London & Edinburgh itinerary critique, please

I think your itinerary sounds great, having been to both cities--I like how you left room in each day, as you never know what else will hit you that you need to see, and how you are doing separate things from your husband and son. Portobello Road market is one of my must-dos every time I visit London, and there is a section with vintage record dealers, so your son might enjoy checking them out. Antiques to fruit & veg then food stalls then newer goods and finally a section of vintage clothing and records--depends which end you start. I don't know how much you are interested in shopping, but I also never miss a chance to visit the truly fabulous Liberty of London in the Regent Street shopping area of Soho--the store itself is a marvel from the Tudor exterior to the cozy little wood paneled rooms, some with fireplaces, and their goods are an eclectic combination of classic and quirky...I am a quilter so their exquisite cotton fabrics drew me in, but there's a lot more to be tempted by.

I highly recommend the Imperial War Museum in London. I was a bit doubtful about it, because I'm not interested in looking at the physical implements of war, and of course you do get those. But the museum does an excellent job of covering the historical background via both posted information and the audio guide (much overlap, so choose to use one or the other). In addition to the permanent exhibitions (which now include one on the Holocaust), there are usually one or two small special exhibitions, and I've found those intriguing, too. The museum is large (takes more than a full day to see/read everything) and free/donation-requested. Given the amount of time you have in London, I'd consider this a must for your husband and son, and I suspect you would find it interesting as well.

The men may end up wanting a lot of time at the Churchill War Rooms. The war rooms themselves are small and don't take long to see. I can't imagine just seeing that section after paying the very high entry fee. The Churchill Museum section has a lot to absorb and takes much longer. I don't remember how much time I spent there altogether, but it was definitely more than 4 hours; it could have been 6+. The focus of the CWR is much narrower than that of the Imperial War Museum, so I think you're right to split off and see some art on CWR day. I am a 20th-century history geek and spent a lot of time in the Churchill Museum section, but the War Rooms are one of those "important decisions were made in these nondescript rooms" places, and that's not my sort of thing.

In Edinburgh the Friday 7/8:

The National Museum is very large and full of a variety of interesting exhibits. If weather is bad, it's an ideal place to be indoors without your raincoat. That said, you can do more exploring of the Royal Mile if the museum doesn't take up all day. For example, I would have loved to visit the Palace of Holyrood, but we didn't make it that far down the Royal Mile.

Also, Friday night might be the ideal time to have a white-tablecloth dinner in the Tower Restaurant atop the National Museum. It has great picture windows giving you a lovely view of the skyline. Sunset will be late in July, so if you're very keen to photograph the sunset from that vantage point, time your reservation accordingly. The food, drink, and service we enjoyed there were fabulous!

Saturday 2 July

On a music theme – head to Abbey Road and do the crossing, then go to Saville Row and see where you know who performed on the rooftop.

As your son is into classic rock the Stones are playing Hyde Park on Sunday 3 July.

Good to see you are not trying to cram too much into each day.

I second the suggestion above to look at the Imperial War Museum, based on your interests. I went with my nephew a few years ago and it was absorbing, was there at least 5 hours (and I'm not much of a history buff.)

Also look at London Walks www.walks.com. Their walks take two hours and they may have something of interest to you. (They do an overview of the British Museum, which may suit your husband and son). They also do a day trip to Cambridge - I did this about 10 years ago, and it was very well done (you had free time at the end and the guide helped with hiring a punt). The pandemic has caused some changes to their business model, but things may get back to some sort of normal by the time of your trip.

ramblin' on - You just made my month!!! The Stones are my favorite band and I've seen them several times, but Hyde Park - WOW. And my son would go nuts. I'll try my hardest to get tickets!

Thank you everyone for all the advice! Great suggestions!

https://www.bst-hydepark.com/

Tickets are secured and I am pumped. Thank you so much again for the tip. We'll have to give up Cambridge that day but it's worth it.

nice one.

choral evensong in Hyde Park - something to look forward to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZnBNuqqz5g

Couple of thoughts:

On British Museum day see if they might find the nearby Wellcome Collection or the Grant Museum of Zoology of more interest. Both are 15 minute walks from the British Museum. There’s also the Cartoon Museum. If into walking the Regents Canal Path is also 15-20 minutes away.

On Tuesday while visiting the Abbey have you researched if tickets to see the Houses of Parliament are being offered again. Talk about history!

If all three of you are looking for a pub lunch on this day I can recommend the Two Chairman pub. Then a pleasant stroll through St James Park. From the Two Chairman turn right out the door and stroll over to the Cockpit steps to access the short path to Birdcage Walk. Turn left on Birdcage Walk and stroll up to the Palace.

Loved Bletchley Park. Make certain they visit the Computer Museum and the Mansion House on the premises. Also the radio hut. Make certain you take the fast train from Euston.

There’s good food at the canteen but you could also sit on benches around the lake or on the lawns on the grounds. Stop at a Tesco or Sainsbury or Marks and Spensers to grab sandwiches, fruit, crisps and a drink to take with you.

Portobello Road Market will be jammed on Saturday. Go early. I always tube to Ladbroke Grove and do the market backwards. I’m there no later 7:30am and try to grab a seat and a coffee at either the Cafe Nero near the station or at Gail’s bakery. If no seats I make my coffee a take away and start to stroll watching vendors setting up their booths.

I’m not a shopper either but depending on the age of your son he might like Carnaby Street. As you said your son wanted to check out record stores check to see if your travel dates coincide with the first and third friday of the month. Thats when Spitafields Market hosts their vinyl fair! Pretty sure he’d enjoy that.

I too am going to Wimbledon but later than your husband and son. Looking forward to it as its been on the bucket list for years.

Have a great visit to my favorite city on the planet!

They'll be at Wimbledon on the first Friday or he'd have loved the Spitalfields vinyl fair. Thanks for the other excellent tips!

My pleasure.

Been visiting London for decades. Never fails to keep my interest as its always changing yet always the same.

If per chance you all want to head to the Crouch End neighborhood Flashback Records is great. My friend who lives in the neighborhood loves going there. He says pre covid a sister store opened in Brick Lane.
If you go to Crouch Hill station its a 20 minute walk from there. Can get coffee at Plan B to take away or enjoy there. Good coffee. Good Vibe.

The walk to the record shop is a slight uphill jaunt through a residential at first. Once you are at the town hall square its maybe another 5-7 minutes away.

Might be fun for the family to experience a London neighborhood few tourists explore.

Mon 6/27 - when you’re ready for a break at the British Museum go to the café. It’ll be nice to sit down for a bit.

You might enjoy visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, especially on one of the days when you are solo. Kew Gardens might also be of interest. In Edinburgh you can take a city bus to visit Rosslyn Chapel.

One thing I don’t see on the itinerary for the WW2 history lovers is The Imperial War Museum.

Another suggestion for your open Saturday after experiencing the crush of the Portobello Road Market is to stroll over to Holland Park Japanese Garden. If its reopened the Leighton House is wonderful. If looking for something completely different consider operahollandpark.com

I really enjoyed the Leighton House. The Design Museum is very near the Leighton House, and I liked it as well. The permanent collection is free/donation requested. There's sometimes a special exhibition which you can either pay (potentially a lot) extra for or skip.

Thank you for all the additional tips!

You may have some interest in visiting Chartwell, Winston Churchill's home, near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. It's a beautiful Tudor-era house where he lived with his wife Clementine and their children. You can visit his studio where he painted with many of his paintings on display.
Here's a link:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chartwell
From the above National Trust page:
By train:
Edenbridge (4 miles) and Oxted (6 miles) stations are accessible from London Victoria and London Bridge. Sevenoaks station (6 miles) has a regular fast train service from London Charing Cross, Waterloo East and London Bridge. Oxted and Sevenoaks have taxi ranks outside to get to Chartwell. You can find out more on the National Rail website.
By bus:
Sundays and public holidays: Catch the 246 London Bus route from Bromley North (passing close to Bromley South train station) to Chartwell - See the 246 Timetable for more details.

Your itinerary is very good, and you have had good advice from other Forum members.
I have a question. You wrote:

Friday 7/1
- Husband & son: Wimbledon (tickets booked)
- Me: Sussex day trip with private guide - Battle Abbey, Bodiam Castle, Rye and more (booked)

Would you please share with me the guide you will use on this day trip?
And their contact information?
My husband, grandson and I will be in London late this summer, and would like to do the same day trip with a private guide.

Many thanks for sharing this information!

Have a great trip!

Rebecca

On your Westminster Abbey day, arrange your abbey visit so that it’s toward the end of the day. When you’re done, tell the docent you’re staying for Evensong and you won’t have the leave, go outside, and wait in line to renter. You won’t be able to wander around, but will be one of the first in line inside when everybody else is let in. You’ll get a seat in the quire beside the choir. Evensong lasted about 45 minutes.

Thank you everyone for the very helpful tips and feedback. I've tweaked our itinerary a little bit, below, just in case it is helpful for anyone else!

Saturday 6/25
- Arrive LHR early a.m.
- Check in at accommodations in Belgravia
- Hyde Park and/or St. James' Park

Sunday 6/26
- Boat or tube to Greenwich
- Royal Observatory
- National Maritime Museum
- Greenwich Market and shopping

Monday 6/27
- British Museum

Tuesday 6/28
- Westminster Abbey Hidden Highlights tour
- Open afternoon in Westminster
- Choral evensong at Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral (in case the Abbey should unexpectedly cancel change evensong that day)

Wednesday 6/29
- Husband & son: Churchill War Rooms & Imperial War Museums
- Me: British Library & Courtauld Gallery

Thursday 6/30
- Tower of London
- All-Hallows-by-the-Tower
- St. Dunstan in the East
- Borough Market

Friday 7/1
- Husband & son: Wimbledon (tickets booked)
- Me: Sussex day trip with private guide - Battle Abbey, Bodiam Castle, Great Dixter, Rye, Winchelsea

Saturday 7/2
- Open day - Portobello Road antiques market & Holland Park, shopping elsewhere TBD

Sunday 7/3
- Morning open to rest and relax
- Afternoon - Rolling Stones at Hyde Park

Monday 7/4
- Husband & son: Bletchley Park day trip
- Me: National Gallery & Kenwood House (I know they aren't near each other but I don't mind the journey up to Hampstead)

Tuesday 7/5
- Train London > Edinburgh
- Check in at accommodations near Old Town
- Late afternoon/evening open

Wednesday 7/6
- Edinburgh Castle
- St. Giles’ Cathedral

Thursday 7/7
- Dunnottar Castle day trip via train

Friday 7/8
- National Museum of Scotland
- Arthur's Seat

Saturday 7/9
- Train Edinburgh > London
- Overnight at LHR hotel

Sunday 7/10
- Depart LHR

Warn your husband and son that the Churchill War Rooms can take over half a day if they try to take in all the contents of the Churchill Museum section, whereas the much larger Imperial War Museum could fill multiple days. I recommend a look at the IWM website to think about what sections they consider the most important. I've lost track of how much time I spent there, but I think it required five or six multiple-hour visits over the course of at least two trips to London. The audio guide isn't necessary unless they prefer to hear the displays described rather than read the posted materials; there's a huge amount of duplication. I found reading the posted info faster.

Thanks acraven. They'll do the Churchill War Rooms first and then since the IWM is free, they can leave when they hit the wall without guilt over spending money for a limited amount of time. They won't see everything, but they'll get a good taster.

Many thanks for the information!
I received your PM and will contact that guide!
You have a wonderful itinerary.
Well thought out and planned.
Have a great trip!

Dunnotter castle is an interesting choice. I assume you plan on taking a train to Stonehaven, then walking or taking a taxi to the castle since it’s outside of town not near anything. The views there are beautiful but as far as ruins go, Craigmiller castle outside of Edinburgh is just as nice; you just don’t get the views. You can take a bus to it. Maybe you can squeeze it in too.

I've always been enchanted by photos of Dunnottar Castle and the setting is a big reason why. Yes, we plan on taking the train up and then walking (if the weather is nice) or taxiing from town. One of those places that if I skip it, I think I'll regret not having visited.

I looked at Craigmillar as well but it has limited access for restorations right now - not sure how that situation will be in July. If we find ourselves with lots of free time in Edinburgh we might be able to check it out.

We went to Dunnotter back on 2008 and it’s on our itinerary again for later this year. We were driving back then and had to wait for a heard of cows to cross the road when we were ready to leave. Not much one can do except wait.

Definitely boat to Greenwich…the trip from Westminster is a tour through the history of London and you will see many historic ships…even if the weather is inclement it’s still a worthwhile trip and will give you a unique perspective on London.