Second trip to London since 2023 - Advice Thread

Posted by Max (Chicago, IL, USA) on 01/19/26 10:05 PM

Hello all,

Back in March of 2023, my wife and I went to York and London, at least partially to see Aidan Turner in a stage play. We had a great time, as you might surmise from reading the linked trip report.

Well, Mr. Turner is taking the stage in London again, so we’re headed back in mid April. I don’t usually like to go back until more time has elapsed, but neither we nor the Turner are getting any younger. ;-)

We are planning on hitting up Bath at the start of the trip, and finishing in London. We obviously have to hit London, because that’s where the show is.

I’m struggling with the planning and would like to crowd source some ideas from the best travel forum there is.

We went to York last time because Bath felt boring to me. But it’s a Rick 3*, which always delivers (unless it’s some old music thing, and that’s just Rick’s interests bumping things a * ;-)

Bath is a good jump off point for Stonehenge, I gather. Is that a whole day? Or half a day and combinable with something else? We are more in the Spinal Tap category of Stonehenge appreciators, rather than whatever people who don’t want to see where a man’s a man and the children dance to the pipes of Pan. ;-)

As a Peter Gabriel superfan, is there anything to see at the top of nearby Solsbury Hill? I gather that there’s no good way to tour Real World studios.

We didn’t hit the VnA on our first go, so I think that’s a high priority. I think I’d like to do a side trip to Greenwich from London.

Looking for a good tour of rock music sites in London. Less Beatles, more, Glam, Prog Rock, New Wave, and New Romantics. Has anyone worked with LondonRockTours.com, and have any price info on a half day custom tour?

Anything we missed on our first go that would be a good deeper look?

Posted by SandyO

San Franciso Bay Area, USA

01/20/26 03:09 PM

1138 posts

Hi Max,

Sounds like a fun trip. I like really like Bath. I have been there for the past 3 Christmas markets and even in cold weather, Bath is charming. If want some details about restaurants and tours, just PM me. As for Stonehenge, visited in December with Scarper Tours which offers a half day tour of Stonehenge. Other options we looked at only offered full day tours which included the Cotswolds. If you don't want to spend an entire day, I would recommend this tour. It is in a small mini-bus (16 people max), you have a couple of hours at Stonehenge, then back to Bath. Note in early December, there were maybe 100 people at Stonehenge, it is likely to be busier in April.

For London, I have taken the London Walks Beatles tours and they are excellent. I also took the Eating Europe Soho tour while being a food tour, covered a lot of the music venues in Soho, including some of the record stores, historical sites of all genres of music. If you want to combine food and music, something you might check out. You can send them an email to see what they cover that may be of interest to you.

For the V&A, check on what's on in April. I would also recommend the highlights of the V&A tour. I have been to the V&A more than a. dozen times and I always learn something new on the tour. The V&A has an excellent theatre/performance permanent exhibit.

You may also want to check out the British Library, they have a wonderful Treasures of the Library that includes works by Andrea Levy, Monty Python and Shakespeare, and see the Lindisfarne Gospels and Magna Carta. Their tour is excellent. If there are specific artists that you want to research, you can do that as well, check out their website for research and tours.