London trip

rob32cardiff

Hi all

I'm after a bit of help organising a 3 nite family (myself, my OH and my 2 girls 5 & 8yrs old) trip to London the beginning of April. The plan of attack is to go to the Natural History Museum, the London eye, etc and maybe an over nite stop in Legoland Windsor. I have a number of questions (as I've only ever been to London with my parents about 20 years ago..)
Is it best to stay on the outskirts and travel in?
Where's the best area to stay (either outside or in London)?
Do I drive up from South Wales and leave my car on the outskirts and take the tube in if I'm staying in London itself?
I've heard that you can stay in the hall of residences in some of the universities...is this true?

For the last question I've had a look on the net and not come up with anything...but I may be looking in the wrong place.

Any help would be much appreciated

dzug

Yes you can stay in University Halls of residence - in vacation time of course

Try here: http://housing.london.ac.uk/cms/short-term-housing/halls-of-residence.html

(bit out of date as it's 2005 but it does give a contact number)

As for driving from South Wales - well I'd get the train all the way. If you book early enough it can be quite cheap. Or the coach if train costs too much. If you'd really rather drive I'd stay a little further out than the tube (which is painfully slow from the outer termini, with generally iffy parking) and get the train in each day. Maybe Slough or Windsor or Staines given you want to visit Legoland.

brazilianwax

I drive from Cardiff to London every week (work in London, live just outside Cardiff). I never do the journey during the day. If you can travel at odd times then a car may be better. Especially as you'd have to change trains to get to Windsor etc anyway.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend staying outside London for the days you want to do the central London sights. We put some of OH's family up in a Travelodge which charges a fiver per 24 hours for parking in it's secure car park. It's about a 15 minute bus ride into the centre from there too. (PM me if you want more info).

So perhaps 2 nights in London and one in Windsor is an option. Be warned that the Windsor area is extremely expensive. Even the Holiday Inn there is 160 pounds per night :eek:. If you can get a deal on a family room in a Travelodge or Premier Travel Inn that might be your best bet.