Three choices in life; Give up, Give in or Give all you've got!!

please-let-me-be-lucky

beanielou wrote: »

You still going to SW or are you having a break?

I've still been going Beanie, apart from last week while we were away, but I've been doing more gaining than losing . Practically back where I started .

*Robin* wrote: »

I'm with DS1 as well..
Just had a look at The Eye website; they let on a carer gratis if the disabled person turns up with "reasonable written proof of disability" (it does not specify what they consider reasonable! PIP award letter perhaps?).
Pre-booked on-line it looks like you could put together a cracking day out for the family reasonably economically (especially if carer goes free at all the attractions?).

Hotels might be a different matter of course, no idea whether that could render the whole idea unfeasible.

If you do decide to go for it though, do you know anyone who's got a Go-Pro? ..Thinking recording the whole break would be a lovely way of preserving all your memories for DH.

Thanks Robin, I'll take a look. I thought the Eye was really expensive? Will investigate.

Unfortunately I don't know anyone with a Go-Pro. Good idea for future though.

Re hotel, I need somewhere that I can park the car, and near transport into London itself. A friend has recommended a Prem1er Inn at Putney Bridge as it's near the underground. When I checked yesterday it was £77 for all of us, plus £18 to park. This morning the price had gone up to £82 for the room (:mad:) so we are talking £100 plus Oyster cards and spends while there.

Penny bottle wasn't as full as I thought it might be. £3 in 5ps which I will put towards my weekly SW fee - Consultant always crying out for 5ps so she'll be happy. Apart from that I've only been able to make one full bag of copper .

Had £2 in my online lottery account so took a chance and bought an instant win game with it. I don't do it very often and I don't recommend it, but I won £10! Will use it to buy my normal lottery for the next few draws and that frees up some other cash.

beanielou

Book it now before it goes up again!!

*Robin*

beanielou wrote: »

Book it now before it goes up again!!

Clear your browsing history first! Then there's a good chance the first price will come back again..

blackcatsx2

Hope it's ok to de-lurk but wanted to encourage you to book the hotel in Putney. It's my neck of the woods so I can confirm it is indeed very close to the underground station. It's the District Line which will take you a few stops to the museums - science, natural history and Victoria and Albert which are all free. Also Putney has a mainline station which will take you quickly to Waterloo if you decide to go on the Eye.
Another great free thing to do is to go to The Sky Garden - it's nearly as tall as The Shard and gives fantastic views of London but is free to get in. Tickets are limited but I noticed that they reserve a number each day for "assistance" places which might be suitable for you. You need to book on line.
Or Kensington Roof Garden is also free and very near the museums - great views of London with flamingoes wandering around for good measure. If its open when you are in London it might be worth a an hour there?
Hope that helps - I love London and there are still some good free things to do.

JustAboutThere

Tickets are released three weeks in advance and go extremely quickly.

https://skygarden.london/plan-your-visit

I finally got around to booking and received my confirmation yesterday. I've added a few things from the confirmation - mainly the ID requirement:

• You must download your ticket and bring it with you. This can be printed or displayed on your smart phone / tablet. If you are unable to print this ticket or do not have a smart phone, please make a note of your booking reference number instead. If your group is arriving separately, please forward this booking confirmation to other members of your party and ask them to bring the ticket with them.

• Each adult will need provide a form of identification such as a passport, a driving license or a bank card. The name of the lead ticket holder will be checked against the identification provided.

• Children under 16 years old must be supervised by an adult aged 18 years or over (with a maximum of 3 children per adult).

• No smoking is permitted inside any part of the Sky Garden.

• Only food and drink purchased inside the Sky Garden may be consumed in the Sky Garden.

• No animals are permitted in the Sky Garden except for guide dogs / hearing dogs.

• Please make sure that you arrive on time.

• Latecomers will only be permitted with our permission.

Brightspark87

Hi lucky

With London don't forget you can use contactless cards so dont have 'dead' money sitting on oyster cards not being used! Plus it only deducts a max amount for a travel card within those zones.

Also, you can do fun things like walking around Tower Bridge and Tower of London without actually going in. Also, if you have a train ticket you can get 2 4 1 into lots of attractions including the aquarium on the south bank - you can just buy a waterloo to clapham journey (couple of ££) and that should be fine. Also, check out who does free entry for carers as I am pretty sure most of them will allow you in for free.

I think a London day out would be fun and doesn't have to be too many £££.

I can also recommend air bnb - might grab you a bargain! Good luck xxx

JustAboutThere

Yes to contactless cards and to the 2-4-1 deals. More details about the 2-4-1 here:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g186338-c133479/London:United-Kingdom:Paper.And.Oyster.Travelcards.2.4.1.Offers.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c195600/London:United-Kingdom:2.4.1.Travelcards.Step.By.Step.html

I'd advise caution with Airbnb in London. There have been some properties that are being illegally let such as council housing that breaches their leases. If they're discovered, then the lettings are cancelled, often at last minute. Others are properties on the market that sell - same outcome. Letting cancelled. Some descriptions have been rather vague and 'stretched the truth' about their actual location.

I'm not saying don't do it - it's more, do your research / due diligence beforehand, understand and be comfortable with the T&C's of a 'Strict' cancellation policy - if that's what you opt for. I know people who won't 'touch' an Airbnb property that has a Strict cancellation policy.

There are some regulars on the London TripAdvisor forum who are excellent at spotting fakes. If you're interested, post the links to properties you're considering and ask for them to look it over.

trix-a-belle

Brightspark87 wrote: »

With London don't forget you can use contactless cards so dont have 'dead' money sitting on oyster cards not being used! Plus it only deducts a max amount for a travel card within those zones.

^ this! & the kids should be of an age I think that they will travel free, you take them through the barrier at the same time as the accompanying adult or ask an attendant to let you all through one of the large gates which may be better with DH.
Enjoy whatever you decide.

Sun_Addict

Some excellent advice here Lucky. Could you maybe go for it and recover the cost at a later date when school holidays are over?

mummytogirls

I absolutely think you should book the extra trip onto your London trip PLMBL!!! Was going to suggest the contactless bank cards for the underground, both DH and I did this and took one of the girls each through with us. TFL caps it at £9 per day (I think its around about this amount).

Book it book it!!!!!! xx