London Trip coming Up Quickly Help with 2 4 1 and itinerary

Hello Terri,
Edit: please also see Lola's comment below re river travel -- I only referred to river bus from TfL. She rightly points out different options

You're going to be busy!
I can't help about the two for one, sorry.
Do have a few things to say about itinerary. Hope it's not confusing but here are a few combo suggestions.

Windsor Castle would be a pretty full day trip.

St Paul's Cathedral and One New Change are close to each other. Tower of London is not far away but you might want to use the bus to go there from St P's. Double decker buses are a great way to sightsee. Transport for London map of Central London Bus Routes shows a lot of the places you would be shown on the HOHO tour; you can do it yourself.
https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf

Thames cruises vary in length so you can choose one that suits your timing if you decide to do it.

You might also consider some walking and bus routes that cross the bridges as you get some really nice views that way.

One spectacular vista is the view towards St Paul's Cathedral on the Millennium footbridge. It connects the Tate Modern on the south side of the river to St Paul's on the north.

You could take a bus from the Tower of London to the Tate Modern and then walk across the Millennium bridge to St Paul's. The bus I would pick for this is the RV1. It is not a double decker but it crosses Tower Bridge. After that the ride is not terribly exciting, though you do pass Southwark Cathedral. You can get off at Southwark Street (confirm with driver that this is closest stop) for the Tate Modern.

Also if you love views, go up the Tower at the Tate Modern. It's free and the view is pretty spectacular.

That RV1 bus goes across another bridge (Waterloo) and ends up at Covent Garden if you choose to stay on and not go to the Tate. Cov Gdn is close to Trafalgar Square and would put you in place for the National Gallery or for walking to Buckingham Palace, or down to Big Ben (more below). You would also be close to a lot of theatres.

I may be alone in my fondness for the RV1. It is not a double decker bus; what I like is that it crosses 2 bridges and it connects two places I like, the Tower of London and Covent Garden. It is not the most exciting ride but if you are tired after the Tower you might appreciate the chance to sit on a bus for a bit.

Another cluster of places is Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, all v close together.

From here you can walk up toward Trafalgar Square.

You can see two mounted guards as you walk up Whitehall, on the left hand side after you have passed the monument to Women of World War II and then the Earl Haig monument. To see a troop of guards riding, you need to check schedules. I think this Twitter feed is good for that – https://twitter.com/Guards_Info

Unless you are planning to tour the inside of Westminster Abbey, your timing for going to that part of town is flexible – you are looking at outdoor things. Since the days are fairly long, you could go to the Tower of London, possible boat ride up to Westminster Pier (check timing on Tfl.gov.uk), and then a short walk from the Pier to Big Ben, explore that area (seeing the Houses of Parliament and the Abbey), then turn around and go up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square may be close to your theatre for the evening, depending which one you have chosen.

Trafalgar Square is also where you will find the National Gallery and just behind it, the National Portrait Gallery. According to this page on Visit London (official site) http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/whats-on/art-and-exhibitions/late-museum-and-gallery-openings-in-london
the National Gallery is open late on Fridays. The British Museum is also open late on Fridays. So, if either of those places appeals to you, keep in mind you have those extended hours.

Have fun!
Jill

2 for 1 offers using paper travelcards:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g186338-c195600/London:United-Kingdom:2.4.1.Travelcards.Step.By.Step.html

Your rail tickets from Edinburgh to London are valid tickets for the 2-4-1 offer. You need to hang on to them, so do not exit the station via the regular turnstile; use the attended one (mainly for wheelchair users) and explain that you need to keep the tickets.

One-way tickets into London are only good for 2-4-1 admission on the day of travel, unless you also have a valid ticket out of London at the end of your stay. Then you are entitled to 2-4-1 offers on the days between your travel days. Your tickets to Amsterdam on Eurostar do not count. However, if you do your trip to Windsor by train on the last day of your visit, say in the afternoon, and buy those tickets in advance so you can show them, you can use those to validate the offers all during your stay.

https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/travel-by-train/is-my-ticket-valid-for-2for1

Alternatively, you could buy 7-day Travelcards on paper to validate your 2-4-1 offers. You will need either Travelcards, Oyster Cards, or day passes to use the bus anyway--they do not sell tickets for cash. A 7-day paper Travelcard for £33 is probably more than you need for bus fare, but may be worth it for the convenience and access to 2-4-1 offers if you are not sure about Windsor. Also it may work out to use the Tube, Overground, DLR (light rail), or riverboats on one or more of your journeys, and those would be covered with the Travelcards ( only partially covered for the Riverbus)

Note that there is a difference between river cruises (mentioned above) which run £10.50 and up, and the Riverbus which is part of the Transport for London system.

http://www.thamesclippers.com/route-time-table

It is a pleasant way to get between, say, the Tower of London and Westminster area, and even better if you go to Greenwich. Cost is £6.60, with a 1/3 discount with a Travelcard.

Lola -- Thanks for mentioning particulars re boats. I agree, very pleasant ;-)

Jill

Thanks for the detailed responses!

I should have included that the river trip (not actual cruise) is one that goes from one area to another, ie, Westminster from St Paul's or reverse. I'd love to get to Greenwich, but I don't think that there's time enough.

Thanks for the info on the Travelcard. I knew that the 7 day would be overkill, but as you say, it may be worth it. Is it possible to use a 3 day pass for the 2 4 1? We likely wouldn't use it on the first day as we get in late morning, check in to the hotel, walk around a bit and then head to dinner and Queens Theatre.

One thing I'm still not clear about is how to manage the events listed. I don't know how much can be done in one day with the London sites, times to get between them, etc. I've researched sites, read everything I can. Most of the times are for those who likely walk more quickly than we do. I know we're going to be doing a lot, but at our age, we don't know if we'll ever be able to get back to see all we've missed.

Is there good bus service from the St. Pancras area to the main areas or will there be transfers? Trying to figure on travel times, etc.

Is your apartment near St. Pancras? There will likely be transfers for most destinations.

Here is a schematic spider map of the major bus routes:

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf

You will see that to get to the Tower of London and St. Paul's, you would take the 59 south to Aldwych. This is a major hub. From here you can take the 15 east to St. Paul's and the Tower of London.

To get to the Westminster Abbey/ Big Ben/ Parliament area, you could catch the 11 from Aldwych.

You will need to figure out how to find the correct stops----at Aldwych, for example, the stops are spread over 2 blocks on 2 streets. To find them, go to the individual spider map for a particular route. To find the key to stops at Aldwych, you could use the 59, 15, or other spider map. It will list the stops that bus makes in alphabetical order, not in route sequence ( at least that is how they are displayed on my iPad). Click on the name of the stop---Aldwych---and it will show a spider map with all routes through that stop, with the Aldwych area enlarged and individualmstops labeled with letters. A key on the right side list the bus numbers and then the associated letter for the correct stop in each direction.

I carried printouts of these maps showing the bus stops for Aldwych and a couple of others. At many places---St. Paul's and Tower Hill, it is simple and obvious---one stop on each side of the road, depending on the direction of travel. It in the "hub" areas like Aldwych, Waterloo, and some others, it helps to have a map of the stops.

Yes, we're staying at St. Pancras Renaissance (had some free hotel nights saved up) as we didn't want to carry luggage to far from the trains.

Thanks for the map tip. I have the Tube map downloaded, but this will help even more.

You can also buy a paper bus map from Amazon. I used mine a lot when we were there for three weeks last May. It is true to scale (unlike the spider maps) so helpful in getting a perspective.

The TFL website (or the app?) will give you routes and approximate journey time for specific bus journeys, considering current traffic conditions.

By law I'm a senior. Grey Cells lie to me and say I'm in my 20's. So I walk as far and as long as I can before my lower back screams for Alleve.

Have been to London countless times.

If you start early in a day and do a grouping of lets say : Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Horse Guards you could easily be done by 2pm if you started at 9am. That gives an hour in Westminster Abbey, the same for Churchill War rooms and then the transport in between all the sites. You could even throw in seeing Buckingham Palace.

My transport is primarily on foot and I've done that exact jaunt in half a day. Enjoyed a pub lunch then strolled about Convent Garden. Back to accommodation near Hyde Park then theatre at night. So one full day.

Another long walk and tube usage day started at the Tower of London, then up to Leadenhall Market, then over to Spitafields Mark and Brick Lane. Tube from Aldgate (not Aldgate East) to St Paul's station. Visit St Paul's and the adjacent One New change. Then take the bus back or walk (about a 30-40 minute walk) over the Milliemium bridge to the Bankside walk along the Thames and over to Borough Market then over to The Shard. Or walk back to the Tower of London and over to Tower Bridge to the Shard.

Now if you wanted to see the fabulous Hampton Court that's a train ride, walk to the site and for me 3 hours of wandering and enjoyment. It was late November and I virtually had the place to myself. One group or school children and maybe 30 other people. Have photos of the gardens and pond with nary a soul in the images.

Did that jaunt and was back in London by 3pm. Returned to Accommodation to freshen up and went back out to the see the Ai Weiwei show at the Royal Academy of the Arts. Early pub grub dinner and theatre.

All about pacing, your stamina and if in a museum how long you are engaged.

To help you plan your outings take a look at Google Maps and the satellite view. I find it a very useful travel tool.

Enjoy your 4 day stay!

P.S. Yes many tube stations have a some stairs but any true long distance is covered with escalators. Then some stairs. A flight or two. Trust me no tube station has as many stairs to climb as those to the top of St Paul's.

Thanks! That gives me a lot to go on. Unfortunately, although walking is doable, stairs are not. After shattering my ankle, it doesn't bend well and makes stairs really hard - more so on the down than the up - (guess that precludes the top of St. Paul's!). If there are a lot of stairs and something worth seeing, then I encourage my husband to go and take lots of pics for me.

On rare occasions, I've done it. Last time was St. Chappelle's in Paris because there was no way that pics could even come close to the real thing with those windows. Still my favorite thing there, but I definitely kept a lot of people from getting back down as quickly as they would have liked.

I think I have a pretty good idea of how we'll do things. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Days and attractions are fully switchable as we can't make our Sky Garden reservations until next week.
Day 1 -
Arrive from Edinburgh
Check in to hotel
Dinner - Piccadilly area or other near theatre?
Queens Theatre

Day 2

Tower of London
Tower Bridge
St Paul's Cathedral
One New Change
Sky Garden (hopefully for sunset)

Day 3
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben
Parliament View (from bridge)
River Trip (time to get to Greenwich and back?)

Day 4
Windsor Castle
London by Night Tour

Hi Terri

If you can't get Sky Garden tickets, or want another free alternative, the viewing platform at the top of the new tower at Tate Modern is a great alternative. It's just a short walk across the bridge over the river from St Paul's Cathedral, and the great thing is it's free and you don't need to book. I liked it almost as much as the Sky Garden, and more than One New Change.

http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/viewing-level

Thanks, Jane! It's something to add to the list since it's that close!

Does anyone have an opinion on the London by Night Tour? Worth it? Better way to see London lights?