Our Greater London Megathread

jc2008

Thanks!

Does anyone know whether it's possible to make a bus at 8am with a flight arriving at 07.40?

Also I've noticed the Stansted - London Terravision bus can either go to Liverpool Street (55 mins) or Victoria (75 mins). Surely it's better to go to Liverpool Street, as you could get into the centre in less than 20 mins by tube?

exiledelbows

jc2008 wrote: »

Thanks!

Does anyone know whether it's possible to make a bus at 8am with a flight arriving at 07.40?

Also I've noticed the Stansted - London Terravision bus can either go to Liverpool Street (55 mins) or Victoria (75 mins). Surely it's better to go to Liverpool Street, as you could get into the centre in less than 20 mins by tube?

You're better just getting the Terravision to Stratford as you'll beat the bus into Liverpool St the second you step onto the tube (only 3 stops). Think it's cheaper too.

athtrasna

jc2008 wrote: »

Thanks!

Does anyone know whether it's possible to make a bus at 8am with a flight arriving at 07.40?

Scheduled arrival is 7.40 you mean. That's not allowing for bad weather at Dublin or Stanstead, air traffic issues at either airport, delayed disembarking at Standstead, or any mechanical issues. Ryanair don't factor in much slippage time into their schedules. Last Thursday we were well over an hour late getting into Gatwick due initially to fog in Gatwick and then air traffic congestion when the fog lifted. With a 7.40 scheduled arrival, I wouldn't be booking a bus before 8.30

Fratton Fred

athtrasna wrote: »

Scheduled arrival is 7.40 you mean. That's not allowing for bad weather at Dublin or Stanstead, air traffic issues at either airport, delayed disembarking at Standstead, or any mechanical issues. Ryanair don't factor in much slippage time into their schedules. Last Thursday we were well over an hour late getting into Gatwick due initially to fog in Gatwick and then air traffic congestion when the fog lifted. With a 7.40 scheduled arrival, I wouldn't be booking a bus before 8.30

I used to get that flight regularly and be on the 8am train. Ryanair really push the early flights because a delay throws them out for the rest of the day.

But, as you say, fog etc can't be predicted so it is always a gamble.

dropinthocean

I'm arriving into Gatwick airport this Saturday, flying with ryanair. Leaving Dublin at 11.45 a.m. I need to get the train to Victoria from the airport. I'm not very familiar with Gatwick as I've only been there once before and can't remember how far train station is from airport/how long it takes to get there from arrivals etc.
What train time should I book? It says online that its non-refundable and must be used on the train specified. It would be much cheaper to book it online as its £7.50 compared to about £14 at the station.

Any advice?

exiledelbows

The entrance to the station is just at the end of arrivals, about a minute's walk from when you come out. Don't book an advance ticket and get a standard off-peak instead because there's just too many variables. Give yourself too short a window and any cockup means you miss your train, too long and you're sitting around waiting in the station. But book it online and collect as the queues in the station can be ridiculous and its a much easier process to collect from those machines than buy tickets from them.

Does it have to be Victoria? I'm only asking because the train to London Bridge is just as quick but about a fiver cheaper for the same ticket.

dropinthocean

exiledelbows wrote: »

Does it have to be Victoria? I'm only asking because the train to London Bridge is just as quick but about a fiver cheaper for the same ticket.

Thanks for the reply..London bridge is fine also, I can get the tube from there anyway. I just thought that Victoria was the cheapest stop from Gatwick.. How much would it be to get single ticket from Gatwick to London bridge at the airport?

exiledelbows

Anytime ticket is £10:

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/GTW/LBG/250513/1200/dep

Check weekend service restrictions on the tube below, but you're in luck, very little is affected in the centre of town for once.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/track.aspx?offset=weekend

jc2008

Hi, I'm the person asking about going to London for a day a few posts back.

I did it on Saturday and it went really well, would recommend it to people (unless it's your first time in London, then you'll need longer!).

Arrived in Stansted at 7.40am. Actually made the 7.55am bus to Stratford, because we sat in very back row of plane, and we were first off! Passport control was completely empty so no waiting time at all.

We got DLR to Royal Docks, and the Emirates Air Line Cable Cars over to the O2 in North Greenwich. From there got River Boat into Westminister. A bit of walking around the sights around the area, and then we went to the Camden Town markets. Then to the Natural History Museum. Then to Harrods, Hyde Park, and went into a lot of the shops on Oxford Street.

We then got something to eat, got a drink, and headed back on the train from Blackfriars to Gatwick for the 9.25pm flight. Again, airport was very quiet, almost no wait at security.

Would definitely recommend it. Surprised by how much time we actually had. Got quite lucky with buses etc. though. Gatwick does seem to be considerably closer to London than Stansted.

throwa20

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel in London for a couple and a child? We are going in July and we will need a triple room or interconnecting rooms.

Price is a big factor for us. Thanks:)

anne burnell

Try the premier Inns.... never stayed with them but they look ok if you are looking for something cheap and cheerful....

ProudDUB

Am going to the Hampton Court Flower Show at Hampton Court Palace next month. Will be spending a couple of days doing that, and a couple of days doing touristy stuff in London. I know London pretty well, but not the part of Surrey that HC is in.

Looking for a good hotel that would be:

Within walking distance of Hampton Court Palace, and its train station, so that we can access both London and the flower show easily enough on foot.

Have on site parking. We'll have a car with us that we'll be using to get from Holyhead to the HC area. We won't be using it to get around when we are there.

Have its own bar/pub/restaurant facility, or be within waking distance of pubs, restaurants. Not interested in just going back to our rooms at the end of the day. One of our party will be on crutches, so any where that involves large amounts of walking, getting buses etc will not be an option.

Am open to suggestions for taking a boat down the Thames to Hampton Ct every day, as long as the hotel is near enough to the boat pick up points & has parking for the wheels.

Ta.

Lapin

throwa20 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel in London for a couple and a child? We are going in July and we will need a triple room or interconnecting rooms.

Price is a big factor for us. Thanks:)

What part of London do you have in mind ?

If its a thing that you're visiting friends or relatives, you could get somewhere reasonable on the outskirts.

As Anne says, Premier Inns is an option. There are countless others.

If you are looking for a place in Central London you will pay a premium at this time of year. Interconnecting rooms there will also cost a small fortune.

If you could give a little more info about where in London you want to stay, and how long for, we could help a bit more.

kala85

throwa20 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel in London for a couple and a child? We are going in July and we will need a triple room or interconnecting rooms.

Price is a big factor for us. Thanks:)

Ive been searching for the last month. Using trivago ive found days hotel waterloo approx 90e per night, but thats for two and its in the centre near westminster so not much walking to the centre of london. looks like a decent standard of hotel also.

Also tune hotels are cheap- bit like ryan air of hotels but Im not sure if they will have more than 2beds in a room.

luppy

Hi there, we r going to London next week and plan to take in some of the sights and go to wimbledon....it was a pressie from the hubbie. the thing is, he never booked accommodation and now everything nearly booked out r soooo expensive. anyone have any suggestions?

donnbradman

Anyone have any advice on wheelchair accessibility in relation to public transport? Is it easy to get around?

Also, apologies if this has been already brought up but what are the main recommendations for things to do in London. I'll be staying just south of Hyde Park. Thanks!

donnbradman

donnbradman wrote: »

Anyone have any advice on wheelchair accessibility in relation to public transport? Is it easy to get around?

Also, apologies if this has been already brought up but what are the main recommendations for things to do in London. I'll be staying just south of Hyde Park. Thanks!

The Transport for London website has lots of information on accessibility. Well worth a look. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/, useful booklet from tlf : http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/getting-around-london-large-print.pdf

Lots of stuff to do, just South of Hyde park are a lot of museums (V&A, Science and Natural History), The Royal Albert Hall (nice guided tours) and Harrods Department Store.

If this is your first time in London, then I would think about visiting any of these:
Tower of London + Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
London Eye (The big ferris wheel)
St. Pauls cathedral
Take one of the boats down the river (lots of different companies)
Taking one of the sight seeing Busses
Madam Tusauds (probably spelt wrong) wax museum
Art Museums (National Portrait, Tate Modern)
British Museum
War Museum
Westminster
Greenwich
Buckingham Palace - check online for the times of the changing of the guards
Covent Garden
And definitely take in at least one show, I'd recommend 'one man, two govners'. I've seen a good few and that is my favourite.

It all depends what you are into, for instance, every time I'm in London I make sure to vist the giant Imax cinema in Waterloo.

donnbradman

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The Transport for London website has lots of information on accessibility. Well worth a look. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/, useful booklet from tlf : http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/getting-around-london-large-print.pdf

Lots of stuff to do, just South of Hyde park are a lot of museums (V&A, Science and Natural History), The Royal Albert Hall (nice guided tours) and Harrods Department Store.

If this is your first time in London, then I would think about visiting any of these:
Tower of London + Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
London Eye (The big ferris wheel)
St. Pauls cathedral
Take one of the boats down the river (lots of different companies)
Taking one of the sight seeing Busses
Madam Tusauds (probably spelt wrong) wax museum
Art Museums (National Portrait, Tate Modern)
British Museum
War Museum
Westminster
Greenwich
Buckingham Palace - check online for the times of the changing of the guards
Covent Garden
And definitely take in at least one show, I'd recommend 'one man, two govners'. I've seen a good few and that is my favourite.

It all depends what you are into, for instance, every time I'm in London I make sure to vist the giant Imax cinema in Waterloo.

Thanks !! Great reply! A lot more to do than I thought. What would be the best value sightseeing tour would you know? Preferably one that's also wheelchair accessible.

schemingbohemia

London is pretty awful tube wise for wheelchair users, they didn't even seem to bother making any improvements for the paralympics which was a disgrace. You'll really need to plan your journeys very carefully.

Lapin

Here is a copy of the tube map with a breakdown of accessibility for each station.

Zoom in for a closer look at the descriptions.


Enjoy your trip !

Here are two websites websites with a lot of information about accessibility in London: http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/sightseeing-tours/accessible-tours, http://www.inclusivelondon.com/DefaultIL.aspx

zagmund

At this stage you will need to be somewhat creative. Assume that anything in London with an easy connection to Wimbledon is already booked out (or really expensive).

According to the Wimbledon website - "There is a regular train service from London (Waterloo) to Wimbledon Station. In addition many other long distance trains call at Wimbledon from stations such as Portsmouth, Havant, Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole, Basingstoke, Andover, Salisbury and Exeter. At Wimbledon Station board the connecting London General shuttle bus service direct to the grounds. Buses depart about every five minutes."

London will be busy as usual during the Summer, and anything with a connection to Wimbledon will be even busier. You might think of staying somewhere outside London and getting the train in.

z

luppy wrote: »

Hi there, we r going to London next week and plan to take in some of the sights and go to wimbledon....it was a pressie from the hubbie. the thing is, he never booked accommodation and now everything nearly booked out r soooo expensive. anyone have any suggestions?

Louche Lad

zagmund wrote: »

At this stage you will need to be somewhat creative. Assume that anything in London with an easy connection to Wimbledon is already booked out (or really expensive).

According to the Wimbledon website - "There is a regular train service from London (Waterloo) to Wimbledon Station. In addition many other long distance trains call at Wimbledon from stations such as Portsmouth, Havant, Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole, Basingstoke, Andover, Salisbury and Exeter. At Wimbledon Station board the connecting London General shuttle bus service direct to the grounds. Buses depart about every five minutes."

London will be busy as usual during the Summer, and anything with a connection to Wimbledon will be even busier. You might think of staying somewhere outside London and getting the train in.

z

Though those places are not much use to someone wanting to see the sights of London, and some the journeys to them take a long time and they are boring places (except Portsmouth, which is rough).

donnbradman

Deleted User wrote: »

Here are two websites websites with a lot of information about accessibility in London: http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/sightseeing-tours/accessible-tours, http://www.inclusivelondon.com/DefaultIL.aspx

Thanks very much for the replies guys, much much appreciated!! Its the reason why I keep coming back to boards.ie. Hate to keep bringing stuff up thats most likely already being discussed already in the thread somewhere but would anyone recommend any good restaurants around oxford circus at good prices?

schemingbohemia

Time out is probably your best option for finding that out, I haven't eaten in that area in a while. You can input address and get recommendations, also perhaps look at their cheap eats feature too,
http://www.timeout.com/london

zagmund

Louche Lad wrote: »

Though those places are not much use to someone wanting to see the sights of London, and some the journeys to them take a long time and they are boring places (except Portsmouth, which is rough).

I was going on the basis of the Wimbledon reference. Assuming they are going to the tennis, then ease of getting there will count for something. Whether it's an hour on a direct train from the South of England or an hour, two tube changes and a kilometer or two of walking through stations from a suburb in North London, it's still going to be an hour. I know which one I would prefer.

They already indicated that they had checked "London" and were finding it expensive, so I was suggesting an alternative which might allow for cheaper accommodation.

If they were talking of a break 6 months from now the options would be different, but at this stage in Summer you can get central & expensive or non-central and cheapish. It's pretty hard to get central & cheapish at a weeks notice in the middle of the Summer.

If you have any suggestions for where to stay then feel free to pass them on.

z

donnbradman

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Time out is probably your best option for finding that out, I haven't eaten in that area in a while. You can input address and get recommendations, also perhaps look at their cheap eats feature too,
http://www.timeout.com/london

Thanks, will look into that.

Marcusm

donnbradman wrote: »

Thanks very much for the replies guys, much much appreciated!! Its the reason why I keep coming back to boards.ie. Hate to keep bringing stuff up thats most likely already being discussed already in the thread somewhere but would anyone recommend any good restaurants around oxford circus at good prices?

Lunch or dinner and what's a good price? For relatively inexpensive French food in a beautiful setting, try Brasserie Zedel at Piccadilly Circus - not that far from Oxford Circus.

For a really special evening, try Roux at the Landau with a 3 course + glass of champagne for £35 each; possibly cheaper at lunchtime. MeatLiquor on Welbeck St for burgers. Carluccio's on Market Place is one of the originals, much better experience and much cheaper than the Dublin copy. 2 course fixed price for £10, 3 for £13 or so.

donnbradman

Marcusm wrote: »

Lunch or dinner and what's a good price? For relatively inexpensive French food in a beautiful setting, try Brasserie Zedel at Piccadilly Circus - not that far from Oxford Circus.

For a really special evening, try Roux at the Landau with a 3 course + glass of champagne for £35 each; possibly cheaper at lunchtime. MeatLiquor on Welbeck St for burgers. Carluccio's on Market Place is one of the originals, much better experience and much cheaper than the Dublin copy. 2 course fixed price for £10, 3 for £13 or so.

Thanks very much for the reply. We would be on a strict enough budget while in London. Dinners priced between £10-£13 would be my limit I'd imagine. I would be looking into Chinese, Italian, Indian or plain aul British/Irish food when eating out.

athtrasna

This is one of my favourite restaurants in London...30 seconds from Victoria station http://www.ilpostovictoria.co.uk/menu.html

As you can see from the menu, it suits your budget. Wouldn't be sure of ease of wheelchair access though, you may need to email/call to confirm