Hello!
We are taking our children and nanny on a 10 day trip to England. 3 days in Oxford and area, 2.5 days in Cardiff, Wales , and 4.5 days In London. What is a better option. The English Heritage site doesn't really lay out exactly which sites come with the pass... Anyone use both of these? Pros and cons?
Thanks!
Here is a link to the map for which sites are included on the English Heritage pass for visitors, if that is the one you are looking at.
It doesn't cover Wales according to that map. Wales is covered by the CADW pass.
What sites are you planning on seeing?
Many don't feel the London Pass is worthwhile. There are so many sights in London that are free such as the National Gallery, British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. The London Pass does cover the Churchill War Rooms but does not give skip the line privileges so you have to stand in line with everyone else who needs to buy a ticket. This sight works better with the purchase of timed entry tickets.
The London Pass looks like a whole lot of hype to me. They brag of 80+ attractions you can visit, but how many of those do you actually have time for? Remember than most museums, including the British Museum and the wonderful Science Museum, are free.
And they tout the "skip the line" advantage at "selected" sites. Hmmmmm. Take a look at the list and it is short: St. Paul's Cathedral, Kew, Tower Bridge Exhibition, London Bridge Experience, London Zoo, and Hampton Court Palace. We have been to St. Paul's and Kew a number of times and the line if any was 3-5 minutes long. I doubt the zoo has any line. I don't know about the others but are you interested in going there? Hampton Court Palace will take more than half a day of your precious time.
Where you need skip the line entry is Tower of London and Churchill War Rooms, and they do not include either one.
As for the HOHO bus, it is very expensive and waits at the stops can be long. You can ride a regular London double-decker for £1.50 a trip (adults). Kids are less ( or free if young enough).
A much better deal would be to use the 2-4-1 offers for the things you really want to see ( in addition to the free museums), assuming you are arriving in London by train from Wales. With a ticket on a train somewhere out of London on your last full day (to Richmond for Kew would work), or a flight out of Gatwick on departure (the Gatwick Express and regular trains both work), you have the required journey pair to use the 2-4-1 offers on all days between and including your travel days.
"We are taking our children and nanny on a 10 day trip to England"
Don't tell anyone in Wales that you think it's in England.:-)
thank you, Ladies!
In Wales, we are staying with friends so I am not worried about getting a pass for Wales. We will be in Oxford, Bath, Highclere Castle, and Windsor. But in London, I just want to see the big things like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, the parks for the kids to run around in, the zoo, Buckingham Palace/ changing of the guards, sherlock holmes museum. Our children are 10 and 9 so they get free transportation anyway, I believe...
It doesn't look like it covers the sights I consider major in Bath.
Roman Baths - Owned by the Bath and North East Somerset Council and not covered by either the English Heritage or National Trust passes
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/online-ticketing-faqs
Assembly Rooms - ditto
No. 1 Royal Crescent Museum - privately owned by the Bath Preservation Trust and not English Heritage or National Trust
You can walk around and see the Royal Crescent, Circus, Pulteney Bridge at no charge. If you want to go down in to the Parade Gardens there is a nominal charge.
For your other destinations, you'll just have to go thru the sights you want to see and determine if they are covered.
I believe you mean the beautiful and iconic Tower Bridge, not London Bridge which is rather ordinary.
https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/plan/
It is free to walk across it on the main level. The high walkway with glass floor does have an admission fee. If you walk there on the Thames Path on the south side of the river, you will cross under London Bridge in a wide passageway. There are colored lights set in the path and the walkway plays the music from the "London Bridge" song.
Big Ben is unfortunately silenced and the Tower in which it resides, the Elizabeth Tower, is covered for renovation, so you will not see that. But the Parliament buildings are lovely, especially from the south side of the river.
If it is a nice day, you can walk across Westminster Bridge from the Abbey area to the south side for a view, then turn left and follow the riverfront pedestrian path all the way to Tower Bridge. Lots to see along the way, including the London Eye, a skateboard park, an outdoor book sale, buskers at various spots, Shakespeare's Globe theater, St. Paul's Cross the river, the Golden Hinde replica, and lots of shops, restaurants, cafes, and pubs for break. It is a wonderful place to walk away from traffic. At Tower Bridge you can cross over to the Tower of London and see that from the outside, then catch the #15 bus back to Trafalgar Square. If you feel like turning back before going that far, cross on the Millennium pedestrian bridge by the Tate Modern, and you will arrive at St. Paul's and a stop for the #15 bus.
Maybe compare the prices of sites you want to visit relative to the cost of the London pass.
Thank you ! You guys have given me some wonderful links! We did sit down a s right out most of the places we want to visit and probably 80% are free or you can't enter them at that time anyway. So we are bypassing the London Pass and might just hire a walking guide for one.or two days as that is easier with our special needs child.
Love the notes on Bath! Thank you, Pam
Be sure to look at the London Walks website for a tour guide. www.walks.com. You can arrange private tours with them.
Glad you realized that the London Pass isn’t worth the money.
Lastly if the children like animals check out the Mudchute Farm website.
Don't get the London Pass. You can buy most of your tickets online before you go and get timed entry instead of waiting in line.
