We have been to London a number of times and are planning another trip in May. We usually use our timeshare points to stay at a Hilton or Marriott property and are planning to stay at the Doubletree West End on Southampton this time because of availability. It's only a few blocks away from the British Museum but it's in an area we've never stayed in before. Does anybody have any comments/suggestions about the area?
In the past we've stayed in the High Hoburn area and near Trafalgar Square.
It's Southampton Row. Southampton is a city on the south coast of England. Don't shorten street names, especially if you take a taxi, because there's a lot of streets named like this in the UK.
Southampton Row is near Russell Square tube station. It's in the heart of the city so you can't go too far wrong with it as a hotel spot. My parents have stayed in that area plenty of times without complaint.
That area is just fine and is basically Holborn anyway, where you have stayed before. More or less anywhere Zone 1 North of the Thames is fine.
Great tip about the street names. We'll be coming in jet lagged and its a flip of the coin whether to taxi in from Heathrow (us old folks have trouble even with just one bag and a carry on) or ride the Underground. Wouldn't be pleasant to wind up in the wrong city!
BTW, we're planning day trips to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Oxford and Canterbury. I would appreciate any thoughts on those areas.
First, when you buy your train ticket to Stratford-Upon-Avon, use the full name at the ticket window. There is a Stratford in England, but that's not where you want to go.
Stratford-Upon-Avon is one of our favorite places in England. See the Shakespeare houses, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre by the River Avon. Then walk down to the church where Shakespeare is buried, Trinity Church. The church is several blocks south of the tourist-filled area. After seeing the church, walk west a block or two and around there, to see some old timber-frame houses without the tourist crowds.
There is a canal that runs through town, and there are many narrowboats tthat people live on anchored at the side of the canal and in the "pool" of the River Avon near the Theatre. There are many ducks and swans on the water. A very picturesque and serene place.
I would urge you to spend at least two nights here, or maybe three.
On one of your days, you may want to take a tour through the Cotswolds with Go Cotswold Tours. We took this tour last spring, and it was excellent. See my thread/trip report here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/stratford-upon-avon-travel-tour-cotswolds
On one of your days you may want to take the train, bus, or taxi (short ride) to Warwick to see Warwick Castle.
Stratford-Upon-Avon is easily reached by train from London.
If you need restaurant or hotel recommendations, I have some for you.
I just noticed you are planning Stratford-Upon-Avon as a day trip. Not an overnight.
Which is a shame, because it's lovely, and hotel costs are about 1/4 what they are in London, very generally speaking.
Oxford day trip. Consider doing this with the London Walks Company. They provide a guide, you meet at the train station, the guide goes with you to guide you around Oxford, comes back on the train with you to London. Inexpensive. It's a small group trip, so when you meet up with your guide at the train station, several more people may show up (4 to 12). Or not. You may be the only ones that go that day.
www.walks.com
They also have a guided day trip to Canterbury. On this page, click on the red bar to see their day trips, what days they run to Oxford or to Canterbury.
http://www.walks.com/other-tours/day-trips-from-london/
They also have some wonderful guided walks around London that last a couple of hours.
You can choose many different topics. There's a Beatles Walk, a Harry Potter Walk, a history of London walk,
Victorian buildings and streets walk, Regents Canal Path walk, and many more. Check their website.
If you end up doing the trip to Oxford on your own by train, be sure and see the Ashmolean Museum.
It's great.
Thanks for the ideas. We generally avoid guided walks for two reasons. First, we can never tell how much walking we'll be up to on any given day. And, second, we've learned over five decades of travel that we like to do our own thing, wandering at will and not on a schedule (other than catching the last train back). Our itinerary is basically get to London, soak up the ambiance, have a good time, do what we can and don't regret what we can't.
Fortunately this will be our 5th trip to London, so we're not frantic about seeing everything. There are a couple of things that are on my wishlist besides the day trips I've already mentioned. The Royal Air Force museum for one and the Imperial War Museum (it was closed last time we were in London) for another (I'm retired military). Plus my wife usually comes up with several new ones on her list (Stratford-Upon-Avon and Oxford are #1 and 2 on her list).
I assume you will be going by train, and will not be driving a car, right?
The train that we took to Stratford-Upon-Avon went through Oxford. If you got an early start, you can do first one, then the other.
You could spend a half day in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and then train to Oxford. Spend the second half of the day, then train back to London in the evening.
Canterbury is in a different direction, to the south-east of London. Easy train trip.
Canterbury Cathedral, then walk around the interesting town.
Yep, no car rentals for us. Tried renting a car for a trip to Ireland and swore never to try it again. That's a good idea to head for Stratford-Upon-Avon early and stop off at Oxford coming back.
BTW, Does anybody know of a shop that deals in custom walking canes? I was a semi-serious collector for awhile and have several high end canes which fortunately I don't need now that I've had knee replacement. But everywhere we go I keep looking for a nice cane with an interesting knob/handle.
Not at all far from where you will be staying is a fabulous place that has been making and selling walking sticks, umbrellas and everything else in that ilk for nearly 100 years.
Just going in the door, or even just seeing the building from the top of a bus, takes you back in history.
The prices aren't ridiculous either - unless you want to spend ridiculous which they can also arrange.
On the corner of Bloomsbury Street and New Oxford Street, you can't miss it. James Smith and Sons. Known to cabbies as the Umbrella Building.
If you are thinking of taking a taxi in from the airport, you may want to book a minicab instead. They're cheaper than a black cab, and some are MUCH cheaper if you pay cash. Just Airports and Simply Airports are two companies often recommended (no personal experience).
Nigel, that's exactly the kind of place I'm looking for. And it's very close to where we'll be staying at the Doubletree on Southampton Row. Besides adding to my quality walking stick collection, I may have to indulge in a nice umbrella. We usually wind up buying two cheap umbrellas every time we go to England and wind up bringing them home. There's a box with a large number of umbrellas in our closet but the cheap ones tend to fall apart quickly.
