London Calling!

[EnglishEdward]

Camikaze provides a good list.

IMO Cambridge and Hampton Court Palace are winners, and both accessable by train.

The best Castle on the island is probably Edinburgh Castle if you are happy to fly there.

Duxford is great if there is an air show on, or if you are into the technology.

 

[AmazonQueen]

That is FAR south of the Thames. I might be wrong, but I doubt there is anything half-decent there (certainly nothing for a tourist to see). Basically it would be concrete jungle, far away from central London.
Again, if you have money, it makes no sense to stay outside zone1.
"20 minutes to downtown" is obviously meant by train (tube). It isn't a distance you will be able to cover by walking - even if it wasn't in a bad place to begin with.

Moreover, only one tube line gets there (The Northern Line, black in the chart).



TLDR: I think that it is a place where people with no money would go.

I used to live in Tooting.
Like most of South London it isn't concrete jungle.
You'd be close to Tooting Common which is a pleasant area for a walk.

Much too far from central London though. The tube journey itself might only be 20 minutes but door to door from home in Tooting to work in Southwark used to take me an hour.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

The best Castle on the island is probably Edinburgh Castle if you are happy to fly there.

This is my ignorance talking but is Edinburgh hard to get to or something? I have a hard time imagining flying across a country as small as Great Britain*, even if I'm discounting good rail service.

*I'm talking here about the main island itself before someone points out the overseas territories

 

[Kyriakos]

This is my ignorance talking but is Edinburgh hard to get to or something? I have a hard time imagining flying across a country as small as Great Britain*, even if I'm discounting good rail service.

*I'm talking here about the main island itself before someone points out the overseas territories

I would imagine it still takes at least a one hour flight to get there from London - let alone the cost. Add to that the time you need to go from the airport to the actual castle and back, and it isn't something you would have much fun doing in one day.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Ok so St Louis to Chicago...yeah I personally wouldn't fly that unless someone else was paying (my college used to do this for me actually when I was on the board) but then again, I take having a car for granted.

 

[AmazonQueen]

This is my ignorance talking but is Edinburgh hard to get to or something? I have a hard time imagining flying across a country as small as Great Britain*, even if I'm discounting good rail service.

*I'm talking here about the main island itself before someone points out the overseas territories

I wouldn't call our trains good. Better than the US maybe but not as good as much of Europe or Japan.
The trains are also expensive unless you book well in advance (say a month) and travel off peak.
You should be able to catch a train that goes from London to Edinburgh direct with no changes.

 

[Birdjaguar]

My flight is booked for mid Oct. 10 days. I'm hoping that will allow us a slow pace to do more than race from attraction to attraction. The 6 day London Pass seems worth it since it includes a bunch of entrance fees, subways and buses rather than just an Oyster card. Thoughts?

 

[Kyriakos]

My flight is booked for mid Oct. 10 days. I'm hoping that will allow us a slow pace to do more than race from attraction to attraction. The 6 day London Pass seems worth it since it includes a bunch of entrance fees, subways and buses rather than just an Oyster card. Thoughts?

I never once used a bus, and I lived in London for almost 3 years. Generally those deals that add "bus ticket" to the sum, are just a scam in my experience. You will only need the underground train system. Typically, only tourists buy them

 

[really]

Consider the places you get entry to - are you interested in them?
Lots of the public museums and galleries are free.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Consider the places you get entry to - are you interested in them?
Lots of the public museums and galleries are free.

I know and it is a great thing about some of museums in London. We are doing our best to make sure we actually want to see stuff as well as just spend time wandering around London. I tried to get an appointment with the Queen, but apparently she is quite soured on Americans after Trump's visit. My New Mexico pedigree was insufficient.

 

[AdamCrock]

Hey BJ You should make a forum event out of it and call the British members for a meet up ! You could also get me some "Colman's" mustard for me while You're at it !

 

[Birdjaguar]

Hey BJ You should make a forum event out of it and call the British members for a meet up ! You could also get me some "Colman's" mustard for me while You're at it !

Once i get a better handle on my schedule there, I will see if a meet up can be arranged. Maybe there is a pub in London.... but I doubt they sell Coleman's mustard.

EDIT: Oh! Amazon prime seems to have it for $5.

https://www.amazon.com/COLMANS-Orig...=B01DP9BX30&psc=1&refRID=NGPGPXD25CZVAXBHMHVD

 

[Camikaze]

I disagree with Kyriakos about using buses. It's cheaper (£1.50 per ride), often more convenient, and as a tourist it can be more interesting to see the world pass by above ground than in the Tube.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Once again I agree with Camikaze.

And it is more fun to be chatting with friends in the open air while waitng for a bus than waiting underground with the, er.. Morlocks.

 

[Samson]

I agree the busses give a better view of London. The tube is easier to navigate, but these days with smartphone mapping apps the busses can be navigated fairly easily without local knowledge.

 

[really]

Do consider journey times and distances though.

Tooting Broadway to Leicester Square is 32 minutes on the tube or 1 hour 27 minutes on busses only according to the transport for London website tfl.gov.uk - it is half the price at £1.50 but three times the time.

In the centre it might make sense to take a bus. The tube map is not to scale - so stations in the centre that look separate might be walking distance, stations on the edge that look close could be miles apart.

 

[AdamCrock]

Once again I agree with Camikaze.

And it is more fun to be chatting with friends in the open air while waitng for a bus than waiting underground with the, er.. Morlocks.

+1 Besides London buses are one of a kind , much like the phone booths are. Being on a London bus is a tourist atraction all by itself

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I read that temperatures in the subway are soaring and giving everyone swamp ass. The ground took several decades to warm up from heavy tube use and is now completely 'full' with excess heat it can no longer absorb so it's turned into an insulator that traps all the heat under there.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Thanks all. We are looking at buying oyster cards but I'm confused about using them with National rail cards. Is one better than the other? Is it worth it to use two? We want to be flexible and expect to use both buses and subway and even trains (Hampton court, Cambridge, Windsor).

EDIT: So am I correct that Oyster cards work for subways only or do they also work for above ground light rail in the city?

Train travel (national Rail) is separate and just for going out side of London proper.

is an oyster card sufficient (best discount) for travel within the city for tube travel?

 

[AmazonQueen]

Thanks all. We are looking at buying oyster cards but I'm confused about using them with National rail cards. Is one better than the other? Is it worth it to use two? We want to be flexible and expect to use both buses and subway and even trains (Hampton court, Cambridge, Windsor).

EDIT: So am I correct that Oyster cards work for subways only or do they also work for above ground light rail in the city?

Train travel (national Rail) is separate and just for going out side of London proper.

is an oyster card sufficient (best discount) for travel within the city for tube travel?

An Oyster card covers Docklands Light Railway, River Bus and National Rail services within London

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay...and-oyster/pay-as-you-go/oyster-pay-as-you-go