London 2016 - Itinerary Thoughts - Beginning Stages of Planning

Wow, what a great amount of time! I would vote for spending 2 of your nights in Bath. You can take the train out in the AM, spend the afternoon in Bath, then on your full day you can take a Mad Max small group tour to Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock and Castle Coombe, then return to London on the next day.

Of you opt for just a day tour to Stonehenge, you might look at the one that London Walks does and see if a Stonehenge walk fits your itinerary. Also check out their regular schedule as you will have some time to play with and might enjoy a walk or two.

http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Home/Stonehenge_Oxford_Bath_The_Cotswolds_etc_______________/default.aspx

(That link looks weird so not sure if it will work.)

And yes, Buckingham Palace State Rooms are only open in August and Sept. I would actually vote for changing of the guard at the Horse Guards, or watch the new guard form up at the barracks across the street from Buckingham Palace on Birdcage Walk, then watch them march over to the Palace.

Six Days In London

One
Buckingham Palace
Changing of the Guard
Churchill War Rooms
Westminster Abbey
House of Parliament
Big Ben

Two
Tower of London
St Paul's Cathedral
Tate Modern (??)

Three
Covent Garden
British Museum
High/Afternoon Tea (at the British Museum)

Four
London Eye
National Gallery

Five
Borough Market
Oxford St > Regent St > Piccadilly > Bond St
Wallace Collection

Six
Kensington Gardens
Natural History Museum
V&A (??)
Harrods

Six Days Out of London
7 Highclere Castle (already have tickets)
8 Stonehenge (& Salisbury Cathedral)
9 Bath
10 Windsor Castle
11 Oxford
12 White Cliffs of Dover (& Canterbury Cathedral)

One Rest Day ... or
13 Hampton Court Palace

Slot in pubs EVERY DAY !! (Not sure about Thames River Dinner Cruise)

You have discovered the incredible draw of London. Truely it is impossible to do all that u list. While all valid truthfully no one can do more than 2 tourist highlights a day. Just plan on returning someday to fulfill your list. After many trips i still have a gotta see/Doo list for London. I suggest u high grade jyour list and skip outside london except poss windsor castle as it is so close to heathrow airport on your arrival or departure. Or Oxford for a day it a wonderful walking day of architecture, hisory and beauty.
Gd luck.

The Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum is one of my favorites, Wallace Collection, not so much. Burrough market - Thursday and Friday are probably the best days (Saturday too crowded, Mon-Wed not everything is open). Get there early to avoid the local lunch crowds.

I've read trip reports that consistently recommend Kensington Gardens for afternoon tea.

Consider seeing a play one evening. London theatre is the best in the world and tickets can be had at big discounts.

x2 teas for two ??
British Museum http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/eating/great_court_restaurant.aspx
Kensington Palace http://www.orangerykensingtonpalace.co.uk/afternoon-tea/

BTW "Afternoon Tea" and "High Tea" are very different things.

The white cliffs in Dover can best be seen from the sea, so I wouldn't travel all the way from London for that, as it is a long ride. The town of Dover is a bit of a dump, but the Castle is worth seeing.

Use the extra day in London or go to Greenwich or Hampton Court. Personally, I would not go out of my way to see the Changing of the Guard anywhere - time could be better spent.

Afternoon tea - go to the Liberty store just off Regent Street - far nicer and more English than Harrods, which caters more for Arab and Russian tastes these days. Selfridges is now a better store than Harrods. Harrods is a tourist trap.

Alternative for afternoon tea or lunch - RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects - on Portland Place near Oxford Circus - a fantastic Art Deco building that often has free exhibitions too. You can book online. Closed at the weekends.

If you are going to the Wallace Collection, go to the Golden Hind on Marylebone Lane for the best fish and chips in London or the Devonshire Arms on Duke Street for pies. Both within a couple of minutes walk.

Stonehenge and Bath are in the same direction but cannot be covered in the same day properly. Stay the night in Bath and pick Stonehenge up on the way back. It is not very easy to get to by public transport. Also personal choice, but I much prefer Avebury stone rings near Bath than Stonehenge which has become far too busy. You can get right up to the stones at Avebury.

Dover castle and the tour of the tunnels built into the cliffs are a fun day excursion from London via train. I disagree with previous poster. It will take up one day of your trip, however.

I don't see Greenwich on your list. This can be an interesting sight to visit.

Also, see about getting tickets for the ceremony of the keys at the Tower of London. It is worth the effort.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and ideas. We are not going to do Bath on this trip and are looking for a day trip to Stonehenge with inner access since this destination is a must-do for us (should have said that earlier)....maybe we can find a bus tour that will incorporate it with either Windsor or Oxford. The day-by-day itinerary is wonderful; thank you so much, David. We will have to review our list and determine priorities as I do like the additional ideas of Greenwich and the V&A. I've looked up getting tix to the Ceremony of Keys, but it is fully booked until June. Great ideas for food/tea as well--will definitely look at going to the Liberty, British Museum and Kensington Gardens for tea. I've been reading about Harrod's since I was a little girl so I do at least want to step inside for a moment or two. You have all offered wonderful advice and given us much to think about.

Another question we have: We have a non-stop in and out of Gatwick....I know there is an express train from Gatwick to Victoria but is that really feasible with luggage, etc? Any alternative ideas, e.g. taxi? What is the cost differential between the two and might that be made up with the elimination of hassles getting to the train and then still having to get a taxi when we arrive at Victoria?

Thanks,
CiCi

I know there is an express train from Gatwick to Victoria but is that really feasible with luggage, etc?

I can't speak to the train from Gatwick, but the rest of your question depends on how much luggage you have. I got brave this year and took the Tube in from Heathrow instead of taking one of the trains and a taxi. I had the RS 20" roller bag along with the Veloce backpack and managed fine. This was my luggage for 5.5 weeks, but I am committed to packing light so I can handle my own bag. It really depends on the size and weight of what you plan to carry.

Trains run from Gatwick to a number of stations in London - are you sure Victoria is where you want to be? Where is your final destination?

Even if Victoria is where you want to be, the Express isn't necessarily the best option. Southern trains are cheaper and only take a few minutes more.

Taxis from Gatwick aren't the best option - it's a long way, expensive, and the traffic into London takes an age.

Take the train (even with luggage).

Here is an "inner circle" access sunset tour that includes Windsor and Oxford on the way:

http://stonehengetours.com/stonehenge-sunrise-access-tours.htm

You depart London around 11 am from three pickup points. There
Are specific and limited dates in March, April, and May so hopefully one will work. And there may be other tour operators. I saw one that operates from Salisbury but you mentioned Windsor and Oxford to I posted one that includes these.

I note that the English Heritage site does not have the dates and booking form up for next spring yet, so these tour operators must have a special arrangement.

Also--- a number of sites on your wish list are included in the 2-for-1 deals that you get with a rail ticket or paper Travelcard. We used a one-week Travelcard to good advantage when we were there last September, visiting the Churchill War rooms, St. Paul's, and some others with the discount, plus we could jump on a bus whenever we wanted. There is also a discount with the riverboats (but I don't know about the cruise boats).

If you think you might want the Travelcards, you will each need a passport-size photo. You can bring those, or use one of the photo booths found at many train stations. It is a good idea to print the vouchers you may use ahead of time, but we were also able to find the booklet with vouchers at one of the train stations.

Unfortunately, I am not the lightest of packers, especially when cold weather is involved....we don't plan to bring excessive amounts of luggage but more than a roller bag apiece. I didn't think about the distance from Gatwick so I do think we will take the train to Victoria, which is our destination.

Thanks for the link to the stonehenge tours; will definitely check that out.

I've done a little research on the Travelcard and, at first it seemed a bit confusing, but your explanation makes it seem much simpler....we'll look into that too.

Has anyone done a Thames dinner cruise...would it be better just to take a regular cruise without dinner?

Much Appreciative,
CiCi

The Travelcard is confusing, I think because of the Oyster card option. You can have a Travelcard as a paper ticket or you can put it on an Oyster card. But only the paper Travelcard, purchased from a National Rail station (not a Tube station) will qualify for the 2-4-1 deals. And they are well worth it. The Churchill War Rooms and St. Paul's are each around £14 regular price, so you save quite a bit with the deal. The Tower of London (£24.50) is also in the deal book, along with Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace, and the special exhibitions with paid entry at the British Museum, Natural History Museum, National Portrait gallery, and others.

I love the Thames but we would never do a dinner cruise. First there is the price--they start at £79 pp (usually without wine; more if you want a window seat). 3.5 to 4 hours seems like a long time to spend on the river. And I would question the quality of the food.

But the river boats are a great way to see London, whether by day of night. There are several kinds of boats---the river buses run by Thameslink, which are part of the London transport system, and river tours, which are slower ( unless you book a jet boat) and often provide commentary. Both of these offer a discount on the basic service with a Travelcard. Here is a map of the various routes:

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/map-of-scheduled-river-services.pdf

Not many of the river buses on the central river section run at night. (There may be late service on the downriver stretch when there is an event at the O2arena).

We took a boat from Chelsea Harbour pier to Blackfriers pier after having dinner at an excellent Indian restaurant. The last boat was around 9 pm so we had to eat a bit earlier than usual, but that was fine. The ride back in the dark was lovely, although we should have gone outside to see it better ( the interior cabin lights reflect off the windows and make it difficult to see much outside).

We have also done a daytime cruise from Westminster Pier to Greenwich, with commentary, and that was fun. Some of these daytime cruises are in the 2-4-1 offers.