London in February

This link takes you to a pdf of the London Walks brochure for the period through the end of October. You'll have to revisit later to get the winter brochure, but you can skim through this one to identify walks that might be of interest if they fit your schedule. The great thing is that the vast majority of the walks do not need to be pre-booked. You can have a tentative list and react to each day's weather.

From reports on this forum, it is essential to pre-purchase tickets to the Churchill War Rooms if you don't want to experience the weather for an extended period as you wait outdoors. I don't remember what the advice is for the always-crowded Tower of London.

The V&A, the British Museum and the National Gallery all have late hours one night a week. For the V&A, only part of the building is open late (ground floor in 2017). I'm not positive about the other two.

The British Museum is more than 50% larger than the National Gallery. You'll need to pick and choose in either place, but I think you'll have more dead time in the British Museum as you try to move between the galleries you choose to visit. That might be enough to tip the balance. For whichever you select, I highly recommend spending some time on the institution's website before your trip, figuring out a priority list of galleries to visit. The first thing I do in large museums/galleries is buy a copy of the floor plan (£1 - £2 requested donation). Although I like to think I have a good sense of direction, I really struggled to find my way around the British Museum and the National Gallery earlier this month, even with the floor plans in hand. The V&A is the same way, alas.

I visited London in early March once and appreciated tremendously the smaller tourist crowds.

Re taking a day trip from London, I would think Windsor (esp. the castle( would be a good bet at any time of the year and in any weather. I wouldn't think Cambridge would be as pretty in the winter as in spring, summer, or fall, and the wind at Stonehenge might be cold and biting. For your day trip out, I recommend you prioritize one or two, then make a choice one you're in London and can assess the weather outlook.

LondonWalks does a number of evening pub walks. I've done and enjoyed a number of them, but I don't know if they are available in February.

February weather average high temperatures are 47 degrees F. with average daily lows of 36 degrees F,
Precipitation is experienced 8.5 days out of the month, but they only experience 77 hours of sunshine in February--fourth from the least months in sunshine.
That would mean weather in February is hit or miss--and pretty cool/cold.
But if that's the time you've got to go, be prepared with proper clothes, rain gear and go for it. You never get wet when in the Tube going from place to place.

I've gone to England in March in the past, and it was a fine trip (I was leaving a colder climate to go to London, so I was fine). Windsor was a great day in March, and there's a green coach bus that goes from Victoria Station to Windsor, drops you right out front, so it's very easy & comfy to get there. If you must take the train, going from Paddington to Windsor gets you into the right (nearest) train station (the train from Waterloo to Windsor brings you in to one much farther away, on a long-way-around commuter train, we learned the hard way). There's a way to get your Windsor Castle ticket validated and go back another day (within a year) for free, so if you do want to spend a night out there too, that's an option. My friend who lives near there says that Stonehenge is something seen off of the highway, not easily accessible by public transit (there may be something he doesn't know, since he mostly drives), and though there's a new visitor center nearby, it's not that close, still requires a shuttle from what I hear, & likely to be cold. Windsor Castle's good to visit on the way in or out of Heathrow, you can see it when you land, it's so nearby.
I always reccommend the British Library's Treasure Room if you can get over by King's Cross, and seeing St Pancras Hotel in person is great too, they have Valentine's Day specials in their bar & restaurant most years, fancy. The Treasure Room is not always the same, but it's usually got many great treasures, including things for Jane Austen fans.
Hope you have a great time with doing grown-up things :) it should be great :)
-Alison

Julie, London is fun, even in mid-February, just dress for the weather. My husband and I are planning on going right before Christmas for our Anniversary. I have been many times, this will be the 3rd time for my husband, so we will skip the Tower of London. We have taken the London Walks Pub Tour. It is a great evening tour. Here is a video link to provide you with more details: http://www.walks.com/popular-walks/pub-walks. We also enjoyed the Jack-the-Ripper tour (alas, no pub stops). This time, we want to dive deeper and will be taking a food tour with Eating Europe London tours. We took their food tours in Florence and Rome and they were amazing (great food, out of the way places that we wouldn't go on our own). Here is the link if you are interested: https://www.eatingeurope.com/london-food-tours/.

As for museums, my favorite museums in London are the V&A and Tate. I would recommend that you take a docent led tour at the V&A. I have been a dozen times and the last time I was there I took a tour and I kicked myself that I didn't so it sooner. What I love about the Tate is its exhibitions, there is always something new and challenging at the Tate. They also have a great restaurant with delicious food and wine that overlooks the Thames.

If I were to choose between the British Museum and the National Gallery, I would choose the British Museum. It has some of the best Egyptian art/artifacts outside of Egypt. If painting is more your style, then the National Gallery of Art has masterpieces from middle to impressionist.

Whatever you choose, you will have a great time. Just pick what interests you the most.

Sandy

You can get to the V&A via a tunnel from the South Kensington tube station. No need to go outside at all on that end of the trip. There's signage inside the station; you just have to know to look for it.

Dress for cold weather. Layers and waterproof jacket.
You’ll love that the hordes won’t be massive. If you not been I’ve always enjoyed and recommend visit t the Museum of London.

Hampton Court is an easy train ride. I spent over 4 hours there on a crisp November day. Virtually deserted. Have images of the gardens in back with nary a soul.

You could also visit Highgate and Hampstead, enjoying the beauty of the heath and the intriguing Highgate cemetary. Easy tube rides to and from and you don’t feel like your are in London.

Don’t miss the Treasure Room at the British Library.

If I had to choose I’d opt for the British Museum. Who doesn’t like mummies?

Lastly, check the schedule for the Royal Albert Hall.

Have a wonderful sojourn!

According to the hyperbolic Express, the UK is in for a brutal winter this year:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/1022501/uk-weather-forecast-winter-2018-coldest-snow-long-range-met-office-winds-temperatures-late

How much credence you want to give to that forecast is up to you however we typically hear similar portents of doom every year that often fail to materialise but who knows!

Both the National Gallery and the British Museum are free and don't require pre-booking. So, just decide while you are there whether you want to see one, see both, or see something else instead.

Someone above mentioned the Tate. There are now two of them - Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Again, both are free, so you can see one, both, or neither, depending on your interests.

The Tower of London and the Churchill War Rooms have discounts if they are prebooked online. I just did this on the morning of my visit for a different attraction (the Royal Observatory and Cutty Sark at Greenwich), and this worked fine. For the Tower, advance tickets are date specific but not time specific, so booking online that morning should work fine too. For the War Rooms, they are date and time specific, so you may want to plan that one further in advance than just that morning.

One thing I found very useful was to look at all the museums and attractions included in the London Pass. Not to buy the pass itself (it's not usually a good deal for most people), but to learn about less famous attractions. I ended up going to the Museum of Brands, Packaging, and Advertising, and to the Jewish Museum of London, and greatly enjoying both, and I wouldn't have known about them without this.

London Walks does do evening pub walks; as said above, you will have to check their schedule for the dates you are there. I haven't taken a pub walk, but Ann (who posts here) has, and always recommends them. I took a walk of the (former) Jewish East End which was very interesting.

Before taking any day trip, see how you find walking around London in the weather you actually have while you are there. You may feel it's fine, in which case you can see a place that involves walking around, or you may want to be indoors more and outdoors less, in which case you'll want a day trip that has more indoor attractions, or no day trip at all. However, be aware that UK trains can be VERY expensive if not booked in advance for discounts - look into this now. Buses are far cheaper, but take much longer to some places, so they're not great for many day trips (fine for longer trips). As said above, if London is feeling too huge and "city-like," there are places still within London's boundaries that feel more like villages, so you can "escape" easily with just an Oyster Card.

If you're thinking you will want to take the Heathrow Express, book your tickets 90 days ahead and they can be dirt cheap; these tickets go up closer to travel and are very expensive bought right before travel.

London Walks has walks to both Highgate and Hampstead (as well as other neighborhoods), both of which I took earlier this month. I though Hampstead was the prettier village. That walk, if scheduled early or late rather than mid-day, could be combined with a visit to the gorgeous Kew Gardens. Or you could just visit the gardens, which are very large. The Highgate walk (which is quite hilly at the beginning) can be combined with a visit to the cemetery. The tour time and the schedule for cemetery walking tours may or may not align, so try to check that out in advance. Either of those areas is an easy option for a not-like-downtown-London experience.

Be aware that schools will be on holiday the week beginning 17th February and some may be off the week before. So if you’re planning on visiting then it may not be as quiet as you may be anticipating.

I have taken London Walks several times and they are excellent. I also would recommend Museum of London and the British Museum as well as the V&A. You have some tough choices, lol. Have a great trip.

The Rock and Roll Pub Walk from London Walks usually goes on hiatus during the winter, but their other pub walks go on as normal. Of course, this could change for the upcoming winter.

The British Museum is the storehouse of western civilization. Sometimes I go there more than once on a trip to London. It is my #2 museum in Europe, after the Vatican Museums. I enjoyed the National Gallery, but other countries have similar museums and the British Museum is unique. If you're a Jane Austen fan, then I think you do want to do Bath for your one day trip-it is easy day trip by train.