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Trip Report: London, Bath, and Oxford

Hi all: I spent 3/5 through 3/13 in Britain, and here's my experience:

3/5: took the overnight flight from Boston direct to London Heathrow. I'd been to London briefly once when I was 16 so I was a tiny bit familiar with Heathrow. I landed early enough in the morning that customs wasn't a big deal. I took the Tube to my Air BNB in Brent; it was 5 minutes walk from the Willesden Green Tube stop. Very convenient. Very diverse neighborhood: Arabic, Polish. I'd never used Air BNB before and found it a great experience. After dropping off my bags I started wandering around the city. In the afternoon I had a tea time scheduled at Bea's in Islington. It was great; a traditional high tea with delicious food. I highly recommend it.

3/6: I went to the Westminster area and to the Churchill War Museum. Very interesting. It's a fascinating look into World War 2. I wandered down the road to the Cenotaph and other monuments, ending up in front of the National Gallery. That was a fascinating museum. I also stopped into St. Martin in the Fields church; I love old churches. Which is great, because then I wound up at Westminster Abbey and I toured it, then went to Evensong. The music was beautiful; Rick had recommended this in his guidebook and I second that recommendation.

3/7: As a Sherlock fan, I had to do it: I went to Euston and found the shooting location for BBC Sherlock Baker Street. I even went into Speedy's Cafe, which is featured in the show! I'm such a dork :) I also went to the Tower of London. I"d been there when I was 16 but I went again; I took the Beefeater tour and it was very well done. Then I went to the National Portrait Gallery. I found Rick's guided tours to be thorough and entertaining.

3/8: Off to Bath via train! I know that the train system in Britain has its problems, but as an American I found it convenient and easy to negotiate. It took about an hour to reach Bath. What a beautiful city. I dropped off my bags at my Air BNB and took the bus back to downtown. I toured the Roman Baths, which was fascinating. I spent the day just walking around; I got a pretty good map at the train station. I stopped in Bath Abbey too. I saw the Georgian Circus with its beautiful architecture. Pro tip: If you go to the Baths first then go to the Fashion Museum and show your Baths ticket, you get a discount.
That night I went and saw Abigail's Party at the Theater Royal Bath. It was great. And afterwards I got to meet Amanda Abbington, who played Mary Watson on Sherlock. She was lovely and since I'm a Sherlock nerd, it was one of the highlights of my trip.

3/9: Back to London via train. I spent the day wandering around East London and took Rick's walking tour. I had dinner at Aladin Indian restaurant which mostly lived up to the hype; the portions were very big. That night I went to a comedy show at The Comedy Store in Picadilly. It's touristy but the comedians were very funny.

3/10: British Museum day! I love museums and this is the mother of them all. I took Rick's walking tour of Soho and had lunch at Princi there, which he recommended. Good pizza. Then I went to the National Portrait Gallery. I love the Tudor paintings. I took Rick's walking tour that led me past Samuel Johnson's house and St. Pauls' Cathedral (the City).

Posted by
11613 posts

Thanks for posting, I will be visiting London in July/August and will refer to your report!

Posted by
3871 posts

Thanks for your great trip report!
You hit my favorite places.
Thanks for the tip about Princi's pizza!
And the tip about showing your Roman baths ticket to get a discount on admission to the Fashion Museum in Bath!

Posted by
993 posts

I'm also a Sherlockian and have been to the museum several times. Plus one of my favorite pubs is the Sherlock Holmes. I nearly forgot to remember all the new locations I can visit eg, Speedy's. I'm glad you had a good time. I love London and can hardly wait to get back there.

Posted by
1206 posts

Enjoyed your trip report! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to go to London!

Posted by
9436 posts

I enjoyed reading your trip report and being in London and Bath for a few minutes with you, thanks! Glad you had such a good time.

Posted by
564 posts

Maryebahl, I expect to be in London for five full days in early October (though one day, Sunday, may be filled up). I have been to London before, and my favorites are St. Paul's, the Imperial War Museum, the theater at night, and London Walks. But I have never been outside London. I am planning day-trips to Oxford and Cambridge, but have decided to pass on a one-day trip to Bath. I welcome your comments and those of anyone else on my preliminary plans.

Posted by
677 posts

Great report! I'd love to visit England! Sounds like you had a fabulous time!

Posted by
88 posts

Thank you for the report. I enjoyed reading it. We went to Gower St. too to see the location of Sherlock's 221B. We didn't think ahead though and ate lunch before hand. We should have eaten at Speedy's. Oh well...next time.

Posted by
6713 posts

Next time, don't miss the Sherlock Holmes Museum, a re=creation of his and Watson's famous digs at 221B Baker Street.

Thanks for the good report. I must have missed the part about Oxford. ;-)

Posted by
110 posts

Yay for Anglophile Nerds!

For our stay in London last year, we came in through King's Cross (with obligatory 9 3/4 stop) and walked to our Air B&B and specifically routed past Speedy's and the 221B exterior. (And there was a to DIE for Indian place around the block.) Of course, I can't say much, we also went to Windsor, not to see HRM's castle, but the phone-less castle from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Do what you love!