Coronation Day and Bank Holiday Closures

[niknot]

Hello Everyone,

 

Would it be possible for the wonderful British experts on this board to chime in on this topic? We will be arriving in London either on or slightly before May 6th. What should we plan for regarding closures? My google skills have failed me on this topic so far. We have a cruise in Southampton beginning on the 8th so want to be certain to plan accordingly for both sightseeing and transportation. I just want to be ready with back up options since we will use the bus or the train to make our way to Southampton.

 

At the moment I am thinking of postponing our London stay until after the cruise and go directly to Southampton or maybe Winchester upon arrival and just do day trips from there.

 

Thanks for your help!

[gumshoe958]

Good question! We haven’t had a coronation for 70 years so it’s impossible to predict exactly what’ll be open and what won’t.

 

However: you can be certain that London will be very busy that weekend and I would expect any business catering to tourists to be open, and trains between London & Southampton to run as normal.

I would say if you have the chance to be in London on coronation day, do it. It’s not like they happen very often!

 

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by gumshoe958

[niknot]

Thanks Gumshoe 958. I know this is one of those questions that can't really be answered. Since, as you noted, it has been 70 years since the last one.

 

I do apologize for asking the question. It was also asked by others on November 22nd. Their post did not appear during my search. It was found later by reading through past posts.

 

Thank you for your comments.

 

[Canuker]

OP:

1. The coronation is Saturday May 06. So central London will be a zoo of road closures, diversions and crowds. There will also be rehearsals on the streets days before. The best way to get around will be on the tube but that too may be subject to crowd control around the Westminster area.

2. Monday May 08, the day your cruise leaves Southampton, is a public holiday in the UK, so expect the roads to be clogged (especially if the wx is fine) and limited public transportation (akin to a Sunday service). Plan and allow lots of time to get where you're going. 

We are going to London for the coronation and are staying out of Town near a rail station, about 30 minutes journey time to Town. There's a much better selection of accommodation out of town and prices are much much lower that weekend.

Were I in your shoes, I would head down to Southampton on the Sunday (May 07) and stay overnight at a hotel near the cruise terminal (several choices), within walking distance of the ship, as roads around the roads around the port area can also get jammed up with traffic on turn-around days.

[niknot]

I can only imagine the chaos. You have proposed exactly what I have booked. Planning a few nights in Southampton and will do day trips from there. I want to visit Portsmouth for the Naval museum and my husband has Stonehenge on his list.

Many thanks for your comments.

[karylrocks]

On 1/16/2023 at 6:50 PM, Canuker said:

We are going to London for the coronation and are staying out of Town near a rail station, about 30 minutes journey time to Town. There's a much better selection of accommodation out of town and prices are much much lower that weekend.

I am curious what people are expecting to see/do regarding the coronation that would bring so many people. We will be there and trying to decide whether to stick around on the 6th or get out of town for a day trip.

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, karylrocks said:

I am curious what people are expecting to see/do regarding the coronation that would bring so many people. 

To reiterate, no plans beyond the date, time and location of the coronation have been released yet. However, there is very likely to be a public aspect to the coronation, based on centuries of tradition.

 

There will be two aspects - the arrival at the Abbey, which will involve carriages and cars, including the royal family, dignitaries, heads of state from around the world and so on There will almost certainly be a short procession from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey.

 

It is traditional to have a large Coronation Procession after the service, to allow as many people as possible to see the new monarch. The late Queen's procession involved 16,000 people, including many military and civil units. It went along Piccadilly, up through Hyde Park, along Oxford Street and down Regent Street and took several hours. Details on this page - https://www.royal.uk/the-queens-accession-and-coronation

 

The expectation is that King Charles' procession will be scaled down (not least because we don't have the size of military to support that number anymore), as will the coronation itself. Nonetheless, these will be large scale events. 

 

 

[edinburgher]

My own understanding (which may be wrong) is that a Saturday date was chosen in an effort to reduce the number of businesses which would close were it a working day like the usual Monday or Friday  Bank Holidays.  Closing on days other than a weekend is costly for many businesses.  it will also reduce the size of the crowds as many will be at work and unable to travel into London.

 

 

Sscaled back or not, still going to be massive disruption for such a huge event.

Edited January 19, 2023 by edinburgher

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, karylrocks said:

I am curious what people are expecting to see/do regarding the coronation that would bring so many people. We will be there and trying to decide whether to stick around on the 6th or get out of town for a day trip.

American here. If I were on a trip that had me in London on May 6, I wouldn’t leave. This is an historic event that hasn’t happened in 70 years.  Just speaking for myself. 

[Canuker]

4 hours ago, edinburgher said:

My own understanding (which may be wrong) is that a Saturday date was chosen in an effort to reduce the number of businesses which would close were it a working day like the usual Monday or Friday  Bank Holidays.  ...

 

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has declared the following Monday, May 08, a bank (i.e. public) holiday to encourage the populace to celebrate the coronation. 

This is in addition to the annual May 01 "Mayday" bank holiday. So a Brit can take four days of paid vacation and get 10 straight days off. I'm guessing that airport departures in the UK will be a zoo on or about Saturday April 29 and, similarly, arrivals on or about May 08.

Brits take to the roads on bank holidays, especially if the weather is fine, so expect roads to be no picnic on those two weekends either.

Judging by recent pricing and availability of accommodations in central London, many people are planning to converge on the capital to join in the pageant over the May 06 weekend.

Lastly, be aware that many public transport providers (buses, trains) operate on a quasi-Sunday timetable on bank holidays. And the railways use long weekends to carry out needed maintenance work, which leads for still further service reductions and/or diversions.

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Canuker

[MELSMOM47]

UGH. We arrive On the 6th and our hotel is adjacent to Buckingham palace. A blessing and a curse. I tried to make a reservation for dinner at the hotel and the entire week is blocked. 

[Cotswold Eagle]

More details have just been released by the Palace, but still little information about the processions on the Saturday, pretty much just what I speculated above. Confirmation that the coronation will be in the morning. 

 

Sunday is focused around a concert at Windsor and also the now well established 'Big Lunch' concept, so probably street parties in many locations.

 

The Monday Bank Holiday is the 'Big Help Out', with people encouraged to volunteer in their communities, 

 

https://www.royal.uk/coronation-weekend-plans-announced

[fruitmachine]

15 hours ago, MELSMOM47 said:

UGH. We arrive On the 6th and our hotel is adjacent to Buckingham palace. A blessing and a curse. I tried to make a reservation for dinner at the hotel and the entire week is blocked. 

Contact the hotel directly.  You may find that they've blocked it out so that guests like you have somewhere to eat.

[MELSMOM47]

8 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Contact the hotel directly.  You may find that they've blocked it out so that guests like you have somewhere to eat.

Thank you. I have. They said Food and Beverage is anticipating functions and to check back mid February. In the meantime I am looking for alternatives nearby. 🙏 

[fruitmachine]

33 minutes ago, MELSMOM47 said:

Thank you. I have. They said Food and Beverage is anticipating functions and to check back mid February. In the meantime I am looking for alternatives nearby. 🙏 

It's disappointing to hear that they aren't saving space on what will be an undoubtedly very busy day for their overnight guests.

[MELSMOM47]

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

It's disappointing to hear that they aren't saving space on what will be an undoubtedly very busy day for their overnight guests.

I agree. TBH my biggest fear is that they don't have a room for us when we arrive. They can triple the price we booked now since we booked even before the Queen passed.

[Cotswold Eagle]

Just to circle back to this, the procession route has now been confirmed by the Palace. It is more or less the standard route used for many state occasions from Buckingham Palace to Westminster (down the Mall, through Admiralty Arch (not Horseguards), down Whitehall and round Parliament Square). In a break with tradition, the larger procession after the Coronation will simply take the same route in reverse. Thus disruption will be more contained than many people previously thought (and there's a lot less space for spectators).

 

There's a map in this article from the BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65194594

[niknot]

Thank you for the follow up.