Weekend in London - last minute tips

hgnsvd

Hi all,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I'm heading off to London this weekend (Fri-Sun) on one of the Travelodge deals from a couple of months ago (Wembley) and am in need of some last-minute advice. I'm mainly going to see a play and visit some galleries and museums.

- Where to leave a bag for until Friday evening (say 9pm) near Waterloo for cheap (the Waterloo left luggage is £6.50!). Maybe the Hayward has a cloakroom? And again for Sunday daytime near St Pancras. Maybe the National Portrait Gallery would do for that.

- What's the best option for a tube railcard for the weekend?

- Cheap eats, and places to stock up on hotel-room munchies, breakfast etc. Especially cheap central-London ideas for Friday and Saturday evening. I just need an indoor seat and something filling - nothing fancy.

Thank you!

Little_Chicken

Bring a Blooming big umbrella - we're in the middle of a thunderstorm. eek!

Little_Chicken

Subway sandwich shops are probably the best value for money for daytime food. The British Museum is closer to St Pancras for Sunday - and it's free. Enjoy!!!

pixie2097

Imperial War Museum is free also and you can lose hours in there easily. Lambeth North is your nearest Tube. From there you can do do the centre of the town by foot. As for storage, handing in some "lost property" and claiming it later in the day may be an cheeky way of solving the problem. (jk, please don't lose your bag!)

GlennTheBaker

Little_Chicken wrote: »

Subway sandwich shops are probably the best value for money for daytime food.

You are joking, right?

susancs

Re travel you could either get a 3 day off peak travle card for zones 1-6 for £20 or an oyster card which caps at 50p leass than the daily travel card so costs you £19.50, but you have to pay a £3 deposit and claim this back. Also might be worth considering (depending on what you plan to do and if you are going with someone) is that you can get 2 for 1 entry to a lot of attractions using the paper ticket, as the Oyster card is not valid.

I would have breakfast in the hotel as there is not much around there as on a v busy main road, in an industrial estate. It must be about a 15 min walk to the tube from there and I don't think I would like to wander around the area at night. There is a cafe not too far away famous for classic bikes and cars (hubby has a classic car) plus Rock N Roll bands if that is your thing.
http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/default.aspx
Menu here
http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/files/acerockersmainmenu.pdf

www.tfl.gov.uk to download maps and plan your journeys before going.
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/offers.aspx to print out vouchers to with your travel card. The nearest tube station to the V&A, Science and Natural History is South Kensington-they all 2 mins from each other. The no 15 bus is a great cheap way to tour the city (especially as you use your oyster or travel card) and is usually the old fashioned red rover. It goes past a lot of the landmarks-get on outside Marble Arch tube. Look on this sites eating out site for deals (eg. 2 for 1 link is found on the right hand side of this post).

No experience of storing baggage, but a lot of places in London will not accept/ allow unattended bags, as secuirty is still high(ish) most places after the bombings. Bags are checked going into all museums still and we are all asked to still be vigilant re unattened bags.

Maisie

Some places give special rates if you have a train ticket. I know the boats on the Thames give a discount with a train ticket. I have a leaflet somewhere I'll see if I can find it.

Look at https://www.Londontown.com and other related sites to see what's on.

HTH

pandas66

Just a small heads up on travel into town. Your about 3/4 to an hour outside of London at Wembley, so that needs factoring into your day out. We went down a week or so ago and we were in Park Royal 1 night (close ish ) and its along day with the extra travelling.

Take a kagool in your bag ( I didn't) as they keep off the rain and fold away small after a good shake, I know it might not rain as its summer.

davetrousers

I have stayed at the Wembley Travelodge a couple of times, you can either get the tube from Stonebridge Park or or Hangar Lane (on different lines). So I don't have to pay for breakfast I generally take some cereal and a pint of milk as well as some small cartons of orange juice, I'd advise taking a few extra tea bags too.

We sometimes eat in the Lloyds Bar (Wetherspoons) in Charing Cross Road, being a Wetherspoons you generally know what you're going to get, such as their Beer and Burger deal for about £5.

hgnsvd

Thanks everyone for your tips!

For those of you that know the area or have stayed at the Wembley Travelodge:

- What's the walk to Hanger Lane / Stonebridge Park like - is it really dodgy? Also, is there a taxi rank outside the station (Saturday could be a late night as I'm seeing a play)?

Looking on the Tube website, Hanger Lane looks like a quicker tube journey from central London - any thoughts on that?

Thanks again!

Horace

Garfunkel restaurants aren't bad to eat in either - reasonably cheap. I eat in them every time I go to London. The best one is on Leicester Square.

You can buy cheap theatre tickets at the ticket booth in Leicester Square as well.

The National Gallery is free as is the adjoining Portrait Gallery. Also along Millbank there is The Tate and on the South Bank Tate Modern.

HTH