London Travel Planning - 10 Questions Visitors Always Ask

How many days do you actually need? What should you budget? And what is the fastest way in from Heathrow? Tracy and Doug answer the 10 questions listeners ask most about visiting London, with the numbers and the reasoning behind each one.

- How many days: why 4 to 5 is the first-timer sweet spot
- When to go: the months we avoid, and why April catches people out
- Getting around: zones, the £8.90 daily cap, Oyster versus contactless
- Heathrow into London: Elizabeth line, Piccadilly line or the 15 minute Express
- UK ETA: £20, two years, and the fake sites charging ten times that
- Dual citizens: what you need to know if you are planning a UK trip
- Budgeting: what to allow per person, and where it really goes
- Food hacks: supermarket meal deals, explained for visitors
- Day trips: Jane Austen's House by train, and Bath from Paddington
- Where to stay: the Tube station rule that beats picking a postcode
- Free London: which major museums and galleries cost nothing
- Where to eat: Roast at Borough Market, Pick & Cheese, Cafe in the Crypt

Plus two new things from us: London Trip Quick Answers, a 30 minute live Zoom where you bring your specific trip questions to Tracy and Doug, and a new bonus episode on the last Thursday of every month covering what is on in London the month ahead.

Got a London question we did not cover? Send it to us on SpeakPipe. Please share this episode with anyone planning a UK trip, and if you enjoy the show a review really helps more travellers find us. We also write a free weekly newsletter, The Great British Trip, available on Substack every Saturday morning. 

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Transcript

The 10 London Questions Preview

SPEAKER_03 0:00

How many days do you actually need in London? What's the best way into London from Heathrow? And what's actually worth adding on as a day trip? In this episode, Doug and I answer the 10 questions we get asked most about visiting London so you can stop guessing and start planning.

Why Human Travel Advice Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Hi everybody and welcome to this week's edition of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. I'm your host at Tracy Collins, and this week, as usual these days, I'm joined by Doug. Doug. Hello. Yeah, so Doug is here this week because we're gonna kind of this week we thought we would do is we would do a kind of rapid fire QA, but I have a feeling we're probably gonna chat about some of these questions a little bit more than most likely. Most likely rapid fire, not so much the answers, but the questions. Also, really part of the reason for this episode as well is that I'm really kind of hoping that well, one thing is to say thank you to all of you who are using our resources, checking out the website, obviously listening to the podcast, um, because it really, really helps us. Um and it's getting tougher these days, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Looks certainly.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Um, because obviously we know there's AI out there, and um a lot of people use AI, um, which we understand. However, we kind of also want to say there's a huge um argument to be made for people who actually know what they're talking about uh rather than something that's been scraped by AI and kind of landed and given to you because you're not exactly sure whether it's true, um some of the information it gives you.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

So thank you to the individuals out there who still want to have a human opinion to count on.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

Yeah, yeah, yes, want to kind of ask humans with experience for uh for their uh opinions and experience and all the rest of it. So we're sharing that. Um also one thing I did want to do in this episode is um announce something new and bonus episode that is coming um soon, actually at the end of this month, but I'm not gonna I'll tell you more at the end of the episode. So you need I know you need to hang around to the end, and I'll tell you exactly

How Many Days To Stay

SPEAKER_03 2:32

what is coming and why you will want to um tune in for that particular new series of episodes that are coming. Um also uh just to say as well, please do go over to our uh everybody knows about the UK Travelplanning.com website, but we also have the London Travelplanning.com website, which has taken us a lot of time to put together, a lot of research. Obviously, we spend a lot of time in the UK and in London doing all this research and putting this together. Um, so the London website obviously has a lot of very, very useful information on it if you're planning content. Absolutely, if you're planning a trip to London. So LondonTravelplanning.com. Please do go and check out uh the website. There is actually a freebie as well if you want to sign up for our newsletter, which is a hundred and one London Tips cheat sheet, which is absolutely free.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

That's easy to say.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

It wasn't that easy to say. Um, and honestly, you're gonna get full more I guess more fuller, but you'll get more information about some of the uh some of the answers that we're gonna go through today. So if you want to have if you're you enjoy reading stuff, uh check out the website because you'll be able to to get some more uh fuller answers and also we'll cover more things in the cheat sheet that actually possibly people haven't considered.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

True.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

Right. Are you ready to go, Doug?

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah, let's get moving.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

Okay, so first question we get asked how many days do you need in London?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Oh, that's a difficult one to start with. Thanks for dropping that one on me.

SPEAKER_03 4:01

Um do you want me to answer it?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yeah, it depends, doesn't it? Yeah, you yeah, I'll do the easy ones, you can do the hard ones.

SPEAKER_03 4:07

Oh, thank you. Right. Well, to be honest, I think if you're a first-time visitor to London, really I would say four to five days is probably a sweet spot when you're looking at. Look, if you're gonna go at a whirlwind pace and you're you haven't got a lot of time, then maybe two to three days to see some of the highlights. If you want to go deeper and see more of London experience, more obviously, six to seven plus days is the way to go. Um, the reason I say four to five days, really with four to five days, you can get you can experience quite a bit of London. You experience some of the highlights, you can go to some of the main uh attractions and landmarks in London, and you could probably fit in a day trip as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Yeah, that's true. Well, it depends on what time of year you go for daylight hours as well, possibly. For how many days you actually need to spend there? Would you need to spend a few more maybe or an extra day or two, say, in the when the daylight hours are shorter than you would in saying summer?

SPEAKER_03 5:03

Well, it depends as well because some things aren't necessarily open that you might want to go into in the in the winter month. Like for example, Bookingham Palace. A lot of people want to go and see Buckingham Palace, but that's not actually open for entry in the winter. So I guess it and I guess you you're kind of you're cheating in a way because you're going into the next question. Whoops. Um sorry so but I would say really to experience I would say four to five days, but to answer that kind of question, how many day days do you need in London, which is kind of what we're supposed to be focusing on, Doug. Yeah, um, is really um four to five days, and we have got an article on the London TravelPlanet.com website about how many days do you need London. I will link to that in the show notes. Um, one thing I will say is that please, please, please don't spend your entire time in the UK just in London.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

No, most definitely not there.

SPEAKER_03 5:55

Um now I love London, I absolutely do. Um, but really there's a lot more to the UK than just London. Um, and London is a wonderful city, and I love London for sure. And a lot of people that we talk to, it's their favourite city in the world. Um, but honestly, uh, yeah, if you can go out on a day trip, which is something else. Yeah, I knew what Doug was gonna say. I'm kind of cheating myself because that's another question that's coming later on.

Best Time Of Year To Visit

SPEAKER_03 6:20

But I guess to kind of go into the like the second question that I wanted to focus on that we get asked about um is the best time of year to visit. Now, this again is very subjective. Oh, dig just um so I would say play times to avoid, so for me, times to avoid are the kids' holidays, so Easter time and the summer holidays. So that school holidays, so end of July and the whole month of August, I try to avoid London completely. Easter, now I have spent the last few Easters in London and it's incredibly busy as well because a lot of the schools in Europe are off as well, so a lot of from mainland Europe come over to London, and particularly April seems to be very, very busy. Um, also I find it gets very, very hot July and August if you visit London, so that's something worth considering.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

About a hot summer this year.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

Yes, absolutely hot and dry summer this year. I know a lot of people have been saying, well, I asked a question on on our um UK travel plan Facebook page actually about um about things that you pack that people haven't used. And the first thing that people said this year was kind of rain, raincoat or umbrella because it's just been so dry. Um, but really you've got I guess trying to figure out when to visit is a big question, and it may actually depend on when you get time off anyway.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

And if you know that's true.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Um, but for me, I would say my favourite time is probably September. The kids have gone back to school, it's a generally a little bit quieter. The weather has not been bad the last uh few Septembers, it's been pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Well, I was there last year in September into October, and October for the you know start of the autumn colours was absolutely stunning. But I will add to that, the weather then changed quickly.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

Yeah, well, I think that that is that is one of the things about the UK is that it the weather is, and I say this all the time, it's predictably unpredictable, and it really is you're not sure you never know really what you're gonna get. I guess if you've got a specific interest in going, for example, if you're a tennis fan and you want to go, you know, you've got tickets to Wimbledon, you're obviously gonna go in July.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Um if you're a cup final if you want to go in May.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

Oh, I was not gonna mention that. Football. Obviously, you know, this there's plenty of singers that got concerts on, there's lots of things on. So if it's a specific interest, then obviously um you're gonna build around that. I would say for me, another favourite time of the year to go to London is is the festive season. I love London in that sort of November, December because the shops are fantastic. They are honestly the the the way the shops get decorated for Christmas is fabulous. I just love just wandering around and like going to Liberties and looking at the Christmas shop, Fortner and Mason's Christmas shop. Q Gardens, I enjoyed it, it's a cool thing. Yeah, Q Gardens for the walk. They do like a festive walk, lights walk, which is always really, really good fun. Um, so I think I mean, if I was gonna think about, we have got guides on the website for each season. So obviously, we've looked at spring, summer, autumn, winter. Um, for me, spring is a lovely time of TV to go because you've got the flowers, it's you know, people are it's it's lighter because the clocks spring forward at the end of March, so things start to feel like it's coming alive again.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yeah, it is, it's it's a new season.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

Yeah, um, summer, great time to visit for the outdoors. Um, again, it can be really hot though. So if you're planning to visit in summer, and this is a huge tip of that I will say, is that if you want a hotel with air conditioning, make sure you look when you book for a hotel with air conditioning because not all hotels will have it. Um they've actually started putting more air conditioner on the underground.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

That's right, yeah, because they can get incredibly hot and travel light in summer if you're travelling around.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

Yeah, take a take a fan with your bottle of water.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

It's physically and mentally exhausting. Absolutely, or can be, should I say.

SPEAKER_03 10:12

Um, as you say, we're talking about autumn. Um, and uh we were both there the the September before, you were there September last year. The weather was really good. You've got some beautiful photos actually of the autumn leaves, the change in colour, and the weather was very, very good.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Little Venice area, it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

Yeah, really good. Uh, winter, again, as they say, winter, one of the things we we will talk about when it comes to packing, make sure specifically in winter that you have layers that you can take off. If you're just take a small little backpack that you can put. I mean, I've got a puffer jacket which which kind of falls down to nothing because when you go into the underground or into some of those shops, it's so hot.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yeah, and if they're busy as well, it's even hotter.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

Absolutely. Um, now winter again, it's quieter when you go into January, February. It's it is quieter in London, so you know, expect it to be a little bit more rainy. You may get some snow if you're lucky or unlucky, whichever way you look at it. Um, but yes, that that kind of January, February are kind of the quieter, quieter months to go. Um again, we've got an article about the different seasons, we've got podcasts um about I know we've got a podcast about summer, um, and we've also got actually podcasts about um UK visiting autumn, winter, summer, and uh we have. Yeah, and so each and with each of those got a London section in it as well, so worth listening to. Um good question for

Getting Around London Day To Day

SPEAKER_03 11:29

you. The next question that we often get asked is what is the best way to get around London on a day-to-day basis?

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Well, I personally don't think you can do better than the London Underground. I think it's a wonderful network of uh underground trains uh with great coverage, it's really reasonably priced because there's a daily cap and it's all done on a zonal area, zone one and two in the centre, and you work your way out. Uh and that's run by TFL, which covers the London buses as well, which is absolutely an excellent way to get around.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

So it is, it's really good, and it is not that expensive. Uh, at the moment, I did actually just check. So for zone one and two, at the moment, the daily cap is £8.90. So once you reach that limit, you you won't pay any more than that. Um, obviously, what we're asked often about Oyster versus contact list. More people these days are going towards contact list, to be honest. Do your research and decide what works best for you. We always say that. We will never ever say you must do one or the other. We have heard other people say don't do this or don't do that. It's not how we operate. We're like, you know what, make your judgment based on what will work for you.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Yeah. Um how you feel safest.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Yeah, yeah. Well, I've got an oyster card, and sometimes I do cards. I do both, depending on.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

I'm purely an oyster card person, but I always have been. So that's yeah, preferences.

SPEAKER_03 12:49

Yeah, and a lot of people do enjoy the buses. The buses can be slower, yeah. Uh, but obviously, when you're sitting on a bus, you see more. That's the thing. The tube is a great way to get from A to B very quickly. That's right. Um, though don't underestimate the amount of work walking that you might have to do in the tube, and also just how busy it can get during rush hour.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

We use the there's an excellent app called the TFL Go app. TFL is Transport for London who operate the underground trains. They have a great journey planner on there and it gives you the live status of all the different lines. Definitely worth using that. TFL Go.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

And also, I actually got have got an article about the different zones in London. So if you're kind of confused about when we say use the term zones, just think of kind of concentric circles, um, kind of working the way from the centre of London out. Most of to be honest, most of the attractions that people go to will be zone one and two.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

That's it. That daily cap increases as you go out, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

It gets more, it does get more expensive.

Heathrow To London Options

SPEAKER_03 13:43

Okay, so question four what is, and I know you've just you've done a video about this on YouTube. So if you want to see Doug on YouTube talking about the this answering this question, but visually, um, check out the you his YouTube video. I will link to that in the show notes as well. So, Doug, what is the best way from Heathrow into London?

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Well, you've got three trade options from Heathrow itself. You've got the Elizabeth Line, which runs towards uh Heathrow towards London Paddington, and then straight through the middle of London and out the other side, in essence. Um, very, very good. Then you've got the Piccadilly line, that's the underground line that goes all the way across from Heathrow towards North London and takes about 50 minutes to an hour from Heathrow to King's Cross St. Pancras. Uh, and then you've got the Heathrow Express, which is just 15 minutes from London Heathrow to London Paddington. And the Elizabeth Line is about 20 minutes. Perfect. That's your three main options. I've tried them all many, many times, and yeah, you can't go wrong. Have a look at our article. And from a train perspective, I've got it all covered in that one YouTube video.

SPEAKER_03 15:19

Yeah, and also if you want a private transfer as well, we will link to that option as well.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

There is some bus options as well.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

Yeah, there are. But um, so that there are different ways to get into Heathrow into London from Heathrow.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

We know that's kind of we know there's multiple terminals, so just be aware of which terminal you're coming into.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

Uh but do check out Doug's video all about this.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Even though I say some resolve, it's not too bad.

SPEAKER_03 15:40

No, no, it's a good video. It's a good video, Doug. Right, uh, question five. I guess I'm probably gonna have to answer this one. Um, do I need a UK ETA, which stands for electronic travel authorisation?

UK ETA Rules And Scam Warnings

SPEAKER_03 15:50

Um, now, yes, most people are gonna need an ETA to enter the UK unless you are a UK citizen. Now, again, that that can cause issues as well, so I will talk about that in a second. First thing I want to say is make sure you go through the official government website. It's £20, it lasts for two years, um, or unless your passport expires in the meantime. Apply, I would say at least three days before. Um, some people are saying it's coming through very, very quickly, but there are people who've said that and we've spoken to it's taken longer to come through. Um, so do apply for it. Uh, make sure you do it well in advance of your flying. I would say a minimum three days beforehand. But I say I'm gonna link to the official government website because we have heard that there have been scams where where these fake websites have been set up, and people have paid like £200 for an ETA. That is not how much it costs. So do go and check. We also do have an article on our UK travel planning website all about ETA and ETS, because ETS is it is what's happening in Europe.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Yep, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

Um, just to kind of explain that to you. But I would always say use the official websites and go and check. Now, one thing I will just mention is that um, and this has tripped quite a few people up in Australia, is if you you could be a UK citizen and not necessarily know. Um, so you just need to check whether you know a parent was born in the UK, maybe then they moved out to say Australia or the US or Canada, wherever and they're young, um, but they they are UK citizens, and then you may be a UK citizen by birth as well. Um, so it's worth just checking up on this. Um, and whether if you're a dual citizen, for example, um Doug and I are both dual citizens of Australia and the UK. Um, before previously, I've just travelled in using using my Australian passport quite often. You cannot do that anymore. You have to have a UK passport. So even my passport expired in November, and I had to get a passport very quickly because this was brought in in February. So just double check, but with everything like this sort of information, I say you should always, always, always check on the official government website. Um, don't listen to what some somebody might say to you on Facebook or whatever. That's what I'm saying. Always, always, always check. Check, check, check for this. Um, right, question six What should I budget?

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Okay, so that's a difficult one.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

This is a really difficult question for London because I would say whatever you think you're gonna

Budgeting For London Without Surprises

SPEAKER_03 18:16

budget, probably budget more because it is an expensive city, it really is, and accommodation is gonna be the thing that's gonna cost. Um, that is gonna be your your main expense. Um, whether you're gonna stay in a hotel, whether you're staying in a Airbnb or a VRBO or whatever, it's gonna that is gonna be your main expense uh for for London. So start with that, then think about the sort of activities you want to do during the day. So look at, for example, you know, entry for the Tower of London, if you want to go to Buckham Palace, entry to Westminster Abbey. So if those are your basic entries, you can look at something like the London Pass, which bundles a lot of those um activities in, which are is actually pretty good if you're gonna do quite a few things and you're a first-time visitor and you're gonna kind of fit those in over a period of say two or three days. Um, that can work out cost effective. Again, I would say add all that up yourself to work out, you know, if is it worth it for you. Um, so you've got all these attractions, then you've got food on top, and food again can be pricey. Um in London. Now we do have some some good food hacks that we'd recommend, and one is um meal deals.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Oh, yes. They're quite partial to a meal deal.

SPEAKER_03 19:29

Yeah, so meal deals are basically what all the supermarkets offer in the UK, which is basically um a sandwich, piece of fruit, pack of crisps, chocolate bar, and a drink for a set price. Now they can be anything from £3.50 up to I think the most expensive one I've had is from Marks and Spencer's, which is for their very, very special prawn sandwich, which is delicious. Um, but you know, it's a great way if you're travelling with a family or you want to budget, is look at the meal deal option.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Yeah, also for evening meals or if you're self-cating, they quite often have a a starter, yeah, main course and a and a dessert.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Yeah, yeah, as well for a cassette price, or you can get, I don't know, for like for a family of four, and they do a pizza and garlic bread and whatever.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Or three main course salad. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

So those are absolutely, and everybody always loves them. I know when we get people saying, I wish we had that in Australia, I wish we had that in the States, wish that we had that where we live, um, because it really is, I really miss that, I have to say it, because it's a fantastic option. You will also find that the option, the variety of food choices I find mind-boggling when I go, particularly Marks and Spencer's, which is my favourite. Yeah, um, it's just incredible the amount of food you can get.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Also, I'll say for supermarkets, don't forget there's um like a buy what buy one get one free type. Yes. You can get quite often if you've got a family, um you know, two or three, four or five or more, if you can halve the number you've got to actually buy something, you know, double the top. Yeah, buy one, get one free.

SPEAKER_03 20:56

So that's a good way I think we've found to do that. There's uh there is a lot of free things to do in London, which I'm gonna talk about later. That's another question that comes up. Um, but I think it is uh I think London is a I think once you start with your accommodation, look at what sort of price you're willing to pay for your accommodation, then start looking at your activities that you want to do, your food, your transportation costs. Let's say like if you're if you're gonna be catching, you're gonna be traveling zone one and two, you're not gonna be going over £8.90 a day, because that's the cap. Um, so and if you're doing contact list, then you there's no price for an oyster card, but just remember to make sure that your card has no um transaction fees because that can add up if you've got that as well. Um, but I think yeah, I I'd I would say at the moment, probably well, it's so difficult to say, but a kind of bare minimum, I'd say probably about £180 to £220 or so per person. It really is, and I I guess if you're looking at staying in um in a dorm or you know something like that in a youth hostel, it may be cheaper, but that's not the sort of travel that we do. So I can't it's difficult for us to kind of advise on that. Though I was quite excited to find out there's new pod hotels open in London, yes. Yes, that's right. Which I haven't tried, but I may try next time because I was asked about that and I thought, well, you know what, I could give one of those a go. We should give it a go. If anybody's actually already done one, let's yeah, yeah, get in touch. My only problem with that is I get slightly claustrophobic, and I have wondered if I close that door at the end, uh whether I'll get a little bit panicky. So I might have to try it. But that's quite an exciting development.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Do I usually do send me off and try it first?

SPEAKER_03 22:32

Yeah, you could yeah I'll nominate who not who else nominates Doug to go and try one of these out because I've not tried them anywhere in the world. But that is quite an exciting development for London because I know accommodation is really the big, the big, big, big expense when you're staying in London. Souvenirs. So those are the things that I think about. And also don't discount if you want to buy any souvenirs because I can guarantee you're going to buy stuff.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Oh yes. Tracy's talking from personal experience here.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

Yeah well I I know I do like to buy stuff. But it's like if you if you go there you are going to buy souvenirs. So it's adding that is as well into your budget. So yeah so London is not a cheap city. Souvenirs the cost of those can actually mount as well I'll point out yeah absolutely yeah they can do so yeah so I think um working out a budget for London is work out what you think and then add a bit more. Maybe add another 25% to what you've estimated.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

And add a bit on as well. Yeah absolutely I mean what happens is when you're setting a budget you some days you might spend a little bit less another day a little bit more but on average yeah it's working out that kind of average I think yeah okay so question number seven oh and this was we were talking about this before we actually recorded so this is an interesting one favorite day trip from London.

SPEAKER_03 23:42

Right now I'm also if you're if you this one we could we could in fact I was gonna say we could spend a whole day talking about we've actually spent

Favourite Day Trips By Train

SPEAKER_03 23:49

two episodes talking about this. So episodes 96 and 97 we go through our favourite day trips because there are so many in fact we could probably do another whole episode about this.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

And the problem is ask me again and tomorrow next week I'll probably give you a different answer.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Well I know you you'll be just happy with any train trip well that is true that that is undoubtedly true yes um and so I'm I'm also gonna kind of tempt with this I guess because you've got your favourite day trip from London by train or your favourite day tour from London. Oh so favourite day trip from London by train can I start with this one okay so I recently went to Jane Austen's house in Chauton in Hampshire and I loved it. You did I I I'm still raving about it. I it was one of the best days I had a wonderful three months in the UK but it was one of the absolute best days. It was just fabulous. You raved about that ever since oh just absolutely and it was so easy to get to in fact I'm gonna write a whole article about how to get to Chawton what to expect when you go to Jane Austen's house how to get because it you've got to get a train to Alton and then from outside what it was so easy because there's a literally a taxi taxi company as you walk out the train station and they knew exactly where I was going to go to when I went in and I organised it we just phoned and they picked us up it was absolutely fantastic. So it yeah it was a really easy easy day trip by train so that one I'm gonna say that's my absolute favourite one what about you by train it's really difficult.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

I've always enjoyed the Great Western main line from London Paddington towards Bristol and Bath I've always enjoyed going that direction but that's more to do what the trains that used to run on that line years ago some of the first ones of these particular high speed trains so I've always had a bit of a weak spot for that line. But but what about an actual police that you go to bath and desta because it's so straightforward from London Paddington which is one of my favourite London stations anyway but yeah but to Bath it's so straightforward and it's just a world apart London to Bath you think you're in a different country I think and it's just so different.

SPEAKER_03 26:01

Yeah Bath's lovely it is really lovely it's uh the only UNESCO World Heritage city in the

Guided Day Tours Worth Booking

SPEAKER_03 26:07

UK you were a bit jealous last time I went there because I lose in costume. I know everybody because he went for Jane it was a Jane Austen day I was like oh I really really want to do that so that is on my absolute next year next year I absolutely want to do that um because I think that would be fabulous um and there are look there's lots and lots of possible choices of day trips by train so do check out this two podcasts and we have a whole article on that we have a whole article on that um now for a day tour um I've been very very lucky in fact you haven't done any of these with me I don't think I don't think so because I just do trains don't have to yeah I went on it with three tours from with the English bus I did two in April this year I did one last year um and I loved all three of those uh this year I went into well I'm trying to think these ones last year should I say I went to Stonehenge and Bath and then a secret place on the way back I'm not sharing where that secret place was um I've got an article on that you can check that out this year I did two I did Kent Villages Dover Castle um white cliffs of Dover and then up to Canterbury which is a lovely lovely day trip um and then the next one I did with them is I went to the um Cotswold Villages and Oxford which was also nice. Oh actually Stratford we started off we went to Stratford first then uh Cotswold Villages and then to um Oxford um so if you want to find out all about those day trips and uh it would they were wonderful uh absolutely wonderful you can listen to Chris who is uh who who owns the English bus his company um and also Lucy who was our our um a driver guide on that day those both those day trips in episode 199 of the podcast now I will say um we had one listener who listened to that episode and booked booked all three tours all of them all three tours and absolutely loved them um and we couldn't believe it was fantastic uh so big shout out to Chris actually who did that um because and you're a legend Chris yeah you are it was just fantastic um that you did that and obviously it's the power of the podcast isn't it it's like you listen to that and listening to Lucy her passion for for the doing those tours and obviously Chris who created the company it's his company English bus fabulous absolutely fabulous so um but again you have there's so many options for different places to go outside of London um my main my main tip is just make sure you do one of them uh whether that's by train or a tour with English bus.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

And just consider where you're uh where you're staying in London if you're catching a tour from out of the city and also if you're catching the train the time to get to the train station.

SPEAKER_03 28:38

Absolutely just a tip tip there for all you well that's useful because actually the next question you've got is the best area to stay in London and I guess that that that kind of comes in that is think about if you are taking day trips out where you're gonna pick up whether you're gonna take a train or whether you're gonna kind of go to a meeting point because believe me when you come back in you don't want to then spend 45 minutes getting back to where your accommodation is so do think about that. Do think about what your interests are as well

Best Areas To Stay Near The Tube

SPEAKER_03 29:05

I have got um on the London Travel Plan website I've actually have got a whole article about the different areas which tells you about the different areas kind of who this suit and then I've also gone through and given out three different examples dependent on budget for accommodation in each of those as well. Now if you're gonna ask me my favourite space to stay in London I really always enjoy staying around Covent Garden there's always a lot going on around there that kind of Covent Garden Holborn area there's lots of places to eat you've got the theatre district it's just a really kind of happening area it's really lovely and busy all the time I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

But it's about the best fit. I mean you've got the best fit I might you might want to stay there but the cost accommodation there is just beyond your budget so you've got to sort of rein that back in again so it's just about that best fit for you.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

But you know I'd say but I stayed in Holborn at the Zed Hotel which is was a really good budget option. So again it's like yes it it is slight more expensive because you know you can have that central London but it when I looked at the budget for staying in the Zed Hotel again that was that was a good budget option for me and that worked really well. I get I think it's kind of looking at what area you would would appeal to what your interests and what you're going to do in your itinerary um and then kind of you know and what you expect from your accommodation. Yeah I mean a lot of uh a lot of consults we've done this yeah a lot of people stay in the South Kensington area which is close for the museums um that's also a really good area to stay in um I've stayed in near Waterloo Station which is really good near the London Eye which is excellent another really good area to stay in we've stayed actually beside the Tower of London which because we've had an early we've been going to the opening ceremony of the Tower of London so that's been a really good option. To be honest that my main tip for this is where you're going to stay is stay near a tube station.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

100% agree with that.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

Yeah so so because the last thing you will want to do and I say again I think I've said this and I don't know how many podcasts is when you've been out on a full day the last thing you want to do is know you've got a 30 40 minute walk back to your accommodation because you will be absolutely exhausted and just know it's not it's just Uber starts looking very attractive at that point in calling Uber because you don't want to experience here we've both had long days out and got back and go oh boy we're tired and then you've got to yeah so yeah yeah we've talked from experience there. It just makes for honestly for a better trip. It does it does question eight we all get asked this as well a lot about what again it kind of relates to the budget question we've had earlier on but what are there free things to do in

The Best Free Things In London

SPEAKER_03 31:35

London?

SPEAKER_01 31:35

There's so much to do I I think I think London's spoil compared to some countries some countries and um locations around the world just how much free uh attractions there is in London.

SPEAKER_03 31:48

So I want to give some examples well the uh Imperial War Museum is free the Science Museum the Natural History Museum British Museum VAT Museum V A yeah yeah or VA if I don't mention that guarantee you are the only thing is I will say those museums are free but if they have got any special exhibitions on that's right then you do have to pay for those yeah and things like the the Bay of uh tapestry those tickets are in you know going on hot case huge demand yeah absolutely huge demand um so yeah so it's just so those sort of things are free I guess parks are free parks free yep or other things are free uh shopping oh well I'm not even gonna think of shopping am I um but that that's right yeah yeah so quite a few things to do mainly m kind of around museums parks yeah um art galleries national gallery is free the national portrait gallery is free yeah um so there's yeah so a lot of the the so museums parks galleries are are free obviously you know just wandering around and looking at outside of places like the Tower of London Westminster Abbey um just actually soaking in the history walking down the the um yeah the Thames and just enjoy kind of soaking in the atmosphere I think is it's a fabulous way to do it.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

It is and you know me I'll probably grab a picnic and sort of sit and watch the wall go by in a park somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 33:09

Yeah well we're talking about that before because one of the questions we had considered adding in but we kind of got to the top ten was what was kind of favourite favourite activities and things that you enjoy doing in London. Like for me I I love Tower of London go to the Tower of London seeing the crown jewels and having a tour Westminster Abbey VA I love that going yeah the VA absolutely in fact I'm hoping to put together one of the the top ten things I enjoy doing the VA into a into YouTube we did go and start recording quite a bit but unfortunately some of the things I really like are shut at the minute like the fashion um so it just means I have to go next year and take more video and pictures um but yeah one one thing we did talk about place we did talk about was Greenwich actually I would love to have visit visit Greenwich come on onto the podcast so if you represent visit Greenwich get in touch because we love Greenwich and we'd love to promote you guys more because that's your favourite place to go for a picnic.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

I do like having a picnic sitting on the on the banks with the nice trees and the nice view and a nice day I don't I really enjoy that and what we're talking about as well was when you talk about picnic.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

So I said I said to him I said well we've never gone there with a you know um a wicker basket basket and a hamper and everything because for for Doug what would you say?

SPEAKER_01 34:22

I'd just chuck my jumper down and have a meal deal a meal deal and it's constitutes a picnic to me.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Exactly so um yeah so that's that's an option and honestly there's a lot of really beautiful parks in London to go and sit and enjoy and and just sit and and have your meal deal. Enjoy picnic well which takes us a kind of neatly segues into the last question. Now we get asked all the time about best Sunday roast but I'm gonna kind of I'm gonna change that and talk a little bit about hog the limelight

Favourite Places To Eat In London

SPEAKER_03 34:53

I'm just gonna talk about our kind of favourite places to eat rather than because the problem I have when we get asked about Sunday roast is that there are so many options and things can change. Now what I will say is that uh earlier this year I spoke to Becky from Devour to us and she was on episode 186 because we're talking about places to eat in London and I I asked her the question she lives in London so I said to her where is the best place for Sunday roast and she mentioned a place called Roast at Boroughmarket so I thought I'm gonna go there. Now I didn't go with you as you always I went with my friend Melissa who was over in London for uh a week in May so we spent uh that week together and we went to roast in Borough Market. Now Borough Market was it was a bit overwhelming because it was very busy Sunday yeah but my goodness that Sunday roast was delicious and it was absolutely not not only was it delicious but the actual restaurant was beautiful it was all decorated with flowers.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Did you have to book it in advance?

SPEAKER_03 35:49

Yes I booked it in advance it was quite pricey I will say that it wasn't it was not cheap but it was absolutely delicious. So if you want something special yeah I would say roast at Borough Market. I really really thoroughly enjoyed it but just generally talking about places that we always go to I think we're creatures a habit. We are um because we all got picking cheese I went twice the picture went once in May once in June yeah I love cheese so that was absolutely so you went with me the second time I did um absolutely love that another place I spend a lot of time um and I will go on my own and just have a cup of tea is uh Cafe in the Crypt St Martin's in the field Trafalgar Square fabulous place to go it's not expensive the food is always excellent it's always really busy but a lot of locals will go and eat there as well um and it's a fantastic place to go so that's something somewhere that we we also eat true um is there other places that we eat we're talking about this isn't it thinking well because we are a bit of creatures not but of habit so it's true um I went to the um the Molabone ah the the Mercato Mayfair no it's a Mayfair it's count and you can walk down from Molabone to it but it's it counted as Mayfair. Yeah I've been in there and had a cup of tea everybody cake and yeah that's kind of the Instagram place at the moment Mercato Mayfair everybody's taken so I've got some pictures of our Will show I didn't get many photos last time because there's lots of scaffolding up there isn't it wasn't when I was there it was really nice so it went specifically because it's every it's become very popular but lots of different kinds of food stores and you can choose what you're also nice chippy a few doors down from it um but also thinking about where we always we we we like to eat in the museum cafes. We've done that many times haven't we do I mean whether that's obviously the VA cafe which is a favourite Tower of London cafe any of the museums have got really good cafes um so you can get something eat there and especially because you're going to probably spend a decent amount of time in the museum it's good to think well actually I can just pop in and get myself a sandwich.

SPEAKER_01 37:48

Give you best because it's quite timing places.

SPEAKER_03 37:50

Yeah exactly um now if you're listening you've got a favourite place that you've eaten when you're in London get in touch via speak pipe because I want to know now what we have done um is we've put we've had loads of um recommendations from people in the Facebook group as well and we've added those to our um London map so we have got um a London map which has basically got 917 places of interest places to eat area guides on it and we're adding to that all the time um which is available um you can buy that and we'll link to that in the show notes it's a very very popular um popular product that we have um so we'll link to that uh but yeah I think that's kind of answered hopefully all the 10 questions now if you've got a question we didn't cover today um I did want to just say that we've just launched the London Trip Quick Answers straightforward what we're gonna say difficult to say I've managed I have practiced it London Trip Quick Answers which is a 30 minute live zoom where you can speak to myself and Doug. You can bring your specific questions so specific questions for your trip. So this is not going to be a generic answer this is

London Trip Quick Answers And Bonus Series

SPEAKER_03 38:57

going to be answered by myself and Doug talking to you chatting to you so it's not going to be AI it's us. We will answer your question so we ask you to send them to us before we have that kind of 30 minute chat and we will go through anything. So if it's a last minute thing and you're not sure and you want to just get that reassurance book a session with us 30 minute session.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 39:17

You will get a recording of that and a summary uh um a uh Google Doc PDF with links in it as well uh with all information so I will link to that in the show notes so if you want to book that 30 minutes live we are available now and say it's uh we know what it's like because when we travel sometimes it's just a week or two before you go and there's all these doubts thinking is that going to work is that going to work is that happening is that happening I really wish I knew could talk to somebody about it. So therefore we're now available if you want to do that. Now I guess I should do the announcement about the new series which I have kind of been teasing over the last few months but yes this is the month where we're gonna start our new bonus episode last Thursday of the month which is all about what's on in London the following month. So this month we'll be talking this one will be first one will be out on the 27th of August and it'll be about what's on in September in London. But it's also going to be about um how to prepare if you're visiting London this September we'll be talking about the weather because we will be getting the up-to-date weather forecast for the month um we'll be talking about um any booking deadlines worth knowing about we'll be talking about tours that we recommend uh for September's and there'll be lots and lots of practical information about it. Now we do on our website we have got a monthly guide so London in September we've also got a guide to events in London in September but we'll be talking through those with you um really practical um and informational and also just mentioning things because often people miss things sure that are coming up in a few months time so we'll be a segment of that as well saying all right so if you're visiting at Christmas you also need to know this so there will be kind of a a five minute kind of you need to know this. But we're hoping that will be a lovely bonus episode that all of you planning a trip to London are going to really enjoy. So whether you're in going to go to September uh next month you're gonna be in London September or you're looking in September 2027 it's still going to be worth listening to so everything we've talked about in today's episode is you can find the links to the different episode numbers we've talked about our freebie we've talked about um the London map um and anything else we've mentioned in this episode you can find in the show notes which are at uktravelplanning.com forward slash episode two one four. Yep um I guess that just leaves us to say until uh next episode Doug then our usual sign off yep happy uk travel planning thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK travel planning podcast as always show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com if you've enjoyed the show why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app. We love to hear from you and you never know you may receive a shout out in a future episode. But as always that just leaves me to say until next week happy uk travel planning