Post Captain

any thoughts about crossing at the world trade centre on Path to Exchange place?

Yes, this would work just as well as the route I outlined in post #2. Instead of taking the airtrain to Jamaica, you take it to Howard Beach, then take the A train (subway) from there to either Fulton Street or Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan.

I'm not terribly familiar with the hotels in Lower Manhattan, but there is a Holiday Inn ("Holiday Inn New York - Wall Street"), for example, that would work for this route location-wise, putting you reasonably close to both the subway and the World Trade Center PATH station.

(As other posters have mentioned, without knowing your budget and the date of your stay, we can only give general suggestions about lodging. Hotel room prices can vary significantly, depending on the time of year and whether it is a weekday or weekend, so this is an important detail.)

Anyway... The PATH train from WTC station to Exchange Place is just as good an option as PATH train from 33rd Street to Hoboken. The NJ Transit light rail stop at Exchange Place is just a block from the Exchange Place PATH station. I can provide more details (& a link to a helpful video) later if you decide to use this route.

One additional note, which I'm sure other posters will be along to reinforce and expand upon: Frankly, you'd be much better advised to spend your first night in Manhattan, then travel onward to Cape Liberty the next day. This would make the trip more manageable, breaking it into two separate sections.

There are a number of reasonably priced (for New York) budget hotels in easy walking distance of Penn Station and the 33rd Street PATH station. (E.g., Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, La Quinta, etc.) From everything I've read, any of these would be preferable to the hotels in the vicinity of JFK.

I suspect no one has replied yet because no one--well, hardly anyone--would think of doing this trip this way. Unfortunately, the trip from JFK to Cape Liberty by public transit is neither direct, fast, or easy, as it involves traveling on several different transit systems/ modes of transportation in the following sequence:

>>>Airtrain (airport monorail) from JFK to Jamaica Station; then:

>>>Long Island Railroad train from Jamaica Station to New York Penn Station; then:

>>>Walk one block from Penn Station to the 33rd Street PATH station; then:

>>>PATH train from 33rd Street PATH station to Hoboken, NJ; then:

>>>Walk a few minutes from Hoboken PATH station to Hoboken light rail station; then:

>>>NJ Transit light rail train from Hoboken to 34th Street, Bayonne; then:

>>>Taxi from 34th Street light rail station to the Cape Liberty cruise terminal. Whew—you're there!

I've ridden on all these routes numerous times—but only on portions of them at any one time (for local point-to-point trips), never in one go between JFK and Cape Liberty. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that the entire journey could easily take three hours door-to-door. Much of that time be spent waiting for “the next train” between each basic segment of the trip.

Frankly, it would be far easier—but rather more expensive—to take a car service from JFK to Cape Liberty.

If you're still thinking of doing it by public transportation, take a look at these websites, which contain information about the various legs of the journey:

http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airtrain.html

http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html

http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LightRailTo

Here's a link to NJ Transit's web page for the 34th Street Bayonne light rail station:

http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LightRailStationLookupFrom&selLineCode=HBLR&selStation=37005&x=33&y=11

Click on "LOT 01" (just beneath the parking lot map) for information about parking. It says evening and night parking is allowed, but whether this means you can leave your car there for an extended period is another question.

I've ridden the light rail to & from this station a number of times, but have never parked there. As for the safety of your car if you leave it for the duration of your cruise... I have no idea.

For what it's worth, here is NJ Transit's current "official" travel advisory for Penn Station, as posted at the NJ Transit website:

Due to ongoing Amtrak track maintenance work and track inspections leading to speed restrictions, effective immediately and continuing until further notice, NJT customers traveling to and from NYPS will experience estimated delays of 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends.

For updated travel alerts, see:

http://www.njtransit.com/sa/sa_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TravelAlertsTo

Keep in mind that NJ Transit is notorious for sugar-coating and for skirting around certain issues in its travel alerts. (I subscribe to electronic NJ Transit alerts & advisories; from personal experience, I can say some of the information they provide is practically useless.)

This recent article gives a general overview of the work that is being planned for NY Penn Station:

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-some-new-york-penn-station-train-tracks-to-be-closed-for-weeks-for-repairs-document-2017-5

How long this project will really take is anyone's guess. More certain is that train service in and out of the station will be negatively affected to some degree or other on a daily basis.

We will be going on September 29 of this year

The major ongoing track work at Penn Station is supposed to be completed by the end of summer. So theoretically (a very big "theory"), the trains should be running more or less on time by September 29.

For the time being, the track work is causing significant delays on NJ Transit trains in and out of Penn Station just about every day. Rush-hour trains are the most severely affected, with routine delays of 30-45 minutes (and sometimes more).

I have a follow up question about how to get from heathrow airport to studio 2 lets apartments on north gower street via the tube.

 

I am looking up directions, and I get two different routes on Rome2rio and the citymapper app.

 

They both start off by saying to get on the picadilly line.

 

Rome2rio says to stay on picadilly line until till you get to Russell square underground station and walk 16 minutes to apartment.

 

But, citymapper says to start off on picadilly line and then transfer to another line like Victoria or northern and then walk 2 to 3 minutes to apartment.

 

Which route would you recommend?

 

I heard citymapper was the better choice for public transportation for big cities, but I wonder if luggage changes the recommended route.

 

I'm trying to minimize my luggage so it all fits on a carry on, but it looks like it will rain in London so i might need to use bigger luggage than a carry on as planned.

I often stay in northern Bloomsbury, and always take the Tube (Piccadilly Line) from Heathrow to King's Cross/ St Pancras. This route has two major advantages: 1) there's no need to change trains anywhere along the way, and 2) you don't need to worry about stairs at King's Cross/ St Pancras--you can get from the platform up to the street level using lifts (elevators), which isn't the case at the Underground stations at Russell Square or Euston or Euston Square, where stairs are involved.

It's a shortish (15 minutes) walk from King's Cross to North Gower Street:

https://goo.gl/maps/Jp8yccr2eZ92

 

Wellington sucks so bad we left, room was filthy. They did refund my money when I showed them all the photos I took and we walked 1 block to the Hilton and it was CHEAPER!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sorry I didn't see your earlier post saying that you had booked the Wellington; I too would have suggested you look elsewhere. I've never stayed there (and wouldn't be tempted), but I've noticed the pub as I've passed by on the number 59 bus. The railway trestle immediately adjacent to the building, and the pedestrian bridge that's right over the hotel & essentially splits the place in two--not to mention the predictable noise from Waterloo Road and from late-night drinkers downstairs--would put me off ever considering a stay there. I'm glad you were able to get a room down the street at the Hampton by Hilton. (I've never stayed there either, but I know people who have, and they've only had positive things to say about that establishment.)

By the way, there are some hilarious one- and two-star reviews of the Wellington on Tripadvisor. And the responses by the manager are even funnier. Well worth a read if you need a laugh. ;p

For those who haven't seen the Wellington, here's a glimpse of the exterior via Google Maps streetview:

https://goo.gl/maps/4Hd9sDjT2Jy

Oh yes I am very much aware of what they charge! :o I'm sure they would just love me to make a cash withdraw. I always disappoint them however as I never take cash on credit cards and always pay the entire balance when I receive the bill so as to not pay any interest. :cool:

I have not paid any interest on anything for 14 years. Paid everything off even my home.

 

Linda H.

Linda, you're a gal after my own heart. :halo:

Thanks for all the info.

I did go ahead and get a pin for 1 card just in case I need it for my capital one card. When I spoke with them about using a pin they said the only time I will need the pin with their card is if I take a cash withdraw. The person I spoke with also reminded me that the transactions with their card have no fees but a cash withdraw incurs a 3% fee on top of interest that begins from the day I withdraw it.

 

And the current APR for cash advances using a Capital One Quicksilver Rewards credit card is 23.74% :eek::eek::eek: I've heard of loan sharks who charge less. (Well, not really, but I couldn't resist saying that.;p) The friendly credit card folks will be delighted to loan you money at that rate, but don't be tempted. Just say No to using a PIN with a chip & sign card!

 

While looking at info for the cruise ports I'll be at I did read that a few of the vender's will take US dollars. I won't be counting on that however.

 

 

Indeed, it's extremely unlikely you'll come across any business in the U.K. accepting payment in U.S. dollars, unless perhaps you work in international finance and investing. Or unless some enterprising chap decides he'll be happy to take your dollars at a personal exchange rate of about $1.75 to the pound. (Look at it this way: Do you know of any vendors in American ports who take payment in pounds, euros, drachmas, or any other currency? Sure, some tourist-related businesses in Canada accept U.S. dollars, but that's a different story.)

 

I will go ahead and get a few GBP's and Euro's before leaving here so I will have it on hand when I arrive.

 

 

Always a sensible idea, just to avoid a bit of stress. Otherwise, you can use your bank debit card to withdraw local currency from any bank ATM, as previously suggested. (Do remember to notify your bank beforehand that you will be traveling abroad.) Easy-peasy.

 

 

Linda H.

Bon voyage!

In all due respect, the bold printed statement above is simply not true. Chip and signature cards will work fine 99.9% of the time everywhere in Britain and other parts of Europe. I have never had any problems using a chip and signature card not only at pos locations but in almost all kiosks say of tfl and the National Railroads. Cards issued by different banks in different countries have different lists of card verification methods embedded on the chip. Almost all cards issued by USA banks have signature preference as a cvm ahead of pin. Thus since almost all terminals take signature cards, they will work. Period.

Yes, MATHA531, this is my experience as well. I routinely use my U.S.-issued Capital One chip & sign card throughout the UK, and have never encountered any difficulties. In supermarkets, department stores, & the like, the card machine automatically prints out a slip; the clerk hands it to me (without any questions or strange looks), I sign it, & I'm on my way. At TfL & National Rail ticket machines, the ticket is dispensed without any need to enter a PIN.

By the way... Our British cousins' frequent suggestion that American visitors should "use a contactless card" is useless for most Americans, for the simple fact that they are rare as rubies in the United States. At least, I have never seen one offered on any U.S. credit card website; nor have I ever seen one actually being used on the western side of the Atlantic; nor have I ever noticed or been aware of a "contactless" pay terminal in any American store where I've shopped. I don't know any Americans who have a "contactless" credit card--at least, no one has ever told me that they have one. Not only that, whenever I've mentioned this type of card to any of my American friends, they don't have the foggiest notion of what I'm talking about. (Of course, this may be because I tend to lead a somewhat sheltered existence & don't customarily hob-nob with hipsters; and I don't frequent sophisticated circles except when I'm on board a Cunard liner. ;))

Some very good suggestions here by other posters. But, having been a somewhat shy & socially awkward 10-year-old myself many years ago--some say I still am that--I'm going to make another suggestion that doesn't involve a castle per se but that your boy might find just as fascinating, if not more so:

If you are going north to Edinburgh, stop at York for a few days. The city of York contains:

An extensive medieval wall (built partly on Roman foundations) that encircles the center of the city--the most extensive medieval wall anywhere in Britain. Walking along the footpath atop the wall feels like walking on the ramparts of a castle, and gives fantastic views of different parts of York:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_city_walls

http://www.visityork.org/York-City-of-York-Walls/details/?dms=3&venue=3610893

The York Railway Museum, a train-lover's paradise. What 10-year-old isn't fascinated by trains?

http://www.nrm.org.uk/

York Minster--the second-largest Gothic cathedral (after Chartres) in northern Europe, and in my humble opinion, the greatest cathedral in Britain. (I say that having been to more than twenty of them, including the wonderful cathedrals at Canterbury, Salisbury, Ely, Lincoln, Durham, Norwich, Worcester, Hereford, and Wells.)

Clifford's Tower. All that remains of York's Norman castle (built on the orders of William the Conquerer) is the keep, known as Clifford's Tower. It's not all that impressive compared to the great castles that are extant elsewhere in Britain, but does have a long, fascinating, and dark history. I've never gone inside.

The York Castle Museum. The name is a bit misleading--it's really a museum of life in York through the ages. An outstanding museum of its kind--the place fascinated me at an early age:

https://www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk/

The Jorvik Viking Centre. https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/

The Shambles. http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/medieval/the-shambles

I'll take a ride over to Red Hook on the new ferry in early June just to test it out (sans luggage), & will report back on the experience.

I know the overwhelming majority of cruisers don't want to be dragging luggage onto ferries before or after a cruise. But I've taken NY Waterway ferries between Hoboken or Weehawken and the East 39th St. Manhattan terminal for sailings from the Upper West Side piers on a number of occasions. (I travel light. Well, light-ish.;))

For that typically British under-statement we should offer honorary British citizenship to the Captain :D

 

Thanks, JB. I've already been awarded honorary citizenship from folk in West Yorkshire, Cornwall, Shropshire, and London, so it's good to have the endorsement of one of the leading citizens of Hants as well.

I figured understatement was the best policy in this case, as I didn't want to frighten my northern neighbor any more than he is already! ;p

 

Sat 20th May , Salisbury to Bath.

Very simple. Yes, a return ticket for your trip is a few pounds cheaper than two singles - on some other routes it can save as much as half.

For this trip, buying in advance doesn't save you anything - so just buy return tickets at the station. Your return time makes no difference, your £18 return ticket is goof for any train.

 

Sun 21st May. Salisbury to Winchester.

Again fairly simple, though it means changing trains at Southampton.

Southampton to Winchester is a short journey and a number of train operators provide a service between the two, including SouthWest trains heading for London and CrossCountry trains heading to the Midlands.. For the time that you've chosen it'll be a CrossCountry train, but that makes no odds. Your through ticket is good for any train between Southampton & Winchester. Same for the return.

Again, there's no advantage in buying in advance, and again your £17 return ticket is good for any return trains.

 

But because train traffic is light on sundays, that's the day when most track maintenance & improvements are carried out on the rail network.

Yes, on 21st May the track from Salisbury to Romsey (en route to Southampton) may be closed..

In those circumstances you still buy your tickets at Salisbury station, then there's a rail-replacement bus service to Romsey, where you continue your journey by train.

I used to drive coaches, and unless I could come up with a quick excuse I'd occasionally have to drive a rail-replacement coach, so I know my stuff on the subject. The train serves a number of little stations between Salisbury & Romsey, but I expect that buses from Salisbury station will drive direct to Romsey whilst other buses serve those little stations. So without those little stops on the way, the bus should get to Romsey in the same time as the train would, and you'll reach Southampton at the same time. But even if there is a delay, there are frequent trains from Southampton to Winchester, even on a sunday.

 

 

The last time I took the train from Southampton Airport to Bath, they made me alight at Romsey and hang about for some time waiting for a 'connecting' train. Ah, the delights of the platform at Romsey station on a dark, damp, drizzly morning! ;p

 

For the return journey it looks like there'll be similar disruption for some trains (see the yellow triangles on the National Rail site for which trains), though I can't figure whether that's WIN to SOU, or SOU to SAL. You should be able to avoid that grief by careful choice of your return train. Might be worth checking with station staff on the day.

 

There don't appear to be any engineering works on the SAL to BTH route on that sunday.

It might pay to switch days, though I can't be sure whether the disruption SAL to SOU will also affect the Saturday.

(there's limited access to both cathedrals on sundays during religious services. Both are open to the public on sundays - aim to go inside the cathedral first & if the timing is inconvenient check out the outside & surroundings til the end of the service)

 

 

Yep, bloody painful ;p

But at least the ticket pricing is pretty simple - on weekdays on commuter routes that gets mighty complicated too.

 

Now I need a lie-down. :confused:

 

Take two aspirin and ring Doc Martin in the morning!

 

 

JB

Cheers,

P. C.

Just to clarify a bit further:

Stacy~ The customer's credit card is charged at the time that the booking is made online. Inserting the credit card into the ticket machine & entering the booking confirmation number on the machine's keypad simply confirms to the electronic ticket system that you are the person who purchased the tickets, and "instructs" the machine to print and dispense the requisite tickets.

Ergates ~ All credit cards issued in the U.S. since October 2015 have chips, so they've just about replaced all the old magnetic-strip-only cards by now. The vast majority of American credit cards are chip-and-sign rather than chip-and-PIN, but a PIN isn't necessary when purchasing or collecting the tickets from a ticket machine in the UK with a chip-and-sign card.

My US-issued chip-and-sign Capital One card has worked flawlessly in all the railway and Underground ticket machines I've used.

I just went directly to the Virgin Trains site and was able to book a return! Thank you so much for the help!

 

I do realize I may have spent a couple extra pounds on the outbound trip, but £13 was a good price, I thought, and it was worth it to have the piece of mind knowing my trains are booked.

 

It looks like I will just need to type the confirmation number into a ticket machine to pick up the tickets? Maybe also insert the card I used? Anything else I need to know about this? I'm assuming it's ok to pick up the tickets right before getting on the train? There is no cut off time?

 

Again, I really apperiate all the help I have been given! I probably would have been paying a fortune for walk up fares without it!

Glad that worked out for you. There must have been some mysterious incompatibility between your computer and the South West Trains website, but all's well that ends well.

Yes, the process for collecting your tickets from the machine is just as you assumed. In fact, you can use the machines at any railway station, at any time, not limited to the station you're leaving from on the day you're leaving. If you do intend to get the tickets from a machine at Waterloo Station on the morning of your trip, give yourself a little extra time, as Waterloo is a very large station and is often crowded.

This following short animated video shows the process. (This happens to be a "Trainline" video, but the process is exactly the same for all tickets regardless of the original vendor.)

Hi. So I want to apologize up front with this thread.

I've only found a couple of threads which refer to buying train tickets via National Rail for day trips but, bloody hell, I think I'm a little confused on a few things with our plans:

 

1) ticket type & terms/conditions (permitted route/time)

 

http://www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm#30%20second%20guide%20to%20UK%20rail%20fares

 

2) single vs return & whether it's cheaper

3) train operators

3) Engineering work/disruptions

 

So we have 2 plans.

May 20th - SAL to BTH

May 21st - SAL to WIN

 

Trip A) For SAL-WIN, the plan is to leave on the 8:20am train, arriving at 9:30am. Planned returned is around 17:45 or thereafter.

Trip B) For SAL-BTH, the plan is similar. Leave 8:40am, arrive 9:34am. Planned return around 17:36 or thereafter. (Answer to Trip A will likely apply to Trip B)

 

For trip A, it looks like:

1) it's cheaper for a return ticket vs single tickets

 

Yes, that's what it says. So it is.

 

2) Southwest is the operator until Southampton, then becomes Crosscountry(?) trains according to the details.

 

You change trains at Southampton. The second train (from Southampton to Winchester) happens to be operated by a different company, CrossCountry. No problem--you use the same ticket for both trains.

 

3) Since we're not interested in first class & only doing a day trip, our ticket choices are $17 off-peak Day return or $17.30 off-peak anytime Day return ticket

4) There is engineering work on this route (not sure which one but I don't think it's a direct route work. Perhaps further down the rail line? ROMSEY line?)

 

There apparently will be engineering work somewhere along the line, but specifics haven't been announced yet.

So if the above is correct for trip A, my questions are:

- Is Southwest Trains the only operator to buy tickets for this route/time? See note below.

- Is the $17 off-peak day return time slot set in stone? They state in small print "Travel is allowed via any permitted route. This fare is only valid on trains travelling between certain times."

- Difference between $17.30 anytime day return ticket? (if we buy from SW Trains above, does this mean we can hop onto any other train operator's train going through WIN-SAL? or if we miss the 17:45 train, this ticket allows us to take the next one?

 

http://www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm#30%20second%20guide%20to%20UK%20rail%20fares

 

Sorry.> CC doesn't want to upload my image due to size dimensions

British railway fares and fare rules are a tad complicated, but there's really no need to overthink this and give yourself a headache (though I must confess I've gotten a headache here. :confused:;p:confused:)

Since there aren't Advance tickets (the cheapest possible tickets for many long-distance trains) for these particular journeys, you don't need to buy your tickets in advance online. Simply buy your tickets at the station before you board your outbound train in the morning--or even the day before, if you want to. Easy!

Hi,

I'm trying to book our train tickets from Waterloo to Southampton in order to take advantage of the advanced fares. National Rail redirects me to South West trains. Every time I click the button to proceed to payment I get an error message. I haven't put any personal information in yet, so I don't think it's because I'm in the US. I have tried Safari and Chrome on an iPad and a desktop computer. I would apperiate any help anyone can offer.

 

In case it matters, I'm trying to buy the 10:05 on July 1 for 2 people.

 

Thank you!

Stacy

Stacy ~

I just tried a dummy booking via National Rail for your specific journey and date to see if the same problem would arise. Pressing relevant the "Buy Now" button on the National Rail page took me directly to the South West website, and from there was able to proceed to the payment page without any difficulty. (There's no need to create an account on the National Rail website, nor on the South West website.)

For what it's worth, I use the Pale Moon browser (basically a Firefox clone), and am accessing those British websites from the United States. If you have any ad blockers/ java blockers, I'd suggest you temporarily disable them for the South West Trains website. Also, clear your cache beforehand. Not sure if that would help--I'm certainly not expert--but I know that similar problems have been reported with various booking and hotel websites, and that this "fix" has been known to resolve the issue.

While I'm thinking of it, here's a tip that will save you money and avoid using the South West trains website altogether: You can book a super-cheap Waterloo to Southampton fare using the Megabus website. See:

http://uk.megabus.com/Default.aspx

The Megabus ticket puts you on a regular South West Railways train. (In this case, there is no "Mega bus"; rather, the Megabus company simply acts as a seller of discounted tickets for the railway company.) If I'm not mistaken, tickets usually go on sale six weeks in advance, so tickets for your date are not yet available. Also, Megabus tickets are limited to certain trains; I've never seen them for the 10:05, but they are sold for the 9:39 from London Waterloo, arriving at Southampton Central at 11:12. (I've taken the 11:39 to Southampton a number of times, paying as little as £6 for the ticket on the Megabus website.)

Be careful -- those Austenites are a pretty disreputable bunch! :D They'll be running amok throughout Bath, from the Royal Crescent to the Parade Gardens! ;p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6udv8z9tURg

During the festival, I generally closet myself in the library with a good book and let Mrs Bennet and the girls cavort with the crowds and frolic at the festival ball.

Fortunately, Lady Catherine de Bourgh will be on hand to keep order.

(Hmmm... Mr Darcy is keeping aloof as ever. And I see neither Lydia nor Mr Wickham in attendance here. Where are they? I wonder...)

I had missed this news when the service was first proposed, but Atlantic Basin does indeed seem to be the intended ferry landing in Red Hook.

http://ny.curbed.com/2016/7/20/12239142/red-hook-brooklyn-ferry-location

This is far more convenient than either the Ikea ferry landing or the landing near the Fairway Market at the bottom end of Van Brunt Street. If the landing is located at the southern edge of the basin, it would be almost immediately adjacent to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal:

https://goo.gl/maps/2FXGXkZsjj62

Just to add my two cents/ tuppence to the information given by JB & Bob...

Paddington>Bath Spa is the main & most direct rail route. The train makes only three stops or so en route, and the journey takes just an hour and a half. (The trains on this route are operated by Great Western, not South West, unless I'm wrong--not that it really matters. The National Rail journey planner will take you to the relevant company when you press the "Buy Now" button to purchase tickets for that journey.)

Rail journeys on the Waterloo>Bath Spa route take longer (about two and a half hours); the trains on this route run less frequently and make more stops along the way. But this route has the advance of costing less than half of what you'd pay for a journey on the Paddington>Bath route.

Bath itself is a very walkable--albeit hilly--town. The town is chock-a-block with B&Bs, guest houses, and hotels, many of them in Georgian buildings in or very close to the center of town. But as JB noted, room rates are steep--probably among the highest in the UK. (On a recent visit, I noticed that many of the formerly simple budget family-owned B&Bs I had stayed in years ago had since been upgraded to pricy chichi boutique establishments.)

The Visit Bath website contains loads of useful information, including a comprehensive list of accommodation in Bath:

https://visitbath.co.uk/

Enjoy!

Dana R ~

I assume you have booked one of the "Studios 2 Let" flats, yes? As I recall, they receive generally positive reviews on Tripadvisor, and although the flat itself may be quite small, it should be more than adequate. I haven't stayed in those flats myself, but I know exactly where they are located, and I would not hesitate to stay there myself if the need arose.

North Gower Street is perfectly fine, as is the surrounding neighborhood. It's a fairly quiet street lined with Georgian flats (including the building in which the Studios 2 Let serviced apartments are located), a few small shops, and a few more modern office buildings.

The location just off the northern edge of Bloomsbury is far more convenient for touring London than would be a location on the outskirts of town. Don't be put off by the couple of sentences you quoted re. the accessibility of the street--all that means is that you cross busy Euston Road between Gower Street and North Gower Street via a pedestrian underpass. Personally, to cross Euston Road (to get to Bloomsbury and points south--the heart of London) I would just walk a couple of blocks over toward Euston Square and cross at the crosswalk.

If you have watched any episodes of the popular BBC tv drama Sherlock (broadcast in the U.S. on PBS), you will have seen North Gower Street: The door of 187 North Gower Street is used as a stand-in for 221b Baker Street, and the exterior of Speedy's Cafe right next door to that is often seen in the program. Indeed, Speedy's is virtually a place of pilgrimage for fans of the show. It's a bit of an old-fashioned "greasy spoon," but a pleasant place to pop into for a cheap English breakfast or a sandwich.

Just around the corner from the Studios 2 Let flats is Drummond Street, where you will find a number of very inexpensive Indian restaurants.

If you plan to eat breakfast or supper at the flat, you can buy food at the Sainsbury's Local or at M&S Simply Food, both near the front of Euston Station, just a couple of blocks from the flat. There are also a few coffee shops and fast-food eateries in and just outside of the station itself.

A number of bus routes converge in Euston Square Gardens, just in front of the station, and of course there's an Underground station just beneath Euston station itself, and another at Euston Square. You are in easy walking distance of the British Museum, among other attractions (including the British Library on Euston Road).

Any questions? Do ask, & I'll answer them if I can.

We will be staying at the Montague Gardens after a cruise. It's near Russell Square. Can you share comments about the hotel and the area? Thanks!

I haven't stayed here, but have walked past many times and know the surrounding area very well. The location is excellent (in the heart of Bloomsbury--just 30 seconds from Russell Square, and a minute's walk from the entrance of the British Museum). From what I've read, the hotel consistently receives exceptionally positive reviews. If I weren't such a cheapskate, I'd stay there in a heartbeat.

BTW, the name is The Montague on the Gardens.

As for Cork... Ships dock at Cobh (pronounced "Cove"), a separate town altogether, some miles from Cork. Take the train into Cork from Cobh--the Cobh railway station is right next to the dock. Cobh is a lovely town itself, well situated along and above Cobh harbor; it is well worth exploring (see St Colman's cathedral). Known as Queenstown from 1849 to 1920, it was a major point of departure for Irish emigrants to the United States, and was the last stop of RMS Titantic.

You can walk from the Dublin docks to the city centre... I know, cos I've done it... But I wouldn't do it again. ;)

They are two separate formations, but in fairly close proximity to one another.

https://goo.gl/maps/mgaNAiAJqkK2

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/standingstones/

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/

I don't have first-hand knowledge of the T11 bus tour, but some recent-ish reviews on Tripadvisor note that the bus stops at the Ring of Brodgar but not at the Standing Stones of Stenness.