London Day trips

London Day trips

Below is a collection of ideas about places you might like to visit.  I have put together groups of places in the same vicinity where you might choose to spend a day.  Look up a few places to see what you might like.  I have listed opening times while we are there and prices just to give an indication.  Sometimes buying online or as a concession card holder will be cheaper.

St Paul’s Cathedral, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, The Globe (Shakespeare’s theatre), Borough markets, London Glassblowing

From 20120807 Junior Tour - England Pretour

St Pauls (£15 to go to top, cheaper online, otherwise free; 8:30am-4:00pm Mon-Sat)

- Beautiful cathedral

- Survived both World Wars when everything around it was destroyed

- Information Centre here is a great place for picking up a free map!

Millenium Bridge (free)

- Pedestrian bridge running between St Paul’s and Tate Modern

- It’s just a bridge

Tate Modern (10am-10pm Sun; 10am-6pm Mon-Thu)

- Modern art gallery

- Large sections free, top sections will have special (paid) galleries

The Globe (£13.50 for tour, various hours; to see a show, from £5 for matinee standing)

- The relocated, open-air theatre that Shakespeare wrote for

- Has tours and Shakespearian Shows

Borough Markets (10am-5pm Sun-Fri)

- PICKPOCKETS

- An excellent place to find a fresh lunch and maybe some other (eating) treats. Eg. cheese, olives, bread, cakes

London Glassblowing http://www.londonglassblowing.co.uk/ (10am-6pm Mon-Sat)

- I have spent literally hours (at least 6) watching them create glass sculptures and vases in their workshop behind their gallery.

- I love this place.

- It’s in Bermondsey which is previously a industry/warehouse-type area and is now a centre for design (very hipster)

Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Monument, Bank of England

Basically all within the Square Mile of the City of London.  The walls of the Tower of London mark a corner of the square mile that was once a walled city.  You can see traces of the wall throughout the city.  The wall was built up at different times with whatever came to hand.  The City of London (even now) has a different police force to the rest of London.  This might be one reason why Jack the Ripper got away - all he had to do was cross the road and he was in a different jurisdiction.

Tower Bridge (free)

- This is the one in all the post-cards

- It does open to let boats through occasionally, you can find when here:

Tower of London (£20.90, cheaper online; 9/10am-5pm)

- Allow at least half a day

- See the Crown Jewels

- See various versions of Henry VIII’s armour

- Free tours by the guards that live there (Yeoman Warders).

Monument to the Fire of London (£3; 9:30am-5:30pm)

- If laid down, the tip of the gold monument reaches the origin of the fire

- Can climb the steps to the top for a view of the city, Thames, Tower Bridge

Bank of England

- Has a free museum taking through the history of the bank, explains inflation (yawn), and shows the first bank notes

- If you think it won’t interest you, you’re probably right

- Still kinda nice to walk in this direction/get lost in the myriad of roads of Central London (the square mile)

Buckingham Palace, Changing of the Guard, Mounting of the Guard, 10 Downing St, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery

Buckingham Palace (depends on which bit you want to see)

- I’ve never been in

Changing of the Guard

- I’ve never been, apparently there are lots of people and you have to wait around to get a half decent spot

Mounting of the Guard

- Apparently much better than Changing of the Guard

- I’ve never seen

10 Downing St

- Where the Prime Minister lives - all you can really see are some police guards outside a gate

Trafalgar Square

- Fountains, Giant lion statues, and a guy at the top of a pedestal (Nelson’s column) in the middle of a busy cross-roads that lots of red buses and black taxis go around

National Gallery (free; 10am-6pm)

- Lots of famous paintings in a beautiful setting

- Next to Trafalgar Square

National Portrait Gallery (free; 10am-6pm)

- Portraits of the who’s who in British history

- Next to National Gallery

Windsor

Transport

Catch the train (~£23; ~1h each way) to Windsor & Eton Riverside. (The Olympic rowing is out this way, so will affect the timetable - check out http://www.getaheadofthegames.com/travelinaffectedareas/windsor-and-eton.html for details)

To Do

- Visit Windsor Castle (£17, 10am-5pm) - at least half a day - to see amazingly decorated rooms, the most amazing dollhouse, a changing of the guard, a gorgeous church where the Knights of the Order of the Garter sit

- The Long Walk - a long street with park and trees either side. The Queen goes in and out of this entrance to Windsor Castle - this is where I saw her!

- Walk along the riverside with all the houseboats and ducks

I liked Windsor Castle better than the Tower of London - there was just so much more.  It was sumptuous and I could see why this is where the Queen likes to spend her time.

The Monopoly Board

- You know the streets

Shopping: Oxford St, Hamleys, Harrods

Oxford St

- A street full of mainstream shops - usually packed

Hamleys (188-196 Regent St  London, UK W1B 5BT)

- A 6 storey toy shop (fun!)

- Hard to walk out empty-handed

Harrods (87-135 Brompton Road  London SW1X 7XL)

- Expensive and known world-wide

TKMax

- Big name brands at cheap prices.  Usually quality, but need to search a bit.

Primark

- Really cheap

And plenty of others

Southbank, The Eye, Houses of Parliament (Big Ben), Westminster Abbey

Southbank

- Really nice to walk along the Thames

- often a festival atmosphere

The Eye

- Expensive to ride but fun to see

Houses of Parliament and the tower containing Big Ben

- Cool to see

Westminster Abbey (£16; 9:30am-3:30pm Mon-Tues)

- Beautiful

- History of coronations and weddings

Other Great Starting Places:

Walking Tours

http://www.walks.com/

These go everywhere, fairly cheaply, departing at a variety of times.  I am keen to go on the Harry Potter tour and can recommend the Jack the Ripper tour.

Hop-on-Hop-off buses

There are two main companies. They are comparable on price, quality and route.

The Big Red Bus

The Original London Tour Bus

Free Stuff!

There are free museums and galleries all over the place.  You can access all the permanent galleries for free (there are boxes for donations, but no obligation) and there are often featured shows for a price.

The National Gallery - some of the Big Name Painters of all time on display

The National Portrait Gallery - a history of Who’s Who in (mostly English) history

The V&A (Victoria and Albert) - Design Gallery (sculpture, paintings, jewellery, costumes...)

The Tate Modern - modern art

The British Museum - full of colonial plunder including Egyptian mummies

The Wellcome Museum - some weird stuff - science and art museum combined

The Natural History Museum - haven’t been, but heard good stuff

The London Museum - takes you through a history of how it was to live in the London area, from the point when it was only animals

Olympic Events

Women’s Marathon (Sunday 5th 11am)

Lookup Wikipedia for the route which has a start leg, followed by three loops of the same course passing sites such as: Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, Bank of England, Tower of London, The Monument, along the Thames opposite The Eye, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.

Men’s Triathlon (Tuesday 7th 11:30am)

The 1.5 km swim, 40 km cycle and 10 km run will take place in Hyde Park, one of the eight Royal Parks of London. The swim will take place in the Serpentine which will have a pontoon constructed to act as the start. The cycle will involve athletes leaving the park via Queen Mother's Gate, travelling through Wellington Arch, down Constitution Hill and on to Birdcage Walk in front of Buckingham Palace before returning to the park to complete the event with a four lap run around the Serpentine.

A temporary 3000-capacity seating area will be constructed in the park in June 2012 and a three-metre high temporary fence will surround the events.

My new bike

Two weeks ago, I bought a bike. I can now add my helmet to the ring of Londoners who get around on two, self-powered wheels. For me, it represents a freedom of movement. Even though public transport is close by and can get me to most places, travelling by bike is cheaper (in the long run), healthier, not restrained by timetables and takes me exactly where I want to go. In addition, it helps me connect the below-ground world with the above-ground streets, helping build my mental network of London streets.

I have already learnt some simple things about riding in London. In specifying a route, find a cycle superhighway. These are bike lane, coloured blue on the main road. These are a recent addition and offer a multitude of benefits:

1. It’s limited to bicycles, and is part of a shared lane with buses. The buses are very aware of cyclists and to quote Manni from LESS, “They’re cool. They’re just like your big bruva.” Cars are more aware of the existence of cyclists too – a bright blue strip of road and constant cyclist traffic helps.
2. They’re made from a courser mix of asphalt than the main road, which means it’s grippier for bike tyres, particularly in the wet, preventing aqua-planing.
3. They’re smooth. I’ve travelled on other roads in the middle of town that are just patches on patches on patches. Makes it hard to accelerate, let alone sit down. Any service plates are well positioned and fairly level with the street you’re riding on. Where there are two plates, they’ve often left a gap big enough for a bike tyre to roll through, without needing to go over the ‘bump’.

A definite compliment to London planners is the rate of rain run off. Five minutes after a shower, you would hardly be able to tell from the roads, it’s all run out of sight.

Yesterday’s Sky Ride through the car-blocked streets of London was a safe (re-) introduction for some riders. However, some veterans are concerned that the newbies will not be able to handle themselves safely once they are in real London traffic – today for example, when Tube workers are striking. While it may be true that the rust-buckets (the bikes I mean) will make an appearance, I doubt it will take them too long to adapt - following the sound of horns and gusts of too-close-trucks sweeping them along. As for me, I’m still learning: the A3, with it’s 40mph speed limit, and no bike lane, is not somewhere I will voluntarily be riding again..

Arriving in London

London Day 1
After an uneventful flight from Melbourne, via Dubai, I landed in London and was greeted by a joyous husband who vaulted the barrier to take me in his arms. It was so nice to have my arms around him again. On the 2 hour car ride home we passed a "No War" rally near Trafalgar Square, which is where rallies are often held and slowed us down. We also passed Big Ben and Buckingham Palace (which I'm informed should be referred to as Bucking-Huge Palace). My expectations are obviously very Disney-influenced as to me it appeared like a dour Parliament building rather than a Palace where the Queen lives.

My first expedition out of our flat was wet and hailing. We did a short loop over the Thames, past The Globe (Shakespearian Theatre), past the Tate Modern Art Gallery, back across the Millennium footbridge, a look at St Paul's Cathedral and home to get warm and dry. (Thank goodness for our new water-proof camera!)

My day was topped off with a home-cooked roast, made by my man.

Day 2
Sunday I went for my first ride on the Tube. The best part about it - it's warm!! We caught up for brunch with Aussie Ultimate players Alex and Helen - who Lee has been living up the single life with. On a stroll along Oxford St (the main shopping strip) I was astounded by the clothes on offer - summer dresses only - I was wearing a jumper, beanie, jacket and was missing my mittens! At lunch I learned that the English are constantly talking about the weather. I take this as evidence of optimism: 350 days of the year they are surprised at how crappy the weather is - if that isn't optimism, I don't know what is.

That night we went on a 2 hour walking tour of London - "Jack the Ripper's Slashing Ground". I was surprised to learn Jack the Ripper is accredited with 'only' 5 murders. Such a notorious serial killer, made me think there must have been more. Lee was surprised to learn that one pub he went to had probably been frequented by Jack the Ripper and victims.

Day 3
My birthday. Slept to midday, wrote a job application, checked out a neighbourhood where we could live (first time on DLR), went out for dinner. Romantic powerwalk (too cold to go slow) home.

Day 4
My first day as a kept woman. Searched for jobs, took Lee his lunch, over-tired sleep in the afternoon, made cottage pie for dinner, strawberries and chocolate mousse for dessert.

Day 5
Today. Bought myself a coat! Alterations will be done in time for me to pick it up and take it to Paris. About to head out for a walk with my camera - sun shining today and I was even outside without my jumper on for a couple of minutes.