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Itinerary advice for June visit

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Hello - I'm ecstatic to learn that our visit to London will coincide with the Trooping the Colour, but it falls on the day that I planned to visit the Harry Potter Studio. Thus, I'm trying to figure out how to fit the studio tour in elsewhere. Right now, I'm looking at the afternoon of Day 3 after the Churchill War Room Tour or Day 6 after the Trooping the Colour. Also, would we have time for the Kew Gardens on Day 2? I would be grateful for advice including guidance on whether you would change anything around.

  • Day 1: Arrival afternoon. We're staying near Victoria Station. Nothing planned except walking around, maybe evensong at St. Paul's
  • Day 2: Wimbledon Tour and Richmond. Would we have time for the Kew Gardens?
  • Day 3: Churchill War Room Secrets Tour. Could I fit Harry Potter into the afternoon or maybe the British Museum?
  • Day 4: Tower of London, Tower Bridge Tour; Globe Theatre Tour and Show (if tickets available)
  • Day 5: Greenwich (cutty sark, museum, observatory); West End show (booked)
  • Day 6: Trooping the Colour. Could I fit Harry Potter in the afternoon or maybe the British Museum?
  • Day 7: Train to York (not booked, flexible timing)

Thanks!

Posted by
1152 posts

Your trip sounds amazing Jodi.

If you are visiting Richmond on Tuesday, then you should have time for Kew Gardens as the closing hours are typically around 7:00 p.m. (check online for exact times).

For the Harry Potter Studios Tour, you could probably make either Day 3 or Day 4 work. To determine which is the best would recommend that you check the ending times for the Churchill War Room Tours and Trooping of the Colour. It will take about 1.5 to 2 hours via tube, train, and shuttle to get to the Warner Brothers Studio. It is likely going to be more crowded on the day of the Trooping of the Colour, so you might factor some extra time to get out of the crowds to the tube. Then a typical visit to the Studio is about 3-5 hours. The good news is that the Studio is open later in the summer. Based on your comfort with the times, you can decide which day might work.

Posted by
5 posts

Thank you for the response! I realized I have more questions. Do you think I need to buy tickets in advance for Kew Gardens, if it's on a weekday afternoon? If we go to Kew Gardens, should we go there after Wimbledon followed by Richmond to see a few Ted Lasso filming sites or vice versa (Richmond then Kew)? We're doing both Wimbledon and Richmond to satisfy my teenage son's interest, but I thought Kew looked pretty interesting. Do you think Harry Potter Studio or the British Museum will be less busy after the Trooping the Colour/Saturday afternoon? I think the crowds may get to me after awhile, so I would prefer the less busy alternative. Will the parade and associated events be so overwhelming that we should just plan to head back to our hotel and decompress after?

Posted by
11333 posts

On Day 3, yes you can fit in Harry Potter. The War Rooms Secret Tour is finished by 10am, so you can comfortably be at Watford Junction by 12 noon, probably somewhat sooner.

On the way back you may not know that there is the option of returning to Victoria without using the tube. Every hour (at 52 minutes past the hour) there is a Southern Railway train to East Croydon (curling round West London). Change at Clapham Junction for a train every few minutes into Victoria.
It's the same price as going via Euston.

Posted by
1152 posts

Hi Jodi,

I have never been to the Trooping of the Colour, so I don't know how exhausting it will be. I expect you will have massive crowds so just navigating to get out of the area after the event will take time. Both Harry Potter Studios and British Museum are crowded, so if you do not want to have too many crowds that day, you may want to do something that is a bit more relaxing, away from the crowds.

For your Wimbledon day, would recommend that you do that first and then take train to Richmond. Since Richmond is important for your son, I would recommend exploring the town, stopping at the Princes Head (the exterior was the Crown &. Anchor in Ted Lasso) at least for a drink. After exploring Richmond, you can end your day at Kew Gardens and then hop on the tube back to London.

Alternatively, after Wimbledon, you can go to Kew Gardens, explore Richmond, and the end your day with an early dinner either at the Princes Head, Scotts for upscale fish restaurant or White Cross Pub (famous for flooding, they even provide Wellies to their patrons.

Hopefully others in the forum can help on the specific Trooping of the Colour question.

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