October itinerary suggestions

Just off the top of my head:

Friday looks… daunting. Either British Museum OR British Library, I would think. Both are cram-jammed with treasures. I can’t imagine fitting both into a single day, especially given the rest of the things you have planned. :-)

On the day you go to Borough Market, you might be better off trying Roast for your Sunday roast. If by The George you mean that gorgeous 18th century coaching inn close to Borough Market, I am sad to report that it seems to have fallen off in quality in recent years.

You seem to have tons on your list - great stuff!

My only tip is that if you want fish and chips (and are in the area) try The Golden Union, 8 Poland Street, near Liberty London. Not cheap, but unmatched in quality. IMHO, they are the beat chippie in London. And you’re right near Carnaby Street, for a fun wander.

Sounds like you are in for a stellar time!

Hi Volva, thanks for the reply. I will tell her about Roast and the chippie suggestion. I thought Friday looked heavy, too. I think she added both on there bc I haven’t been to either. If you had to narrow it down, would one be better to omit? She’s been to both.

Hi Mustlovedogs!

Well, that’s an excellent question.

I am a musician and a bookworm, so the British Library really floats my boat. Where else can you see handwritten lyrics by the Beatles? Or a handwritten page from Handel’s Messiah? There’s one of the original Magna Cartas (Magna Cartae?). The Codex Sinaiticus. Leonardo da Vinci’s actual notebooks! OMG! https://www.travelawaits.com/2737445/british-library-london-things-to-see/

On the other hand, the British Museum is the home of extravagant amounts of amazing, ancient STUFF. They’ve got the Rosetta Stone! The Ife Head. An absolutely mind-boggling Aztec serpent breastplate thingie. Mummies galore! It is intense.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/14-things-not-miss-british-museum

So it really depends on your particular passions. Both are absolutely amazing. If you see just one this time, remember Rick’s mantra: “assume you will be back.”

:-)

I never miss a chance to pop in to the British Library to see what new Treasures they have--one year it was a wonderful exhibit on Terence Rattigan--and browse their special editions in the bookshop, but that really only takes about an hour or so.

The British Museum--finally got there on my 4th visit as antiquities are not my thing, but I decided I really wanted to see the wondrous objects that people seem to dig up on the regular from their backyards (yes, the book and movie The Dig inspired me) so spent perhaps 2 hours there in that gallery. I have learned to take small bites of some really overwhelming museums--you don't have to visit every exhibit--realizing that has freed up huge amounts of time for me.

There are lots of interesting restaurants at the Camden Market but I am particularly fond of The Cheese Bar...because, one can never have enough cheese!

Last September I made a day out of Kew Gardens and then continued on to explore Richmond and have dinner there. I think Kew is probably wonderful at any time of the year, and I had pleasant weather, spent perhaps 4 hours enjoying the grounds and seeing lots of birds and even a fox. I really liked touring Kew Palace and the Marianne North Gallery--she was a revelation to me, a Victorian era artist who traveled the world to paint trees and flowers.

But, I also like your other option of Westminster and a walk through St James--I'll be there in a couple of weeks and can't wait to see those enormous pelicans again. The Tate Britain has an exhibit called Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 that runs through October 13, but I also really enjoy all the works in this museum. Perhaps you can decide this closer to arrival, or you might come up with something else entirely.

Christa, thanks for the thoughtful reply. ThIf we see that we only have time for one, I am leaning toward putting my vote into going to the British Library bc my interests definitely tend to lean more toward its collections. ( bookworm here, too!) My daughter said she would be happy with revisiting either; she’s a good egg. The Cheese Bar sounds delicious though I just told my Dr at my yearly physical I would do better with my cheese intake, lol. Oh well.

Btw, you mentioned a show about people finding things in their backyards. Did you ever watch “ Detectorists”? It’s on Prime. Wonderful show whose theme revolves around a group of metal detectorists finding antiquities in rural England. It stars Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones. One of the finds by Toby Jones ends up in the British Museum. :) My husband and I just loved the whole series!

I think we both are kind of leaning into staying in and around Westminster rather than Richmond/ Kew Gardens. She has never been to the Tate Britain. There’s also a wonderful knitting shop in Pimlico she found that is “speaking” to her. :) We’re getting excited!

I need to add The Detectorists to my to-be-watched list, thank you! I'm also a knitter so I just looked up shops in Pimlico, think it's called Beautiful Knitters? I already have Tapisserie on my list as I do needlepoint, and then there's always Liberty for their fabric...it's really easy to spend a lot of money on crafts in London.

If you are in London before Oct 13, the Tate will still have the exhibition: Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520–1920. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Re Sunday- not all shows have Sunday performances. Might be worth checking if the ones you are interested in have them. Also, when walking from Borough market to Waterloo, do pop into Tate Modern. Even if modern art isn’t your thing, it’s incredibly impressive (and free).

Yes Sunday isn’t the best day for the theatre. Not many shows and mostly only matinees. You’ll have the full choice of performances from Tue-Sat.

If you haven’t been to the Wallace collection or the Courtauld gallery I would really recommend these smaller art galleries. Very manageable and with great collections. The National Portrait Gallery is well worth a visit. The Tudor and Stuart portraits on the top floor are incredible. I love the cafe there too and in the basement there is a lovely quiet bar where you can get away from the madness of Trafalgar Square.

Few comments:

The Japanese Gardens near Holland Park are lovely.

Dinner at the Dragon Inn on Sheen Road in Richmond was worth every penny. 10-15 stroll from The Quadrant.

The sweetest pub dog ( Rudi ) can be found at The Mitre on St Mary’s Grove. A 20 minute easy peasy stroll from The Quadrant in Richmond.

In Camden Town I liked going to a small Vietnamese place for Pho. Cannot remember the name but on the main road.

Mustlovedogs, this has nothing to do with your itinerary (looks good!) but have you watched Trying on Apple+ TV? It's a wonderful 4 season series about a couple trying to adopt a child that is good in its own right (very funny and very heartwarming) but best of all, the couple live in Camden Town and it has the most wonderful location shots of it. Some of the evening ones make me want to pack up immediately and go there. It's a great way to get a London fix, as it's filmed all over London, but the Camden shots are really cool. You can watch the first season for free at the link above, and Apple+ also offers a free trial if you don't have it. The episodes are less than 30 minutes long, too. AND it has Imelda Staunton in it, who is wonderful!

Apologies if I've told you this before!

Adding another good show to watch to my list! Thanks mardee for the link!

We’ve been doing some tweaking this weekend. Thanks for the heads up about theater and Sunday. We did see that “Six” has a Sunday show, but we are now thinking we may try to go Saturday night. She’s toying with the idea of being at the Harold Pinter theater box office when it opens to see if she can get same day floor tickets for Macbeth. Has anyone tried this? It’s a sold out show with David Tennant. Maybe we’ll give it a shot, who knows?! :)

She’s toying with the idea of being at the Harold Pinter theater box office when it opens to see if she can get same day floor tickets for Macbeth. Has anyone tried this? It’s a sold out show with David Tennant. Maybe we’ll give it a shot, who knows?

That would be amazing to see David Tennant playing Macbeth, and definitely worth a try. Good luck!