London itinerary/transportation questions

Hi LV -

Big Ben currently not really worthy of your time and effort, unless you particularly want to see the Houses of Parliament as well. Big Ben currently swathed in scaffolding and silenced for the next three to four years. Also H of P seem to be attracting more scaffolding every time I see it on the TV. This is because successive governments have avoided doing necessary repair and upgrade work for donkeys years. Unfortunately (for the current government and taxpayers) it can't be put off any longer. They have found that Big Ben is leaning slightly in the direction of Westminster Abbey - it's about 8 inches off perpendicular at the height of the clock face, so in order not to risk pulling the whole thing over the scaffolding can't be tied into the structure of the tower, hence the epic nature of the self supporting scaffolding. You may think this makes it worth a visit, but I thought you ought to know to avoid disappointment!

I go to London as a tourist and I like to wander the south bank of the river when in London - it's always a great stroll and plenty of options to dive in and out of places, Shad Thames, the Globe Theatre and Borough Market for instance, and also you can cross to the other side if need be, plenty of bridges! Somerset House is a good place to stop off at on the north side, as is the nearby Blackfriars pub, but London rewards wandering. My wife lead me through the Inns of Court which is a splendid, quiet (for London) wander! All the parks are good too, grab a map and have a good ponder!

One last thing - we went round Westminster Abbey on one of its late opening evenings. It was dark when we got there (if you are visiting in summer, it won't get dark until ten o'clock-ish dependent on when you are there) and marvellously atmospheric inside! Quieter than normal too. Worth checking if and when the late openings are as it might free up some time for you to do more on Wednesday.

I'll leave the Oyster card and train ticket answers to those more well versed in the subject - I stuck £25.00 on my Oyster card a couple of years back and despite several visits I'm still using it. This may well be because I prefer boot leather over the subterranean rail journeys if possible and practical! Have a great trip!

Ian

Thanks Ian! That’s disappointing about B.B., but I’d rather know beforehand! Sounds like we are similar-style travelers! Looking forward to more info about transportation. Thanks again!

Edited to add that our trip is in early June.

Regarding transportation, can we do everything via the oyster card or will we need rail tickets for Windsor and the WB tour?

Windsor is outside the Oyster Card area, you will need to buy tickets from whichever London terminus you start from (either London Paddington to Windsor & Eton Central, or London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside).
Watford Junction (which is the station for the shuttle bus to the Warner Studio) is inside the Oyster Area, and you can use your Oyster card all the way. Trains are from London Euston. There are fast and slow trains, choose the former.

"arrive from Oxford via train" - you will arrive at Paddington station. You can buy your Oyster cards at the tube station there, if you don't have them already. When you buy them, I would start with £20 on each card. You can re-load them at any tube stations, and at many small shops (look for the logo in the window). When you use it, a display shows the amount left (for 2 seconds only, you have to be quick). If it is getting low, just add another £20 onto the card.

As for your plan, stay flexible, and be prepared to be spontaneous, its more fun.

The RS London book would be a good investment. His tip on how to really see the guards at Buckingham Palace is worth the price alone. But you’ll get many more ideas. Windsor was a favorite of our recent trip. There are a few nice places for lunch just a stroll away. One was a pub I think called Three Tuns but don’t hold me to it. Get a guided tour of Westminster Abbey it wil help you use your time well and will mean much more. Otherwise, it’s huge and you’ll wander. I would second Borough Market if you’ll be nearby walking along the Thames.

When I went to Windsor last year the line to but tickets was long. It took about 45 minutes. You can buy tickets online but not for the same day. The line for those who prepurchased was very short, perhaps 5 minutes at most. When including transport time it can be a full half day trip. Longer if you linger to explore the town.

The RS London book would be a good investment.

An "investment"? It's not a mutual fund! :-)

Your local library will have RS London travel books so take a look at that and other travel books like Fodors to get an idea of things you want to do.

You will need rail tickets on the Great Western Railway to Windsor but it's inexpensive. You can take the train from Paddington and can easily change trains at Slough. A day in Windsor is a smart and enjoyable way to allocate time. Get tickets to the castle in advance on line and arrive 20 minutes before it opens so you can be one of the first on to the castle grounds and limit the amount of time you spend on line. You will be on separate line from the tour buses. St George's Chapel is stunning especially if you adore high gothic architecture. You could easily spend 1/2 a day at Windsor Castleor longer depending upon your interest. Windsor and Eton (across the Thames) are pleasant to walk around. You could pick up a picnic and enjoy lunch on the grounds of Windsor park. So many ways to enjoy yourselves.

Thank you for answering my many questions! I’m a schoolteacher and
have been so busy with end-of-year stuff ... I’m starting to panic,
wondering if I’ve done all the prep I need to do!

Don't panic! You are in for such a wonderful trip.

Alan, when you recommend a guided tour for Westminster Abbey, do you mean a printed book or a live person/group tour?

Thank you everyone for your help! I just booked our tickets for Windsor online, so hopefully we can save time in the entrance line. I so appreciate all of the recommendations!

There are verger tours of Westminster Abbey, they cost 5 pounds and are well worth it.

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/verger-guided-tours

What I had in mind was a tour by a Blue Badge Guide. You can Google that term or Blue Badge Guide Westminster Abbey, read all about it and find several choices. It is a real badge of distinction among guides in the UK. But, the tours are usually longer, more in depth, and considerably more expensive than the above quoted verger tours which you can mitigate by joining a group (usually 6). Our RS Best of London guide from last summer, Tom Hooper is a Blue Badge Guide and trained many of the other Blue Badge guides who lead the tours at Westminster. And buy the RS London Book, forget the library. You’ll want the new addition and you’ll want it with you to mark up, rip out pages, whatever. Avaialble on this website or Amazon. It’s an investment in a better vacation!

Take a look at London Walks. They offer walks on more areas than I care to count. You might find something you like.

"arrive from Oxford via train" - you will arrive at Paddington station

Or Marylebone if you travel on Chiltern rather than GWR, so don't walk to their platform. If you sacrifice flexibility and book an Advance for a specific train the cost can be as little as £5.

I would like add: only add £10 at a time to the Oyster Card as that’s the maximum “cash out” amount at the end of the trip.

We recently were in London and saw many sights - Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, Kew Gardens, Trafalgar Square, Windsor Castle, and St Paul’s Cathedral. I think I can safely say the highlights for us were Windsor Castle and St Paul’s Cathdral. The castle was so lovely to see and St Paul’s is so beautiful - much more so than Westminster Abbey we felt. I would try to work it in if I could. So much history everywhere! Enjoy!!

I was in London about a month ago and we also stayed very near Paddington Station.

I used https://tfl.gov.uk/ to plot out our routes to different places. When you go to the WB tour be sure to leave from Euston Station. I was there with my elderly parents and my sister's family. My parents and I left from Euston Station on an express train (we had gone to the British Museum in the morning). My BIL had plotted a different route that took them on a non-express route and they were almost late. Allow yourself plenty of time. And yes Watford Junction is still in the Oyster Card zone.

Be sure you have your WB tickets or a screen shot of your confirmation readily available as you will be asked to show it prior to boarding the shuttle bus from Watford Junction to the WB site. (See above - my parents and I were waiting there and my BIL had all 7 tickets. We had no idea if they were already at the site or what had happened. They were NOT going to let us on that bus without them.)

Have a great trip! We had a fantastic time and I really hope to get back there with my husband some day.

The Harry Potter Studio Tours also offers a direct bus / coach from Victoria Station, can be combined with the ticket costs and reduce your overall expense, the last I knew. It could be easier to get there than to get to Euston station for the location you posted previously.

Strongly suggest the British Library near King's Cross (every bus seems to go there, so it's easy), seeing the gorgeously incredible St Pancras station & then hotel next door, and the next building is the British Library. The Treasure Room has incredicble collections but it's all in one big room, you won't feel stuck in a museum, but the collection can be REALLY amazing. You might want to take a look at their web site, it might give info about any new collections, etc. And the pub across the street was really good the last I was there too :)

On my next trip, I want to get to the Ben Franklin House, nearby Trafalgar Square, and also the newer Sky Gardens in the Walkie Talkie building, looks good for a rainy day. It seems when there's a zillion things to choose from, taking that extra time to get very specific about what exactly your own personal preferences are is important. I'm a Girl Scout volunteer, so going to Pax Lodge in Hampstead was one of the 1st things I wanted to see on my 1st trip (it's a World Centre and hostel in Hampstead, so I was able to stay there, good price). There's a way that I can connect my Mensa membership to the British Mensa HQ, and get access to their calendar of events. It made it easy to find a group of friends (that I hadn't met yet) at a pub. If you have any club membership here that also has members there, you might find a way to have some dinner friends. Also Meetup.com is very popular there too, could be something happening that's fun.

I also found that creating a blog was very helpful for photo backups. Very often the wifi would give me a message about not having a secure connection and would not let me on Facebook time and time again. I had created a blog for older family members who were technically challenged :) It came in handy.

The London Eye was good at night, mostly I would not go again because it just took me farther away from the sights, and I had no map of what I was looking at, but it could be a nighttime option for you if you like lights and want to spend daytime doing a park or something else.

Have a great trip, and good luck finding the things that will be the very most fun for you both. :)
-Alison