Things to see and do in London

LadyMayBelle

MIN2511 wrote: »

Good tips!
I'm heading to London for a few 9 days; all suggestions will be appreciated! I was gonna get the London Pass for 6 days but I'm open to cheap/free suggestions of places to visit preferably in Zone 1,2 & 3 as I'm getting a travel card.

Maybe give us am idea of what sort of thing you're thinking of doing? Museums, Shopping, walking tours, sight seeing, etc? Makes it a bit easier to narrow it down!

MIN2511

Hey LadyMayBelle,

I'm in London now and seem to be doing alright
Went to the Brockwell festival, Covent Garden, Camden, Film & Transport museums, Picadilly Circus etc.

I'll be keen on museums, walking tours and sightseeing. I got a travel card for zones 1-3 which is really handy (expensive but handy)
Thank you!

Fysh

Unsticking as this is probably better off just being a normal thread...

LordSutch

If you are into technical stuff/nostalgia/quirky transport, you could possibly go for a jaunt on the now famous 'New Bus For London' (due to make an appearance in Skyfall later this month)! currently there are only eight prototypes running on route 38 Victoria-Hackney (Via Hyde Park corner), but they are interesting to say the least, I recently did a return journey, and I still wanted more!

Battery powered Double Decker with the Olde Worlde hop on Hop off platform at the rear = nice )

PS; Make sure to have an Oyster card, that way you can use the rear platform exclusively to hop on, and to hop off . . .

Ding ding!

Louche Lad

LordSutch wrote: »

If you are into technical stuff/nostalgia/quirky transport, you could possibly go for a jaunt on the now famous 'New Bus For London' (due to make an appearance in Skyfall later this month)! currently there are only eight prototypes running on route 38 Victoria-Hackney (Via Hyde Park corner), but they are interesting to say the least, I recently did a return journey, and I still wanted more!

Battery powered Double Decker with the Olde Worlde hop on Hop off platform at the rear = nice )

PS; Make sure to have an Oyster card, that way you can use the rear platform exclusively to hop on, and to hop off . . .

Ding ding!

The "Boris Bus", a vanity project from Boris Johnson. The buses cost several times more than normal buses to purchase, and have little resale value, so they're white elephants. But worth trying once just to see what they're like, I suppose.

Agree about the Oyster card — does make moving around London so much easier.

LordSutch

Louche Lad wrote: »

The "Boris Bus", a vanity project from Boris Johnson. The buses cost several times more than normal buses to purchase, and have little resale value, so they're white elephants. But worth trying once just to see what they're like, I suppose.

Agree about the Oyster card — does make moving around London so much easier.

Ken Livingstone's camp were very successful at throwing heaps of mud at Boris and the whole Boris Bus project, and obviously a lot of that mud stuck, including the inflated price per bus, which you have linked. The reality is that the New Hop on Hop off busses are currently proving to be a massive hit with the London public (and Tourists), so much so that there is now an order for another six hundred of these New buses for London, the 1st batch of thirty to be delivered next April.

Each bus costs the same as any other Hybrid double decker London bus (£315.000 each). Regarding the Oyster card, I only mentioned it because in order for you to hop on by the open platform, you must have an Oyster to hand as you jump on! > otherwise you must enter by the front doors.

Louche Lad

LordSutch wrote: »

Ken Livingstone's camp were very successful at throwing heaps of mud at Boris and the whole Boris Bus project, and obviously a lot of that mud stuck, including the inflated price per bus, which you have linked. The reality is that the New Hop on Hop off busses are currently proving to be a massive hit with the London public (and Tourists), so much so that there is now an order for another six hundred of these New buses for London, the 1st batch of thirty to be delivered next April.

Each bus costs the same as any other Hybrid double decker London bus (£315.000 each). Regarding the Oyster card, I only mentioned it because in order for you to hop on by the open platform, you must have an Oyster to hand as you jump on! > otherwise you must enter by the front doors.

<snipped pic>

OK, I have yet to try one of these — I might get a chance in a few weeks. One thing that baffles me is the conductor: you'd think the Tories would want to avoid the extra staff costs. (Don't get me wrong: I think it's a good idea to have a conductor inside for security.) There's an interesting article about this here.

Awayindahils

The 38 is one of my local bus routes! I had been wondering what was with the unusual buses!

who the fug

Getting rid of the Routemaster was the prime reason I went and voted against Ken, anyone who travels regular in West 1 knows how they are a perfect.

Front of the new bus reminds me of Sci Fi Robot from the early eighties but cannot remember which one

djpbarry

LordSutch wrote: »

Each bus costs the same as any other Hybrid double decker London bus (£315.000 each).

That's probably slightly higher than a conventional hybrid double decker, but anyway, the point is that perfectly good buses are being replaced with this new routemaster - that's where the great big waste of money lies.

who the fug

djpbarry wrote: »

That's probably slightly higher than a conventional hybrid double decker, but anyway, the point is that perfectly good buses are being replaced with this new routemaster - that's where the great big waste of money lies.

perfectly good route masters were replaced with bendy buses that is were the waste started

djpbarry

who the fug wrote: »

perfectly good route masters were replaced with bendy buses that is were the waste started

That's where all the waste in London public transport started, is it? Really?

The fact that waste is evident in the past is no excuse for tolerating it in the present.

who the fug

djpbarry wrote: »

That's where all the waste in London public transport started, is it? Really?

The fact that waste is evident in the past is no excuse for tolerating it in the present.

One could go on and on with the waste thing, but the main problem has been making up for 40 years under investment.

PFI was not the way to go and to be fair Ken did his best to stop that stupidity.

afatbollix

djpbarry wrote: »

That's probably slightly higher than a conventional hybrid double decker, but anyway, the point is that perfectly good buses are being replaced with this new routemaster - that's where the great big waste of money lies.

The saving on fuel is where they win over the money men. The Borrisbus gets about 8-9MPG when normal buses get 6MPG I think.. Its a huge amount of diesel over the whole london bus route

Fysh

Let's dial back the squabbling and get back on topic please

Vaguely related to buses I still have to get my bottom in gear and do the Duck Tour at some point. I don't think now is the best time though, given the weather we're getting

S.M.B.

Has anyone been to the Rain Room at the Barbican yet?

I really want to go but don't want to be dealing with 2 hour queues.

83ste

The Regent Street Motor Show takes place this Saturday on, you guessed it, Regent Street. There will be a display of the pre-1905 cars taking part in Sunday's London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, as well as some of the latest hybrid and electric green cars.

The RAC Future Car Challenge, a run from Brighton to London for hybrid/electric cars, will arrive in Regent Street at approx 11am on Saturday and will include yours truly driving a Toyota Prius Plug-In with British Olympic swimmer Ross Davenport.

Plus it's on Regent Street so you can get some early Christmas shopping done!

silvervixen84

serrity wrote: »

The Regent Street Motor Show takes place this Saturday on, you guessed it, Regent Street. There will be a display of the pre-1905 cars taking part...

Jack B. Badd

Robocop + The Raid = Judge Dredd

BraziliaNZ

Winter wonderland starts today, it's great!

Playboy

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Winter wonderland starts today, it's great!

It's so busy though ... Maybe it's best to go now before it becomes really cold and packed!

BraziliaNZ

Playboy wrote: »

It's so busy though ... Maybe it's best to go now before it becomes really cold and packed!

Yeah it was mayhem last year, I'd say go early an during week if you can, it's great though, all that beer and bratwurst etc

jonnyfingers

A group of us went on a Saturday last year and if you arrive early in the day it's pretty quiet. Plenty of time to go on some rides and see some attractions. Then we went off to do some other things and returned later for some beer and food. It was great. Going on the 16th of Dec this year and planning to do the same.

silvervixen84

I went two years ago on a snowy day and it was magical. Loved the market stalls and the mulled wine.

Tried to go again last year with Scarinae but the wait was 2 hours and there was no way we were waiting in the cold for it!

djpbarry

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Yeah it was mayhem last year, I'd say go early an during week if you can, it's great though, all that beer and bratwurst etc

The beer is fairly pricey, no?

jonnyfingers

Just back from spending a day at Winter Wonderland. We arrived at midday and walked straight in, however from 5pm to 7pm it was pandemonium. A few of the lads stayed till closing and getting out was chaos they said, Hyde Park Corner had to be closed. So if you are going arrive early and get off a stop before and walk.

Winter Wonderland itself was great. We were there for the rides and the booze, Wilde Maus XXL is very good for a travelling coaster, the others are for the kids really. The new Star Flyer was a great experience but the right duration was ridiculously short for the £6 it cost to ride. By the way, expect to pay between £4 and £6 for most rides.

Beer was £8 for a litre stein, with an additional £2 deposit for the glass (which is actually plastic!), £4 for a pint and £5 for a bottle. Mulled wine was £4, or £5 for a shot or rum/amaretto.

The whole place has grown since last year so plenty to do and see. Plenty of food available and even some live entertainment. But bring your money!

exiledelbows

If anyone is spending the Christmas period in London this year, Kew Gardens are giving away 9,000 free tickets per day between 22 December and 4 January. You have to pre-register at http://www.kew.org/. Considering a Kew ticket is £15-20 normally this is a brilliant deal.

Jack B. Badd

exiledelbows wrote: »

If anyone is spending the Christmas period in London this year, Kew Gardens are giving away 9,000 free tickets per day between 22 December and 4 January. You have to pre-register at http://www.kew.org/. Considering a Kew ticket is £15-20 normally this is a brilliant deal.

Savage! I was just thinking that I should head there over the next few months

Fysh

The Fist Of Modly Powah! Sez: Keep it on-topic and constructive, please. This is a thread for suggesting & discussing things to do in London, not for moaning or squabbling.

Mr_Spaceman

One of London's lesser spotted gems for those in the south-west.

A cute wee market and a nice place for a Sunday chill-out.

http://www.mertonabbeymills.org.uk/