London in September 2011

Prehistoric stuff all over the place. Divert to Wales for a few days for non-fancy, real castles. Portsmouth for the ships. Rent a narrowboat for a week on the BW canals. Greenwich for a really different museum.

OK, I was 62 when I lasted visited the UK last fall. My favorite thing to do in a city is to go walkabout for hours. Do I get tired? Yes. When I'm tired, I stop and sit down. I find a park bench. I stop and linger in a coffee shop. I down a pint in a pub. I stop in a bookshop and find a chair. Etc. Sometimes a little adroit scheduling does the trick, like taking an afternoon river cruise from Westminster Bridge after spending hours walking around Whitehall, Trafalgar Square and the national Museum, the South Bank... I visit museums and similar places first thing in the morning, not after a long day of traipsing around elsewhere. I've found that the important thing, and this applies to anyone of any age, is to pace yourself. Don't push yourself beyond your limits, especially the first couple of days. You'll just get sore feet and exhausted muscles.

My husband and I are also in our 60's. We were in London in May of 2009 and 2010. We will be there in September when you are there. We totally enjoyed going to Harrod's for their afternoon tea. It is a very pretty setting, upstairs. I forget the name of the restaurant, but it is upstairs and anybody will be able to direct you. Another day, we also went there for their lunch buffett. Same spot and adjacent to the tea area. It is a fabulous buffett. If you time it around 2:30, it could be your lunch and dinner combined. Unfortunately we got there at 3:15 and it ended at 3:30, daily (I believe). This September we are going to make a point of going there much earlier, so as to be able to fully enjoy the food and the setting. We also enjoyed taking the tube out to Cambridge. We then took a hop-on, hop-off bus around the town. They have a beautiful mall there. My husband sat in a coffee shop and entertained himself, while I went shopping. Cambridge is a beautiful and quaint area. Whether you have been to London or not, I'm sure you will enjoy visiting there. We love London. We also enjoyed going on the "walking tou"r of the Tower Bridge. It is kind of hard to find the entrance (located UNDER the bridge), but it is worth it. You learn all about how the bridge was constructed and how it used to work. Elaine (Donelaine@cox.net)

I love browsing markets. And London has some good ones. Covent Garden, Camden Locks, Borough, Sptialfields, Greenwich, Portobello Road, and others- not all are open every day, so check schedules. If you are waonting days trips- York, Canterburry, Dover, Brighton, Cardiff all offer a bit different experience. What about a "Duck" tour- amphibious vehicles that do a land and water tour of London.

Great ideas! Personally I like the walkabout idea and the markets ideas.
Any more ideas out there?

You might stop by the Museum of London (City of London) and ask for a map of where the original Roman walls surrounded the Old City. Following that map, walk east from the museum, looking for traces of the Roman wall, eventually turning south, to Tower Hill, where you will find a large amount of the wall remaining. Also, while you are at the museum, ask them how to find the ancient Roman Temple of Mithras. You can walk to that from the museum (just a few blocks) and parts of it are preserved for you to see. Also ask at the museum for information about Roman sites that have extensive Roman mosaic floors. You may be interested in taking a day trip out of London to visit one of these amazing sites. Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain, situated near the village of Eynsford in northwest Kent, south eastern England. Fishbourne Roman Palace is in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex. Also, there is Chedworth Roman Villa, a Roman villa located at Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England. It is one of the largest Roman villas in Britain.(Cotswolds area). I think it's pretty neat to see some of the Roman sites. To know that when you walk the streets in the old City area of London, you are in what was once a Roman city, Londinium, adds a lot of interest for me.

An Evensong in a cathedral is a great way to slow your body and mind down. Check RS books for places and times. Stopping in the afternoon for a pint in a local pub (especially if they have outside seating so that you can people-watch) is a great break. A good alternate would be a tea break.