Advice required for grouping our tours/excursions

[hsaroya]

Hi, everyone. We are in London 5 days post cruise. Below are the things that are important to my family members, individually or collectively (DH, me, 15 yo and 17 yo). We are spending one day on a day trip to York. That leaves 4 full days for London itself. How would you group the following activities by area? I don't want to spend all of my time running from one end of London to another because I wasn't knowledgeable enough to cluster the activities for location and length of time of the activity. I'm hoping those of you who have experience in London with sites and transportation (we will be using the tube and public busses) will be able to group these activities together for us. Thank you!

 

Tower of London

Windsor castle

Hampton palace

Westminster Abbey

Tower bridge tour

Kensington palace

Royal mews

Wellington arch

Churchill war room

London bridge experience

Thames river boat cruise hop on hop off

Canal boat regent's canal

Chelsea stadium tour

Wembley stadium tour

Arsenal stadium tour

Buckingham Palace

London Eye

[Twickenham]

Oooh, a game! I love games... :D

 

The easiest to group together are those in/near Westminster:

 

Westminster Abbey

Royal mews

Wellington arch

Churchill war room

Buckingham Palace

London Eye

 

To the west of this grouping is Kensington palace, which I shall put with Chelsea stadium tour, for balancing your days as much as it being vaguely the same direction as Stamford Bridge.

 

Your East grouping is:

Tower of London

Tower bridge tour

London bridge experience

 

Emirates Stadium (where Arsenal play) is due north of this grouping, not especially close but could be easier to access from there by public transport due to this position.

 

Wembley is north-west, and I'm going to place it with Canal boat regent's canal for the same reason as the above grouping - ease of public transport connection, although you should confirm this depending on the exact location where you get the boat (never done this, so have no idea).

 

Both Windsor Castle and Hampton Court are difficult to put in a group, as they are a ways out - Windsor due west, Hampton Court south-west.

 

Would need to know exactly where you pick up your Thames river boat to know what to group it with.

[soccerref]

Really sorry that I can't help with the grouping of your choices as I don't live in London but I did want to thank you for taking the time to travel to York. So many of the visitors to our country stay in the south (nothing inherently wrong with that) and miss the rich history and scenic beauty of Northern England. I hope you have a wonderful day. Do try to get to Betty's Cafe for tea and scrumptious cakes.

[aquilegia]

I think you would be advised to ask this question on Trip Advisor as well. These itinerary questions are asked every day on the London forum there and there are some very experienced people who can give you a wealth of advice.

 

One thing I'm pretty sure they will tell you is that you are trying to do too much in only 4 days, certainly if you want to go into some of these places rather than just see them from the outside. For instance, Windsor castle is over 20 miles from London, so that is half a day gone. Hampton Court is over 10 miles from central London. People usually spend several hours at the Tower of London. The stadium tours will all take time, do you really want to do three of them? I think you need to prioritise.

[Post Captain]

The most obvious groupings, just off the top of my head, are as follows:

 

_____________

 

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

"London Bridge experience"

+ maybe Thames River cruise

+ maybe the London Eye

______________

 

London Eye (if not done in the previous day-group)

Westminster Abbey

Churchill war rooms

Buckingham Palace

Royal Mews

Wellington Arch

+ maybe Kensington Palace (if you're not knackered!)

______________

 

You can easily spend a full day at Hampton Court. Ditto Windsor Castle. But not both on the same day.

______________

 

The Regent's Canal boat trip doesn't obviously fit in with any of these other activities. (Frankly, this would be lower on my list of priorities. The Little Venice area is scenic & pleasant, but not necessarily worth going out of your way to see in the limited time you have for your stay in London. The most natural "fit" would be to combine it with a visit to Regent's Park & Primrose Hill--neither of which are on your list.)

______________

 

Sorry, I can't help with the football stadiums. Though I can tell you how to get to Lord's Cricket Ground (near Regent's Park and the Grand Union Canal:)) and The Oval.:D

 

 

Edited February 24, 2014 by Post Captain

[hsaroya]

The most obvious groupings, just off the top of my head, are as follows:

 

_____________

 

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

"London Bridge experience"

+ maybe Thames River cruise

+ maybe the London Eye

______________

 

London Eye (if not done in the previous day-group)

Westminster Abbey

Churchill war rooms

Buckingham Palace

Royal Mews

Wellington Arch

+ maybe Kensington Palace (if you're not knackered!)

______________

 

You can easily spend a full day at Hampton Court. Ditto Windsor Castle. But not both on the same day.

______________

 

The Regent's Canal boat trip doesn't obviously fit in with any of these other activities. (Frankly, this would be lower on my list of priorities. The Little Venice area is scenic & pleasant, but not necessarily worth going out of your way to see in the limited time you have for your stay in London. The most natural "fit" would be to combine it with a visit to Regent's Park & Primrose Hill--neither of which are on your list.)

______________

 

Sorry, I can't help with the football stadiums. Though I can tell you how to get to Lord's Cricket Ground (near Regent's Park and the Grand Union Canal:)) and The Oval.:D

 

 

 

Post Captain, I see you're not giving up on the cricket! Good on you - keep trying. But I did warn you, in another thread, that my husband's a lost cause where cricket's concerned. I do admire your tenacity, however. :)

 

Looks like you and Twickenham are of a like mind where the groupings are concerned. As usual, you've both come through with great, well thought out advice. I am very appreciative of your help.

[hsaroya]

I think you would be advised to ask this question on Trip Advisor as well. These itinerary questions are asked every day on the London forum there and there are some very experienced people who can give you a wealth of advice.

 

One thing I'm pretty sure they will tell you is that you are trying to do too much in only 4 days, certainly if you want to go into some of these places rather than just see them from the outside. For instance, Windsor castle is over 20 miles from London, so that is half a day gone. Hampton Court is over 10 miles from central London. People usually spend several hours at the Tower of London. The stadium tours will all take time, do you really want to do three of them? I think you need to prioritise.

 

Aquilegia, the three soccer stadium tours are a non-negotiable. The children have agreed to suffer in silence through all the ruins and museums of 10 Mediterranean ports if they can make their soccer pilgrimages to Camp Nou and in London. I am not quite convinced they will, in fact, suffer in silence, but it's a hope :rolleyes:. I think my son is still convinced we can squeeze in a Man Utd trip! Uh, no. But as two kids who have played indoor and outdoor soccer year round since they were 4 yo, we will indulge their soccer desires in the Mecca of soccer as much as we are able. DD's U16 team just took gold yesterday in cities and is moving on to Provincials. :)

 

I think, perhaps, Windsor Castle might be one to strike off the list if time becomes an issue. I will definitely seek advice on Trip Adv as per your suggestion.

Edited February 25, 2014 by hsaroya

[kevinyork]

Glad you are coming 'up North' to York. You will love it. If you have any questions about your trip here please feel free to ask.

 

One thing. The train prices vary a lot. I think tickets become available 6 months out and the earlier you book the better. You are usually better buying two single tickets instead of a return. The train operator to York is East Coast Trains and their website will be the best place to book your trip. You then collect your tickets from a machine at the station. A single can be had for as little as £10 by booking ahead.

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited February 25, 2014 by kevinyork

[newport dave]

Just for you to know, London Eye can be done late into the evening. Below is the opening times for 2014.

 

 

http://www.londoneye.com/VisitorInformation/OpeningTimes/Default.aspx

 

 

This may help a bit with planning.

[hsaroya]

Just for you to know, London Eye can be done late into the evening. Below is the opening times for 2014.

 

 

http://www.londoneye.com/VisitorInformation/OpeningTimes/Default.aspx

 

 

This may help a bit with planning.

 

Thank you!

[Post Captain]

Post Captain, I see you're not giving up on the cricket! Good on you - keep trying. But I did warn you, in another thread, that my husband's a lost cause where cricket's concerned. I do admire your tenacity, however. :)

 

Looks like you and Twickenham are of a like mind where the groupings are concerned. As usual, you've both come through with great, well thought out advice. I am very appreciative of your help.

How could anyone not like cricket???:confused: I could watch all day--and often have.;)

 

You could easily work this tour into your London itinerary. Your husband and son would love it! ~

 

 

As for Twickenham and me... What can I say? Great minds think alike. However, Twickenham is much too modest, so I will have to be the one to tell you this: Twickenham has the most celebrated rugby stadium in England!:D

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium

 

http://www.rfu.com/twickenhamstadium

(What, you don't like rugby???:eek:)

[hsaroya]

How could anyone not like cricket???:confused: I could watch all day--and often have.;)

 

You could easily work this tour into your London itinerary. Your husband and son would love it! ~

 

 

As for Twickenham and me... What can I say? Great minds think alike. However, Twickenham is much too modest, so I will have to be the one to tell you this: Twickenham has the most celebrated rugby stadium in England!:D

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium

 

http://www.rfu.com/twickenhamstadium

(What, you don't like rugby???:eek:)

 

Wow - is that a Zamboni for cricket fields in the youtube video?!! :D Who knew!

 

Rugby doesn't have quite the sleep inducing powers of cricket. ;)

[Giantfan13]

Hi, everyone. We are in London 5 days post cruise. Below are the things that are important to my family members, individually or collectively (DH, me, 15 yo and 17 yo). We are spending one day on a day trip to York. That leaves 4 full days for London itself. How would you group the following activities by area? I don't want to spend all of my time running from one end of London to another because I wasn't knowledgeable enough to cluster the activities for location and length of time of the activity. I'm hoping those of you who have experience in London with sites and transportation (we will be using the tube and public busses) will be able to group these activities together for us. Thank you!

 

Tower of London

Windsor castle

Hampton palace

Westminster Abbey

Tower bridge tour

Kensington palace

Royal mews

Wellington arch

Churchill war room

London bridge experience

Thames river boat cruise hop on hop off

Canal boat regent's canal

Chelsea stadium tour

Wembley stadium tour

Arsenal stadium tour

Buckingham Palace

London Eye

 

I have suggested a different way of doing things before, so let me continue in that vein.

I'll give you OUR experience, so I know it works. If it is good for you, it just may help you spend a very enjoyable day.

 

If you like to walk and see things from a walking perspective, this may be for you.

Start out at the Tower of London. You can spend all day here or just a few hours, that just depends on you and how you want to approach it. Our hotel was by the Tower, so this was our starting point. We were there as soon as it opened.

 

We did the Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels and just roamed around fairly quickly on this day. From the Tower, it is a short walk to the Tower Bridge. You can go up in one of the towers for the Tower Bridge Experience, but it is really nothing to write home about. From here we walked along the Thames River to the Globe Theater. We did a tour of the Globe but no show was being held then so we moved on. A bit further along the Thames is the Millennium Bridge. Cross over and St Paul's Cathedral is a block away. We went inside, toured the lower rooms and had some lunch and ice cream here. Back across the Millennium Bridge and walked to The London Eye. A short walk further will put you on Westminster Bridge. Going across is Big Ben and Parliament. We decided to save that for another day because it was getting dark. We stopped to eat at some out door café, took some great pixs of Parliament at Dusk, and then did the Thames River cruise back to Tower Bridge which was all lit up at night.

 

Yes it was a long day, and we should have done it in two parts, but time is short and we had a magnificent time and met some very interesting people along the way. We didn't rush and had plenty of time to just sit and enjoy where we were. We had no intention of going up in the Eye, but if you do, you can pre book the exact day and time and avoid the huge lines that are always there.

 

A few pixs of our journey

 

The Tower of London

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europept2127.jpg

 

Tower Bridge from the Tower of London

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe036.jpg

 

The Globe Theater

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster060-1.jpg

 

St Paul's cathedral

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe067.jpg

 

The London Eye from Westminster Bridge

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe080.jpg

 

Big Ben and Parliament at Twilight

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe139.jpg

 

 

 

Hopes this helps in some way.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[hsaroya]

Glad you are coming 'up North' to York. You will love it. If you have any questions about your trip here please feel free to ask.

 

One thing. The train prices vary a lot. I think tickets become available 6 months out and the earlier you book the better. You are usually better buying two single tickets instead of a return. The train operator to York is East Coast Trains and their website will be the best place to book your trip. You then collect your tickets from a machine at the station. A single can be had for as little as £10 by booking ahead.

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Thank you, kevinyork. I actually put myself on an alert from East Coast Trains so they will email me when tickets for my date become available for sale.

 

I was in York about 23 yrs ago and loved every minute of it. I still remember the smell of the Jorvig centre after all this time and use the information from the ghost walk related to the Black Death in my Social Studies classes. I am very much looking forward to returning, this time with my family.

 

Would we be best off to get a York Pass?

Would the hop on/hop off be a good option or can we really see most of the main attractions by walking? My kids are 14 and 16.

What's a good old style pub for a family lunch? I don't want any fusion food experiences - just simple, inexpensive, pub fare, fish and chips, pot pie, etc.

How much time do you anticipate is ideal to get the best of York in one day?

On the journey from London, what is the scenery like?

 

Thank you!

[hsaroya]

I have suggested a different way of doing things before, so let me continue in that vein.

I'll give you OUR experience, so I know it works. If it is good for you, it just may help you spend a very enjoyable day.

 

If you like to walk and see things from a walking perspective, this may be for you.

Start out at the Tower of London. You can spend all day here or just a few hours, that just depends on you and how you want to approach it. Our hotel was by the Tower, so this was our starting point. We were there as soon as it opened.

 

We did the Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels and just roamed around fairly quickly on this day. From the Tower, it is a short walk to the Tower Bridge. You can go up in one of the towers for the Tower Bridge Experience, but it is really nothing to write home about. From here we walked along the Thames River to the Globe Theater. We did a tour of the Globe but no show was being held then so we moved on. A bit further along the Thames is the Millennium Bridge. Cross over and St Paul's Cathedral is a block away. We went inside, toured the lower rooms and had some lunch and ice cream here. Back across the Millennium Bridge and walked to The London Eye. A short walk further will put you on Westminster Bridge. Going across is Big Ben and Parliament. We decided to save that for another day because it was getting dark. We stopped to eat at some out door café, took some great pixs of Parliament at Dusk, and then did the Thames River cruise back to Tower Bridge which was all lit up at night.

 

Yes it was a long day, and we should have done it in two parts, but time is short and we had a magnificent time and met some very interesting people along the way. We didn't rush and had plenty of time to just sit and enjoy where we were. We had no intention of going up in the Eye, but if you do, you can pre book the exact day and time and avoid the huge lines that are always there.

 

A few pixs of our journey

 

The Tower of London

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europept2127.jpg

 

Tower Bridge from the Tower of London

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe036.jpg

 

The Globe Theater

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster060-1.jpg

 

St Paul's cathedral

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe067.jpg

 

The London Eye from Westminster Bridge

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe080.jpg

 

Big Ben and Parliament at Twilight

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe139.jpg

 

 

 

Hopes this helps in some way.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

Thanks, Len. I'd actually admired your beautiful pictures earlier on one of your posts. Great to hear that so many of the attractions are within walking distance.

[Mairnealach]

I would suggest that, if possible, you visit York on a weekday rather than at the weekend. On my two last visits, both on a Friday and Saturday, I found the city overrun with groups of young people on hen and stag party weekends. Whilst the hens were innocuous, I found the stags, who seemed incapable of uttering a sentence without it containing the "F" word, intimidating. I contrast York unfavourably with Bath in this regard. The latter has preserved its traditional appeal by not going after the lowest end of the visitor market.

 

Dermot

[Giantfan13]

Thanks, Len. I'd actually admired your beautiful pictures earlier on one of your posts. Great to hear that so many of the attractions are within walking distance.

 

Once again, thanks for the kind words on the Pixs. The old expression, a pix is worth 1000 words is still true today. Glad you enjoyed them.

 

Cheers

 

Len