Help with London Itinerary

If you have a car on the days when you're in the area of Bovington and Stonehenge, you may want to spend some time looking up the military aviation history of the Salisbury Plain. See, for example, http://www.boscombedownaviationcollection.co.uk/

I think your schedule is pretty full now, and you have WW II well-covered, but just in case of a change in plans I'll mention a couple of WWII-related things I enjoyed this summer:

• The London Blitz walking tour conducted by London Walks
• Bletchley Park (the code-breaking center), outside Milton Keynes

The train to Bletchley takes less than an hour, but realistically it's about a full-day excursion if you want to take in the entire site.

Any particular reason for Bath? I know it's typically on most people's 'must see list' however I think many people just go there because everyone else does (same with Stonehenge). From the brief amount of information you've provided it would appear that Bath would not suit your interests. Winchester is closer to Stonehenge than Bath so it would make more sense to stay near there or even in Salisbury. Portsmouth is well catered for in respect of WW2 as it was where the bulk of the D-Day invasion force departed. There's a very good museum dedicated to D-Day and just outside the city in the glorious village of Southwick is where Churchill and Eisenhower planned the landings. Southwick House provides guided tours by appointment. The Historic Dockyard is excellent for all things naval and military. Portsmouth is within easy reach of Winchester, either by train or car.

Another vote for Bletchley although there is no room for it in your current schedule. If you do go, it's worth seeing when demonstrations of the giant code-breaking machine are scheduled. Truly a wonder to behold and often, rather wishfully, described as one of the first computers.

Truly a wonder to behold and often, rather wishfully, described as one of the first computers.

It was one of the first computers albeit only capable of one function however Bletchley Park was also the home of the world first 'true' computer, Colossus.

Again, if you had more time, Another vote for Bletchley Park, the imperial war museum at Duxford (north of London) and the WWII tunnels at Dover. Maybe you can see those on your next visit.

On Thursday I do not think you will have time for St. Paul's. The Tower is a couple of hours, easily, and then the trip to and through Greenwich (the R.S. self-guided tour is good) plus lunch and your day is done.

Friday: The War Rooms will easily consume you for 2+ hours if you are true buffs. Great audio guide! The IWM is great, too, and again will easily consume 2+ hours. We've been to both sites twice and haven't really absorbed it all. What do you want to see at Buckingham Palace? Just a walk by? The Changing of the Guard is a snooze-fest and the only place you can go in is the Queen;s Art Gallery. Since you are staying close by, if you just want a walk by, that can be a good late afternoon/early evening stroll walking through St. James' Park.

I think it will be hard to fit Bletchley Park in if you are committed to the MadMax Tour, and Windsor is truly lovely. Bletchley is a full day trip from London with trains, waiting time, touring time, and a meal. Took us four trips to London to get around to it.

I do not see any reason to rent a car. All doable by train.

BTW, Green Park is a great location. Also, you can extend your fun in London, energy level permitting, by taking soem evening walks with London Walks.

JC, we thought the Special Access Stonehenge Tour by MadMax would be awesome. It gives you access after it closes and you can walk within the stones. The problem is that MadMax only gets special permission on certain days and we can only go on June 12th. Also, the tour ends in Bath at 10pm. I’m hoping to make it to Portsmouth but just depends on when we can drive tanks at Winchester.

Laurel, I think we just want to walk by Buckingham Palace; however, my daughter and I may tour it instead of going to the Imperial War Museum with the guys. We could also do Harrods. I haven’t researched it yet. Great idea about London Walks.

I was thinking of renting a car so my daughter and I can drop the guys off at Tank Museum for the day while we visit Lulworth cove or other nearby sites. However, I’m not sure I trust myself driving on the left!

Thank you, everyone, for their input!!!

Buckingham Palace isn't open for tours in June -- only in August and September when the Queen's in Scotland. The outside is all there is to see. Check here to see what will be showing at the Queen's Gallery.

For Thursday, I'd suggest getting to the Tower as soon as it opens, heading straight for the crown jewels (if you want to see them) before the line builds, and taking the yeoman warder tour. Then St. Paul's is a fairly short and interesting walk, then on to Greenwich from there. A boat ride from Greenwich back to Westminster Pier would be a nice ending to the day. I think that could all be done in an energetic day.

A special tour is not necessary to visit Stonehenge outside the regular hours. However, spaces are very limited and you probably need to reserve now. Use the website below to find the "how to." There is space on June 12, but only in the evening. It is definitely worthwhile to visit the site when it isn't crowded with many other visitors. There is no access in late June because the site needs to be prepared for the Solstice crowd and then the grass needs time to recover afterward.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/plan-your-visit/stone-circle-access-visits/#section4

Confirming that the Imperial War Museum is really large. I think I had 4 hours there and might have covered about half of it. I'm slow in museums, though. I either skip them entirely or am all-in.