Is this doable? Embankment tube to St Paul's in one hour

Transport for London website,gives it a 15min journey time for those 2 stations

Google Earth tells me this is 1.3 miles, which you should be able to do easily in an hour if you're not too tired from the Sherlock walk. Go east along the river past Cleopatra's Needle to any street that goes north, then turn right at the Strand, which becomes Fleet St., then Ludgate Hill. Should be a pleasant walk.

I haven't been to a service at St. Paul's, and Good Friday would probably draw a more devout crowd than the typical evensong, but I expect you'd be OK in long pants, collared shirts, maybe a sweater or vest if it's cool. I'll defer to our British friends on this, of course. Sit near the back if you feel out of place, but don't miss the chance to see this magnificent cathedral in use.

If the Sherlock walk starts and ends at the Embankment station, it will probably include the nearby Sherlock Holmes Pub, with a replica of the famous Baker Street living room. If you're fans like me, you might also want to see the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221 Baker Street itself, a different part of town. A very faithful recreation of the famous digs, plus lots of artifacts and such.

Edit -- Of course you can also take the tube to St. Paul's, but from the map it looks like at least one change, maybe two, and it will be crowded at rush hour. I'd say walk if the weather's OK.

bbagnal3:

If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes you might want to visit this exhibition at the Museum of London before it ends on April 12;

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/sherlock-holmes/?gclid=CjwKEAiAjsunBRCy3LSlz_PJqCgSJACJY7yKrU2GJOVwaCrSsI7ViZ8mknNL9srZDOx_j_BMG8xbcxoCYuPw_wcB

There's also the official Sherlock Homes museum at, where else, 221b Baker Street.

London Walks typically start at one tube station and end at a different one. Regardless, you should have no problem getting to St Paul's after the walk.

We went to evensong at St. Paul's the day we arrived in London last May. We were dressed in "smart casual" but nothing fancy---collared shirt and slacks for the men, long pants (not jeans), and a nice blouse for the women. There were people dressed more casually, but no one in suits.

St. Paul's is welcoming to all and I would not be too worried about dress code. It will likely be fairly crowded on Good Friday but it is a large church. Just be sure and be there before the service starts.

We have also attended services at St. Paul's.
We weren't dressed-to-the-nines by any means but we also made sure that we didn't wear our "touristy" clothes that day either. I believe I had on a skirt and my husband/son were in collared shirts and long pants.
You can easily make it to St. Paul's from Embankment in plenty of time for the service.
You should check the St. Paul's website for the schedule of services on holidays.It looks like there are four different services on Good Friday. I would get there as soon as you can so that you are more likely to get in and find a seat where you aren't relegated to the outer fringes.

In my experience, the walks generally run a bit longer than 2 hours. Guides tend to wait 10-15 min beyond the start time, allowing for people running late. You might spoil your walk being so aware of your tight schedule.

As people have mentioned the tube route from Embankment to St Pauls requires a change. It's probably more convenient to walk from Embankment station up Villiers Street to the Strand, and take a bus from the stop opposite Charing Cross railway station. An 11, 15, or 23 will take you directly to St Paul's with no need to change.

I agree with Philip - take the bus as they are frequent and you will see more. St Paul's is very visible so you will know when to get off and most buses these days have a ticker tape inside stating what the next stop is.

The weather at the end of March/early April will still be cool here, so you will probably need a light jacket or a fleece. Inside old, draughty churches is always several degrees cooler too.

Alternatively, Westminster Abbey, which is only 10 minutes walk from Embankment has a 12.30 service on Good Friday that you would have time to attend before your walk and see the Houses of Parliament en route.

I'm off in Italy so missed the question due to the Korean problem - Philip has answered exactly as I was about to.

If you are very lucky you may get one of the old Routemaster buses - the really iconic ones you think of when you think of London, with all the rounded edges - on the number 15. Or you may get one of the brand new buses for London which looks like a modern Low-Rider version of a Routemaster.

And all of those buses will get you from Charing Cross Station to right in front of, or to the side of St Pauls in around 20 minutes, depending on traffic a little. Good Friday, probably less traffic in the City in the afternoon.

Thank you all so much for your help. We are home now.

Our walk worked perfectly and finished on time right at the Sherlock Holmes Pub where somebody guessed it would. We were a very short block from the bus stop. I knew this because before the walk I had hiked my family around Trafalgar Square to find the F stop. There was a number 11 bus there when we walked up which we hopped right on. It had a conductor! Teens were thrilled and we were at St. Paul's by 4:20 pm. I don't think we did the stop correctly. I think we were maybe supposed to push the red button for stop but it looked too much like an emergency stop and we were scared. Anyway the bus started pulling away while my husband was still on it. The bus sort of stopped to wait for traffic and my husband leaped off.

We walked into St Paul's, sat on the 4th row right under the dome. The service started at 5pm and it was very awe inspiring. The boys choir and the adult men's choir singing unaccompanied was beautiful. We took communion right under the dome. I could not see to the back to see how full the cathedral was but there were hundreds there. I could be wrong but my impression was the congregation was mostly believing tourists from around the world and from many faith traditions rather than Londoners.

As far as dress, I did wear slacks rather than jeans, but my teens wore jeans and I didn't think it mattered at all. Frankly it was hard to tell what other people were wearing under their coats.

We had a wonderful time and were able to move smoothly the entire trip thanks to Rick Steve's guides, this forum, and the internet. I will do a trip report after I get over the jet lag.