Timing of Westminster Abbey/Churchill War Rooms

Don't have current information as to queues. Walk between them probably not more than 5 min. But trickier may be to find a quick lunch. 5 min one direction across from Big Ben is a Cafe Nero (similar to Starbucks) which has light food. Or 5 min the other direction a Pret a Manger (sandwiches, salads, soups, my favorite, I was very sad when they closed their Chicago locations). And there are some other cafes nearby, just google "cafe near westminster abbey".

Or there's the Cellarium Cafe by the west cloister of the Abbey. I would think a 4 hour separation would be sufficient. But you might want to reserve a table, to be sure of being seated without a wait.

Dksmartin, those times were what we had late June last summer. We didn’t have the hidden highlights tour included though. We did an audio tour of the Abbey and included the Diamond Jubilee galleries. We wanted to make sure we had time for lunch between the two sites. We chose to eat in the Abbey cafe and when we got there, I think it was about 11:45, they were changing over the menus from breakfast to lunch. I think they stop serving breakfast at 11:30, start lunch orders at noon.

It took a little longer with that situation, but we were served and finished about 1:15. We had plenty of time to get to the War Rooms, but if I had to do the times again, I would book tickets a little later for the CWR if we were to eat in the cafe, just to give us more time before in the Abbey. We felt a bit rushed in the Abbey and didn’t go into the courtyard, grounds, etc. because we wanted to make sure we had time for our meal. We ended up going back to Evensong at the Abbey just to be in there again and take it all in. Just our experience, but hope it helps.

Edit: I think the suggestion below about the food court style or counter pick up lunch is great and you wouldn’t have to worry. Our feeling about needing to get through lunch and to the CWR on time was due to the fact that the cafe was restaurant style and we weren’t sure how long it would take to be served. We indeed ended up having more than enough time to get there, bc like you we had tickets, (Carol now retired is right about the lines) but it was summer and, really we had no clue! ;)

Try Wesley's Cafe. It's in the Storey building basement. Food court style with sandwiches, salads, desserts etc. We had a quick bite here between our tours of Churchill War Rooms and Westminster Abbey.

Nice pub where you can get lunch is close to both. The Two Chairman.

FYI have you used Google Maps? If yes type in Westminster Abbey and then Churchill War Rooms. Click on the human icon. That will show walking distance. 10 minutes at most.

Pub opens at 11am on a Monday.

https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/two-chairmen?utm_source=g_places&utm_medium=locations&utm_campaign=HT_pubpage

Or a short stroll away is the Market Halls Victoria food court

https://markethalls.co.uk/venue/victoria/

I agree with the 5 minute walk. Also, you don't have to worry about long lines at Churchill War Rooms since you have pre-purchased tickets. There are two lines. One for those wanting to purchase tickets and one for those with pre-purchased timed tickets. The line moves very fast for those who already have tickets.

The Churchill War Rooms close at 6 PM. I spent more than half a day there, so you need to consider your level of interest in the topics covered. It doesn't take long at all to see the war rooms themselves (and I think the entry fee is painful if that's all you're interested in); it's the Churchill Museum section where you can spend multiple hours. If someone in your party is nuts about historical museums, you have a difficult decision to make.

In a perfect world, I'd recommend a history nut allow 6 hours at the CWR, recognizing he or she might be ready to leave a bit sooner.

I have nothing useful to add, except that I will be doing those same two things on the same day. :) I just booked our tickets last week. We enter Westminster at 1000 and then do the CWR at 1500. I left a longer time in between because we hope to also walk around St. James park and catch a glimpse of Buckingham palace in the middle of the day. That evening we are planning on doing a walking tour in the area called Westminster by Gaslight, so we will be spending the whole day in that part of London. I gave us the slightly later start in the morning since the walking tour runs from 1900-2100. Still a long day, but at least we don't have to leave the hotel too early that morning.

Bookmarking this so I also have access to the useful lunch suggestions. Thanks everyone!

Ditto the comment about how long you can spend at Churchill War Rooms! So plan accordingly. :-)