were thinking of Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Towerbridge, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey or St. Pauls. Assuming that we leave Heathrow an hour after arriving and return no later than two hours before departing, what would you suggest given the time available. I also assume that we would only get into one of the above attractions- either St.Paul's or Westminster Abbey - and that the rest would be brief visits or walk-bys.

We would be interested in knowing the following:

1. Is any of this feasible given a 7am arrival?

2. What sights would you reccommend?

3. What specific sight should we try to get inside?

4. Are there places to store luggage at Heathrow post 9/11?

A: you would have plenty of time to get into Paddington from Heathrow, explore some of London and return to the airport in 6 hours (the journey takes 15 minutes each way and

trains run every 10 minutes, I think) and its certainly feasible for a 7am arrival. You need to get the Heathrow Express once you clear customs and baggage. Tickets aren't cheap (I think #12 each way per person) however.

As far as I recall, there is a place to store left luggage (I think the company is called the Excess Baggage Company - look for their details on the web ?) at the airport - or perhaps you could check it in for your next flight before you go adventuring??

Once you get to Paddington, its easy to get to Buckingham Palace, which I suggest is the best place to start. Probably the best thing to do is grab a taxi from Paddington - the cost to the palace would only be around #5 - 7 or so. Ask them to drop you at the palace.

After you see the palace (you won't be able to go inside the gates), you can walk through St James Park to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. (All three are within 1 minute of each other and its probably no more than a 10 - 15 minute walk through the park from the palace to the three).

Saying you get to Westminster by 10am, you can go inside the main part of Westminster Abbey for free, or pay to go into the more historic part. In my view, this is worth the cost as there is so much to see, and probably worth spending an hour there. (Also not as crowded as the Tower and more interesting, I think.)

After seeing Big Ben, I suggest you may wish to walk up Whitehall passing Downing Street and Horse Guards, up to Trafalgar Square (about a 10 minute walk). From there, you have lots of options, really, assuming you are standing in Traf Square say around midday. Time may be a bit tight for some, though, assuming you need to be back at Heathrow by 2pm, so back at

Paddington by around 1.30pm.

You could get a cab to St Pauls, get him to stop in front for you, then take you to the Tower, then get the underground from Tower Hill station back to Paddington (a direct train route, probably allow 30 minutes on the train). This is not really walking distance stuff.

Or you could walk back up the Mall to the palace, then get a cab to Paddington. Plenty of time.

Or you could walk up Charing Cross Road to Leicester Square, through Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus - easily getting there by 1pm unless you make lots of stops (!), then get the underground (or cab) to Paddington ( another direct train route, probably 20 minutes on the train.)

Day trips out of London

Q: What would you suggest for a one day trip outside the city?

A: Depending on what you wanted to see - to see the seaside (Brighton), take a train - 1 hour journey - from Victoria. To see a castle - Hampton Court Palace - take a train - half hour or so journey - I think from Waterloo. You can even get to places like Oxford and Cambridge in a day and back, quite comfortably.

London in 36 hours

Q: My wife and I are planning a trip to see our son, who is currently serving in Africa, in the Peace Corp. We have about 42 hr. layover in London between our arriving and departing flights. (This will be on the 2nd weekend in May.)

My question is, what would you do if you had about 36 hours and this was probably the only trip to London you would ever make in your lifetime?

I very much want to see the famous crosswalk near Abbey Road Studios.

A: if I had only a short time in London, I'd try to see the following places:

- Big Ben

- Westminster Abbey

- St Pauls cathedral

- the Houses of Parliament

- Number 10

- the Thames

- Buckingham Palace

- Trafalgar Square

- Piccadilly Circus

etc.

The good thing about the above places is that only Westminster Abbey and St Pauls requires any real time at all to explore - as you can't actually go into the H of P, Number 10, Big Ben, and the palace. And how long do you need to photograph a river or a square.

So, you could start your day by doing the royal walk to take in a number of the above places, which would take around 2 hours to do at a leisurely pace. You could then add to that say 2 hours to see Westminster Abbey.

Then you could get on the underground at Westminster and take the JUBILEE line northbound to St Johns Wood. On exiting the station at St Johns Wood, there used to be a concession stand selling Abbey Road memorabilia and it may still be there. If not, someone at the station can point you in the direction of Abbey Road - I believe it is only a couple of minutes walk away.

Probably allow half hour (ample) to get to St Johns Wood from Westminster - its only 4 stops on the train.

After seeing Abbey Road, you could return to Westminster station, then change to the CIRCLE line and travel 7 stops to Tower Hill. On leaving the station there you will emerge to street level opposite the Tower of London.

A tip - consider buying a one day travelcard each instead of paying individual fares. It will work out cheaper and allow you to use the tube as often as you like in a day.

Pubs and restaurants

Q: Give us some suggestions of your favorite Pubs, restraurants, sidewalk cafe's, or anyother places to go.

A: One of my favourite pubs in central London is the Dickens Inn, at St Katherine's Dock.

A suggestion for you for a fun evening out:

- get yourself some free tickets for a Saturday night to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London (free to get - specify in your request to them, Saturday night).

- start the evening on the south side of Tower Bridge, around Bermondsey. There's a really nice Italian restaurant (my favourite in London) called Mill Street Cafe (in Mill Street).

http://www.london-eating.co.uk/3323.htm

After eating there (or at any one of a number of riverside restaurants in the area), walk across Tower Bridge and over to St Katherine's Dock for a drink at Dickens Inn. Lots of nice boats to look at while you're enjoying the atmosphere also of the old pub.

Then wander over to the Tower (allowing around 15 minutes to get to the western gate) to watch the Ceremony.

Some great views of London by night, excellent food and beer and visiting the Tower at night is very enchanting.