Semi-LIVE from Venus British Isles Explorer 4/19 with Churchill Pre-extension

[formernuke]

Greetings!  Plan to report on this cruise, particularly the Churchill pre-extension in detail. I hope to convey to potential travelers the detailed information we wish we had when we were considering this cruise/extension. Booked this cruise back in the summer of '22 and have been looking forward to it. 

 

Off to SFO in a few hours for direct flight to LHR. Got a text early this morning from Viking's ground operations contractor providing details on airport pickup and some hotel info. A nice touch that we haven't experienced before.

 

Next stop, London!

[Peregrina651]

Bon voyage!!

 

So glad you are doing this. I'll be hanging on every word! Please report on the shuttle buses for each port, even if it is just a photo of each day's schedule. I'm sure I will have more logistical questions as we get closer to our departure. Thank you.

[Bejay219]

Looking forward to your report!  We will be doing the Churchill extension in June after the Into the Midnight Sun on Venus.  We are very excited about the Churchill experience. 

[formernuke]

Finally settled in our hotel (Great Scotland Yard hotel). Hotel and room are very nice. 
 

Flight was uneventful. Landed about 10:45. FWIW, flights booked through Viking. Didn’t like originally selected airline and timing so went online and found the airline and time we liked on the website. Easy.  Later decided to upgrade to Premium Economy.  We normally fly economy, but decided to splurge due to the 10 hour flight and ‘reasonable’ cost. We often stop over in NY and visit family on the way to break up the trip but didn’t this time.  All changes done on the Viking interface online without having to pick up a phone.
 

Had a short wait for driver at LHR. Called Viking ground support number and they contacted driver and confirmed he was in traffic. About 15-20 min wait. At the hotel by 1. Unfortunately room not ready until scheduled 3pm. Met with the Viking rep Don (very nice) and got our briefing and itinerary for the week. Short walk across the millennium bridge for some lunch while we waited. 
 

Busy week ahead! Itinerary below. 

[formernuke]

Should have mentioned that Viking director indicated only 12 on this Churchill extension (vs typical 20-30) as this is the first group of the season. That should be great!

[OneSixtyToOne]

What a great itinerary. We went to Bletchley independently last summer. It was a great experience. Are you going by bus or train? The train station is literally across the road and is an easy place to visit. 

 

When in Greenwich, be sure to visit the Royal Observatory. There are two different free tours given daily with admission. The famous Harrison clocks are located there and one tour goes in depth about the history of their construction and the Longitude Prize.

 

[formernuke]

Some notes on the rooms in Scotland Yard:

I don’t know how long Viking has been using this hotel (for example, the extension was originally scheduled for the Royal Horseguards).

 

Bathroom is excellent. Great shower, heated towel rack, electronic bidet- style toilet. 
 

Only UK style power outlets (no US style), as expected. However, there are multiple USB outlets next to the bed and near the desk, so you may not need an adapter/converter depending on what you need. 

Cooler’ not fridge provided with bottled water. 
 

Heads up: Hairdryer provided, but cannot be plugged into the bathroom outlet. DW reported that the cord didn’t reach from the nearest outlet to the closet mirror, so she was drying “blind”. 

[Goosebear Mum]

5 minutes ago, formernuke said:

 

Heads up: Hairdryer provided, but cannot be plugged into the bathroom outlet. DW reported that the cord didn’t reach from the nearest outlet to the closet mirror, so she was drying “blind”. 

 

In the UK, we are not allowed to use electrical appliances in a bathroom, due to safety risk, hence no sockets, and the lead not reaching. (hairdryers and water are a lethal combination !)  I am surprised there is no mirror outside the bathroom, with a socket for the hairdryer, as this is norm in the uk.  

 

Enjoy the extension 🙂 

[formernuke]

There is a mirror outside just not in reach. In the US we use Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters near water to keep appliances safe. 

[wine-wine-wine]

@formernuke for the sake of some who have not travelled independently in the UK. Are there face flannels (AKA wash cloths) provided? DW and I have accustomed ourselves to bringing our own REI highly packable versions when traveling there. 

[Groovybusybee]

It really depends on the hotel, the more expensive, say 4* hotels will have face cloths as standard. More budget hotels probably not.

 

It sounds a great itinerary, the stand outs for me as a UK resident would be Blenheim and Bletchley Park, both very interesting. My husband used to work at Blenheim in the old dukes time so I have visited often. 
 

I hope you enjoy our country, I will be following along.

 

Debbie

[formernuke]

34 minutes ago, wine-wine-wine said:

@formernuke for the sake of some who have not travelled independently in the UK. Are there face flannels (AKA wash cloths) provided? DW and I have accustomed ourselves to bringing our own REI highly packable versions when traveling there. 

Yes, they do. Simple white same as the towels. Not sure if you’re looking for something more.  

[wine-wine-wine]

17 minutes ago, formernuke said:

Yes, they do. Simple white same as the towels. Not sure if you’re looking for something more.  

Good to know. When we have stayed in the Plymouth area they have given us very funny looks when we asked for one and directed us toward a store. Some traditionally consider it unhygienic to share these with other guests. 

[formernuke]

A lovely first day. Last night an informal welcome dinner at a pub 2 minutes from the hotel. Good fish and chips

 

This morning left the hotel about 7:40 to Blenheim Palace, arrived about 9:30 as it opened. Full sized coach for the 12 of us so plenty of room! A bit of a pano tour of London on the way out. 

Passed through some torrential rain on the way, but blue skies when we arrived. Very windy and cool (probably low 50s). Expected wind gusts >40mph so the gardens were closed due to risk of falling branches. Other than that, the day was great. Very interesting private lecture about Churchill with coffee/tea and snacks. Free to explore the palace until lunch at 1:30. Great exhibits. One downside was that they had a special Icons of British Fashion display going on. Unfortunately many of those displays resulted in blocked or removed exhibits. I’m sure it was great for those there for the fashion (and I know they need to expand visitors to keep viable), but it was very distracting for those there for the palace. It runs through the end of June. Still a great experience. Short walk by the lakes and saw the Harry Potter Tree”.

 

Then a great private lunch, including sticky toffee pudding for dessert (yum!).Left at about 3pm for 5 minutes drive to Churchill burying place at St Martins church in Bladon. Then back to the hotel about 5:15. 

[allyg]

So enjoyed this—- thanks!

[Bejay219]

Thanks for the update, enjoying a glimpse of what we will see in June! 

[DesertCruiser2000]

Thank you so much. Your pictures are wonderful. We weren’t able to book this pre extension so can get a glimpse of some of the parts we’ll miss. 
Thanks to for a hint of weather. I know in 3 weeks it may be a little bit warmer, we hope. 

[formernuke]

Chartwell today. Still cool but much less wind. Scattered showers which we pretty much avoided today (lucky!)

Left hotel at 8:45 arrived Chartwell 10:25 for some coffee and lovely cakes. Then free to visit the beautiful gardens until our timed entry to the house at 11:20.  Toured through the house, grounds and studio until leaving for lunch at 1:15.

 

You can see why Churchill bought the place. Views are fantastic with awesome gardens and grounds. A lot of his paintings on display in the studio. 
 

Lunch was at a hotel restaurant a few minutes away. Decent pasta bolognese and more cake! Back at the hotel by 4:15. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

16 minutes ago, formernuke said:

Chartwell today. Still cool but much less wind. Scattered showers which we pretty much avoided today (lucky!)

Left hotel at 8:45 arrived Chartwell 10:25 for some coffee and lovely cakes. Then free to visit the beautiful gardens until our timed entry to the house at 11:20.  Toured through the house, grounds and studio until leaving for lunch at 1:15.

 

You can see why Churchill bought the place. Views are fantastic with awesome gardens and grounds. A lot of his paintings on display in the studio. 
 

Lunch was at a hotel restaurant a few minutes away. Decent pasta bolognese and more cake! Back at the hotel by 4:15. 

Here’s a tip for fixing the upside down orientation that occurs sometimes on CC photo uploads. If the picture appears wrong, open the photo on your phone, edit it with a rotation, save it, edit it again to the correct orientation, save again, then upload it again. This seems to correct the issue. Not sure why CC confuses the orientation. It might have something to do with the orientation of the camera when the picture was taken and the phone automatically corrects when viewing.

Edited April 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[formernuke]

Thanks

[formernuke]

Forgot to mention, by luck today was 100 years to the day that Churchill bought Chartwell!

[KBs mum]

On 4/14/2024 at 5:23 PM, formernuke said:

Some notes on the rooms in Scotland Yard:

I don’t know how long Viking has been using this hotel (for example, the extension was originally scheduled for the Royal Horseguards).

 

Bathroom is excellent. Great shower, heated towel rack, electronic bidet- style toilet. 
 

Only UK style power outlets (no US style), as expected. However, there are multiple USB outlets next to the bed and near the desk, so you may not need an adapter/converter depending on what you need. 

Cooler’ not fridge provided with bottled water. 
 

Heads up: Hairdryer provided, but cannot be plugged into the bathroom outlet. DW reported that the cord didn’t reach from the nearest outlet to the closet mirror, so she was drying “blind”. 

There's normally a desk with a mirror that can be used as a dressing table 

[formernuke]

56 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

There's normally a desk with a mirror that can be used as a dressing table 

In this case there is not. My wife has sort have done ok by opening the mirrored closet door 90 degrees and reaching the dryer cord enough to get reasonably close. 

[formernuke]

Back from a great day at Bletchley Park, home of the WWIi code breaking organization.

 

Left about 7:35, arriving about 9:20. After coffee and pastries we started exploring then had a very informative group tour from 10:30 to about 11:45. Then explored using the audio guide and site map. Back on the bus at 1:30. 
 

Lunch at an excellent local pub. Chicken pie and mash followed by a very large (and excellent) apple crisp. 

Departed for hotel at 3pm arriving at 4:50. For some, it was probably enough time, but our program director says many people would like more time. Depends on your interest in this history and technical details. It is a large site. Personally, I could have spent two full days there, but that’s me. We’ll go back at some point in the future. Certainly not to be

Edited April 17 by formernuke
Included in error

[OneSixtyToOne]

You can indeed spend all day at Bletchley. There is also a ham radio shack on the grounds.