London Trip Report
Hello everyone. Long time reader, first time poster. About me: I am an experienced traveller and live in the Netherlands, have been to London twice before, and appreciate history, good food, and lots of walking during my travels.
Hotel:
Decided to stay right in the middle of things for this trip. Travelodge Covent Garden had an unbeatable price, and a great location. The only con was that our days were so planned out that we left early in the morning and didn’t return till well into the evening. Lesson I learned: If you have jam-packed schedule, paying more for a centrally located hotel may not be worth it if you won’t be stopping in at the hotel during the day.
Notable activities:
Ceremony of the Keys - Tower of London
I would absolutely recommend this as a night-time activity, especially for travellers who are not necessarily bar or pub types. It is a 30 minute ceremony at the Tower of London that they have been doing for 700 years! They lock up the main gates - it used to be practical, and now just ceremonial. It was equal parts spooky and enchanting to be in the Tower complex in the stillness of night. It must be booked well in advance, however!
British Museum - After hours tours
33 GBP and worth every single penny. Do this tour! I did the Ancient Greece tour, and it was a once in a life time experience. To see the museum completely empty, to get up and close and personal with the objects. It was amazing. I also recommend listening to the British Museum podcast before you visit. There are so many cool little stories and things to look out for once you know where to look. I also did the RS Audioguide for the museum and also recommend this 110%. It made the museum so approachable. All in all, I spent 4 hours here and still can’t wait to come back!
Day trip
Brighton
What a fantastic change of pace from London. Easy to reach on Southern Rail from Victoria Station. I had mixed feelings about doing a day trip because there was still so much to see in London, but I am so happy I did. The shopping and boardwalk were just lovely. We spent a good hour in the thrift store Snooper’s Paradise alone. Bill’s Restaurant had the best price for a three course meal I have found in a long time - I think it was around 20 GBP. Just lovely.
Shoes
I recently invested in a pair of good running shoes - Brooks Glycerin GTS and these may have been the key to the whole trip. I was easily able to do 25,000 steps a day, when with other shoes I started to have serious pains after 2 hours. I remember reading somewhere on here, if you are spending so much money on the trip, why wouldn’t you spend an extra 25 dollars on a travel guide to get the most out of it? And I feel exactly the same way about these shoes. It was my first trip with a good pair of walking shoes and what a difference! Never going back to poorly fitted, unsupportive shoes after this.
Food
This was a bit of a miss for me. I am keen to hear anyone’s advice or tips about where to find reliable reviews for London restaurants. We went to Borough Market - I got an Italian pork sandwich that was equal parts dry, tough, and cold. Did not even finish it. Honest Burger was another disappointment despite great reviews on Google. Perhaps I am spoiled after living in Toronto and its variety of cheap, good eats, but overall I found the prices steep and honestly the flavour lacking at some very well reviewed restaurants! I used Google and Tiktok (mistake!) to source reviews, and did not use the RS book. Not sure what I was thinking in retrospect ha!