London….

[msugrad2003]

I feel safe posting this as the mood on the game thread has improved.
Traveling to London UK in the spring. Other than typical tourist spots in the city, what’s your recommendations in and outside the city (within two hour train ride)? I would appreciate any suggestions
Cue the Clarke G. “Look kids, Big Ben”

 

[grinningmule]

Enjoy your full cultural immersion in Londonistan. Not even kidding. Check out the sights on the Thames, Parliament, Big Ben, Tower of London. Cambridge is within 2 hrs via train and worth seeing. Bath is just over 2hrs via train is definitely worth seeing. I visited a friend stationed at Mildenhall so never had to take the trains and visited Bath, Cambridge, York, Edinburgh, Falkirk and Stirling with stops at Hadrian's wall sections along the way. Honestly, all of the small villages are pretty cool and pubs everywhere of course. Take a light/medium jacket, pullover or something. I visited in June when I went and almost froze my first weekend.

 

[HailDearOleState]

The Churchill War Rooms are incredible. Knightsbridge area is really nice for your wife to go shopping etc. Great restaurants in that area too.

 

[Rushisaband]

British museum, Piccadilly Circus, Windsor castle, changing of the guards, Crown Jewels, Stratford upon Avon is cool and check out a play, Edinburgh is awesome if you have time, so much to do! The Lake District in Scotland is cool also! Have a blast! Been twice and love it

 

[L4Dawg]

I feel safe posting this as the mood on the game thread has improved.
Traveling to London UK in the spring. Other than typical tourist spots in the city, what’s your recommendations in and outside the city (within two hour train ride)? I would appreciate any suggestions
Cue the Clarke G. “Look kids, Big Ben”

Outside London: Salisbury(cathedral and you can bus to Stonehenge, Avebury is a little harder to get to, but it isn’t that far either. I like it better than Stonehenge ), Cambridge (the colleges are incredible, also Ely and it’s cathedral and the Imperial War Museum at Duxford are quite nearby), Norwich (cathedral and a really cool medieval street). All of those are really cool towns even without the big stuff.

In London: the big tourist spots are big tourist spots for a reason. They are definitely worth seeing despite the crowds. Just walking around London is an experience. One thing that I enjoyed that isn’t exactly a well known thing here is the London Branch of the Imperial War Museum. It’s all about the two world wars. There is a heck of a lot to see in London. I’ve been 4 times and still haven’t seen everything I want to see. That being said you absolutely need to get out of London at least one day. London is a world of its own. The rest of the country can be a much different place. Of the ones I mentioned above if you want to see England without the hoards of tourists I’d recommend Norwich or Ely. If you go to Norwich the Wig and Pen is a really cool pub. Salisbury is a cool place without big hoards of tourist As well, but Stonehenge is over run. It’s still worth going. Just be aware that you need to buy tickets online before you leave. It’s all by ticket and timed entry now.

Do the hop on hop off bus in London. As for the big things, to me the absolute don’t miss places are The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and St. Paul’s.

 

[Howiefeltersnstch]

If you have daughters keep a close watch over them.

 

[Duggar Hall Desk]

The Churchill War Rooms are incredible. Knightsbridge area is really nice for your wife to go shopping etc. Great restaurants in that area too.

+1 for War Rooms
Love the Tower of London (that's where Crown Jewels are housed, but I like it for the history). If you can get tickets, I strongly suggest the Ceremony of the Keys (you get to watch the ceremony of locking up the Tower after visiting hours).
Stonehenge is close enough, but we also thought the trip out there was worth it because we enjoyed the town of Salisbury very much. Salisbury Cathedral has a copy of the Magna Carta.

 

[grinningmule]

If you see any of the old original Roman ruins, check for the D for authenticity. The Romans loved the D.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

If you see any of the old original Roman ruins, check for the D for authenticity. The Romans loved the D.

View attachment 893926

I wonder what their opinion of Hutzler's D would be

 

[grinningmule]

I wonder what their opinion of Hutzler's D would be

 

[dog99walker]

Ride the train to Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury, or Salisbury. You will be rewarded with a great day trip.

 

[PapaDawg]

The underground is great for moving around town. Buy a day pass. It is very easy to navigate.
Find your stop and get on the same color coded train.

 

[elvis76]

I cannot add anything to the great suggestions for London but have been in Cambridge and York several times
and highly recommend both. Both are quite walkable with lots of history and of course that rather famous educational institution in Cambridge. As for York, a late afternoon/early evening walk around the wall is worth the effort and just strolling the city on foot is great. York Cathedral, which is viewable from the wall is worth the time as well. One of the few cities where the old wall
is still in place. One part of the old city has a river so that section is not walled. Have a great trip and check out the old pubs and cafes. If you are much over 6 feet you will do a lot of ducking going through the doorways.

 

[lowdawg]

I feel safe posting this as the mood on the game thread has improved.
Traveling to London UK in the spring. Other than typical tourist spots in the city, what’s your recommendations in and outside the city (within two hour train ride)? I would appreciate any suggestions
Cue the Clarke G. “Look kids, Big Ben”

I feel safe posting this as the mood on the game thread has improved.
Traveling to London UK in the spring. Other than typical tourist spots in the city, what’s your recommendations in and outside the city (within two hour train ride)? I would appreciate any suggestions
Cue the Clarke G. “Look kids, Big Ben”

I like all the markets, some of the food now is unbelievable at stalls. Also, portobello road market on Saturdays is so fun, antiques older than the us, street performers, and more.

Edinburgh Scotland is like stepping into a history book, so amazing if you have time.

Go to an event, a soccer match, Wimbledon is amazing but in summer

 

[dawgman42]

Leave it to the Pack to come through on an "OT." The wife and I are going to London in mid-October for a week. Have tickets already to see Tottenham and Aston Villa, and we're thinking about doing the LONG day trip on the train to Paris one of our days. Besides any attractions, the only thing we haven't booked yet is the hotel.

 

[L4Dawg]

Leave it to the Pack to come through on an "OT." The wife and I are going to London in mid-October for a week. Have tickets already to see Tottenham and Aston Villa, and we're thinking about doing the LONG day trip on the train to Paris one of our days. Besides any attractions, the only thing we haven't booked yet is the hotel.

Ruben‘s at the Palace is awesome. It’s a bit pricey but it’s right across from the Royal Mews/Buckingham Palace. Victoria station is a short walk away and there are a ton of restaurants in easy walking distance. That area has been really redeveloped over the last 15 years.

 

[MaxwellSmart]

I've never been to London but I can't imagine going without stopping off at Abbey Road Studios.

 

[thekimmer]

Lot to do in London. Outside of London enjoyed Windsor. Also Stratford upon Avon.

 

[msugrad2003]

Are the Cliffs of Dover worth the 2 he train ride?

 

[grinningmule]

 

[L4Dawg]

Are the Cliffs of Dover worth the 2 he train ride?

I couldn’t say, I’ve never seen them except from a ship several miles away.

 

[L4Dawg]

The biggest misconception on this side of the pond about London and the rest of the UK is that the food is bad. That may have been true at one time, but it dang sure isn’t now. Now you can find bad food there, but then we have Cracker Barrel.

 

[grinningmule]

The biggest misconception on this side of the pond about London and the rest of the UK is that the food is bad. That may have been true at one time, but it dang sure isn’t now. Now you can find bad food there, but then we have Cracker Barrel.

I was there 15 years ago so may have improved since but I was very underwhelmed by the food. I did, however, have excellent fish and chips more than once and a damn good pub burger in a little pub just inside Scotland in the middle of nowhere.

 

[L4Dawg]

I was there 15 years ago so may have improved since but I was very underwhelmed by the food. I did, however, have excellent fish and chips more than once and a damn good pub burger in a little pub just inside Scotland in the middle of nowhere.

If you are eating fish and chips and burgers, then yeah, the food isn’t that good. That’s the worst of it over there.

 

[grinningmule]

If you are eating fish and chips and burgers, then yeah, the food isn’t that good. That’s the worst of it over there.

I think you missed my point, I was eating that as a safe bet. The last "good" meal I tried was a "prime" cut of beef that was about 1/2 thick, overcooked and drowned in brown gravy. But, whatever, I was there for the history and scenery and definitely not the food.

 

[Bhamdawg1725]

Do:
The Churchill War Rooms
Premier League match
Visit a pub
Catch a West End show
Ride the Tube to get around
Find a cool spot for afternoon tea.

Don’t:
Ride the London Eye
Get pickpocketed.
Catch a last minute tube to the airport on your way home.

I’ll add: Went to the Chelsea Arsenal match at Stamford Bridge last year and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. But do it right. Get there early. Go to a pub around the “ground” wearing the home teams colors. (Do not go to a known home “supporter” pub wearing visitor’s colors). Splurge for the tickets. Most approved secondary market sellers have a hospitality package included.

I can’t wait to go back and catch another match.

 

[L4Dawg]

I think you missed my point, I was eating that as a safe bet. The last "good" meal I tried was a "prime" cut of beef that was about 1/2 thick, overcooked and drowned in brown gravy. But, whatever, I was there for the history and scenery and definitely not the food.

Eating safe gets you nowhere. British beef is bad, except occasionally in Scotland, it’s best avoided. They ALWAYS overcook it. The best stuff I have had there: Mussels and scallops on the west coast and in the Inner Hebrides in Scotland, the mussels were the best single dish I have ever had in my life….twice. I do not eat them here; Indian food pretty much anywhere; Traditional meat pies at a rural pub in Wiltshire; Fish, not fish and chips, in a little place in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh; a traditional ploughman’s lunch in a rural pub in Norfolk; and Goat in Red Sauce at a Nigerian stall in the marketplace in Cambridge.

 

[L4Dawg]

Do:
The Churchill War Rooms
Premier League match
Visit a pub
Catch a West End show
Ride the Tube to get around
Find a cool spot for afternoon tea.

Don’t:
Ride the London Eye
Get pickpocketed.
Catch a last minute tube to the airport on your way home.

I’ll add: Went to the Chelsea Arsenal match at Stamford Bridge last year and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. But do it right. Get there early. Go to a pub around the “ground” wearing the home teams colors. (Do not go to a known home “supporter” pub wearing visitor’s colors). Splurge for the tickets. Most approved secondary market sellers have a hospitality package included.

I can’t wait to go back and catch another match.

I’ve only been twice during the football season. We couldn’t get to an EPL match..so we did a league cup match one time at a then League One team (Since relegated out of the League Entirely)The other one we made was a League Two match. They were both a lot of fun.

The Churchill War rooms I’ve never done despite the fact that I’m an avid WWII buff and Churchill is one of my personal heroes. My understanding is he was almost never there. He hated the place.

Absolutely do the pubs. Seek out real ones though, ones the locals use. There are pubs and then there are pubs. A few that we have loved: The Wig and Pen in Norwich, The Ostrich in Castle Acre, The John Barleycorn in Duxford, The Lorne in Oban, and the Wheatsheaf Inn in Lower Woodeford.

Riding the Tube is worth doing in its own right. I had to do it onetime on a Friday night. I had to go from Heathrow all the way across London, and back. That was a massively memorable experience in people watching.

 

[grinningmule]

Eating safe gets you nowhere. British beef is bad, except occasionally in Scotland, it’s best avoided. They ALWAYS overcook it. The best stuff I have had there: Mussels and scallops on the west coast and in the Inner Hebrides in Scotland, the mussels were the best single dish I have ever had in my life….twice. I do not eat them here; Indian food pretty much anywhere; Traditional meat pies at a rural pub in Wiltshire; Fish, not fish and chips, in a little place in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh; a traditional ploughman’s lunch in a rural pub in Norfolk; and Goat in Red Sauce at a Nigerian stall in the marketplace in Cambridge.

Dear lord man, I ate quite a variety of stuff in my three weeks there and was underwhelmed, had some decent meat pies, shepherd's pies, whatever and a variety of good beers. The bottom line is when I think of all the places I've been in my life, the quality of the damn food isn't even remotely at the top of things to worry about. I don't choose destinations based on food. I posted a video clip of one of the better scenes in Snatch for the comedy, not the perceived quality of the cuisine in the UK.

 

[L4Dawg]

Dear lord man, I ate quite a variety of stuff in my three weeks there and was underwhelmed, had some decent meat pies, shepherd's pies, whatever and a variety of good beers. The bottom line is when I think of all the places I've been in my life, the quality of the damn food isn't even remotely at the top of things to worry about. I don't choose destinations based on food. I posted a video clip of one of the better scenes in Snatch for the comedy, not the perceived quality of the cuisine in the UK.

To each his own. We didn’t choose to go over there for the food either, but we do seek out good food wherever we are. We found a lot in the UK, much to our surprise.

 

[Bhamdawg1725]

I’ve only been twice during the football season. We couldn’t get to an EPL match..so we did a league cup match one time at a then League One team (Since relegated out of the League Entirely)The other one we made was a League Two match. They were both a lot of fun.

The Churchill War rooms I’ve never done despite the fact that I’m an avid WWII buff and Churchill is one of my personal heroes. My understanding is he was almost never there. He hated the place.

Absolutely do the pubs. Seek out real ones though, ones the locals use. There are pubs and then there are pubs. A few that we have loved: The Wig and Pen in Norwich, The Ostrich in Castle Acre, The John Barleycorn in Duxford, The Lorne in Oban, and the Wheatsheaf Inn in Lower Woodeford.

Riding the Tube is worth doing in its own right. I had to do it onetime on a Friday night. I had to go from Heathrow all the way across London, and back. That was a massively memorable experience in people watching.

The tube is a marvel. We had to hop on at a station to get on one of the newer lines. Can’t remember where we were going or which station… but it felt like we were 1000 feet underground. It took 6 or more escalators down that were several stories each to get to the line we were needing. Insane engineering.

Also, another absolute must do… Borough Market had incredible food vendors everywhere. We ate til we were sick.

 

[grinningmule]

To each his own. We didn’t choose to go over there for the food either, but we do seek out good food wherever we are. We found a lot in the UK, much to our surprise.

The only advice I can give on food in foreign countries is listen to the waiters. When the girl in Thailand tells your white *** that you don't want it Thai hot believe her. Your O ring will thank you later.

 

[L4Dawg]

The only advice I can give on food in foreign countries is listen to the waiters. When the girl in Thailand tells your white *** that you don't want it Thai hot believe her. Your O ring will thank you later.

For sure!

 

[leeinator]

Might check to see if there's any cool Beatles stuff in Liverpool to see.

 

[Duggar Hall Desk]

Are the Cliffs of Dover worth the 2 he train ride?

I thought so, but your mileage may vary

 

[L4Dawg]

Might check to see if there's any cool Beatles stuff in Liverpool to see.

There is.

 

[Podgy]

Good ideas above. Eat at a Dishoom in London. Get the Chicken Ruby, Black Dal and Jackfruit Biryani and other things you think you'd like on the menu if you're with a group. Churchill War Rooms and Imperial War Musuem (not as nice of a museum as the WWII but more broad and Britain loved war), National Gallery is free to see some masterpieces, really good Natural History Museum, see a musical, go watch soccer, enjoy a pub meal and beer so much to do.