Our Greater London Megathread

masterK

Marcusm wrote: »

Take the airside bus from T2 to T4 and go through flight connections/security screening in T4. No sense in going landslide as the transport is more complex.

Thanks for that. Is there a security screening specific for connections or is it just the general security screening that all other passengers go through as well?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

masterK

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Great. I thought it would be stuck queuing for ages.

ncmc

ScouseMouse wrote: »

So, just got my charges through. One card was ulster bank visa debit, the wife's was AIB visa debit. Slight difference in the totals even though the cards were used side by side. Not to bad I think for 3 days in London.

Ulster Bank
-€3.85
-€8.27
-€9.58

AIB
-3.40
2.80 GBP@
0.823529
VDC-TFL.GOV.UK/CP -7.90
6.50 GBP@
0.822784
VDC-TFL.GOV.UK/CP -9.23

Hi Scousemouse, can I just confirm with you that you were charged a conversion fee per day rather than per trip when using your contactless card? I was planning on buying an Oyster card, but I won't have time to reclaim the £5 deposit when coming home, so if the conversion fee is per day, it would work out cheaper to use our contactless cards.

Padraig Mor

ncmc wrote: »

Hi Scousemouse, can I just confirm with you that you were charged a conversion fee per day rather than per trip when using your contactless card? I was planning on buying an Oyster card, but I won't have time to reclaim the £5 deposit when coming home, so if the conversion fee is per day, it would work out cheaper to use our contactless cards.

You only get one charge for all each day's usage to your card at the end of the day.

angeldaisy

we are travelling over to the UK in July by car. Following a stay in Bath, we will be driving to London and will be staying in Covent garden for 4 nights. There is a car park near the hotel, but understandably I don't really fancy driving in to London, just to leave the car in the car park.

So my question is, could someone recommend somewhere I could leave the car for several days whilst we are in London? it obviously needs to be close to a train or tube station, to make it as easy as possible to get into Covent garden with our luggage.
We will be coming in to London on the M4 and then heading out of London on the M1.

Many thanks

caviardreams

Hi guys

Heading to London for work on Tuesday for a couple of days and will need to take trains from the airport etc. Do I have to buy an oyster card at the airport or can I buy individual tickets - I will probably need a paper receipt of some sort to claim back the expenses so am not sure the oyster card would work for that? (I am thinking of leap where you don't get a receipt). Any ideas would be great - thanks!

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

caviardreams

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Great - thanks Fred. Wasn't sure you could still just buy tickets! Perfect.

LXFlyer

caviardreams wrote: »

Hi guys

Heading to London for work on Tuesday for a couple of days and will need to take trains from the airport etc. Do I have to buy an oyster card at the airport or can I buy individual tickets - I will probably need a paper receipt of some sort to claim back the expenses so am not sure the oyster card would work for that? (I am thinking of leap where you don't get a receipt). Any ideas would be great - thanks!

Which airport are you flying into?


There are various options from each!

caviardreams

lxflyer wrote: »

Which airport are you flying into?


There are various options from each!

London City - so going to get the DLR (hopefully!)

LXFlyer

caviardreams wrote: »

London City - so going to get the DLR (hopefully!)

Yes that's the only real option there and it's excellent.

You can get paper one day travelcards for Zones 1-4 anytime for £12.30 which covers tube, bus, rail and DLR.

There are ticket machines and a staffed ticket office in the station concourse.

London City Airport is in Zone 3. This map is always useful:
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf

If you are doing only a small amount of travel and want to see if buying single tickets are more worthwhile, use the fare finder:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/single-fare-finder?intcmp=1660

caviardreams

Great stuff - thanks lxflyer - much appreciated

irish red

Hi all.
Heading to London next month with OH. just looking for some helpful tips, pointers from people who have been.
We want to get as much in as possible. Arriving Friday morning and leaving Sunday afternoon.
Looking for some nice restaurants and some good pubs with music.What sights are worth seeing. we are planning on going on the London eye.
Thanks for the help.

spurious

Get Oyster cards if you don't have them already.

Personally I'm a big fan of the Science Museum, but appreciate not everyone else may be.

mightybashful

spurious wrote: »

Get Oyster cards if you don't have them already.

Personally I'm a big fan of the Science Museum, but appreciate not everyone else may be.

Science museum is amazing. Deserves minimum half a day. A lot better than the history museum.

As for music Mr Red you should really describe your taste. There's a lot of every type in London

finbarrk

Oyster cards are a necessity. You can order them and put credit on them so ready to use when you arrive. Loads of good pubs and restaurants everywhere.
Where are you staying?

HeidiHeidi

Again it may not be your thing but I spent half a day at Greenwich and it was amazing. You can get a boat out to there from near the London Eye.

I could have spent the whole weekend there, I didn't even get in the door of the Naval Museum.

The Cutty Sark is brilliant and fascinating, really really well done.

coylemj

You can pre-book a slot on the London Eye, allows you to bypass the queue and board quickly, probably worth doing on a weekend.

Click on 'Fast Track Tickets' ....

https://www.londoneye.com/tickets-and-prices/

If you don't already have an Oyster Card, don't apply for one through the post, they will send you a 'visitor card' which you cannot register. Wait until you arrive and buy them from the machines in Heathrow. Don't even think about paying cash for the tube, the fares are way higher and there's no daily cap.

Registering an Oyster card means that if you lose it, you can get the balance quickly transferred to a new card, it might take overnight but it's much faster than the Leap crowd here who need 10 days to do the same!

coylemj

The stadium tour in the Royal Albert Hall is worth doing. Buy your tickets first and then get a discount in the cafeteria, the food is very good quality.

Boat trips down the Thames are worth considering but if it's wet and windy you'll probably have to sit inside and then you might as well be on a red tour bus!

The Science Museum and Greenwich are probably not going to appeal to someone who is not into technology. I am very interested in technology but I don't think the entrance fee (about £12) to the Greenwich Observatory exhibit was worth it and I'd be very wary of dragging someone in a boat down the Thames to see it - they could be bored stiff and seasick all at the same time!

ncmc

finbarrk wrote: »

Oyster cards are a necessity. You can order them and put credit on them so ready to use when you arrive. Loads of good pubs and restaurants everywhere.
Where are you staying?

Oyster cards are no longer a necessity. Your contactless debit card works almost exactly the same way as an Oyster card, you tap in at the start of your journey and tap out at the end. Same reduced fares, same daily caps etc. Plus it's handy just paying as you need rather than putting credit on an Oyster in advance and you don't need to put down the £5 deposit for an Oyster (I know this is refundable plus any unused credit, but I'd say a lot of people don't bother/don't have time to get that back)

lovelyhurler

HI Folks,
Yet another question in relation to the Oyster cards.
Myself and OH are traveling with our 14 and 9 y.o. for a few days, flying into Gatwick.
Should we get Oyster cards in Gatwick or get them 'in town' eg. Victoria/Waterloo - thinking of Q's etc.

Also - I know our 9yo can travel free on tube and bus, but does he need a card anyway? - How will he get through the turnstiles at the tube/rail stations?

Cheers
L

Vic_08

lovelyhurler wrote: »

HI Folks,
Yet another question in relation to the Oyster cards.
Myself and OH are traveling with our 14 and 9 y.o. for a few days, flying into Gatwick.
Should we get Oyster cards in Gatwick or get them 'in town' eg. Victoria/Waterloo - thinking of Q's etc.

Also - I know our 9yo can travel free on tube and bus, but does he need a card anyway? - How will he get through the turnstiles at the tube/rail stations?

Cheers
L

Only BUS and TRAM can be used by under 10s without an oyster and only if they look young, for Tube and Rail you will have to apply for a zip oyster at least 4 weeks before travel and it will cost £10 for the 9 yo and £15 for the 14 yo.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/travel-for-under-18s

shrapnel222

lovelyhurler wrote: »

HI Folks,
Yet another question in relation to the Oyster cards.
Myself and OH are traveling with our 14 and 9 y.o. for a few days, flying into Gatwick.
Should we get Oyster cards in Gatwick or get them 'in town' eg. Victoria/Waterloo - thinking of Q's etc.

Also - I know our 9yo can travel free on tube and bus, but does he need a card anyway? - How will he get through the turnstiles at the tube/rail stations?

Cheers
L

Vic_08 wrote: »

Only BUS and TRAM can be used by under 10s without an oyster and only if they look young, for Tube and Rail you will have to apply for a zip oyster at least 4 weeks before travel and it will cost £10 for the 9 yo and £15 for the 14 yo.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/travel-for-under-18s

what vic says is not relevant to you.

the 14 year old will have to pay junior fares (half price) and can do that with a normal oyster card. For the 9 year old, he just needs to travel with you. just go through the large (family) gates when scanning your oyster.

no need for zip cards for either of them.

easiest to get them at gatwick but anywhere is fine

lovelyhurler

Many thanks for the quick replies.

stargazer 68

Any suggestions for restaurants in Chelsea for a Sat night. Had a look at a few:
The Ivy, Maze Grill Park Walk, The Botanist, Caraffini. Some of the menus are quite limited (lots of fish). Any hidden gems that 3 girls might like - cocktails are a bonus!

positivenote

hi all,
Im looking recommendations for restaurants in London this weekend. We arrive in our hotel in holborn area around 7.30 on friday night and staying for three nights. We havent got anything booked as its a last min thing as my wife has been caring for her mam since christmas and needs a break for a few days. I want to make it a bit special but am restricted to a bit of a budget so 'fine dining' in an expensive restaurant is out. As i say any recommendations in or around Holborn for the friday night and then elsewhere for the Saturday and Sunday would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

Zaph

There's actually a London forum here. The posters there might be able to give you a few recommendations.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

whomitconcerns

First flight loads of time. You'll be there by 8am