Traveling in England during Wimbledon

I've been in London twice during Wimbledon, the second time included the final 4-5 days. Except that I was able to watch some of the matches on tv in my hotel room and in a sports bar on a huge screen, there was nothing different about the city than other times I've been there.

It won't make any difference except perhaps busier District Line Underground trains towards Wimbledon at the beginning of each day and away from Wimbledon after a big match. Main line trains may be just a tad busier with people coming from the provinces to London to go onwards to Wimbledon.

Most people won't notice anything more than the wall to wall multichannel coverage on their TVs.

The actual area and routes running to it (District Line between Earls Court and Wimbledon, and maybe suburban trains out of Waterloo) will be busy, but most of London won't see any difference.

Thanks for your responses. This helps a lot. How about lodging - did you find it any trickier to book rooms?

I was there a couple of years ago during Wimbledon and didn't really notice anything different. I was in London, out near Oxford and up in Cambridge.

Pam

I stayed in a small hotel in Bloomsbury - I think I was the only one there who knew about Wimbledon.

I've been thinking about this question, and I suspect it's a bit like asking what the travel would be like in New York during the US Open. And, all the replies to that question would be the same as those for London--no observable affect, unless you are going to the actual event. London and NYC are just so big that they can absorb these types of events that occur regularly. Big one time events are a different story. So, if you had been asking about visiting London during the Olympics, you would have had different responses! I try to think about what it would be like in NYC if the Olympics ever came here and the mind boggles. Hats off to the Londoners for pulling that one off!

I want to urge you to not only go to London during Wimbledon but to spend a day at Wimbledon! My wife and I, neither of whom are rabid tennis fans, were in London this past summer and on a lark headed there, which was just a short train ride from our Notting Hill hotel. We were very fortunate that we showed up on a day with few high profile matches, which enabled us to stroll right through the otherwise notorious Queue right to the gate. We paid cash for the tickets and then had our run of the grounds, which are lovely to behold, and our pick of more than a dozen matches. Great food and drink is available too. Indeed, thousands of locals brought in there own food and wine and picnicked on the hillside in front of the jumbo screen to watch Centre Court matches. It contributed enormously to the trip!!

Thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. These ideas will help as I continue to make plans.

Thanks again!