Helpful information/tips

[phabric]

Please add to this;

 

In North America, we look right then left, in Britain look LEFT THEN RIGHT before crossing the street. Sometimes the street are marked to remind you.

 

They charge to use the bathroom in Victoria Coach station (London) and in Southampton.

 

If you go to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace go EARLY, EARLY, EARLY.

We were there at 10:15am for the Changing at 12:30 (which lasts about 1/2 hour) on a Thursday in July. I was right in front at the iron fence by the time the show started it was 10 people deep. I had to hold onto the fence as people were pushing to see. If you were at the back you would never see only hear.

 

People in pubs, restaurants, stores very helpful if you have problems deciding what the coins are worth. You get a lot of coins.

 

If using the bus/tube get a map from a station.

[JaneBP]

Perhaps you or the moderator can change the thread title to reflect the city/country to which you are referring. Thank you.

[jocap]

Please add to this;

 

In North America, we look right then left, in Britain look LEFT THEN RIGHT before crossing the street. Sometimes the street are marked to remind you.

 

They charge to use the bathroom in Victoria Coach station (London) and in Southampton.

 

If you go to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace go EARLY, EARLY, EARLY.

We were there at 10:15am for the Changing at 12:30 (which lasts about 1/2 hour) on a Thursday in July. I was right in front at the iron fence by the time the show started it was 10 people deep. I had to hold onto the fence as people were pushing to see. If you were at the back you would never see only hear.

 

People in pubs, restaurants, stores very helpful if you have problems deciding what the coins are worth. You get a lot of coins.

 

If using the bus/tube get a map from a station.

Very useful for the UK! Remember that if you ask for a bathroom in the UK, especially outside the tourist areas, you'll be looked at blankly (or else shown a room with a bath only!) People ask for the ladies/gents; the loo or the toilet. In Europe generally, the toilet or WC, or the words for men/women in that language.

Jo.

[Sauer-kraut]

A Pub Lunch in the UK is much more than just bar food over here. Love the Ploughman's!

 

I think the roundabouts are fantastic over there, the one here by my house is a dangerous accident trap, people can't seem to navigate it at all. The powers that be want to make it into a stop light system, except how do you do that with 7 intersections? :eek:

 

Always have a few coins if you need to use a public restroom. Always have a few tissues in your purse incase of no paper in the loo. Granny always said "Do you need to spend a penny" before we left for anywhere, as a euphanism for using the toilet before we leave. The pennies are different now though so I think the price has gone up.

 

Visit Hyde Park Corner on a Sunday to hear the public speakers, you can hear some very interesting points of view.

[sheeper370]

The Very Best of British - The American's Guide to Speaking British..

 

.. is an amusing guide to speaking English in the UK, and a gentle reminder of how the language has become mangled since it was taken over The Pond by the Pilgrim Fathers!

 

Enjoy!

CLICK FOR LINK

[Grumpy100]

Please add to this;

 

In North America, we look right then left, in Britain look LEFT THEN RIGHT before crossing the street. Sometimes the street are marked to remind you.

 

They charge to use the bathroom in Victoria Coach station (London) and in Southampton.

 

If you go to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace go EARLY, EARLY, EARLY.

We were there at 10:15am for the Changing at 12:30 (which lasts about 1/2 hour) on a Thursday in July. I was right in front at the iron fence by the time the show started it was 10 people deep. I had to hold onto the fence as people were pushing to see. If you were at the back you would never see only hear.

 

People in pubs, restaurants, stores very helpful if you have problems deciding what the coins are worth. You get a lot of coins.

 

If using the bus/tube get a map from a station.

 

How much do they charge to use the toilet in these places. What amount of coin do you need. I know nothing about their money system. I want to plan way ahead. Thanks.

[phabric]

How much do they charge to use the toilet in these places. What amount of coin do you need. I know nothing about their money system. I want to plan way ahead. Thanks.

 

I forget what the cost was, as I used it last year. I know it was a coin. I overheard two British ladies at the coach station talking about the charge to use the toilet and they were not pleased about it.

 

They have 1,2,5,10,20,50 coins and 1 GBP coin and paper money. If you want to cash any money back to your currency at the money exchange at the airport, they will take only take the 1 GBP coin and paper money.

[sabbrina]

I forget what the cost was, as I used it last year. I know it was a coin. I overheard two British ladies at the coach station talking about the charge to use the toilet and they were not pleased about it.

 

They have 1,2,5,10,20,50 coins and 1 GBP coin and paper money. If you want to cash any money back to your currency at the money exchange at the airport, they will take only take the 1 GBP coin and paper money.

 

You forgot the £2 coin.

 

I never pay for toilets when in London on the grounds that MacDonalds and BurgerKing were invented for a reason, that reason obviously not being food related.

[newport dave]

I forget what the cost was, as I used it last year. I know it was a coin. I overheard two British ladies at the coach station talking about the charge to use the toilet and they were not pleased about it.

 

They have 1,2,5,10,20,50 coins and 1 GBP coin and paper money. If you want to cash any money back to your currency at the money exchange at the airport, they will take only take the 1 GBP coin and paper money.

 

Paper money denominations are £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. The toilets I think are 20p and it's got to be a 20p coin.

[newport dave]

Here are two links to pictures of British notes and coins.

 

http://golondon.about.com/od/londonpictures/ig/UK-Currency-Photographs/

 

http://golondon.about.com/od/londonpictures/ig/UK-Currency-Photographs/index.01.htm

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

David

[Grumpy100]

Paper money denominations are £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. The toilets I think are 20p and it's got to be a 20p coin.

 

Is that 20 pence. How much is that in American.

[John Bull]

Is that 20 pence. How much is that in American.

 

100 cents to the dollar.

100 pence to the pound.

 

So thats about 30 cents

But Sabbrina's answer is cheaper, and good world-wide :)

JB

[scottbee]

Is that 20 pence. How much is that in American.

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=us+uk+exchange+rate

 

Will give you a link to a number of places to get the current exchange rate

[Giantfan13]

If you are going to do the London Eye, pre buy your tickets on line for a specific time and then no waiting when you get there for that particular time. Or else be prepared for a very long line and an equally long wait.

 

Try some of the London Walks tours, Maybe the best bargain in London

 

If you are looking for show tickets, hit the discounted booths, day of show

 

If you plan on doing the HoHo bus tours (highly recommended), use the Original Bus Company, and be sure to ask for the Sherlock Holmes 3 pound lunch offer for fish and chips. I am a huge Holmes fan and this was a treat to be able to eat in this pub for relatively cheap.

 

If doing the Tower of London, try to get there early, and get on a Beefeater tour, they are free.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Globaliser]

In North America, we look right then left, in Britain look LEFT THEN RIGHT before crossing the street.

For London, I would disagree slightly with this.

 

You should be looking carefully both ways up and down the road, and then looking again, and probably once more, before you even start to think about stepping off the pavement to start crossing the road.

 

This applies even on one-way streets. In London, you never know what's going to happen next.

[Sauer-kraut]

I agree about the London Eye tix. We went on our first day there and it was a madhouse in the ticket office. I think there were several school outings and class trips at that time. We finally got to a window and we purchased for anytime we wanted the NEXT DAY (or any other day we could have wanted). It was nice not to have to stand in any other line except for boarding the capsule, made life nicer. Otherwise you can book the 'next available' time slot and then sort of be tied to the area to wait until your boarding time.

 

I think we then went to the Florence Nightingale Museum and had a lovely day. It wasn't really a problem going back to the Eye the next day. So if you have a large party, just have one person go and book the tickets for the group.

[TLCOhio]

I really loved the London Eye. My wife was more "so-so" in her opinion. Here are a couple of visuals for what you can see and do on this special addition to the skyline of London.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

From the London "Eye" wheel, it offers great views of the key sights and sites:

 

 

 

London’s Eye is a unique symbol along the river that allow great views around the town of its landmarks:

 

[tom_uk]

There's a nice story about the London Eye. It's sponsored or even paid for by BA - British Airways, and I believe it was erected during 1999 for the Millennium. At this time BA were locked in dispute with Virgin Atlantic over dirty tricks that BA had been playing. Anyway, it turned out that here was a problem getting the Eye upright; so Richard Branson hired a light aircraft to tow a banner up and down the Thames in central London. The banner read "BA can't get it up!".

[Ashland]

If you are going to do the London Eye, pre buy your tickets on line for a specific time and then no waiting when you get there for that particular time. Or else be prepared for a very long line and an equally long wait.

 

Try some of the London Walks tours, Maybe the best bargain in London

 

If you are looking for show tickets, hit the discounted booths, day of show

 

If you plan on doing the HoHo bus tours (highly recommended), use the Original Bus Company, and be sure to ask for the Sherlock Holmes 3 pound lunch offer for fish and chips. I am a huge Holmes fan and this was a treat to be able to eat in this pub for relatively cheap.

 

If doing the Tower of London, try to get there early, and get on a Beefeater tour, they are free.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

Cheers

 

Len

Loved the Original Bus Company (also the Sherlock Holmes lunch)..Spent almost 8 hrs hopping on/off..Gave a great overview so we were then able to go around another day via Tube with the ease of knowing where we were going and what areas we wanted to go further into..So glad we were able to spend a full week post cruise in London....