Trip Report - London, Liverpool, Belfast

Wednesday, 12/27/2018

Our first full day in London! We started by heading over to Victoria station to get our 7-day travel card (we’re here for 10 days). Bring an extra passport photo if you are planning to purchase this card. Left the station and grabbed some lunch and hot tea at Pret, then explored the area around Victoria station. We had tickets for Hamilton in a few days and we spotted the Victoria Palace theatre right away.

We spent the rest of the day riding the tube and walking past Buckingham Palace, the Queen Victoria memorial and perusing the souvenir shops in the area. I wanted to visit the Royal Mews but it was closed for the season.
Around 3PM we headed by tube to the Russel Square stop to meet up with the London Walks British Museum tour. We met our guide outside the tube station and she walked us over to the museum. There was a very small line for security and no line to enter. This museum is huge, and the tour was great as she took us to the big ticket items like the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian exhibit and the Elgin Marbles. She gave us a great background on everything, including the museum building and founding. She discussed the controversy over some of the museum’s acquisitions such as the Elgin Marbles (the museum has a pamphlet on the marbles too). The museum was very crowded in some areas but for the most part it was manageable.

Walked back through Russell Square to the tube, then back to Earl’s Court. Since my husband was still feeling poorly, we had dinner close to the hotel (Byron’s Burgers) and turned in early to rest up for tomorrow.

Thursday, 12/28/2017

Today on the agenda was the Tower of London and Wicked. We woke up early to get to the Tower before they opened at 9AM. We stopped at Paul bakery across the street from the tube station for breakfast – apricot pastry for me, caramel tart for husband, both delicious, with cappuccino and espresso. We ended stopping here almost every day because the pastries were addictive.

It was a sunny but COLD day, gorgeous. Got to the tower a few minutes before they opened and used the 2-4-1 coupon to purchase our tickets. We were on the first Yeoman’s tour. I’d learned on this forum to see the crown jewels first and tour after but for some reason decided not to do that, my bad. Anyway, the tour group was huge, and it was a little hard to hear the guard, maybe waiting would have been better, but overall, it was fun and informative. The tour ended in the chapel where Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard are interred (among many others); the chapel was not part of the tour on my previous visit and I was glad we could go in.

After the tour we went through the crown jewels, the line was a little long but moved quickly (maybe 20 minutes). Then we explored the rest of the complex, the white tower, the armory. We came upon a historic reenactment going on in the great hall. Elizabeth Woodville came up to me and gossiped about her daughter and Henry Tudor being betrothed; she also told me how much she hated Richard III (her brother-in-law) and asked if I had seen her sons. I told her I hadn’t but I had a feeling that Richard would come to a bad end and she cackled. So fun! The Tower started getting really, really crowded around 12:30/1:00PM and the line for the crown jewels was insane by the time we left. I highly suggest going early if you can.

We walked down by the Thames and over to St. Katherines docks looking for a tapas restaurant my husband wanted to try. It was ok, I forgot the name so I guess nothing special. We wandered a bit more, popped into a tower shaped Starbucks for a hot drink, walked back to Tower Bridge to watch the sun on the river.

Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel via the tube to relax and refresh before going to see Wicked. I had bought tickets for Wicked about a week before we left and it was fantastic, three rows from the stage and the leads just killed it! After the show we went to Fiori for a late dinner, delicious pasta. Tubed it home to Earl’s Court and went to bed.

Friday, 12/29/2017

Long day out and about today! We started with an East End food tour with Eating Europe which took us all around the East End, starting at Spitalfields market. Very diverse neighborhood, traditionally immigrants now seeing gentrification. A mix of Bangladeshi and hipsters, great food, street art, even housing for the London school of economics in this neighborhood.

The tour combines food with the history of the area and we loved it. We went to St. John Bread and Wine for a bacon sandwich (OMG) and tried Poppy’s fish and chips (OMG). The tour also popped in to a local pub full of regulars for a cider and beer tasting. We were invited to join a gentleman who was a regular to the pub and he told us all about the pub cat, Lenny, who was snoozing nearby. The tour was three hours long and took us to an area that I hadn’t visited before.

Afterwards we looked around the market at Spitalfields where vendors had booths set up, a mix of handcrafted work and souvenirs.

Next up - reservations for Dennis Severs House which was about a 5-minute walk from Spitalfields market. Dennis Severs House is an immersive experience in a 17th century silk weavers home, lit only by candles. We knocked on the townhouse door and were ushered in by the doorman. We then walked through the house, starting in the basement. The house was decorated for Christmas and is meant to seem as though the family has just left each room, with food still on their plates and their belongings scattered about. We attended “Silent Night”; no talking is allowed. It was interesting to see how dark it was in the house with only candle light. It was a different experience and I really liked it.

Then we tubed to the Tower station and met up with London Walks for the Jack the Ripper walking tour, which walked us right back to the East End! I love walking tours, and this was fun since we had just walked through these areas in the daytime. I enjoyed all of the London Walks that we did.

Once the tour was over, we tried to find an open restaurant, but a lot of places in the area had closed. We thought one restaurant looked interesting and went in, they seated us at the bar because we didn’t have reservations. After looking over the menu, we decided it was more upscale than we had expected (fancy, pricy, not what we were up for that night) and left. Later I realized that it was Ottolenghi and I had wanted to try one of his restaurants. It just didn’t ring a bell that night. I think I was too worn out and cold by that time! Anyway, we picked up something quick and unremarkable for dinner and crashed. I clocked 23k steps that day!

Saturday, 12/30/2017

Today we visited Parliament. I had purchased advance tickets for the tour so we took the Tube to Westminster and went to the ticket office which is right around the corner. The tickets are timed and you can’t line up until a few minutes before your timed tour. Since we had time, we strolled over the Westminster bridge (this is where the attack in March 2017 took place) and back. Just a note, the Elizabeth tower is covered in scaffolding for renovations which are scheduled to be completed in 2021.

Once it was time for our tour, we lined up, went through security and walked through to the main hall. Look at the floor, there are plaques where various kings, queens, royals and dignitaries have stood or were laid in state. Then our tour guide gathered us together and we set off. She gave us a history of the building and its construction. There is a beautiful art installation over the entrance to St. Stephen’s hall called New Dawn to commemorate the 150 years since the start of the suffragette movement. It’s the first piece of abstract art commissioned for the building.

We went into the House of Lords and House of Commons and learned all about the rituals and traditions. My husband is a history professor and it was a highlight of the trip to visit these spaces. I highly suggest taking the guided tour! Afterwards we walked across the street to the park with statues of Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi. Then we walked towards Trafalgar Square using Rick’s walking tour of Westminster. I stopped to have a picture with the horse guard but I got a little too close and the horse turned and nipped me! To be fair he was just doing his job, he’s a guard! In any case, I wasn’t hurt but I took the hint and got out of there!

We had lunch at the crypt at St. Martins in the Field, I also recommend this, the food is good and the crypt is interesting. Then we visited the National Portrait Gallery to see the Tudors and Stuarts.

Trafalgar Square was insanely crowded that afternoon and they were setting up for the fireworks the next day, so there were barricades set up all around. We walked through Leicester Square (also insanely crowded) and to the tube, went back to our hotel for a rest.

That evening we went to Harrods (also insanely crowded), visited the food court and a few other areas, bought some chocolates for later. The gentleman at the chocolate counter also gave us a few generous samples. We then ended up at a pub for dinner (I can’t remember the name), which was nice and cozy after tramping around in the rain. We walked back to our hotel from the pub through Kensington and turned in for the night.

Sunday, 12/31/2017

New Years Eve! We got up early and went to Churchill’s War Rooms, where the British government ran everything underground during WWII. We didn’t have advance tickets so we had to wait in line. Not too long of a line but it was a little rainy and there’s really no cover there so be prepared for that. We had stopped in the previous afternoon and the line was very long, which is why we came back first thing in the morning. The line moved quickly. Really amazing exhibits and information about Churchill and the war effort but I will say that I was done long before my historian husband because there is a LOT to see, including the Churchill exhibit.

After the war rooms, we went back to the British Museum for a special exhibit on religion and to see the medieval exhibits we missed the first day.

In the evening we had a performance at the Wanamaker, attached to Shakespeare’s globe. It was performance art called Apocalypse Meow by an artist named Meow Meow. Tiny theater and wonderful performance, so much fun.

After the show we walked along the Thames and admired the London skyline. We stopped for a coffee and walked until we hit the area that was fenced off for fireworks ticket holders. We couldn’t get anywhere near the Eye or the fireworks without tickets but that was fine because it was cold and windy. I’m glad that we had decided not to try for tickets to watch the fireworks outside. We walked back towards the Globe and crossed the Millennium bridge to St Paul’s cathedral. It was so windy on the bridge! Then we jumped on the tube to our hotel and rang in the New Year at the hotel bar with champagne and watched the fireworks on TV. We had a late-night snack of meats, cheeses and crackers from the M&S back in our room. It was a perfect end to 2017 and start to 2018.

Monday 01/01/2018

Started today by going out to Henry VIII’s palace at Hampton court, built by Cardinal Wolsey and gifted to Henry. It was incredible to be here since I’ve read so much about it. Again, I used Rick’s guide to go through the palace. This is where Henry lived with Anne Boleyn and where young Katherine Howard ran down the hallway begging Henry to spare her life (the hallway is supposedly haunted by her ghost). There was an ice-skating rink set up too. The gardens at Hampton are extensive but it was gray and cold, so we admired them from inside the palace. We took a super quick walk through the small town, but many places were closed due to the holiday.

We caught our train back to London and had a late lunch at Cote Brasserie, very good steak frites. Walked down to Oxford, Regent and Carnaby Streets which were all still decorated for Xmas and all the shops were open. We did a bit of shopping, popped into Liberty and Longchamp to look at handbags. My husband bought some sneakers at Adidas and Puma, so we took a quick tube ride back to the hotel to drop off the bags. Then it was time for Hamilton! They are very strict with the tickets, we had to line up an hour before curtain with ID, credit card and the email either printed or on your phone. It is a wonderful show, touching, great lyrics. I knew the soundtrack already but seeing it preformed was so amazing. It was worth all the hype! I’ve been clocking ~22K steps per day! Such a great city!

Tuesday 01/02/2018
Today was one of the only rainy mornings that we had. We started out at St. Paul’s Cathedral and it was pouring rain when we got in the security line. Even though it moved very fast, we were drenched by the time we got in. I hadn’t been inside the cathedral on my previous trip and it was fascinating. We used the audio tour for the highlights, then climbed 257 steps to the whispering gallery. You can whisper something and someone standing on the other side can hear you. We tested it and it worked! Designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the great fire in 1666, the dome is amazing. I’m glad we climbed up because it was really cool to see it up close.

By the time we climbed back down our coats were almost dry. The rain had stopped by that time and we crossed the Millennium bridge and headed to Borough Market for cheese toasties. The stall is Kappacasein and I highly recommend it – the toasties are English cheese with leeks and onions on toasted bread, delish! Afterwards we strolled through the market in a light drizzle checking out the stalls. Next, since my husband is a huge Beatles fan, we took the tube to Baker St station to the London Beatles Store. It’s a fun store for Beatles fans. The store is on Baker Street next door to 221B, the Sherlock Holmes museum, which had a very long line to go in, so we skipped it.

Next up we needed to do laundry. We tend to pack light (not as light as some on these forums but still) and usually spend an afternoon doing laundry. Went back to the hotel, packed up our clothes and walked down the street to the launderette. Doing laundry on the road is super easy and only takes about an hour or so. It was so nice to have clean clothes!

For dinner, we had been given a Gordon Ramsay gift card and had reservations at Maze Grill. It was just ok though, I think next time we’d choose Savoy Grill. After dinner we walked through Chelsea, looking in shop windows and admiring the townhouses. We walked down to the Thames and came upon a pretty bridge that was all lit up but I’m not sure which bridge it was, maybe the Jubilee bridge? Walked back to the tube stop and headed to the hotel.

Wednesday 01/03/2018

This morning we went Westminster Abbey and I really wanted to take the verger tour. They don’t take reservations, you sign up when you get there. The tour was at 10:30, we arrived at around 10 and were able to join the tour (an extra 5 pounds I think).

Our verger had such a charming personality! He gave us a history of the Abbey – it was originally a Norman church in 1066 and has been the site of coronations since that time. The current building was started in 1245. We saw the coronation chair that is used in every coronation and the tombs of numerous historical figures like Elizabeth I, Mary I (Bloody Mary), Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Darwin, even Oliver Cromwell before he was removed from the Abbey. The verger tour has access to the chapel of Edward the Confessor with the tombs of Edward Longshanks, Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth. Our verger was at Will and Kate’s wedding and also explained how they had set up the seating for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, bleachers all the way to the ceiling. There is so much to see here that taking the verger tour was so worth it and I loved all the Royal gossip!

Afterwards, we went to Covent Garden and walked around the shops. We stopped in to Belgo, a Belgian restaurant, and I had fish and chips (very good) and my husband had the mussels which he loved. Desert was a Belgian waffle with ice cream and berries, delicious! After lunch we visited the National Gallery to see the renaissance and impressionist art, they have a fabulous collection. That night we trekked out to Islington to see the Twilight Zone play at the Almeida Theatre. We saw the sign for it in the tube and decided to go last minute - clever and fun show performed in a small space. We had dinner at Café La Divina afterwards, great Italian food. We were being stubborn about not using taxis, so we walked back to the tube and finally got back to our hotel. We were out and about for 15 hours and my feet were tired!

Thursday 01/04/2018

Met our guide for London Walks Magical Mystery Tour at the Tottenham Court Road tube stop. This tour took us to a bunch of Beatles sites, like Paul’s offices in London, the art gallery where John and Yoko met, ending up at Abbey Road. The guide was great, and he knew so much about the Beatles. He even had a picture of himself with Sir Paul. After we left the tour, I was able to snap a photo of my husband in the zebra crossing without obstructing traffic or getting hit by a car. BTW, it’s a very busy road and we were very careful about the traffic, but many people were just running out into the crossing. We went over to the Abbey road studios shop and bought a drawing of the studio for framing.

Then we made our way to Fortnum and Mason for tea and scones. We didn’t really want to do a full tea, so we went to the Parlour (they have a few different restaurants and we were confused as to where we should go, we rode the elevator up and down a few times!) where you can order a pot of tea and fresh scones with jam and clotted cream. So, so good! That evening we had dinner at the Tattershall Castle which is a moored boat across the river from the London Eye. Food was fine but sitting at water level with a view of the river and the Eye was fun. We thought about taking a ride on the Eye after dinner, but we noticed it hadn’t moved in a while. Turns out it was closed for the evening, so that explains it! We turned in early because we had to be up at 4AM for Stonehenge.

Friday 01/05/2018

We woke up at 4AM to catch our bus tour to Stonehenge. We had booked an early access tour to visit the stones before the public. We met the bus at 5AM just around the corner from the Earl’s Court tube stop.

This tour was absolutely amazing and really a highlight of our trip. Being there with only 20 people at sunrise was magical. We were able to walk into the circle and among the stones but no touching, they want to protect the lichen growing on the stones. We were lucky with the weather even though it was COLD out there, it was clear and sunny. The guards came out with us and showed us around, one took a flashlight and pointed out a name carved on one of the stones, WREN, which is supposed to be Christopher Wren.

In the past the stones weren’t protected, and you can see the point where the lichen starts, just above arm’s reach. The guards are usually out there all night and one of them had beautiful photos on his phone of sunrises, sunsets, foggy mornings. I took tons of photos because the light was so perfect, the sky was violet. I know that some say that Stonehenge is just ok or not worth it, but we loved it. It could be because of the special access. They only offer these tours a few times in the winter, so we just got lucky that they were running this one during our trip. Highly, highly recommend seeing it this way, it was so worth it to us.

The next stop was Salisbury. We started at the cathedral which has the highest spire in England even though the foundations are only four feet deep. Yikes! However, it’s been there for over 700 years, so far so good! After walking through the cathedral, we went to view one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta. It’s inside a room full of light and there is an exhibit explain the importance of this document. The document itself is inside a dark tent just big enough for 1 or 2 people. It’s amazing to see what wonderful condition it’s in.

We strolled through town and popped into a couple shops then had a quick lunch of cheese toasties before getting back on the tour bus to London. We were back in London by 3:30PM and had a nap before dinner. For dinner we ate at Cote Brasserie at London Bridge and then we met up with London Walks for a haunted London walking tour. Fun but not very scary. Then we tubed back to Earl’s Court to pack up because we were heading to Liverpool the next day. We loved London and can’t wait to return.

Saturday 01/06/2018

We caught a morning train to Liverpool, I bought tickets in advance thanks to advice on this board. We were in first class with two seats across a table. Arrived in Liverpool around 11AM and took a cab to our hotel. We stayed at the Liverpool Hilton City Centre. The hotel is fine, comfortable, big room but generic. It’s a great location though, very close to everything.

We dropped our bags off since the room wasn’t ready and walked over to the waterfront and went to the Atlantic Slave Trade museum. This museum is very moving and illustrates the role that Liverpool played in the Atlantic slave trade. I think everyone should visit this museum if they have the chance. The building also contains the Maritime Museum and we went through the Titanic exhibit.

Then we did a little shopping and I bought a handbag at the Leather Satchel Company, made in Liverpool. There is a Tate Modern along the waterfront and we had a simple lunch. Since my husband is a huge Beatles fan, he wanted to visit the Fab Four shop and we bought a few souvenirs.

After checking into our hotel and freshening up, we went to Matthew street which is where the original Cavern Club was. There are a lot of Beatles / Liverpool music statues everywhere. We popped into the Hard Day’s Night Hotel and it was very nicely done, I wish we had stayed there! Next time! We went to the Cavern Club where a band was playing, what else, Beatles songs! It’s not the actual Cavern Club, which was torn down, but supposedly made with a lot of the same bricks, stage, etc. Afterwards we had Italian at Casa Italia on Stanley St., we found it on Yelp. There was a long line when we arrived, but it moves quickly and the food is very good.

Sunday 01/07/2018

Today was a full Beatles day. Beautiful day - sunny but cold. We had arranged for the Fab Four tour around Liverpool, a black cab picks you up at your hotel. Our guide took us to all four Beatles childhood homes. Paul and John’s homes are now owned by the National Trust and you can go in during the summer. Ringo’s was boarded up and a family lives in George’s house.

We went to Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, the church where Eleanor Rigby and Father MacKenzie are buried, and Brian Epstein’s apartment where John and Cynthia lived when they were secretly married. We asked our guide about the Casbah Coffee Club owned by Pete Best and his family and he called and arranged for us to have a private tour. It was a really, really fun and my husband was thrilled! Qur driver is a huge Beatle fan and from Liverpool so he had lots of insights and stories. I highly recommend this tour over the big bus tour as it was more personal.

Next we went down to the waterfront, visited the Fab Four café, took goofy pictures with the Beatles statues and visited the Beatles museum. The museum is very well done, and we enjoyed it. That evening, we walked around the area near our hotel, had coffee at a cute café called Rococo, grabbed a quick dinner (can’t remember where) and called it a day.

Monday 01/08/18

Early flight to Belfast, flying out of John Lennon airport. We took Easy Jet and it was very easy! Short and uneventful flight; we arrived in Belfast at 7:30AM. We stayed at the Hilton Belfast, great location for walking everywhere. Our room was ready and after checking in to the hotel and freshening up, we went to the Titanic Experience.

The Titanic was built and launched in Belfast. You can see the outline of the dry dock for both the Titanic and her sister ship the Olympic. Interesting overview of the ship building industry in Belfast and of the Titanic, with cabin mock ups and a 360 film tour of the ship. Next door to the Titanic experience is Titanic Studios where they are filming season 8 of Game of Thrones.

We had a quick lunch there and then walked outside to meet our black cab / mural tour. Our driver grew up in Belfast during the troubles; he gave us a history and explained what the murals meant. We went to both the Catholic and Protestant sides of the peace wall and he told us stories of the violence that had occurred until the late 90’s. Even now the gates are locked at 6:30pm every night. He answered all our questions and was very knowledgeable. This is also something that I highly recommend for any visitor to Belfast.

Tuesday 01/09/18

For the last day of our trip I had booked a Game of Thrones tour (I’m a huge fan of the books and show) that included the countryside of Northern Ireland. We went to the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge as well as some Game of Thrones filming locations.

Our guide is an extra on GOT and works as a stand-in for Ser Davos. He kept us entertained with stories about the show, how he started working on the show plus we played trivia. The countryside was gorgeous and the filming sites were cool. We even drove by Winterfell!

Belfast was quiet when we were there; many of the pubs and shops closed early, so it was hard to find a dinner place. Finally found a pub called the Thirsty Goat and the food was delicious! Plus, I finally had a Guinness, my first on this trip. Belfast was an interesting city and the people were very friendly!

Wednesday 01/10/18
Our flight from Belfast was at 7AM from Belfast City Airport, then connected at Heathrow for an 11:40 flight to LAX. Got home with no issues. It was such a great trip! We really want to visit the UK in the summer now.

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!

Wonderful trip report, Michele! My husband and I are planning a trip to England in 2020, so this is helpful to hear specifics that you enjoyed.

We had a late-night snack of meats, cheeses and crackers from the M&S back in our room. It was a perfect end to 2017 and start to 2018.

That's my kind of New Years Eve! : )

Very good trip report, I enjoyed reading it.

Come back in the summer, a perfect English summer's day simply cannot be beaten.

Wow, Michelle, what an excellent, detailed report. So many of you're experiences brought back wonderful memories; others, a reminder of what to do next time.

After two trips to Liverpool, we still want to go back for more. Both the Pete Best experience and a black cab Beatles tour are on our list.

Sent you a PM.

@Jean - Glad you enjoyed it! Please let me know if you have questions or need any info or specifics.

@JC - Yes, that's our favorite kind of NYE too! I'm glad you enjoyed it, it's my first trip report! And we are absolutely want to return in the summer!

@Tim - We loved Liverpool and are looking forward to spending more time there, hopefully during the summer! The Casbah was a last minute request, I didn't think we would make it there but I mentioned it to our driver and he arranged it. A guy named Kenny, who lives at the house, gave us the tour. It was so fun!

Lovely trip report, thank you! Can I ask where you purchased your theater tickets from and how far in advance?

@diveloonie -

For Hamilton, I was following the London production on Facebook and after the theater renovation they announced additional seats going on sale the next day. So I was up at 4:30AM here in CA and I was able to buy two. :-) That was in mid-November for January 1st through Ticketmaster UK.

For Wicked, I went to Ticketmaster UK and they happened to have two great seats. That was about three weeks before.

Meow Meow I found in TimeOut London, I bought these a few months in advance because I wanted to have NYE plans. Bought through the Globe website.

Twilight Zone we bought maybe a day or two before the show since we saw the ad in the tube. We bought them through the Alameida website.

I know that there is a booth to buy same day tickets somewhere in the West End and I was planning on using it but we ended up not needing to.

Hope that helps!

What a great trip!

Michele - loved your trip report! I am going to London in May so this was very helpful. I have not heard of the Dennis Severs House but will be looking into it. Thanks.