London in August?

There’s a lot of news about London right now , unfortunately mostly because of protesters and racists . Government has requested everyone stay home because of Covid - but that isn’t happening because of protests -
Side note - one story had a white “ far right supporter “ getting beat up by protesters - BUT was saved by a BLM protester - a huge black man picked him up and carried him over his shoulder ( he was hurt) - I wonder if the racists would have done the same thing . It’s a great photo .

Sorry but as for August , who knows .

The 14 day quarantine on arrival only started this week.

At present, restaurants, pubs and cafes are closed other than for takeaways. The government is working towards these opening with 2 metre social distancing 4 July. Many places say this will mean that they can only take 15% of the pre-Covid number of customers and it therefore isn’t viable to open. The entertainment industry is pressuring the government to open earlier, but as yet, to no avail.

Theatres and museums aren’t likely to be open by August some in the industry think it will be 2021 before they are open.

I would work towards October or 2021 if you want more certainty. You probably won’t be able to get any travel insurance for August, so you need to be happy that you can afford medical cover if needed.

When Boris Johnson announced the 14 day self isolation starting June 10 he said that the policy would be reviewed every threeweeks. He also said that they were "hoping" to start the hospitality industry (meaning hotels & dining establishments) "sometime in July". British Airways is mad and has filed a lawsuit to get the 14 day self isolation order removed so that the travel industry can start up again. I think you'll have your answer mid-July if August will happen but it seems like October is probably a better bet. I myself have flights for mid-September to Heathrow and have my fingers crossed that the travel gods will smile on my trip.

Thank you everyone!

Patience is needed when trying to figure out what to do. Nobody can predict what's coming. I think that anyone going this fall will have an experience similar to the Seinfeld soup nazi. You get your soup, but the experience is somewhat lacking.

I like New York in June. How about you?

Love the political objectivity and virtue signaling in this thread. We need more of that.

Blue439...I like a Gershwin tune, how about you?

If this wasn’t a reference to an old frank Sinatra song, then I am losing it.

I think mid August is too soon. There’s just been so much uncertainty this year and policies changing overnight. For a North American traveler going to London in August for leisure, they pretty need to decide now and I’d say the answer is no.

Hello, I am an American living in the UK for 8 yrs (currently residing in Cambridge) and I would hesitate to travel here this summer unless I was planning a complete outdoor holiday, i.e. Lake District hikes, Peak District hikes, Pembrokeshire coast hikes, etc. London especially won't be like it used to... no theatre, online reservations just to enter museums, many things closed/ cancelled.

And there is of course the issue of quarantine... I don't think the UK government is keen to let in Americans anytime soon as the covid infection rate there seems to be climbing. If I were you I would completely cancel the August trip and hope for October. However, if you are able to wait another year that may afford you a much better experience.

Cheers.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it the info. It pretty much supports what I was thinking. We’ll push off to October and make another contingency plan for next spring.

I'm using this rule of thumb: It will be safe to travel to London or other European destinations a few weeks after you have been vaccinated with a future vaccine.
But it's your life so you get to decide.

I just got an email that all July tickets for the Harry Potter studio tour have been cancelled. I have zero hopes of my late July London trip happening. :( I would do October over August.