northerners guide to london (beginner level)

bibliboo

Hi I'm a Yorkshireman and I'm ashamed to say I've never in my life been to London (apart from Heathrow airport).
I'm planning on going this summer and I'd like to know if anyone has any good tips for a family of 4. For example for rail travel, good hotels ( I hear holiday inns fine), tube travel, where to find discounts and vouchers,etc.

I actually don't know the map of London very well either but I think that shouldn't be a problem. I am looking things up myself but any tips will be a brilliant help:) thank you

googler

Are you going to get there by train, arriving at Kings Cross?

If so, my first advice would be to look for a hotel in that area. With a family of 4, you want to be walking out of the station into the hotel, and on departure day, jumping out of the hotel straight onto the train.

Schlepping all your luggage across the city merely for the sake of a cheaper hotel by (say) £10 a night isn't worth the effort, IMHO

What do you want to do? What does the family like to do?

Cornucopia

Kings Cross is not quite as bad as it used to be, but still not a great area to stay in.

susancs

My tip would be to plan what you would like to do in advance as there is so much to see and do. Go on www.tfl.gov.uk and there is a journey planner there. Group things you would like to go and do together. Plan a trip some months in advance to get a cheaper holiday. As you will probably only be sleeping in a hotel and out from early morning until late in the day just choose a basic one with good transport links. To get the best deals on hotels it is best to book well in advance and during a sale, otherwise you will find yourself paying significantly higher last minute prices. You could keep an eye on the newsletter from MSE for advance notice of sales. It is sometimes possible to get £12 Travelodge rooms and Premier Inn sooms from £29. These are good deals on Travelodge and PI hotels if you book breakfast, kids eat free for each paying adult so it is a cheap all you eat breakfast for a family of four. It is also worth looking at hotels on the outskirts of London that are near tube stations as you can often get good rates on these. For example the Holiday Inn at Watford Jct has free breakfast and has a train beside it that takes 15 minutes to get into London,of course you have higher fare costs from there to consider. You also have a bus that goes from there to Harry Potter Studios if you are into that and can get tickets (as you have to book in advance)

Children aged 10 and under travel free on all London buses, tubes and overground trains, for those aged 11-15years you can get a child's daily travelcard. Adults can either use an oyster for which you pay a refundable desposit and top up as required and it has a daily cap on the price charged. Any small amount left and depsoit can be refunded from a tube station before departure or you can send off for the refund (unless you want to keep it for use on another occassion). You can pick one up from the train or tube station on arrival or order in advance. You can also purchase a daily travelcard for unlimited travel, for cheaper fares buy after 9.30am on weekdays (all day at weekends is off peak). If you buy the travelcard from a rail station as opposed to only a tube station e.g. Victoria, Euston, Paddington are both underground and BR stations you will have the British Rail Logo on it to use for the 2for1 London attractions or if travelling in by train you can use these train tickets with the vouchers from the site below.
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london

If you book in advance you can get free tickets for the Tower Of London nightly closing ceremony and your local MP or councillors, if you contact them can arrange free tours around the Houses of Parliament. A lot of Museums are free and for example if you go to South Kensington you have the Science, Natural History and Victoria and Albert beside each other. If you want good photos beside the Queens Guards on horseback go to the entrance to Whitehall. Covent Garden is good as you have a lot of street entertainers and it has theatres (again if you book when sales are on you can get some really good deals for a London show e.g. lastminute.com, get in London Theatre January sales).

In regard to train fares you really need to keep an eye on when the system is updated with each batch of train fares and book as soon as these appear to get the best fares, as leaving it last minute means you pay a lot more. Also keep an eye on megabus as they don't only do coaches but also do cheaper train fares sometimes. It is also worth considering getting a friends and family rail card when there is a promotion on as this gives you a third off rail fares. Usually about March time each year there is a free 3 month card promotion and you them get 50% off when buying for the year.

cheesemelts

Hi,

key to going on train is to book early, you will get some great deals. If you book train you will then get some 2 for 1 entrys.

Also for cheap stuff take a look at Groupon they seem to have loads of london offers on, sign in and change your location to London to find them.

Regarding hotels, if you go further out then hotels cheaper however then there is tube travel so you have to weigh up the costs.
Holiday Inn Express are good, have stayed at most in London. If you are driving down you want a hotel with good car park and safe car park and also guarantee of space. Ones I have used for driving are 02 Holiday Inn Express North Greenwich. This has an amazing car park, secure, next to a shopping centre where there is a cinema and also restaurants. However you do have a 20 min walk down to tube, however it is in zone 2 I think and its quite a nice run into London on tube. Also we have stayed at Brent Cross, good car park, this hotel has a free taxi to Brent Cross tube and you just phone up and they pick you up when you arrive into Brent X tube and when you go to tube you wait outside hotel and taxi takes you there, very reliable. This hotel is also excellent if you go to Wembley for any events.

Also stayed at Travelodge near Tower Bridge, great location, can get it very cheap. Also Holiday Inn Kings X is a good hotel.

If you have a tastecard make sure you take it London are very used to tastecards, or if not then get a trial one, usually they have offers to get a free tastecard for a month or something. This will take often 50% off bill or 2 for 1 - it does make a difference.

Things like London Zoo you should be able to get 2for1 so look out for those.

Lots of walking in London, you will want to see the basic sights along River Thames so that's all free. Lots of museums are free now. Also take a little picnic up to Central Saint Martins, its a new building at Kings Cross, they have dancing waterfalls outside and benches and theres lots of seating steps next to canal. Basically come out of Kings X and walk up where all the green boards are to left and right.

Lots of Wetherspoons in London, actually some seriously beautiful ones The Crosse Keys in City of London was an old bank and inside is just gorgeous, think it was on Apprentice with them all standing in it.

Definitely go to Mudchute Farm I think its free, was last time I was there. It has the most amazing views of the city of london skyline, it also has animals and is a nice place to take a picnic. Although its in a sort of strange area, but just go on google maps before you go just to make sure you know the way to walk there.

Also dont go into the illusion that things are far away from each other, the tubes tend to make you feel that. You can walk most places and also the buses have good services.

Go and walk around the posh parts of London and see how the other half live, go to Maida Avenue/Blomfield Road and see all the canal boats, lovely area.

Hope this helps

cheesemelts

Also King X is going through a huge regeneration scheme. They are trying to make parts of it compete against the big shopping areas so eventually it will have an awful lot going on. It's not that bad of an area, it's not like Mile End. Have walked extensively around Kings X area. Just stick to heading the way up North or East. Also take the kids into St Pancras you can go on viewing area to see Eurostar etc and it is a beautiful building.

What I would say is, plan everything, before you go sit through google maps and do the walks down streets. London can be the sort of place where one minute you are in a nice area and next you are pooping your pants. But tourist areas are fine. Watch out for pickpockets, try to avoid rush hour on tubes.

Good walking shoes, sensible footwear is a must.

Nile

Hello bibliboo:hello:

I'm from Yorkshire too.

In my experience, it's impossible to find special offer £29 Premier Inn hotel rooms in central London. However, you might get a reduced price/offer if you book now.........well in advance.

My personal preference is the Premier Inn Euston because the room space is bigger than PI Kings Cross............and it's not much further to walk from Kings Cross station.;)

I've tried the 'let's save some money by choosing a hotel outside central London' option and it is not fun. Dragging suitcases on and off buses or up and down the escalators for the tube is a rubbish start and end to your London trip.

As this will be your first visit to London, if you're planning more trips...........definitely get Oyster cards. If you're not planning to go to London again...........just buy the daily travel cards.

Comfortable footwear is a must as you'll do lots of walking. I prefer travelling via the London buses to the tube. I sit on the upper deck, so I have a good view of the landmarks.

When you arrive in London, go the station information desk/customer service and ask for a London Buses Central London bus guide map.......which is free.;) It lists the bus numbers for central London, so you can plan your route each day.

Be vigilant, pick pockets are looking for easy targets.

Enjoy your visit to London.

Regards

Nile

cheesemelts

Also take a look at airbnb for accomodation. Only use ones with lots of reviews.

Have used airbnb and its good.

Also tripadvisor.

p00hsticks

googler wrote: »

Are you going to get there by train, arriving at Kings Cross?

If so, my first advice would be to look for a hotel in that area. With a family of 4, you want to be walking out of the station into the hotel, and on departure day, jumping out of the hotel straight onto the train.

Schlepping all your luggage across the city merely for the sake of a cheaper hotel by (say) £10 a night isn't worth the effort, IMHO

I used to think like this but I've changed my mind, especially if you'll be staying for more than a couple of days. Kings Cross and Euston aren't particularly interesting places to stay. for the same price you can probably find somewhere a bit more central (we like the Covent Garden Travelodge) with plenty of restaurants, theatres, shops, sights etc within easy walking distance. It's less than £10 to get a taxi from the hotel to/from the station with the luggage at the start/end of the trip and we probably save that on the oyster card by not having to use the tube/buses each day.

googler

p00hsticks wrote: »

I used to think like this but I've changed my mind, especially if you'll be staying for more than a couple of days. Kings Cross and Euston aren't particularly interesting places to stay.

I'm not looking for them to be 'interesting', merely to have a decent hotel close to the rail station.... the attractions lies elsewhere, and it's easier to get just me to the attractions, then get me+luggage there....

Euston Road, whilst it has The British Library upon it, is merely a means to get between hotel and stations. However, one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been in lies at the side of Euston station, sandwiched between some very dodgy bookshops .....

Nile wrote: »

I've tried the 'let's save some money by choosing a hotel outside central London' option (or the cheapest hotel option, regardless of location) and it is not fun. Dragging suitcases on and off buses or up and down the escalators for the tube is a rubbish start and end to your London trip.

bibliboo

googler wrote: »

Are you going to get there by train, arriving at Kings Cross?

If so, my first advice would be to look for a hotel in that area. With a family of 4, you want to be walking out of the station into the hotel, and on departure day, jumping out of the hotel straight onto the train.

Schlepping all your luggage across the city merely for the sake of a cheaper hotel by (say) £10 a night isn't worth the effort, IMHO

What do you want to do? What does the family like to do?

Wow thanks for all your replies, particularly susancs, cheese melts and Nile for taking the time for your replies.

Although I've heard of muggings and pickpockets, I had no idea kings cross had a bad reputation. However, with a 4yo and a 9 month old its probably a better idea to stay there.

We'll most likely be travelling by train, most likely from Wakefield or Leeds, so if anyone has any money saving tips please let me know. However mega bus sounds interesting, how does that work, is it really a £1?

We like walks but the 4yo tires easily. We love theatre also, particularly interested in lion king but we'll leave that for another time (I don't think the baby would appreciate it somehow:))
Definitely will be sightseeing especially the London eye, the zoo, maybe Tussauds and some museums.
I like cheese melts idea of visiting posh areas to have a look! I might try that as we don't appear to do posh quite so well up north:rotfl: (Leeds city centres the poshest I've seen!).
We also love eating out(even burgers!-though it would have to be veggie or halal:D)
Thanks again for all the replies, hope they are also handy for anyone else watching!