One last time, an itinerary critique, please?!

DAY 1: Tues, 12 Sept
-arrive LHR 9:20A, customs, shower/breakfast in Polaris arrivals lounge

-Piccadilly line to Earls Court hotel (London Marriott Kensington); into room or leave luggage

-ask hotel to exchange “old” pound notes (hopefully) OR if necessary, go to City of London post office to exchange “old” money

-Borough Market (later lunch/snacks and explore)

-buy/load travelcards onto Oyster cards/London Bridge station* on way back to hotel

-possibly Brompton Cemetery if time/energy

-supper: Scarsdale Tavern (need to book?)

DAY 2: Wed, 13 Sept
-brkfst: hotel executive lounge (free)

-St. Paul’s Cathedral: opens/tix purchased for 10a; maybe lunch/snack in church café (I heard this may not be open anymore/I have an email enquiry into the church); guided Triforium tour 12:30-1:30p, tix purchased

-Hunterian Museum

-meander South Bank - Millenium Bridge to London Eye - if time

-supper: Pick & Cheese; already reserved with deposit

-nighttime pix: Trafalgar Square, St. James’s Park, outside Buckingham Palace

DAY 3: Thurs, 14 Sept
-brkfst: Speedy’s
-British Museum at opening; reserve tea for lunch 12p upon entering
-eye opening tour? (Ancient Egypt or Medieval Europe)

-British Library treasures

-(maybe stop at Tower Bridge for an opening - 14:45, 16:00, 16:45, 17:30, 18:30)

-supper: Happy Lamb Hot Pot, Bayswater (need to book)

DAY 4: Fri, 15 Sept
-brkfst: Blackbird Pub; I enjoy a full English and I think my dd would as well

-Natural History Museum at 10a opening

-lunch: V&A café

-V&A: “re-imaging: musicals” (hopefully re-opening soon; Google search said re-opening 12 Aug, but main site doesn’t show it yet), jewelry, etc

-later supper: PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie (need to book)

-maybe Garden at 120

DAY 5: Sat, 16 Sept
-brkfst: grab something in hotel lounge

-Tower of London; arrive 9:15a, buy tickets; crown jewels then Beefeater tour

-lunch: Borough Market (probably very busy, we know)

-All Hallows Church (if time)

-St. Dunstan in the East Church

-supper: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (need to book)

-London Walks tour (7:30-9:30p), Ghosts of the Old City (booked)

DAY 6: Sun, 17 Sept
-brkfst: maybe Blackbird Pub again

-Postal Museum/Mail Rail

-lunch: ??, grab something

-London Mithraeum

-Leadenhall Market; supper: New Moon (need to book)

-London Eye (book a day ahead or today, per weather)

DAY 7: Mon, 18 Sept
-brkfst: takeaway, executive lounge

-take DLR to Greenwich: Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark; Royal Museum Greenwich Day Pass; need to order

-snacks? Gail’s Bakery

-lunch: Goddard’s Pie and Mash OR the Cutty Sark

-shop Greenwich Market some

-back to Tower area on Thames cruise boat/Uber (Greenwich to Blackfriars Pier)

-supper: Doggett’s Coat & Badge

-Ceremony of the Keys, 9:30p, booked, bring photo id to get in

DAY 8: Tues, 19 Sept
-brkfst: ??

-Westminster Abbey; ticket entry is 9:30-10a, booked; sign up for Verger tour; Hidden Highlights tour 10-11:15a, booked

-lunch: Abbey café

-Imperial War Museum

• (call to schedule taxi pickup/return for Wednesday)

-supper: the Ivy Market Grill (need to book)

-theater (the Play that Goes Wrong); 7:30p; (need to book)

DAY 9: Wed, 20 Sept
-brkfst: takeaway, hotel lounge

-Audley End Manor:
-Earls Court to Victoria, Victoria to Tottenham Hale via Tube, and back
-TH to Audley End via Nat’l Rail return (advance, tix bought)
-taxi to/from AE (call a day ahead to reserve)

-lunch at AE

-later supper: ??

-maybe night views of Kensington Palace, Hyde Park?

-check in/get boarding passes for flight for next day (check a bag (free) if we go overboard on souvenirs)

-pack

DAY 10: Thurs, 21 Sept
-brkst: early takeaway, exec lounge

-check out and leave luggage

-Spitalfields antiques, be there at opening, 8a

-leave market by 10a, back to hotel by 11a, grab luggage

-Piccadilly line to LHR, Polaris lounge for lunch, be at gate at 15:00, boarding 15:30, take off 16:00

Exhausting itinerary but if it works for you….

Couple of things;

Double check opening hours for:
St Paul’s
British Museum
Brompton Cemetary
Greenwich
Natural History Museum
Hunterian Museum
Postal Museum

Hotel won’t exchange old notes. Honestly you’ll be lucky if a Lloyds or HSBC or Barclays bank does.

Other than dropping coins in museum’s donation boxes London is pretty much a tap credit or debit card city these days.

go to City of London post office to exchange “old” money

Go to the Bank of England to exchange the notes. Most likely that's where you'll be sent.

If you're happy with the itinerary go for it. Way too packed and planned for my liking. No breathing room for contingencies. No breathing room if something unplanned comes up.

But as Claudia said....if it works for you.

You said you resceduled but you are traveling all over the city on a few days. Day 2--skip going to Tower Bridge to see it open. Do that on the day you go to the Tower of London.

Day 3: A reservation is a good idea, but I'm not sure you can get afternoon tea as early as noon at the British Museum. The restaurant (which is upstairs) may distinguish between lunch hours and tea hours. The tea, incidentally, is a lot for one person to consume (or was, as of 2018), so one of you might just want to order a beverage.

Day 4: Consider flipping the Natural History Museum and the V&A. The jewelry collection at the V&A is magnificent. It's the only area of the museum that I've found crowded enough to slow me down; jewelry is small, so you need to get right up against the showcase to see it. If you enter the V&A at opening time and head to the jewelry immediately, you'll probably have 20 minutes or so when you can move around freely. You won't quite finish that section before more and more people begin to filter in, but you'll make a lot of progress under very pleasant conditions.

I don't know whether the V&A cafe takes reservations, but it has seemed busy every time I've looked.

Day 8: I've made many trips to the Imperial War Museum (it takes multiple visits to see it all). There's usually at least one special exhibition that doesn't take a great deal of time to see. I've always enjoyed those as well as the permanent exhibitions. The audio guide is good, but it massively overlaps with the also-good posted explanatory material; there's no need for both information sources. I find reading faster, but YMMV.

I agree that you have a great deal packed into this schedule, but you may be able to pull it off--in which case you can pat yourself on the back.

I also wouldn't be up for as many full meals as it appears you intend to schedule. I like to wander after I exit the last museum of the day, so I don't like to pre-plan dinner. I know many, if not most, others disagree with me there.

Claudia - thanks for the reply. Yes, we always double check the hours of an attraction before we plan things. The key, though, is not to go by what the website says the hours are currently, but to make sure what the hours are IN SEPTEMBER, for each day we want to visit.

I got the idea for asking the hotel desk to exchange notes from a regular poster on another travel website. Not sure if they will do it, but it really can't hurt to try, can it? If not, one of the post offices that exchanges bank notes is fine. And yes, some London post offices do this. A friend of mine (from the US, no UK bank account) tried to exchange his old pound notes at the Bank of England two months ago, and said the line was out the door. A security guard nearby was the one who told him to try . . . . . one of the post offices. In and out in ten minutes. Fingers crossed our visit is as smooth.

We have about 120 pounds of "old" money. Certainly, nothing to just let go by the wayside. We know London is going almost cashless, which is why we plan to use the money we exchange to add two 7-day travelcards onto our existing Oyster cards. Because the cap on these cards will cover Wed-Tues, unlike contactless which is only Mon-Sunday, we will actually save some money, too. And we don't have to shell out the non-refundable 7 pounds for new Oyster cards. The rest of the 40 pounds or so will be a backup in case we need cash. And I'm confident there are still places we can use up the rest of the cash if we try hard enough.

Frank II - thanks for your replies as well. You can see my comments re: money exchange at the post offices above. As for the Tower Bridge opening, the schedule does not list it as opening on the day we visit the Tower of London. Do you think you could ask them to do it that day, just for us? ;)

As for our planned itinerary, with the exception of travel to and from our hotel each day, we kept all of our attractions in the same 15-20 minute tube or bus ride of each other, and some are even a short 10 min walk from each other. I did say in my initial post, there are a few times we backtrack, based on timing of events, etc.

And yes, I guess we just have different travel styles. None of the places we visit will be shortchanged; we have plenty of chance to build in rest/down time if needed and if we need more time at one, we will adjust accordingly (within the limits of other pre-booked events, of course.) I would rather keep our schedule as is and roll with anything unplanned that comes up, than to plan a lighter schedule and miss things because we were afraid we MIGHT run into something that in the end never materializes. As you said though, it DOES work for us.

acraven - thanks for your comments. Yep, we double and triple checked. According to the British Museum website, not only are tea and lunch separate things, they both start at 11:30. That's just a tiny bit too early for us, so we decided on noon. When we visited in 2017, there were four of us (including my 6'3 son) and we ordered two teas for the four of us. I don't like the idea of sharing like that, but we asked first and they were ok with it. I assume dd and I will do the same thing this time.

As for the V&A, we debated on which to go to first. At first, we planned on spending time at the V&A, have a lunchtime snack there, going to the Natural History Museum (based on others reviews, we only anticipate an hour or two here), then coming back to the V&A later, because it is open late this night. But this means we would have to leave the V&A again if we wanted to do supper (the cafe is only open until 5p (17:00)), then come back yet again; or eat really late after leaving the museum. I know the jewelry section might get crowded, but at this point the way we have it planned just seems to flow better. We're still mulling it over.

Our viewpoint on the Imperial War Museum is just like many of the other big museums - we prioritize and plan ahead, see what we can see in a few hours and come back for another go around on another London vacation. I, too, find reading better than an audio guide, so thanks for your take on that.

As for our meals, I guess it didn't come across as I intended when I wrote out our itinerary, but we plan for most of our "lunches" to be something we grab in a cafe, takeout, etc. So not huge. Thursday (Sept 14) would be the exception, but if we share our tea and plan supper that night for 8p (20:00) or later, I think we'll be ok. As I tell my family, just because the food is there, doesn't mean you have to order it/eat it all. :)

Re- the Tower Bridge opening. I think it'd be good to do it for the Dixie Queen passing under- a replica luxury dining Mississippi paddle steamer.

Shame you're not there later in the month when the Paddle Steamer Waverley passes under- as you could have sailed on the Waverley from further down the Thames to Tower Pier and experienced the opening from the river.

isn31c - appreciate the heads up on that! If I read correctly, that would be the 17:30 and 18:30 openings? This would fit in so well with our plans then. Plenty of time after the British Library, and if we make the hot pot reservation for a bit later, plenty of time there as well.

And, yes, that would have been quite the experience to sail UNDER the Bridge as it opened. We love seeing things from the water like that - we were the weirdos who thought it was more interesting to sail UNDER the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC, as opposed to walking OVER it. :)

Yes it's the 1730 and 1830. But you could also go for the 2130 and 2215 lifts for her. It'll be night time by then, so quite a different experience.
Walk back along the river walkway past the Tower- looks very different in the dark and closed up, and just as the Ceremony of the Keys is happening inside.

I know it's criss crossing London so may not work, but have you thought of going to the Holborn branch of the Happy Hot Pot, rather than the Bayswater one. It could mesh together a bit better.

And yes, I guess we just have different travel styles. None of the
places we visit will be shortchanged; we have plenty of chance to
build in rest/down time if needed and if we need more time at one, we
will adjust accordingly (within the limits of other pre-booked events,
of course.)

I'm glad you said that because I was going to suggest that just a morning at the Tower of London may not be enough. We spent about 6 hours there but we tend to linger at museums and the White Tower has an outstanding one.

Cathy, I think your itinerary looks good! In fact, some of it is shockingly like the one I have for our upcoming 11 nights in London!

Have you already been to Kew? We are looking forward to our first visit there.
I have yet to have a planned itinerary that we have followed to a T and I bet yours are the same. My rule is only one pre-purchased ticket entrance each day. That way we can linger if we want.

We just miss each other-darn!

Your plans are incredibly precise. You must be a numbers person.
In lieu of one of your plans for dinner, why don't you just go to a park and chat with locals? Maybe eat from a vendor
or grab a snack from a store. I remember all the wonderful tourist attractions in London , what I learned, what I had wanted to see for years; but I also remember the 3 people I chatted with over a sandwich and sitting in the park for a couple of hours just as much. I know pubs are for getting to know people and you no doubt will do that, but I found open areas were better for all types and ages.

Regarding changing the timing of your V&A museum visit, I went in June and was the second person into the museum. I went directly to the jewelry section after a few photos along the way. I literally had the room to myself and was able to enjoy all of the pieces. A few more people came in while I was halfway finished, but no one was near me or blocking the displays. I also was able to see so much of the rest of the museum with hardly anyone in the same room - a wonderful museum! I paused for a break outside in the courtyard in the shade with a beverage. By the time I returned back into the museum, it was crowded. Since you’re trying to maximize your time, I just wanted to let you know.

We also exchanged a small amount of money at the post office, and it went very quick.

isn31c - I did debate over the two locations of Happy Lamb for a bit. I think its six of one, half dozen of another, really.

If we go to Holborn, it is a slightly shorter trip (about 10 min shorter) from the Tower Bridge area, but would be two tube lines or a longer bus ride. Then, it is a bit longer back to our hotel. If we go to Bayswater, its a one tube line journey from Tower Bridge, slightly longer, and in the end, a bit shorter back to the hotel. I believe I read somewhere, also, that the Bayswater location is a bit quieter.

Allan - When they visited London several years ago, dh and ds spent about three hours at the Tower of London; keeping this in mind plus the fact that dd and I like to take our time a bit more, I've tentatively allotted between 3 1/2 and 4 hours at the Tower, but again, that's flexible. I've learned to plan for a lot, but remain very flexible on the go.

Hi Tammy!
Yes, I was noticing how many of the same things we are doing as you have planned! I think we would travel well together! :) You will have to tell me how the Lime Tree hotel is - we had it on our short list this time. Also, what you think of the Sherlock Holmes museum. I've heard mixed reviews. Dd wasn't sure if she wanted to go or not. On our last visit in 2017, we made it to the 221B Baker St. door, next to Speedys, for pix our last day, so we'll reprise that again, but actually stop in at Speedys this time for breakfast.

We really don't follow our plans exactly, either, most of the time. Dh and I were right on track with our Scotland 2018 trip, until we stopped at the Glenfinnan Monument and ended up staying way over to see the "Harry Potter train" come through. That same day, we got captured by the beauty of driving down to Glen Etive, and again overshot our plans. But we did make it to our hotel that night in time to check in and catch the last of supper.

Kew didn't make the cut this time (dd isn't a huge garden fan and we both compromised some), but again . . . . its on the list for "next time." Lol

Btw, I second the Oxo restaurant suggestion from your other post on your anniversary plans. Our family ate there in 2017, and dh stopped in during a work trip in 2019, so I don't know if its still the same, but we really enjoyed it at the time. Very good food. We were one table back from the views, and it wasn't too important to us at the time, but I bet you could request a table right by the windows. We went in March, so it was dark by then, but it was very pretty to see all the lights from high up.

I'm looking forward to comparing scrapbooks!

-Cathy

Tritobin - not so much a numbers person, as a huge planner! I know many who would disagree, but I think 50 percent of the fun of a trip comes from the planning. But I'm much more relaxed these days. You should have seen my plans when we went to Disney World years ago with the kids. Everything timed down to the hour. But when one of the kids got sick, and we needed down time, everything went out the window. Lol. After that, I became MUCH more flexible. Plan for the best, but expect anything!

I like the idea of chatting with the locals, over a meal, but in our case it would probably be at lunch. We don't expect to eat much in the middle of the day, so doing a grab and sit somewhere is very appealing. Thanks for suggesting it.

Jean - Thank you for posting about your experiences! It's an ongoing discussion, believe me. Normally, we are "get to a museum, site, etc, as early as possible" people, but we're also trying to limit all of the going back and forth that might ensue this day. It's almost tempting to skip the Natural History Museum, as we have been to the one in NYC many times, so this just adds more fuel to the debate. Such first world problems, hmm?

And I was glad to read you, too, were able to exchange money at the post office so recently. Fingers crossed they haven't stopped that by next month.

Check here to see where you can exchange your old bank notes: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

Some notes can only be exchanged at the Bank of England, others more recently withdrawn can be exchanged at a post office. Click through "Post Office" on the above page and it will indicate if your bills are acceptable for exchange at a post office, or too old and necessary to go to the Bank of England.

I had some notes that were about 2 months "too old" for the post office route. I doubt that the hotel will exchange old notes - I tried as an elite member at one of the big hotel chains. Politely directed to B of E.

If you end up at the B of E, there is a small money museum that is worth having a 30 minute look through (if time allows!).

Enjoy your trip!!

ORDtraveler - thanks for your post. I had checked that exact website, when first looking to exchange my old bills, and as far as I can tell, what I have matches their pictures, for exchange at the post office. Fingers crossed! I'll still try to get my hotel to exchange them first, but will certainly keep in mind your experience. That's why I added a stop at the City of London post office in my initial itinerary anyway, so no worries there.

Thanks, too, for the good wishes.

Great! The Post Office might well be easier. I remember that I didn't think my bills were really very old, but still missed the cut-off. I thought it might be worth checking to save possible refusal.

Enjoy London!

Always good to have some idea of where you would eat a meal. Lunch at Westminster Abbey cafe might not be great. We toured the cathedral and dined on very stale scones in the cafe. Just a thought.