Our Greater London Megathread

donnbradman

athtrasna wrote: »

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

Great thanks!

Lapin

Lots of good pubs around Oxford Circus serving good meals in that price range.
And the place is literally on the edge of Soho with more restaurants per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world.
You'll easily find something to suit your tastes and budget there.


Avoid Oxford Street itself though. Its a kip.

anne burnell

try any of the weatherspoon pubs... the food is great and very reasonably priced...

Shred

Hey all,

A question in particular for anyone currently based in London, or at least very familiar with commutting there.

I'll be in London next Thursday for a gig and I'm flying back @ 17.05 on the Friday; I've already booked the Stanstead Express return. As I 'll have time to kill on Friday I'd like to catch Pacific Rim @ the BFI Imax (Camberwell) @ 12pm. The movie is 131 minutes long, so let's say it's over @ 14.45; would this leave me enough time to make it to Stanstead considering the following (I'll have no bags to check in)?
The express runs every 15 minutes from Liverpool Street, which is about 15 minutes from the BFI via tube (?)
The express apparently takes 45 minutes on average to get to Stanstead.
Assuming I can get to Livepool Street a.s.a.p. after the show (i.e. within 15-20 minutes), would I be ok do you think or is it too tight?

I'd like to book tickets for the show today.

Cheers.

who the fug

Is that plane ticket refundable if not , forget about it

Shred

No it isn't unfortunately. Ah balls, I kinda figured it'd be tight tbh.

Lapin

Its possible Shred. But only on paper.

The timetables make it look easy.

You need to factor in waiting times for tubes and trains.
And even then you'd need to run between the tubes and trains and up the escalators.

Getting from the tube platforms in Liverpool St to the Stansted Express can take more than 10 mins at anytime.

Furthermore, you need to consider getting to the Stansted platform in Liverpool St in one go when you emerge from the tube. And despite the signs directing you, one wrong turn can add an extra 10+ minutes.

And the gates for the platform close 3 minutes before the train departs.

If you had an extra hour to spare, I might say it was worth a shot. But with the time window you have, I wouldn't advise risking it.

Even if you did make it to Stansted an hour or so before your flight departs, you could find yourself stuck in a queue through security.

All it takes is one hiccup along the way and you're screwed.


And this is assuming the tubes and trains are running to time.

Shred

Cheers for the advice folks, yeah had I realised the movie was out on the 12th I would have booked a later flight. Ah well, next time.

thegreengoblin

Could anyone give me some advice on best way to travel around London on Tube and buses for a week (from Wednesday, July 10th) for a family of five - myself, wife, three kids ages 15, 6 and 3. It seems we have two options - Oyster card or London travel card. We won't be sightseeing and travelling every single day so is it best to get an Oyster card and just top up as and when we need it? Thanks.

Lapin

Yep. Just get an Oyster card each for yourself and the wife and top them up as you need to.
If you're not going to be travelling everyday this will work out a lot better than a travelcard or any of the tourist passes.

The younger children travel free but the 15 year will require a photocard to get child fares on the tube and trains, (busses and trams are free). There is a £10 admin fee but it will pay for itself after a day or two.


Details.


.

Lapin

I'm not a royalist but there will be no avoiding the new arrival over the coming days.

I wish all concerned the best of luck, (just as I would any other couple having their first child).

From a travel point of view, it will be a great time to be in London.

For anyone heading over, get in to the swing of things and enjoy the party. The weather is good and everyone will be in good form around Central London.

Avoid Hyde Park Corner and Green Park tube stations on the Piccadilly Line when the birth is announced. They are the closest tube stations to Buckingham Palace and will probably be closed anyway. Victoria and St James' Park will probably remain open but you will queue to get out of the station.

I'd avoid the whole Buckingham Palace area to be honest unless you have a strong zoom lens on your camera or enjoy camping out the night before.

Head for the Red Lion pub on Whitehall for one (opposite Downing Street) and soak up the atmosphere there before walking up to the West End. All the pubs and restaurants will have celebration brews and menus for the occasion. I did this night before the royal wedding two years ago and had a great night.

London knows how to throw a party better than any other city in the world. They've proved that in the last couple of years.

You don't have to be a Will and Kate lover to enjoy the party.

But if you miss out, you'll have to wait till their baby grows up and has a kid of their own to witness a party atmosphere like the one London will witnees in the days ahead.

As I said, I couldn't care a damn about the British Royal Family in particular. But I do acknowledge the feel good factor they generate in London on occacions. No other city in the world can offer that.

If you're around - Enjoy it !

who the fug

the better not shut green park, or there will be mutterings about Cromwell having the right idea about the royal family

Luno

Having a bit of a crisis here but I'm just wondering if anyone has travelled to London from Ireland on a Ryanair flight with just a regular Irish student card?
I've a passport ordered but I highly doubt I'll have it by the time I'm heading over!

Luno

Luno wrote: »

Having a bit of a crisis here but I'm just wondering if anyone has travelled to London from Ireland on a Ryanair flight with just a regular Irish student card?
I've a passport ordered but I highly doubt I'll have it by the time I'm heading over!

According to the Ryanair website, Student Cards are not acceptable:

THE ONLY FORMS OF TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ACCEPTED ON RYANAIR FLIGHTS ARE:

A valid passport
A valid National Identity Card issued by the government of a European Economic Area (EEA) country. (Only the following EEA countries currentlyissue National Identity Cards acceptable for carriage on Ryanair flights: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden (not accepted on non Schengen flights), Switzerland)
A valid German Government issued ‘Kinderausweis’ travel document
A valid Greek National Police identity card
A valid Spanish Family Book (for use by children under 14 years travelling with their parents/legal guardians on Spanish domestic flights only)
A valid Italian ‘Certificato Di Nascita’ with photo (for use by children under 16 years) which has been endorsed as ‘VALIDO PER L'ESPATRIO’ for travel on international flights, no endorsement is required when travelling on Italian domestic flights.. It is the passenger's personal responsibility to ensure that this document meets the requirements of immigration and other governmental authorities at the destination airport.
A valid Italian AT/BT card (for Italian domestic flights only).
A valid UN Refugee Convention Travel Document – (issued in accordance with Article 28(1) of the 1951 UN Convention, by a Government in place of a valid passport.)
A valid Convention Travel Document – (issued in accordance with Article 27 of the 1954 UN Convention for Stateless Persons, by a contracting state in place of a valid passport)
A valid Collective Passport issued by an EU/EEA country

Is there any way you can go by ferry?

Luno

Deleted User wrote: »

According to the Ryanair website, Student Cards are not acceptable:


Is there any way you can go by ferry?

Unfortunately not already have had flights booked for the journey, will have to go into the passport office Monday and see if I can speed up the process of getting the passport issued.

Gatica

Luno wrote: »

Having a bit of a crisis here but I'm just wondering if anyone has travelled to London from Ireland on a Ryanair flight with just a regular Irish student card?
I've a passport ordered but I highly doubt I'll have it by the time I'm heading over!

you're better off posting in the passport thread about this:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055861574&page=262

From what I've gathered in this forum's other threads, Ryanair are fairly strict about requiring passports for their flights.

PS: Sorry, just saw wextext has already posted fairly detailed answer to this.

livEwirE

Hi all,

My OH and I are off to London in the last week of October for 3 nights. Can anyone recommend any good, affordable hotels(Max budget €330 for the 3 nights) around the Marble Arch/Hyde Park area please? We will be going to see a show in the West end and we love Oxford street so Location is key.

We are flexible if other hotels within the general area and budget are available.

Cheers

munchkin_utd

for 330 a night you'll surely get something decent.

livEwirE

Thats €330 in total for the 3 nights

Lapin

You'll do very well to get anything for €330 (£285) for two people over 3 nights in the Marble Arch, Hyde Park area.

There are hundreds of small hotels in the nearby Bayswater / Paddington area but these vary in quality from awful to excellent and require a lot of homework to trawl through them to find something suitable.

There is better value to be found further west on the Central Line around Notting Hill and Shepherds Bush and these places are only minutes from the hellhole of Oxford St by tube. (Sorry, but I don't understand how anyone could like Oxford St).

Gran Hermano

Have a look here: http://www.lastminute.com/site/travel/hotels/deals/top-secret.html

A quick google on the description can reveal which exact hotel.

schemingbohemia

You might get close to that price for the Copthorne Tara off High Street Kensington, I've stayed there 3 times in the past few years.

I've usually paid just over a €100 a night though it can get up to €130. I usually book through either www.hotels.com or www.booking.com

coylemj

Lapin wrote: »

You'll do very well to get anything for €330 (£285) for two people over 3 nights in the Marble Arch, Hyde Park area.

+1 The Cumberland at Marble Arch is quoting £250 per night per room (no breakfast) for midweek October if you pay in advance and that's non-refundable.

What you're asking for is a room for two people for £95 a night in central London - good luck with that. You'll probably find a guesthouse/B&B charging those rates on Edgeware Road or down in Bayswater but you'll need to do the research to find somewhere that isn't a complete dump.

livEwirE

Thanks for all the info guys, it gives me plenty to think about and research

munchkin_utd

livEwirE wrote: »

Thats €330 in total for the 3 nights

Indeed, I kindof expected you were looking for that but from very recent experience its very hard to get anything half ways decent in central london on a budget.
I actually ended up staying in Reading a night longer than planned and just driving to central London on the Sunday.

There was though a few deals to be had on Ibis/ Novotel hotels out by the Excel arena.
Maybe also have a look at premier inn as they normally work out cheaper than your traditional full service (breakfast in bed etc) hotels and you might just squeeze in a stay somewhere fairly central for about your budget.

livEwirE

Thanks mate, will check out Premier Inns

Pretzill

You could check out the st giles its a three star but very close to oxford street and you might get a reasonable advance deal-

enda1

Hi,

I'm flying Stansted to Kerry this week and am wondering if anyone knows which gate range ryanair use for this flight or in general for flights to Ireland?

I see that their "international" flights fly from a different area to "domestic". Is Ireland under their designation of domestic or international?

The reason I ask is that the No. 1 lounge at gate 49 is only available if flying Ryanair to international destinations or so they say.

Kayly

Hi, We will be flying into Heathrow next week and I am going in circles trying to find the simplest way to get from there (Im told its T1 as Im flying with Aer Lingus) to our hotel in Leicester square. We will be carrying suitcases so the tube would be hard going, am hoping there's an easier way- but will take that if not.

Rascasse

Kayly wrote: »

Hi, We will be flying into Heathrow next week and I am going in circles trying to find the simplest way to get from there (Im told its T1 as Im flying with Aer Lingus) to our hotel in Leicester square. We will be carrying suitcases so the tube would be hard going, am hoping there's an easier way- but will take that if not.

Heathrow Connect to Paddington and a taxi from there to hotel would be the obvious choice. Train is £9.50 e/w and taxi would be around £10.