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Before I go to my cousin's wedding on the 22nd of October in Poland, I'd like to spend another week in London (either before or after that, I'm still not sure), and I was looking for some suggestions. I've been once before, on a similar itinerary, four years ago, and I'm looking to a similar trip, but it's probably just me flying this time (not with my dad, which is another story altogether...). My plan is to fly out of Pearson airport in Toronto, arrive at Heathrow, and then fly out a day later to Poland via Ryanair. I have a second cousin living in London who I've stayed with before, so I don't think accommodation will be a problem. Then a week later, I'm planning on flying back to London, spend about a week overall in the UK, seeing some more sights, and taking a flight up to Scotland to take a distillery tour, and then fly back home to Canada within about a week. I've already done a number of the touristy things in and around London, like visit Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, and was hoping to see if there are some more... let's say in-depth places to check out. Last time, I was at the mercy of my dad's schedule, and he's not really adventurous (we walked around in the middle of London all day, and we ended up having dinner at the "Texas Embassy"...). So far, I've looked into getting a visitor's Oyster card for the Tube, and was pleasantly surprised (speaking as someone who lives in a very car-centric area). I've gotten some ideas for restaurants from the London thread in GWS, and I'm looking at taking the train from Glasgow or Edinburgh for the distillery. I'm not 100% sure what it is I'm looking for (other than the distillery tour, which is a must for me), but I was hoping to at least get some ideas what to check out while I'm there as a guy who will have just turned 30. I'm still new to travelling on my own, since I've finally saved up enough money from working at my first-ever full-time job.
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Sep 5, 2016 03:54
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There are loads of cool and interesting museums in London, if that's something you're interested in. The Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and V&A are all right next to one another and cater for most interests. If you prefer quirkier stuff, the Hunterian Museum is cool, and I always recommend the Wellcome Collection as a place to go that is surprisingly unknown considering how good it is. You can also do a lot of drinking and gigging if that's what you're into. The obvious places like Camden have lots going on, or you can head out of Central a bit towards Hackney or Dalston if you want to get a feel for other, less touristy places. It really depends what you want from your trip, after all it's a capital city and there will be lots to choose from. Walking along the Thames through Central can be a pretty cool experience, and the city is very pretty at night from the water.
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Sep 5, 2016 19:56
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Bollock Monkey posted:There are loads of cool and interesting museums in London, if that's something you're interested in. The Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and V&A are all right next to one another and cater for most interests. If you prefer quirkier stuff, the Hunterian Museum is cool, and I always recommend the Wellcome Collection as a place to go that is surprisingly unknown considering how good it is. Very interested in the museums. I've always wanted to see all of the neat artifacts. I'm also interested in the more quirky stuff (a friend of mine and I want to visit Japan some day just to see all the weird poo poo they have). As for drinking, I'm going to Poland the week before, so I'll probably consider any drinking in London as weaning myself off.
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Sep 5, 2016 22:02
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The Hunterian is closing in May 2017 (until 2020) so make sure you see it in October! Highgate cemetery is worth a visit if you want to see where some famous people are buried. From there you can walk to Hampstead which is a fancy part of London, you might see some living famous people (I used to live nearby and would often see Ricky Gervais out for a jog). Hampstead Heath is nice, with good views over the city. From there you can walk down the hill into Camden and check out the markets, and further south from that you're not far from the British Museum which you could spend days in. I'd really recommend walking around as you'll get a feel for the city, if you're tired just use the Oyster card on a bus so that you see the places you travel past. The only downside is that the weather won't be great in October - I tend to do the above kind of walk when it's sunny out. As for rainy day activities I've never been but the Tower of London is supposed to be good.
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Sep 6, 2016 14:33
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Lady Gaza posted:The Hunterian is closing in May 2017 (until 2020) so make sure you see it in October! Glasgow it is then. I was wondering how feasible it'd be to take a flight up to Glasgow, spend a night there, take a train to the distillery, then back to Edinburgh for another day, and then fly back, but that might eat up too much time. quote:Highgate cemetery is worth a visit if you want to see where some famous people are buried. From there you can walk to Hampstead which is a fancy part of London, you might see some living famous people (I used to live nearby and would often see Ricky Gervais out for a jog). Hampstead Heath is nice, with good views over the city. From there you can walk down the hill into Camden and check out the markets, and further south from that you're not far from the British Museum which you could spend days in. Oddly enough, when I was there four years ago, it was also during October, and the weather was absolutely perfect. The British Museum was something I was definitely looking for. I'm trying to convince a friend of mine to come along, and some walks around the city would probably be great. (Or if my wildest birthday wish next month comes true and I meet the girl of my dreams at that wedding and convince her to run away with me for a week...) And thanks for the suggestion for the Oyster card. Last time I was there, we ended up relying on my second-cousin (who had to spend the weekend in Ireland for business), and we didn't get out as much as I'd liked. This time, I've actually done my research and will be investing in a visitor's Oyster card. $10 max for the whole day? He lives north of London, near one of the farthest stops in Watford, so it should be easy enough to get into the city. This may sound weird, but as I live in a very car-centric town with terrible public transportation, I'm really excited to be taking the underground. I have one problem, though. My original plan was to fly there, stay overnight, then fly to Poland, but my cousin won't be available until the 22nd, so I guess I'll either fly there in the same day, or find alternate accommodations (either way, I'm still looking for a way to get from Heathrow to Stansted with my baggage).
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Sep 6, 2016 15:50
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I think that travelling to Glasgow, Edinburgh and London would be too much. Though I just realised there's a Hunterian in Glasgow and London - I've only been to the latter, which is the one closing!
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Sep 6, 2016 17:11
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Lady Gaza posted:I think that travelling to Glasgow, Edinburgh and London would be too much. Though I just realised there's a Hunterian in Glasgow and London - I've only been to the latter, which is the one closing! drat, I should've read further down the Google search I did. First one I saw was in Glasgow. Yeah, my plan is just for a day or two and spend the rest of my time in London. I'm still trying to figure out which distillery to visit. I'd love to check out some on Islay, but it seems like a lot of effort to get there compared to some of the others.
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Sep 6, 2016 17:30
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Glengoyne.
http://www.glengoyne.com/ http://www.auchentoshan.com/
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Sep 8, 2016 13:53
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duckmaster posted:Glengoyne. Well, I was looking to spend a day in Glasgow anyway, but yeah, that would definitely cut down on travel time. I think if I were to stay for two weeks (and I would've if not for this wedding), I'd definitely travel farther.
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Sep 8, 2016 14:10
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mojo1701a posted:Well, I was looking to spend a day in Glasgow anyway, but yeah, that would definitely cut down on travel time. If this thread was just "which distillery should I go to, assuming I had unlimited time", I'd still say Glengoyne.
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Sep 8, 2016 15:47
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I have a question about the Oyster card: my cousin emailed me back about not needing it if I have a contactless bank card. Do daily caps still work on that? I also just discovered that there are different limits depending on where you go. Oh well, it's still my best option so far. duckmaster posted:If this thread was just "which distillery should I go to, assuming I had unlimited time", I'd still say Glengoyne. I've never had any of their malts, but it seems like my best bet so far. And according to their website, there's a bus that travels there directly from the bus station.
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Sep 8, 2016 17:21
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FWIW my contactless bank card and my husband's, both from Canada, didn't work on the underground and we had to pay the full 5 pounds for a ticket to go from St Pancras to Paddington. If we were going to be in London for more than like 4 hours we would have definitely just gotten the oyster card. And I'd been using contactless all the time both in Canada and in Europe, as had my husband, the cards definitely worked.
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Sep 8, 2016 18:04
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HookShot posted:FWIW my contactless bank card and my husband's, both from Canada, didn't work on the underground and we had to pay the full 5 pounds for a ticket to go from St Pancras to Paddington. If we were going to be in London for more than like 4 hours we would have definitely just gotten the oyster card. I figured it was probably better safe than sorry. Not to mention my credit card doesn't charge 2.5% foreign exchange, so pay as you go from the Visa sounds better.
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Sep 8, 2016 18:17
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Yeah I just moved to London and for some reason my contactless card didn't work on the first bus I tried it on. Particularly annoying because the buses in London don't take cash. I haven't looked into why, but an Oyster card might be safer in that respect.
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Sep 8, 2016 18:50
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If you're into gin, Beefeater does distillery tours in London. Also you should join this because it was awesome: http://ginjourney.com/ Also, something to keep in mind. You don't have to use the tube to get everywhere -- buses can be faster, easier, and cheaper. zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 14:35
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zmcnulty posted:If you're into gin, Beefeater does distillery tours in London. Also you should join this because it was awesome: http://ginjourney.com/ I'm not a big fan of gin, but I appreciate the recommendation (though I do enjoy Tanqueray). And as for the transportation, yeah I'll be looking at buses as well. It's just fun to say "tube". Speaking of transportation, is it worth buying a visitor's Oyster card and having them ship it to me in Canada (or even to my family in Poland) or just buying a regular one there as I show up? Seems like they mostly just offer some discounts to tourist traps.
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Sep 12, 2016 15:10
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Thanks for the help, everyone! I've got my tickets booked (except for Rzeszow->London and the Scotland ones, I'm still double-checking those). I ended up booking flights that should have me in London for 11 hours (from 6:30am-5pm). My understanding is that the transportation from Heathrow to Luton Airport is easy enough, so I'll probably just take my baggage their directly, and chill in their lounge before I head out again. I don't think it's a good idea to wander around with giant luggage considering my sleep schedule will be all weird, and it takes into account flight delays, traffic, etc. It also saves me some money on a hotel. edit: of course there's no direct train, idiot. mojo1701a fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Sep 14, 2016 |
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Sep 14, 2016 19:04
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In addition to a card you can use android or apple pay too.
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Sep 15, 2016 18:55
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mojo1701a posted:Speaking of transportation, is it worth buying a visitor's Oyster card and having them ship it to me in Canada (or even to my family in Poland) or just buying a regular one there as I show up? Seems like they mostly just offer some discounts to tourist traps. I wouldn't bother getting one shipped over - you can buy them from a station's ticket offices or just at a ticket machine. There is a £5 deposit that you can get back when you hand the Oyster in at the end of your trip. If you're only in London for 11 hours I would suggest just putting £10 on there and making sure to get whatever's left and the deposit back just before you leave.
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Sep 18, 2016 15:56
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Bollock Monkey posted:I wouldn't bother getting one shipped over - you can buy them from a station's ticket offices or just at a ticket machine. There is a £5 deposit that you can get back when you hand the Oyster in at the end of your trip. If you're only in London for 11 hours I would suggest just putting £10 on there and making sure to get whatever's left and the deposit back just before you leave. I'm coming back after a week, and staying for about a week, which is why I'm asking. Still haven't decided which day, but I figure 8-9 days should be a fair amount of time. I'm leaning towards a regular one anyway, since it seems like just a bunch of minor discounts at all the tourist traps (20% off at the café at the British Museum. Whoopee).
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Sep 18, 2016 17:17
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How easy would it be to find a locker at one of the stations on my way to Luton? I know they probably have lockers there, but I'd rather see if I can find a place to keep my luggage somewhere so I can maybe at least explore for a few hours. I originally didn't plan on it, but I forgot about stations maybe having lockers. Edit: never mind. I did the actual search I should've done and discovered they have services at some stations that will hold them for you. mojo1701a fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Sep 21, 2016 |
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Sep 21, 2016 15:57
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