Coming to London!

[kirkg]

OK, don't hate me, but it sure looks like My wife and I have the option of which week we want to visit London in spirng 2012....April 22-29, April 29-May 5 or May 23-29.


What is the climate like then? What are the high's and lows? Typical clothing needed? The visit will be a package tour, all out of one hotel and conducted. We just get to pick the week we want.

Is Cardiff nearby? Close enough to go visit? Or would we want to?


What do you advise, which week should we choose, Please?
There ARE London Dr. Who fans on here, aren't there?

[aquabluejay]

I will kill you.

[kirkg]

Patience, grasshopper....

It's not for sure...only in the initial discussion phazes.

(Is there a Doctor Who museum or place to visit?)
Then I found this article: www.wackyowl.com/doctor-cybermen-invade-london/

[aquabluejay]

Yeah, I've seen that article before actually... There are some interesting videos of cybermen frolicking in random parks around London floating around as well. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ndoUu2tYFc

[leamichelle]

How exciting!

Climate: moderate, during the mid-to-late spring it's something like 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. And it can get wet, so pack accordingly. (Along the same vein, London is notoriously temperamental. Where most of us are used to a good four seasons, I'd wager London has about sixty, all trying to approximate what they assume "typical London weather" to be like and all falling decidedly somewhere near "well, it isn't bad I suppose, I should probably grab my jacket.") As usual, check forecasts a week or two before you fly over. You won't be prepared for everything, but it's the best start.

Trips to Cardiff: If you're doing a package tour, you might not have time for this (it's in Wales), but if permitted you must tell me all about it, as I've never been. ;D I would guess it's a few hours by train from London, though, so it's a fair jaunt to say the least. (Depending on which part of America you're from, you might be used to it. I never appreciated how far people will travel in one day until my godmother told me she would take the Metro from Spotsylvania to Crystal City on a daily basis. I'm a little too faint-hearted for that, methinks. ymmv.) For Cardiff: visitcardiff.com

Tourist-y Things! As for tourist-y things, they're innumerable really. If you're going as part of a package deal, you'll probably spend most of your time in West End; however, I don't know how accurate that is as I'm not putting the package together. ;D As a general rule, though, the big shops and cultural thingies are in West End. A good place to start: visitlondon.com

And yes, there is a Doctor Who museum of sorts! ;D It's called "The Doctor Who Experience" (right? RIGHT?!) and tickets are a bit expensive but well-worth it, so I've been told. It's close to Holland Park on the Central Line. For more on that, here you are: doctorwhoexperience.com

That's another thing - if it isn't already included, an Oyster card is going to be vital for getting about. They have special cards for visitors: visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk

I think I've probably worn out my welcome, but there you are, hope it helps some

[kirkg]

Excellent response. Just what I was hoping for.
The trip isn't certain, but we're researching before deciding.
Is there a great difference in climate between, say April 25-29 and April 29-May 3rd?
I guess Cardiff is not practical...that's what I wanted to know...plus, if there were any reason for us to go there or DW reason for us to want to go there. (I really know NOTHING about England, areas, cities, regions, shires, sherwood, etc)

But, that DWExperience might be possible on our free time. Mom may veto it, and rightly so...

I appreciate info on distances and timing very much. We would have some free time a few days, but always based in the same hotel and taking excursions that were planned and conducted each day.

EXACTLY WHAT is an "oyster card" and why is it needed for getting around? A bus pass? A subway credit card? I'm sure we'd get an orientation from the travel company, but as long as you brought it up....

[clocketpatch]

I was in London for four days last year in early May. It was lovely and I wish I could've stayed longer. The weather was very nice, but it's London so I think I just lucked out. I needed a sweater but it never rained.

As for things to see, I'm still kicking myself for missing the TARDIS outside of the Earl's Court Tube Station (this was completely my fault since I was literally two feet from it and couldn't find the thing. kick, kick). It's a genuine Police Call Box somewhere in the vicinity of the station. Great for photo-ops, or so I hear.

If you get a chance I really enjoyed Camden Markets and the Horse Stable Markets. Even if you aren't a shopping person, the food and the variety of stuff in the stalls is something to see. I got a nice fobwatch there for four pounds. It doesn't really work, but hey, fobwatch!

The Globe is nice, though you have to buy tickets in advance if you want a seat. If you don't mind standing for a few hours you can pick up tickets the day of for under ten pounds and stand right next tot he stage in the groundling section.

I second the Oyster Card advice. SO much cheaper than paying as you go, especially if you use the buses. (And the most useful bit of information I got out of watching Planet of the Dead )

[leamichelle]

The Oyster card is like pay-as-you-go credit for the bus, tube, et al. All the info about it should be on that website I linked.

As for timing and distance, I could probably give you a reasonable estimate if I knew the wheres, whens, and hows. As it is, using the tube, pretty much everything can be measured in miles and minutes. If you've ever taken the NYC subway among the tourist-y parts, you probably have a general idea about travel times between relevant stations.

[kirkg]

Oh thanks. I was more curious about distance and time to Cardiff.... as it is, IF we go, we won't be able to get outside of London probably except to go see Stonehenge one day on the tour.

I am just a complete blank about England, the layout, the areas, the cities, except for some random pop culture references, like.... Beatles came from Liverpool, a working class city. Brighton is some sort of seaside resort. "West End Girls" was a song by the Pet Shop Boys, but I don't know the significance. Tower of London has the jewels and was a prison. And Number 10 Downing Street is the Prime Minister's office and got blown up in Season one.

Not much to judge a country or realm on, I know.
Are the white cliffs of Dover worth traveling to see, or by looking in Ireland at their seaside clifts, have I already seen it?
Where is the devil's postile, seashore with huge oxtagonal crystals growing up on the beach?

(And in the book, "Moonraker", where is the cliff that falls onto Bond and the gal? I just re-read the comic version of that adventure, and don't recall the city name nor region it is set in.
Are there any scenes or sites from The Prisoner worth visiting? How about The Avengers TV series?)

[clocketpatch]

I've heard from several people that Stonehenge is worth a miss. It's right near a giant motorway and you aren't allowed particularly close -

but I haven't been and I also don't know its significance to you. Some people aren't bothered by that sort of thing as long as they get to see the main event. And you would be visiting a filming site, so that would be cool.

I've heard that there are other henges which are just as impressive and far less frequently touristed, so that might be fun. I know that my room mate went on day trips to Bath, Warwick and Windsor Castle and enjoyed all three more than the henge. Bath would be nice for Roman ruins, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Are you landing into Gatwick or Heathrow? If you're taking a package tour then you'll probably have a transfer, but if not, Heathrow has a tube line but Gatwick is way out in the boonies and you'll have to book an airport bus online in advance to avoid paying outrageous prices to leave the airport.

[jjpor]

I actually went to Stonehenge a few years ago, and was far more impressed with it than I expected to be. Definitely worth seeing once in your life. The only thing is, they charge an exorbitant fee to get close enough to see it, and the whole site is something of a massive tourist trap, with carparks, gift shops, hundreds of people (and I went there at like half past four in the afternoon or something, so gawd knows how crowded it is in the middle of the day). So yeah.

It's right in the middle of Salisbury Plain anyway, aka the place the British army uses for all sorts of exercises etc, so all sorts of helicopters, armoured vehicles etc etc tooling around the place. Which is actually kind of entertaining if you're a sometime armaments spotter like me, but...

Yeah, anyway.

I'm from Liverpool - does that make me as cool as the Beatles? Working class hero, that's me. ;D We're about two or three hours from London by train, which seems like a long way to us, but I think everywhere here is ridiculously close together by North American standards, so might not seem too far to you. Cardiff is probably something similar, if not slightly closer. I've only ever been to Cardiff once, and that was pre-NuWho or Torchwood so I wasn't terribly interested in the place at the time, so could tell you literally nothing about it except that their football stadium is very big and impressive.

Portmeirion, where they filmed The Prisoner, is in North Wales, not too far from Liverpool actually (maybe a couple of hours by car), but probably not too accessible from London. The giant's causeway, octagonal thing is in Northern Ireland, iirc, so almost certainly a bit too out of the way for your purposes.

[kirkg]

It's a package trip, so we don't have to worry about any transportation, fees, nor most activities. They're all planned for us, including a trip to Stonehenge... plus, I HAVE to get down the steps to see if the Pandoricum is still open or not...!

[clocketpatch]

If you manage to find the Underhenge do take a picture.

Though, somehow I think the closest you'll come is standing outside the circle and humming the Indiana Jones theme song to yourself.

Which is what I would do, just so you know.

[IMForeman]

This is a rather timely thread. I'm going to London next week (jeez, that came up fast). I was also there about two years ago.

For Doctor Who as well as other books or comics and general geek stuff, I would recommend going to Forbidden Planet. Although not if you're trying to save money! They have lots and lots of merchandise. I'm from NY, and they have a store there too, but the one in London is much bigger and better.

Oh, and I also checked out the Earl's Court TARDIS. Was fun. Good way to kill some extra time. (And don't feel bad about missing it, Clocket, I had trouble finding it too.)

Anything else I'm remembering that was good is general tourist stuff that may be included in your package tour anyway. Hmm. Don't know if you'll get a chance to go but Oxford is a really lovely city that isn't too far from London by train.