We have an overnight layover (6 pm to 4 pm the next day) at Gatwick and I've booked a B&B in Horley. Check-out time is 10:30 am, however, and I'm looking for ideas of what to do for a few hours before we catch our flight. It would be a Sunday afternoon.
Or should we scrap the B&B reservation and stay/sightsee in London during our layover?
Horley looks pleasant ( in online photos) to spend the night. There are 4 different trains that go from Gatwick Airport to London in as little time as 30 minutes every 15 minutes. If you go direct from Horley to London the next morning you might have to check Sunday time tables or go back to Gatwick if that works better. Or you could just relax; there might be something nearby that you would love to see. Check the National Trust UK web site for properties listed near Horley. We stayed overnight before our flight in Tunbridge Wells which is a nice Georgian style town; we had a car to return at the airport.
Take the train into London. Multiple trains an hour , train is about 30mins.
Or come 30 minutes the other way down the train line and visit Brighton. Walk by the sea, visit the Royal Pavilion and have a Sunday roast in a pub by the station before setting off back to Gatwick.
A word of warning: train services around Gatwick have been bad for months, especially on Sundays. You might want to check for engineering works before making a decision.
Alan
Alan, thank you for the suggestion of going to Brighton! I've changed our lodgings and we will be going directly from Gatwick via train. I'm excited for carnival rides and ice cream, and seeing the Royal Pavilion. Thanks again!
Side note - I had intended to visit Brighton in 2004 on a trip through the UK but never got there because we crashed our rental car in Wales on Christmas Day! Better late than never!
Glad to have helped, and that you have finally made it!
If you are looking for somewhere to eat on the Saturday night you might take a stroll up Preston Street. You can’t miss it as it runs off the seafront above a huge British Airways observation car pole. It’s about a ten minute stroll west along the front from the pier and the street has a good range of restaurants. Places are a bit less frenetic than right in the centre.
https://restaurantsbrighton.co.uk/preston-street-brighton/
Have a great time.
Alan
