Transport
Arriva Wales train from Gobowen to Birmingham New Street. The seats are comfy, come with plug sockets for phones and laptops, and a head rest in the correct shape that you don't end up resting your head on your neighbours shoulder. As I departed rather late in the morning (9.55), the train was relatively quiet. It's also a beautiful scenic route through the Shropshire countryside.
From Birmingham New Street to London Euston I traveled on Virgin Trains, fab service by a friendly ticket collector and the carriage I was travelling in was spotless.
I didn't reserve any seats on the trains as the majority of people never stick to them and most of the time there's an abundance of empty seats.
London
Day 1, Saturday 4th January 2014
I was greeted by my brother and his girlfriend Maya at London Euston (they were my free accommodation!) where we went to Kings Cross Station to find the Harry Potter trolley at platform 9 3/4, it's been rebuilt in the main station holding area. It's a newly built brick wall with the trolley sticking out but in the newly modern station it just sticks out like a sore thumb! When we arrived there was also a full queue to see it too however it is still an awesome photo op for the collection, all I'm saying is...if you're not a die hard Potterhead I wouldn't recommend it.
We also popped to Pizza Express on Euston Road, just 0.4 miles from the Station. We all had pizza, my brother had one off the Christmas menu, it had crackling and apple sauce on it which he'd highly recommend. The service was quick and attentive, the food was delicious and the decor was modern with an American diner style to it. The lay out of the tables also meant it was incredibly spacious with a mix of booths and tables meaning you didn't feel you were interrupting Sheila's discussion of her new living room curtains. Price wasn't too bad either..if you don't have a set budget.
The station is also close to the British Library and the British Museum which are worth checking it out if you're a bookworm or have an interest in history.
I also picked up an Oyster Card from the station, for four days there I'd personally recommend topping it up with £20 as each tube ride is £2.20 in off-peak times (the majority of the day) between zones 1-2.
Day 2, Sunday 5th January 2014
We walked from St. Johns Wood through Regents Park, which is peaceful and tranquil, and Soho to get brunch at The Diner just off Oxford Street on 18 Ganton Street. Their breakfast menu is fab and so delicious! With stacks of pancakes, maple syrup and streaky bacon, you can also have retro American drinks too like root beer and coke floats. We had the lumberjack breakfast which was £8.50, pricey, but considering it's Soho and it was delicious and filling until dinner, it was well worth it. |
| Nelson's Column standing tall at 170ft |
A short work from Foyles is the The National Portrait Gallery, it's free entry and I'd definitely recommend this is if you need to pass away some time or it's rainy as yes it's interesting to see the actual painting's of what you'd otherwise see in textbooks but unless you have a great passion for this sort of thing, I wouldn't particularly bother, not to say I don't like it, just that it's a solid 3/5.
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| Down South from Trafalgar Square The famous London signage. |
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| N- Leicester Square, NW- Picc Circus, SW- The Mall, S- Whitehall and E- Strand. |
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| Compulsory LDN Eye selfie |
Day 3 6th January 2014
Tube from St. John's Wood to Westminster, a great station with great signage, I used the House's of Parliament exit which is at the base of Big Ben next to Parliament Square and Westminster Bridge. Went down to the London Eye first at approx 10am, it was shut for annual maintenance which is the first week after New Years. Visited Westiminster Abbey which is situated next to the House's of Parliament, it was £15.00 entry for adults with no student discount, as there was only one of me the price was do-able but for a
family of four or even a couple infact, it's very pricey, even with the complimentary headphones walking tour included. The Abbey itself is awe inspiring, the architecture is just out of this World, it's one of a kind, no words will ever give it the justice it deserves. The only downside I could give the Abbey is that it is very very busy so you don't always get to read all the exhibits or watch the sermons happening due to the crowd being pushed along the route.
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| Westminster Abbey standing proud. |
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| In the Beautiful gardens outside of St. Pauls |
St. Paul's Cathedral is another must-see when in London, just off Fleet Street, it is however also £15.00 entry for adults but it is a lot less quieter than Westminster Abbey and has a lovely quaint little cafe with it which does a great Victoria Sandwich cake- making you feel incredibly British.
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| You can't see the flag but our Lizzie was home. |
Due to typical British weather and a poor pair of fitting shoes on my half, I chose to join the hop on, hop off Original Bus Tour which includes an audio tour and a free boat ride on the Thames, the ticket price was £28 for an adult and is valid for 48 hours, which is incredibly steep, especially if there's more than one of you (seems to be theme in the Capital) but nevertheless it was a great tour, I took the yellow tour which showed every main tourist spot of London, the tour map can be found here. I'd recommend it if you're short of an umbrella or you have achey feet and a budget is not an option.
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| Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast and London Castle from the Thames Boat Trip |
Day 4 Tuesday 7th January 2014
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| The NHM's famous entrance hall |
Tube to South Kensington, this station was very informative with a number of exits leading to different tourist attractions. I visited the Natural History Museum, which was nestled next to the V & A and the Science Museum. Entry is free to NHM and I had been so excited about visiting this for years. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed, unless with your with children or at the quietest hour of the day, don't do it. Due to the
new amount of children's activities there (Which are great don't get me wrong) there's now an influx of families...they just happen to be families of the wrong ages. There toddlers crying at the exhibits, others shouting at their parents asking why the animals weren't moving and it was the same in all sections, other parents were just letting their children run wild, in my opinion, it's ruined the NHM's legendary reputation which is sad.
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| From one Walian to another whale |
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| Royal Albert Hall from Hyde Park |
A short walk north from the NHM is the Royal Albert Hall, i'd most definitely recommend a stroll here if you have time, it's very very quiet but the Kensington architecture is just breathtaking. I only saw the Hall from the outside but I did see was perfect, it's situated on the edge of Hyde Park, and is directly opposite the Albert memorial, I'd probably say the best of this area is definitely the lack of tourists, allowing to you to fully take in what's infront of you.
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| Albert Memorial |
East of the Royal Albert Hall on Knightsbridge and a quick turn right is Brompton Road, the best high-end shopping in London and is home to Harrods. I managed to buy different types of tea for family at home and for my brother as a thank you gift and they were very well priced for what you were buying, 20 Breakfast tea bags were £4.50 which by Harrods standards is value for money.
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| View from our seats in the Queens Theatre. |
Dinner was at Bodeans BBQ, Soho I couldn't recommend this place anymore! Everything is seasoned to perfection, all the food was just simply mouthwatering. I had the hot dog and chips but the pulled pork is one of the most popular dishes. A short walk from Bodeans is Shaftesbury Avenue, where we saw Les Miserables. We all had £25 seats in the top tier but we saw all the stage perfectly and the show was out of this World. I would definitely recommend catching a showing of it if you have the time to do so. As the show finished at approx 11pm, everywhere was relatively empty yet it felt safe. We decided to see all the tourist attractions in the the dark when it was quiet- Piccadilly Circus was perfect at this time, some great photo opportunities! At this time of night too I'd most definitely recommend a visit to the Haagen Daz shop on Leicester Square which is open until late- it's better than sliced bread and Christmas! There's a huuuuge range of icecream flavours, toppings and sauces. China town during midnight also has a great vibrate ambiance too.
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| The Shard, 87 storeys and 1004 ft high |
Day 5 Wednesday 8th January 2014
I got a late morning train back to Gobowen so the train would be quiet. Euston station is great, housing all the essential shops and necessities.
Getting Around
I'd most definitely recommend the Tube, it cheap and fast, and changeovers are relatively simple to figure out, most of the day they are quiet too. When using the Tube make sure to use an Oyster Card so most trips are £2,20 as opposed to the £4.70 price of a single trip without one.
Tips
If you know which days you want to visit something I'd definitely recommend pre-booking some things, most attractions have a 10% online saving discount which builds up considering the normal admission prices.
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