A Month From London
I still have a month to go before I leave for my 4-month stint in London, but things are starting to feel real. I’ve left both of my jobs (temporarily), as I’ll be moving home to NJ soon. I’m packing up my apartment. I got my visa. I’ve started looking at guide books for places I want to visit and things I want to do. And, best of all, I’ve found several programs where I get free concerts and theatre tickets because I’m younger than 26. I can’t wait.
I know I’ve blogged about this before, but now that things are getting even closer, I’d like some advice and suggestions from the well-traveled and varied group of readers AAR has. Specifically: Are there any good thrift shops in London, or other good (but cheap) clothing stores? What is the best day trip outside of London? Any good pubs or restaurants in the Kensington area? Any obscure slang terms I should be aware of before I go? And, perhaps most important, are galoshes really necessary?
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Britain is one of my favourite place, I like travelling with my family as well as with my pals. There are a great number of sites to visits, very good cutural experience and loads of attractions.
On language: US Purse Uk Handbag, a purse is the thing you put money in, so your purse goes inside the handbag. If shopping for underwear, panties translates as knickers, briefs thongs, hipsters (something for everyone!). London is a cosmoplitan city so you should get along fine.
I’ve been thinking about what to add to all the above comments so will just go with random thoughts.
First thing is to buy an Oyster card for travel in the London area (which is a huge area). You need to fill in a form and put money into the card but it is the cheapest way to get around. You won’t be able to use it on British Rail but all buses, underground and Docklands Light Railway will accept it.
Most museums are free. The Museum of London is a half-day trip – The British Museum will take a couple of days. Don’t forget St John Soane’s museum in Lincoln Inn Fields and make sure the curator shows you the ‘pull-out’ gallery of paintings.
The Courthold Gallery in Somerset House (great paintings) is free before 2 o’clock on Mondays.
If you get a ‘London card’ plan your day(s) and don’t waste it on free attractions.
You will be in London during Heritage Open Days (10-13 September when places that are not usually open to the public (The Mansion House etc) are open and lots of attractions are free. The Tourist Info Office at the side of St Pauls will deffo have a copy of the brochure. Well worth a look. You may need to book in advance for some things like The Guerkin.
The Great Britain Tourist office in Lower Regent Street will help with non London visits.
If you are aiming to go further afield make sure you book any train/air trips asap.
When I lived in London there was a bus that went to Oxford for £1! Easily doable for a day trip and for £1 you could go more than once!
Look into National Express bus services as they will be cheaper than the train.
The Ticket Booth in Leicester Square will provide cheap tickets to London shows but also go to the theatres to check if tickets from them are cheaper.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Let me know if I can help.
Sheila
I was in London for a month during my last year in college and loved it! I haven’t made it back yet, but it’s definitely a goal. The sense of history is simply amazing and not something we have in the US, at least in the South.
I only took a few trips out of London. Canterbury was great. And you must go to Edinburgh! It’s not in the Highlands, but it feels like the Highlands if you don’t know any better. It’s a weekend trip for sure, and you’ll need the time to do some tours around the area.
I know you’ll have loads of fun. I’m quite jealous – 4 months!
Jane, if you have a month to go (i.e. you arrive end of August), then the Proms will still be on at the Royal Albert Hall – the programme’s online – see if you could go for a Prom – it’s a marvellous experience. I loved spending a lazy Saturday afternoon in Kew Garden reading a book; my friend and I used to have tea at the Tudor tea-house just across the road (I think Henry VIII had once drunk tea there). Another thing you could do is go through the National Trust properties, or visit some of the great houses which are not Trust property e.g. Blenheim Palace in Woodstock just outside Oxford. Some of these homes were used for period dramas – e.g. Chatsworth, Castle Howard. And I would also recommend that you visit Wales, Scotland and Ireland while you are in the British Isles!
Dear Jane,
Another local here! In answer to your questions. Thrift stores: As Jessica says, we have some excellent charity shops – many more than just Salvation Army/Goodwill – and the better parts of London, like Ealing, Kensington, have excellent shops. If you can get a little out of the city and out to the suburbs, like Ealing, or Amersham (anywhere that’s a quick hop on the tube/local train) you’ll often find things are a little cheaper and just as good in quality.
I’d encourage you to travel outside the city whenever you can. My college friends from the US who visit often say that they love getting out into the country far more than London. We cram a lot into the UK, and you’ll never want for variety and diversity in terms of landscape or people, whichever direction you venture in.
In terms of travel, some forward planning could definitely save you lots of money. The earlier you plan your trips, the cheaper they’ll be. Our railways are excellent, but the cheap tickets go early. Similarly, you can fly to both Scotland (Edinburgh is beautiful) and Ireland very cheaply, but again, you need to book on some of the budget airlines asap.
You will find a warm welcome awaiting you in my homeland, Wales. It’s a little under two hours on the train to Cardiff, a lovely city where the people are very friendly. In Wales you’ll find 3 National parks – the rolling hills of the Brecon Beacons are beautiful and accessible (and there are plenty of lovely hotels/inns where you can stay in a historic place for a reasonable price. You’ll find some good youth hostels too). Venture further west and you’ll come to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which has some truly stunning scenery and miles and miles of beaches. Travel to North Wales and you’ll find the rugged peaks of the Snowdonia National Park.
My home county, Gwent, has more castles than any other part of the UK (built on the South Wales borders to keep the rowdy Celts in order!) If you like your medievals, you can’t help but fall over castles in this part of the world. I’d very much recommend Chepstow and Caerphilly, both stunningly beautiful, along with the smaller Raglan. Here’s a link to Caerphilly (and you’ll find lots of other good stuff on this site): http://www.visitsouthwales.com/thedms.aspx?dms=13& venue=1010890castles
You’ll also find other gems like Tintern Abbey, which inspired the famous Wordsworth Poem. Here’s more information- Cadw look after all the historic places in Wales, so you’ll find lots more info here too: http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp?id=6&PlaceID=132#
Outside Wales, I agree with Rachel, any cathedral city is a great day out. As a romance fan, try Winchester – Jane Austen is buried in its beautiful Cathedral.
Don’t worry about language – you’ll work things out as you go along. I’d like to think we’re friendly to visitors over here, special relationship and all that! Definitely bring/or buy when you’re here some rain gear though and some warmer clothes as we move into Autumn.
Have a wonderful trip!
Rachel– thank you for the insight! It’s always good to have a local’s perspective on things.
Lee- thanks, as always, for your advice! That train map will come in handy.
Jessica– thanks for the heads up about “rooting.” Could save me some potential embarassment! And I would like to go see York– I’ll definitely look into that train.
It sounds like you’ll enjoy it!!!
Day trips: it may not sound like a day trip, but York is fantastic. There’s a train that only makes three stops and take 2-3 hours to get there (at least there used to be). Otherwise, I found a very cheap B&B just outside Gillygate, if you want an overnight. I also really like North Wales, but that’s not as easy to get to, or more importantly get around, by train. And if you can see Hadrian’s Wall, do it. It’s amazing.
The only slang I can think of is the term “root” or “root for” as in rooting for a team. The following is definitely true in Australia, and I think it’s also the case in the UK. In the US, it means cheering. In the UK, it’s a crude term for sex (it’s the less offensive equivalent of the f-word). So if you’re rooting for a team, you might be misunderstood in the UK :).
Rachel has a lot of great suggestions. For cheap clothing stores, you might want to try Primark or any of the High Street shops (Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, BHS, TopShop, etc. etc.).
More day trips that Rachel didn’t mention that are accessible by train are Rye, Arundel (nice castle), Lewes, Eastbourne, Cardiff, Salisbury (also to see Stonehenge), St. Albans, Bournemouth, Hatfield House, etc. etc. etc. The list is indeed endless.
Here’s a good rail map: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/print_maps/uk.pdf
Where does one start?
We have lots of charity shops – I should think if you go to one of the select areas of London (Kensington, Chelsea etc) you would get a really good class of clothes. Oxfam and British Heart Foundation are just two major charities that have a shop in every town (Oxfam has specialist book shops as well). of course, in London there is a shop in most localities. You will find second hand clothes as well as bric a brac and books here.
Day trips out of London should include Cambridge (I’m biased I live close) and Oxford. Both are only 50/60 miles and very accessible by train or bus. Brighton, Canterbury, Portsmouth are some more – it depends on what interests you. Think about weekend trips, if you use a youth hostel for overnight stays you will be able to keep costs down. You could then think about Bath, Manchester, Coventry, York, Nottingham – the list is endless. As a general rule, any Cathedral city (we have 70) is full of history and interest. Do you like to get out into the country – you are unlikely to find more variety in a comparatively small area than we have in England.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/the-complete-guide-to-cathedral-cities-in-the-uk-760201.html
I don’t know about obscure slang terms – but you don’t need galoshes, which incidentally we call wellington boots, or more colloquially – wellies!
Rachel