posted
Hey there everybody. I've got a quick question for anyone who knows London better than I do.
This weekend I'm flying from Albuquerque to Albania, and it's going to be a long trip. Three planes, four airports, and about 24 hours total travel time. I'm not looking forward to it.
The second layover is going to be at London Gatwick airport, and I'm going to be there for over 8 hours, from 7:20 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Sunday. This is where I could use some Hatrack experience.
I've been to several cities in central/northern England, and I love it, but I've seen very little of London. So I'm wondering if it would be worth trying to see anything in the time I have there. I need to decide whether I should:
Go to my gate, break out my book, and wait patiently for the plane (safe, but very boring)
or try to fight through customs, get a taxi, run off somewhere, soak in a sight, get back to the airport, get past security again, and make my plane before it leaves (stressful, but potentially more fun)
So anyone who knows the area better than I do, your advice would be appreciated. Is there anything worth seeing for a few hours on a Sunday morning? How hard would it be to get there and back? Would it be worth it, or am I better off playing it safe?
Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
8 hours is a tricky number but I think with enough spare cash on hand and enough preparation, you should be able to handle it and get some sight seeing in. I'm more familiar with the Heathrow airport though :/. ^^;;
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
I had a 6 hour layover in Paris, and I got to take a nice sightseeing tour. London, by comparison, I actually found quite boring. Most of the more fun things to do will take a very long time. Sure, you could do all sorts of things for the sake of novelty (Sherlock Holmes museum, Beatles Store, Abbey Road...) but more interesting (to me) were the things like the all-day bus tour, Madame Tussaud's and the London Eye.
*SQUICK WARNING*
Or maybe I'm just prejudiced against London because I came down with a severe case of diahrrea while there.
posted
Clearing Customs is usually pretty quick in London. It's the wait for bags that takes a long time at Gatwick (or really, just about anywhere). If you aren't going to have to retrieve your luggage before going through Customs, you could probably get through rapidly because you'd at least beat most of the people on your own plane.
A tour by cab would probably be about the only way I'd imagine this working well, though. In reality, you need to be back at the airport at or before hour #6 of your 8 hour layover. And you'll (optimistically) not leave the airport until into hour #2 of your layover. So, figure on, at best 5 hours, but maybe closer to 4.
Depending on traffic, you'll spend anywhere from 1 to 2 of those hours just going to/from the airport.
So, best case, you'll have 4 hours of sightseeing in a cab in London.
Worst case, you'll get about 2 hours.
Alternately, you could take a train from Gatwick into the city and walk around for awhile. It'd be a lot cheaper, and maybe you'd get inside one or two places, rather than just see the outside. If you catch the Gatwick Express just right, it'll get you into London pretty quickly.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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If money is no object the Gatwick Express will land you in Victoria Station in the centre of London in about 35 minutes. Once there the world is your oyster.
As a suggestion Victoria Stn. is only 5 minutes walk from Buckingham Palace. Then you can walk up the up the Mall to Trafalgar Square, down Horse Guards to Westminster and Big Ben, and then repair to local hostelry for a swift orange juice before grabbing a cab back to Victoria and the return train to the airport*.
As an alternative, you could get the Thameslink train service to Brighton and have a nice day by the seaside.
Just sorry I no longer live in London, or I could have taken you on a tour...
* It just occured to me that with your luggage you might not want to do this - but there are left luggage facilities at Victoria Stn: Left Luggage Service - Victoria StationPosts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
Ooh, Gatwick Express to Victoria Station sounds great. Brighton also sounds very tempting. If only I had a few more hours....
I'm taking the same airline from Dallas to London as London to Tirana, so I should be able to get a boarding pass for the last flight while I'm in Dallas. That being the case, I think when I return to the airport I should only have to go through security, rather than waiting at the check-in counter. And since that express train only takes 30 minutes each way, I should have several hours to run around London.
Is it pretty easy to buy a ticket for the express train at the station, or is it better to reserve the ticket early? I'd rather get it at the station in case my flight is delayed, and that was never a problem in northern England, but I know London is more crowded (although this will be a Sunday morning), so I don't want to assume anything.
Thanks for the advice, everybody. I'm really excited. I'll send pictures.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Do be aware that Gatwick is not properly in London (it's in Crawley, about thirty miles away), so if you start being late, you will not be able to grab a taxi and go flying back to the station.
I love London to pieces, and my favorite thing in the world is taking people around London; I'd do it in a second if I were going to be in town. If you want to see the Houses of Parliament, may I suggest that you take the Tube to Westminster and (this is very important) get out at the Bridge Street Exit. It is a most impressive view of Parliament.
My favorite bit of London is just across the Thames from Big Ben -- the South Bank, where there is the London Eye, and usually a bunch of street performers, and just a generally nice atmosphere. There is also a Wagamama, which is a really delicious noodle bar type restaurant.
Wow, I can think of a zillion delightful things to do in London. If you want, feel free to email me; I'm good at finding things in London and I could probably tell you pretty specifically how to get to a bunch of the sights.
Posts: 910 | Registered: May 2000
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