Our Greater London Megathread

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kuang1 wrote: »

Will be travelling through Stansted on a Saturday morning in a couple of weeks with a 2 hour connection time between 2 ryanair flights.
I understand you can buy fast track last-minute if there's a huge difference between the queues...
Just wondering if anyone has found this helpful in guaranteeing making a connecting flight on time?
(My return trip a week later, also a Saturday, will involve passing through the airport at around 6pm with a 110 minute connection time)

And yes I'm aware of how these connection times are ultra-dependent on flights running on schedule etc.!!
All I'm curious about is hearing from anyone who has any experience of Stansted's fast track particularly in relation to Ryanair connections?

Haven't used it in STN but I found fasttrack to be very useful in LGW. London airports are pretty busy, security can be slow, particularly during school holidays. For me, I would go for it.

bittihuduga

i was in STN on sunday. it was a very long Q. tried to purchase fast track for security on their website but it didnt give option for same day. only for next day or later.
luckily we made it through.
so, in case if you have an option - buy it. it is worth if u r travelling during peak time.

kuang1

bittihuduga wrote: »

i was in STN on sunday. it was a very long Q. tried to purchase fast track for security on their website but it didnt give option for same day. only for next day or later.
luckily we made it through.
so, in case if you have an option - buy it. it is worth if u r travelling during peak time.

Thanks for that.
What time were you there?

bittihuduga

kuang1 wrote: »

Thanks for that.
What time were you there?

sunday 4pm.. but it could be different during other periods.

Mr rebel

Stansted is always heaving so I'd recommend the fast track

kuang1

Thanks folks.
Have booked the fast track for both ways.
(2 of us travelling so cost 4 x €7.84. Reasonably good value for some extra piece of mind, albeit still not a guarantee that everything pans out)

whomitconcerns

It's a small price to pay to be honest. I always get it in all airports but deffo get it in STN

castletownman

Well arrived back last night from an amazing four-day tour of (some) of the city.

After some consideration, and following the recommendations on here by others, I plumped for the Natural History Museum, V and A and the Imperial War Museum.

Must say I was kind of let down by the first one. Just thought it was geared towards children more so than adults, and it is currently under renovation so large sections were either closed off or exhibits moved as result. In fairness, it was my first day after an early flight and only 2-3 hours sleep in total so was wrecked.

Hit the V and A the following day, and thought it was fantastic. Heck even the restaurant alone in it is worth visiting. We spent 2 hours or so in it and could have easily spent much longer. Some genuinely beautiful paintings in it. Took the tube from South Kensington to Green Park then to catch Buckingham Palace et al. The architecture around the House of Commons in particular was amazing.

I was absolutely blown away by the IWM the following day though. Would be interested in history anyway, but the WW1 section on the ground floor was undoubtedly the best museum display I have ever seen. I was under some time constraints (owing to the Wexford-Kilkenny match ) and had to leave earlier than I would have liked, and only whizzed through one more section, but the Holocaust exhibit was heart-breaking but recommended. I definitely plan on completing my "journey" through the IWM the next time I visit.

Was really impressed with Greenwich Village as well. The food stall alone, featuring cuisine from all over the world, is worth a visit in itself. In fact, the quality of food over there is very high (from my experience anyway), although the standard of service in pubs wouldn't be as "efficient" as it is here (the concept of serving more than one person at the same time is alien to them . And earlier closer time, in the places I visited anyway). But then again I came for the sights and not the pints, so I can't really gripe over that too much.

Overall, I fell in love with the city and would recommend it as a must-visit destination.

angeldaisy

Am I mad for considering driving into London? I'm heading to Covent Garden for a couple of days coming in from Bath direction.

My choices are drive into London and stay in the hotels car park, or park in a train station just outside of London and then travel in by train.

Any advice?

Kerry Gooner

You will be liable for the congestion charge if travelling during peak hours plus with the volume of traffic and difficulty of finding accommodation with reasonable parking fees, I'd be inclined to leave the car at the station.
Excellent public transport connections available throughout the city.

angeldaisy

Figured as much, now just need to work out the best place to leave it and travel in!

LXFlyer

Anywhere along the GWR mainline through the Thames Valley (Reading towards Paddington) will do the trick.

Train timetables for the local services are here:
https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/timetables/may-2017/180517-update/gw1705,-d-,e01,-d-,dl,-d-,512998,-d-,00,-d-,web,-d-,amended,-d-,v4.pdf?la=en

In addition to these there are at least five non-stop services from Reading to London every hour.

You could leave the car in bath and buy an advance ticket to London from www.gwr.com (note you'd have to use specific trains but they can be very cheap):

Train times from Bath:
https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/timetables/may-2017/gw1705,-d-,c01,-d-,dl,-d-,512988,-d-,00,-d-,web.pdf?la=en

Check for engineering works at www.gwr.com if travelling at weekends - there can be diversions in place).

angeldaisy

Must have a look at what my options are, as I'm driving up to sheffield after leaving london.

Would it be safe / possible to leave the car overnight (in London for 4 days) in the train station car parks?

Looking at possibly Watford Junction or even as far over as Cockfosters and just getting the tube in.

Fred Swanson

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angeldaisy

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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any suggestions so?

Fred Swanson

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schemingbohemia

angeldaisy wrote: »

any suggestions so?

Have you checked that your hotel is in the congestion charge area? It might not be. Also it might be cheaper and safer to bring the car into the hotel car park for the time you're there and then drive to Sheffield.

Are you normally a nervous driver? Don't think London is particularly mental, just have your route planned well and you should be fine.

shrapnel222

another option is to rent a parking space with justpark or parklet websites. Find an area which is convenient for you and rent a parking space at somebody's house for a couple of days. it can be very cost effective in certain areas. i've used them both fwiw.

Morby

So I'm heading to London this weekend and planning to see a few sights and tourist attractions.

I'm planning doing the London Eye, London Dungeons, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life and Shrek Adventures are they all appear to be located fairly near each other.

Is it madness to try and do 4/5 attractions in one day? Is it even possible with queuing etc?

Anyone know where to get the best deals on tickets? I presume booking online in advance will be better than getting them on the day?

Any must sees? Anything in particular I should make time to go see and do?

Loveinapril

It really depends on what you are into but I would highly recommend a visit to Camden. I love that place. The markets are great and the vibe is just so cool. I once spent three days there and never left. Its a great spot for people watching!

goochy

Boat trip to Greenwich always good . Visit Harrods just for the hell of it. Get cheap tickets for westend show.

GalwayGrrrrrl

To do all of those things in one day sounds exhausting to me! Remember you need to queue to get into each (possibly with security checks) and also eat during the day too! I'd pick two (or three at most) things and try to just enjoy the London sites as you stroll around between activities. It would be very expensive to do all activities too.
For me, London is best seen on foot. Take tube to Westminster then walk to Buckingham palace. Stop into Westminster abbey and/or St Paul's en route.
If I had to go into something I'd choose one of the museums- science museum or natural history both free and you could spend whole day in each.
Maybe I'm just a cheapskate geek though

via4

The queue for the London eye can ge busy at times try and go as early as you can

goochy

London eye not great

goochy

London eye not great

Humour Me

Madame Tussaud's also has crazy queues, definitely prebook your tickets to save time.

The Tower of London is also well worth a visit. You could visit the London eye then get the Thames Clipper boat down to the tower, if you don't fancy the walk.

If your interested in going to a show, call into the theatre box office and see if the are offering a discount for a performance that night.

Afroshack

All those sights are located very close together, that is correct, but you might be pushed for time doing 4 or 5 in one day. With the recent terror attacks, security and bag searches will add to already lengthy queues and people traffic alone means you will have to walk very slowly in some areas. London is crazy busy! You can book great deals online, maybe do a 3 in one offer where one ticket gets you three attractions?

I'd second Camden, its class! Great food markets too.

London Zoo is incredible. Bit pricey but you could easily spend a whole afternoon there.

National History Museum and the Science Museum are fantastic, and free! Hyde Park is lovely for a cycle - you can rent Boris bikes for 2 pounds and just cruise around the place, or dip your toes in the lake. Borough food market under London Bridge is always worth a wander. Boxpark in shoreditch is also good for food.

For drinks, I'd recommend Camden, Shoreditch, Brixton or Clapham.

coylemj

You can book a slot for the London Eye and bypass the queues. You can use an Oyster card (an absolute must for tourists) on the boats to Greenwich from Westminster Pier. Get a southern (mainline) train back from Greenwich mainline station to Canon St. which is on the tube. I believe that train still doesn't stop at London Bridge because of the Crossrail works.

Humour Me

Definitely pick up an Oyster card when you arrive. It works on all public transport in London including the Clipper boats. Any left over balance stays on the card so you can use it again on your next trip (it doesn't matter how much of London you see, you will always go back again )

testicles

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