Cliff and Diana's Quick Trip to London - 2008
This is a review that we will be sending to others, so the reference to the Invincible is for their benefit. Cliff and Diana’s 2008 Quick Trip to London After being away most of January, we needed something to combat our PCD (Post Cruise Depression) so planned a visit to London. Although we had been to the UK several times, we had not spent a lot of time recently right in London. This was to be a chance to see many of the things we had previously missed. We left Home May 15 and flew to Heathrow. A folder with all or our research had been prepared and we had a somewhat loose plan. First on the agenda was to buy Oyster Cards for the Tube, Buses, etc. On deplaning, we were amazed to see a virtually empty arrivals hall and went straight to passport control. Careful planning had allowed us to pack only carry-on, so we were out and at the Underground Ticket Wicket in just a few minutes, certainly a record for Heathrow. Oyster Cards in hand, we swiped onto the Piccadilly line, transferred at Earl’s Court to the Central Line and were at Paddington in less than an hour. A short walk brought us to our hotel, the Royal Court Apartments. We had booked this hotel online because of location and the fact that it had a full kitchenette for making our own breakfasts. Most hotels are now charging for breakfast and the price is fairly high. A short walk back to Paddington Station and we stocked up at Marks and Spencer and Sainsburys. Unfortunately, the hotel , consisting of 8 converted town houses, was fairly old and the floors all squeaked. With little in the way of insulation, the occupants above us made quite a noise and were late in retiring. Combined with the firm beds, we did not sleep well. Otherwise, it wasn’t bad. A quick pint at one of the pubs on the research list and we were early to bed to catch up after the flight. Saturday was cool, overcast and drizzly so we opted for Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum. The route involved a tube ride and a connection to the Docklands Light Railway. (A word of caution here for anyone planning to use the Oyster Card in London. It is a great improvement and is a snap to use. However, on the tube and the DLR, it is necessary to swipe on AND OFF when leaving. When we arrived at Cutty Sark station for Greenwich, we began looking for the swipe pad. After climbing two levels, we found ouselves on the street and had not seen it. A check the next day revealed that we had been charged full fare and a penalty for not swiping out. It took several phone calls, completion of a form and several visits to the assistance windows to finally get a credit.) Over the next few days, we visited the Parliament Buildings, sitting for a while in the House of Lords gallery; Westminster Abbey for a free organ recital; Harrods; Temple Church; Covent Garden; Camden Lock Market; Regent’s Canal; Apsley House, home of the Duke of Wellington; Hyde Park; Kensington Gardens and most of the pubs on our research list (plus some that weren’t). On Monday, we began checking for reduced price tickets for an evening performance. One of the recommended outlets was TKTS at Leicester Square. They had several half-price offerings but not for Spamalot, our first choice. We then went to the Palace Theatre box office and lucked out. The agent, while checking his availability, found two returns for the front row of the stalls, right near the orchestra conductor at centre stage. He offered them to us for £20 each which we grabbed before he could change his mind. The show was excellent but best for those familiar with the old Monty Python’s Flying Circus TV shows from the ’70’s and the ‘Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail’ movie. Wednesday was departure day to visit relations in Worcestershire. We took the National Express coach from the Victoria Coach Station to Hereford and then a short train ride to Leominster, the closest station to Tenbury Wells and our cousin Margaret. While we were there, others came from Yorkshire and Devon so it was a very nice reunion, complete with dinner for 12 on Friday night. We were also able to revisit the Pembroke Arms, our favourite Tenbury pub. On Friday morning, we visited Ludlow, a charming old town in Shropshire. Saturday morning, bright and early, we were on the train to Manchester and our hotel in Salford. The hotel we had booked was very nice and conveniently located. After a short visit to the shopping centre nearby, Saturday afternoon saw us walking to the Salford Quays to scope out our departure point for the Manchester Ship Canal Cruise on Sunday. Next morning, we made our way to the Quays and boarded ‘Snowdrop, a Mersey ferry that now operates the 6 hour cruise between Salford and Liverpool. This had been arranged to meet with a number of members of The Invincible, a cruise-related internet forum to which we belong. There were 10 of us booked and we managed to secure seating outside on the bow. It was windy but the logic was that we would be turning after leaving the dock and have the wind on the stern. The downside was that we had to sit in the wind for at least half an hour before departing.
We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, especially in the company of our newly met friends. The canal is quite historic and, unlike many of the narrowboat canals, which are now mainly used for pleasure trips, this is still a commercial operation serving some of the industries between Liverpool and Manchester. There was a very informative commentary along the way and the ferry had a well stocked snack and drinks bar.
In Liverpool, we boarded a somewhat questionable double-decker bus for the ride back to Salford Quays, where the seven remaining cruisers then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Jackie and Adrian were kind enough to drive us back to the hotel.
Monday morning saw us up at 4:00am for our 4:45 ride to the Manchester Airport. The British Midland flight was ready for departure ahead of the 6:35 scheduled departure time but had to wait for Air Traffic Control clearance due to strong winds at Heathrow in London. When we finally arrived there, we could not use the enclosed bridge to the terminal and had to deplane outside in the pouring rain onto a shuttle to the arrivals hall. After a very long walk, we made it to Terminal 3 and onto our non-stop flight back to Vancouver.
Pictures of the trip can be seen at:
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/view/6401144002-1211991917-10126/64011
This is a review that we will be sending to others, so the reference to the Invincible is for their benefit. Cliff and Diana’s 2008 Quick Trip to London After being away most of January, we needed something to combat our PCD (Post Cruise Depression) so planned a visit to London. Although we had been to the UK several times, we had not spent a lot of time recently right in London. This was to be a chance to see many of the things we had previously missed. We left Home May 15 and flew to Heathrow. A folder with all or our research had been prepared and we had a somewhat loose plan. First on the agenda was to buy Oyster Cards for the Tube, Buses, etc. On deplaning, we were amazed to see a virtually empty arrivals hall and went straight to passport control. Careful planning had allowed us to pack only carry-on, so we were out and at the Underground Ticket Wicket in just a few minutes, certainly a record for Heathrow. Oyster Cards in hand, we swiped onto the Piccadilly line, transferred at Earl’s Court to the Central Line and were at Paddington in less than an hour. A short walk brought us to our hotel, the Royal Court Apartments. We had booked this hotel online because of location and the fact that it had a full kitchenette for making our own breakfasts. Most hotels are now charging for breakfast and the price is fairly high. A short walk back to Paddington Station and we stocked up at Marks and Spencer and Sainsburys. Unfortunately, the hotel , consisting of 8 converted town houses, was fairly old and the floors all squeaked. With little in the way of insulation, the occupants above us made quite a noise and were late in retiring. Combined with the firm beds, we did not sleep well. Otherwise, it wasn’t bad. A quick pint at one of the pubs on the research list and we were early to bed to catch up after the flight. Saturday was cool, overcast and drizzly so we opted for Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum. The route involved a tube ride and a connection to the Docklands Light Railway. (A word of caution here for anyone planning to use the Oyster Card in London. It is a great improvement and is a snap to use. However, on the tube and the DLR, it is necessary to swipe on AND OFF when leaving. When we arrived at Cutty Sark station for Greenwich, we began looking for the swipe pad. After climbing two levels, we found ouselves on the street and had not seen it. A check the next day revealed that we had been charged full fare and a penalty for not swiping out. It took several phone calls, completion of a form and several visits to the assistance windows to finally get a credit.) Over the next few days, we visited the Parliament Buildings, sitting for a while in the House of Lords gallery; Westminster Abbey for a free organ recital; Harrods; Temple Church; Covent Garden; Camden Lock Market; Regent’s Canal; Apsley House, home of the Duke of Wellington; Hyde Park; Kensington Gardens and most of the pubs on our research list (plus some that weren’t). On Monday, we began checking for reduced price tickets for an evening performance. One of the recommended outlets was TKTS at Leicester Square. They had several half-price offerings but not for Spamalot, our first choice. We then went to the Palace Theatre box office and lucked out. The agent, while checking his availability, found two returns for the front row of the stalls, right near the orchestra conductor at centre stage. He offered them to us for £20 each which we grabbed before he could change his mind. The show was excellent but best for those familiar with the old Monty Python’s Flying Circus TV shows from the ’70’s and the ‘Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail’ movie. Wednesday was departure day to visit relations in Worcestershire. We took the National Express coach from the Victoria Coach Station to Hereford and then a short train ride to Leominster, the closest station to Tenbury Wells and our cousin Margaret. While we were there, others came from Yorkshire and Devon so it was a very nice reunion, complete with dinner for 12 on Friday night. We were also able to revisit the Pembroke Arms, our favourite Tenbury pub. On Friday morning, we visited Ludlow, a charming old town in Shropshire. Saturday morning, bright and early, we were on the train to Manchester and our hotel in Salford. The hotel we had booked was very nice and conveniently located. After a short visit to the shopping centre nearby, Saturday afternoon saw us walking to the Salford Quays to scope out our departure point for the Manchester Ship Canal Cruise on Sunday. Next morning, we made our way to the Quays and boarded ‘Snowdrop, a Mersey ferry that now operates the 6 hour cruise between Salford and Liverpool. This had been arranged to meet with a number of members of The Invincible, a cruise-related internet forum to which we belong. There were 10 of us booked and we managed to secure seating outside on the bow. It was windy but the logic was that we would be turning after leaving the dock and have the wind on the stern. The downside was that we had to sit in the wind for at least half an hour before departing.
We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, especially in the company of our newly met friends. The canal is quite historic and, unlike many of the narrowboat canals, which are now mainly used for pleasure trips, this is still a commercial operation serving some of the industries between Liverpool and Manchester. There was a very informative commentary along the way and the ferry had a well stocked snack and drinks bar.
In Liverpool, we boarded a somewhat questionable double-decker bus for the ride back to Salford Quays, where the seven remaining cruisers then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Jackie and Adrian were kind enough to drive us back to the hotel.
Monday morning saw us up at 4:00am for our 4:45 ride to the Manchester Airport. The British Midland flight was ready for departure ahead of the 6:35 scheduled departure time but had to wait for Air Traffic Control clearance due to strong winds at Heathrow in London. When we finally arrived there, we could not use the enclosed bridge to the terminal and had to deplane outside in the pouring rain onto a shuttle to the arrivals hall. After a very long walk, we made it to Terminal 3 and onto our non-stop flight back to Vancouver.
Pictures of the trip can be seen at:
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/view/6401144002-1211991917-10126/64011