Suggestions LHR -London - Southhampton - LGW

[mattR]

Wondering what the London experts would suggest for my itinerary? Fly in to LHR on Jul 13/16 at 7:25am. First time to London so want to catch the major attractions. No hotel booked yet suggestions on which area to book to fit the itinerary (not to expensive)? Ship leaves Sat Jul 16/16 could head out to Southhampton the night before but would probably like to utilize the time touring London instead? Disembark IOS on Jul 30/16 flight out of LGW is on Jul 31/16 at 11:20am. Will be my son (18) and myself (41) traveling together with one suitcase each. Have no experience with train travel but fine with trying it as long as it is easy enough to figure it out. Was interested in the bus transfer back that goes to the church/stone/castle but looks like it may be a pain to get to Gatwick after and it is also fairly pricey after adding in the tours. There is a big bike race in London this weekend. Looks like it is easy to get to Gatwick from Southhampton but is there anything to do around Gatwick for a half day?

[John Bull]

This is wednesday to saturday.

A hotel within the blue box is ideal

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.497832,-0.1459335/Tower+of+London,+London/Westminster+Bridge+Rd,+London+SE1,+UK/51.4973513,-0.1457599/@51.5098565,-0.1522189,14z/data=!4m66!4m65!1m30!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1754059!2d51.5136145!3s0x4876054d4297f3dd:0xa587f10524b7ab67!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1531811!2d51.5156362!3s0x48761acd5a6b1491:0x35a4f5eb339433a3!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1283084!2d51.51987!3s0x48761b321c811eb5:0xd6edd47c5146eb00!3m4!1m2!1d-0.097157!2d51.5147943!3s0x487604ab2c9b3d6b:0x897b6301a96c42a2!3m4!1m2!1d-0.0869598!2d51.5110391!3s0x4876035393528bd7:0xa1803919093c1201!3m4!1m2!1d-0.0814839!2d51.5099884!3s0x4876034de319fce7:0x768d5ab035f66b94!1m10!1m1!1s0x48760349331f38dd:0xa8bf49dde1d56467!2m2!1d-0.0759493!2d51.5081124!3m4!1m2!1d-0.0766834!2d51.5041091!3s0x48760345eedc7787:0x7eb808c74e5f6c3d!1m20!1m1!1s0x487604b8df877e5f:0x14bf09ef3ec0f42e!2m2!1d-0.1140332!2d51.4996377!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1256974!2d51.5003753!3s0x487604c4429aec8b:0xa76fa7d087a58282!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1253432!2d51.4948556!3s0x487604c26f232f23:0x3b6031bff74df73!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1415945!2d51.4944713!3s0x487605201ae58601:0x8197db2f6e987245!1m0!3e2

 

Outside the box there are decently convenient areas too, such as South Kensington (esp if you're a museum buff) or Paddington, as long as there's a nearby tube (metro) station.

 

The yellow route on this ho-ho map shows you where the various sights are.

https://www.theoriginaltour.com/media/1799/the_original_tour_map_2016.jpg

 

That's a big area, no hotel is convenient to everywhere so you'll be using the tube or other transportation to get to various places

 

Very central parts such as Mayfair are very up-market, very expensive.

I rate around the southern end of Westminster Bridge as ideal - places like Premier Inn County Hall or Waterloo, Marriot County Hall, a couple of Park Plazas. Near the London Eye & boat trip pier for Tower of London & Tower Bridge, across Westminster Bridge from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, & the sights along Whitehall (Churchill's War Room, 10 Downing Street, Banqueting Hall, Horseguards Parade etc to Trafalgar Square. Buckingham Palace is walkable too. And pleasant promenade along the south bank of the river to the Millenium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe theatre & the Tate Modern - and lots of restaurants & watering holes on the way. Also handy for trains to Southampton.

If that's too rich, Victoria is popular - small privately-run hotels as well as the chains. Handy to Buck Palace, walkable to Big Ben etc. Also handy for coaches (buses) to Southampton.

Paddington probably cheaper, Kings Cross too though that's a little way out so it'll be the tube to anywhere.

If you find good value further out, make sure it's handy to the tube and ask on here about the general area - some are better than others.

........................................................................

Southampton has only one "h", train & coach sites won't recognise it if its wrongly spelled.

No need to head to Southampton the day before your cruise.

There are direct train or coach services to get you to Southampton in good time on the day you sail.

 

Standard walk-up train fare from London Waterloo is about £40, three trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes. http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

Your destination is Southampton central.

But if you pre-book on https://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx the fare is around £1 to £15. Non-amendable, you travel on the train time that you've chosen or you throw your ticket away. And whereas there are 3 trains per hour, Megatrain tix are only available for about ten of those trains, but there'll be two or three trains that suit cruisers. Megatrain is a booking website operated by a consortium of travel operators to encourage travel on under-utilised trains, it's a respectable & safe site. Bookings available from about six weeks out - for research use a date within the next six weeks.

 

Coach service from Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station costs about £15 but often less, journey time about 2.5 hrs, limited frequency. It's important to book, coaches don't have elastic sides.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

 

A taxi from train or coach station to Indy's berth will cost about £6.

 

A private transfer would cost about £125 to £145

.......................................................................

 

30th July is a Saturday.

Simplest transfer to Gatwick is by train, direct hourly service, journey time 2 hours. But no megatrain tix on this route, the fare is about £15 pre-booked, possibly more for walk-up.

Use the direct hourly service only, intermediate trains are more expensive as well as inconvenient.

 

There's also a direct National Express coach service, poor frequency, journey time about 2.5 hrs, fare about £15.

 

A private transfer will cost about £100 to £120.

 

The only place of interest I can think of near Gatwick is Anne Boleyn's Hever Castle.

http://www.hevercastle.co.uk/

But it's about 17 miles / 35 minutes from Gatwick & in the middle of nowhere, I doubt there's a useable bus service, there's an hourly train service but the station is about 3 miles from the castle and I have doubts whether there's a taxi stand at the station.

So a taxi is probably the only way to get there - and get back.

 

I can suggest a few places between Southampton & Gatwick, but you'd need a private transfer - with waiting time that transfer would be over £150.

 

Hope this helps

 

JB :)

[John Bull]

Edit - just glanced thro the Hever Castle on-line brochure.

Hourly trains from Gatwick to Edenbridge Town (involves one change) journey time something under one hour, fare about £15 day-return, there's a taxi stand at Edenbridge Town station for the 3 miles to the castle.

Jousting tournament at Hever Castle that day!!

JB :)

Edited March 15, 2016 by John Bull

[mattR]

Thank you for all your wisdom and effort.

 

What would be your Southampton to Gatwick points of interest be?

Edited March 16, 2016 by mattR

[John Bull]

Thank you for all your wisdom and effort.

 

What would be your Southampton to Gatwick points of interest be?

 

Depends on your interests........

 

castles?

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portchester-castle/

http://www.arundelcastle.org/

 

cathedral cities?

http://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/

http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/

 

re-created street scenes?

http://hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk/node/568

 

or much much older buildings?

http://www.wealddown.co.uk/explore/buildings/

 

or historic racing cars & aircraft?

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/

 

or historic dockyard & ships?

http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/

 

or maybe country houses?

https://www.goodwood.com/goodwood-house/visit-goodwood-house/prices.aspx#HjxgSbI54KB2mFzO.97

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house-and-park

 

19th/20th century engineering?

http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/

 

Roman stuff?

https://sussexpast.co.uk/properties-to-discover/fishbourne-roman-palace

http://www.bignorromanvilla.co.uk/

 

Or more, depending on your interests.

 

If you plot them on a map, you'll see they're spread over a wide area. No problem, because for Southampton to Gatwick there's very little difference between the longer but quicker route via the motorway loop and half-a-dozen more-direct cross-country routes - different drivers take different routes even for a simple transfer. So the cost of stopping off at any of them will be very similar. There are even some you can tie together.

 

 

A thought occurs .......

If you want to visit places between Southampton & Gatwick, the problem is carrying & stashing your luggage - hence the need for a private transfer & waiting time.

But ........

to visit Portsmouth historic dockyard & ships (& more in Portsmouth besides) there are two options:

http://www.smithsforairports.com (regularly recommended on Cruise Critic) are based in Portsmouth. So you could ask if they can provide transport Southampton to Portsmouth, take care of your luggage for a few hours, then take you on to Gatwick. Means the car & driver can work while you're exploring.

Or National Express coach to Portsmouth International Port (about £10), left luggage facilities there, taxi to historic dockyard. At the end of the day, taxi back to collect your bags & on to the station for a direct train (£15) to Gatwick.

 

Give these suggestions some thought, I can flesh-out anything of interest.

 

JB :)

[sddsddean]

Just a thought on disembarkation day...you could stay at a Southampton hotel (Premier Inn, Holiday Inn or others on West Quay) on Friday (drop your luggage at the hotel), then walk to the station and go somewhere (Salisbury/Stonehenge/Portsmouth all within an hour). Stop the night and get a train to Gatwick at 0713, which arrives 0906 which should be plenty of time to check in for your flight...just a bit of an early start. Like I said...just a thought.

 

Simon

[John Bull]

Just a thought on disembarkation day...you could stay at a Southampton hotel (Premier Inn, Holiday Inn or others on West Quay) on Friday (drop your luggage at the hotel), then walk to the station and go somewhere (Salisbury/Stonehenge/Portsmouth all within an hour). Stop the night and get a train to Gatwick at 0713, which arrives 0906 which should be plenty of time to check in for your flight...just a bit of an early start. Like I said...just a thought.

 

Simon

 

Good thinkin', Simon.

A day-trip to Salisbury & Stonehenge, or Winchester, or even Bath. Or a lazy day around Southampton's few sights.

But if I've got it right, the next day - the day that matt flies home - is sunday 31st July. So it'll be a sunday service on the trains, no direct service to Gatwick - and the possibility of slightly longer journey times if there's maintenance on the track (maintenance is carried out on sundays, so somewhere in the UK there'll be diversions or a shuttlebus between affected stations).

The 06.35 from Southampton (one simple change of train at Fratton, near Portsmouth) gets to Gatwick at 9.22. That's OK if there's no maintenance work or other delays adding more than about 30 minutes, check-in about 90 minutes before the flight is OK.

Or the Nat Express coach at 6.50 (arrives 9.15) would be a better bet.

 

Alternatively, if matt wanted to visit Portsmouth, he could book a hotel there and catch a sunday morning train from there to Gatwick. Direct service at 7.44, arrives Gatwick 9.22 (that's the train he'd switch to at Fratton if he left from Southampton).

Or a Nat Express coach from Portsmouth at 7.45 gets to Gatwick at 9.15.

 

More food for thought.

Not too sure whether all these options help - or confuse ;)

 

JB :)

[sddsddean]

.

But if I've got it right, the next day - the day that matt flies home - is sunday 31st July.

 

My fault...I read the calender wrong...thought it was odd that IoS was coming in on a Friday! So could be more complicated. However, the Portsmouth option sounds good. Plenty to see in Portsmouth, especially if you are interested in Naval history of any sort.

 

Simon

[insidecabin]

What about a hotel in Brighton Sat night then train to LGW Sun morning?

[mattR]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I definitely want to be at Gatwick on Saturday night to catch my Sunday morning flight back to Canada just for peace of mind:)

 

Still contemplating what to do for Southampton - Gatwick? If we were to take the tour to the church/Stonehenge/Windsor would there be a good way to get from LHR - LGW rather then taking the bus into the city? Contacted a car service and they would be 70 pounds more then the bus tour but they would drop me at LGW. Is there narration on the bus tour or do they just transport you from site to site?

[Hatters cruiser]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I definitely want to be at Gatwick on Saturday night to catch my Sunday morning flight back to Canada just for peace of mind:)

 

Still contemplating what to do for Southampton - Gatwick? If we were to take the tour to the church/Stonehenge/Windsor would there be a good way to get from LHR - LGW rather then taking the bus into the city? Contacted a car service and they would be 70 pounds more then the bus tour but they would drop me at LGW. Is there narration on the bus tour or do they just transport you from site to site?

 

National Express coaches (buses) have a direct route from LHR to LGW which cost £20.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/airports/heathrow-to-gatwick-coach.aspx

[John Bull]

National Express coaches (buses) have a direct route from LHR to LGW which cost £20.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/airports/heathrow-to-gatwick-coach.aspx

 

That tour is ideal for folk heading to Heathrow or central London, but a bit convoluted for Gatwick.

But it does get you to several sights that you're keen to see, it resolves the luggage issue, and you don't have a deadline to be at Gatwick.

 

If you take that tour, yes the Nat Express coach from Heathrow to Gatwick is a reasonably simple & economic way to do it, and the service is frequent.

Or you could take the train from Windsor Riverside. That involves one change of train (at Clapham Junction) & costs about the same as the Nat Express coach.

Being a Saturday, even at that time of day neither the roads nor the trains are likely to be crowded.

 

JB :)

Edited March 17, 2016 by John Bull

[mattR]

National Express coaches (buses) have a direct route from LHR to LGW which cost £20.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/airports/heathrow-to-gatwick-coach.aspx

 

Does this need to be prebooked or can you walkup and get the same price?

[dodger1964]

That tour is ideal for folk heading to Heathrow or central London, but a bit convoluted for Gatwick.

But it does get you to several sights that you're keen to see, it resolves the luggage issue, and you don't have a deadline to be at Gatwick...

 

JB :)

 

 

Thanks for all your information. We are currently planning one day site seeing on each end of cruise this September and have got a lot of excellent ideas from you.

[mattR]

Booked the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London for Jul 14+15.

Would it work well to take the tube from Heathrow to Green Park station then switch to Jubilee line and go to Waterloo station? Is it a easy enough switch at Green Park station with luggage? Thinking I would buy 2 Oyster Cards with £20 each unless I can actually pick 18.30? I would think it should be a easy walk around the corner into Waterloo station to catch a train to Southampton early Sat morning. Is there a lot of security screening at the train stations? How much time should I give to get from my hotel to on the train? Still contemplating what to do Southampton to Gatwick? What would be the min time you would recommend at each of these three stops Salisbury, Stonehenge & Windsor? I'm not into reading all the info more just a quick look and then moving on. Is there narration on the bus tour that stops at Salisbury, Stonehenge & Windsor?

[Hatters cruiser]

There is no security screening at train stations excepting the Eurostar, just find the correct platform and pass through the ticket barrier with your ticket.

 

Waterloo is however a large station and may need a little while to navigate around.

[Cotswold Eagle]

The Piccadilly to Jubilee line change at Green Park is a bit of a trek. The easiest way is actually to follow Way Out signs, which takes you to ticket hall level by escalator and then signs for the Jubilee Line from there (NO need to go through the ticket gates), down a different set of escalators.

[Globaliser]

Booked the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London for Jul 14+15.

Would it work well to take the tube from Heathrow to Green Park station then switch to Jubilee line and go to Waterloo station? Is it a easy enough switch at Green Park station with luggage?

If you're prepared to walk from the Tube to the hotel, I would not use Waterloo station. With luggage, you will exit onto Waterloo Road. If you do that, it's such a long walk by any luggage- and walking-friendly route that Westminster station is closer to the hotel.

 

You then also have a better change. Take the Piccadilly Line to Barons Court and change there cross-platform to the District Line to Westminster. There should be step-free access to street level. If you're doing this in the weekday morning peak or if it's wet, change at Hammersmith instead.

[scottbee]

If you're prepared to walk from the Tube to the hotel, I would not use Waterloo station. With luggage, you will exit onto Waterloo Road. If you do that, it's such a long walk by any luggage- and walking-friendly route that Westminster station is closer to the hotel.

 

You then also have a better change. Take the Piccadilly Line to Barons Court and change there cross-platform to the District Line to Westminster. There should be step-free access to street level. If you're doing this in the weekday morning peak or if it's wet, change at Hammersmith instead.

 

I'll second this. The change at Green park is, good exercise.

[mattR]

If you're prepared to walk from the Tube to the hotel, I would not use Waterloo station. With luggage, you will exit onto Waterloo Road. If you do that, it's such a long walk by any luggage- and walking-friendly route that Westminster station is closer to the hotel.

 

You then also have a better change. Take the Piccadilly Line to Barons Court and change there cross-platform to the District Line to Westminster. There should be step-free access to street level. If you're doing this in the weekday morning peak or if it's wet, change at Hammersmith instead.

 

Our plane lands at LHR at 7:30am so don't know how long it will take to get out of customs but probably 1 hour? So I would probably be on the line at the end of the morning rush? If I change to Hammersmith or Barons Court which train do I take so that I don't go to Wimbledon or Edgware Road?

[easyboy]

Just what I was looking for JB. Thanks!

 

The yellow route on this ho-ho map shows you where the various sights are.

https://www.theoriginaltour.com/medi...r_map_2016.jpg

 

That's a big area, no hotel is convenient to everywhere so you'll be using the tube or other transportation to get to various places

 

Very central parts such as Mayfair are very up-market, very expensive.

I rate around the southern end of Westminster Bridge as ideal - places like Premier Inn County Hall or Waterloo, Marriot County Hall, a couple of Park Plazas. Near the London Eye & boat trip pier for Tower of London & Tower Bridge, across Westminster Bridge from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, & the sights along Whitehall (Churchill's War Room, 10 Downing Street, Banqueting Hall, Horseguards Parade etc to Trafalgar Square. Buckingham Palace is walkable too. And pleasant promenade along the south bank of the river to the Millenium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe theatre & the Tate Modern - and lots of restaurants & watering holes on the way. Also handy for trains to Southampton.

If that's too rich, Victoria is popular - small privately-run hotels as well as the chains. Handy to Buck Palace, walkable to Big Ben etc. Also handy for coaches (buses) to Southampton.

Paddington probably cheaper, Kings Cross too though that's a little way out so it'll be the tube to anywhere.

If you find good value further out, make sure it's handy to the tube and ask on here about the general area - some are better than others.

.................................................. ......................

Southampton has only one "h", train & coach sites won't recognise it if its wrongly spelled.

No need to head to Southampton the day before your cruise.

There are direct train or coach services to get you to Southampton in good time on the day you sail.

 

Standard walk-up train fare from London Waterloo is about £40, three trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes. http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...journey/search

Your destination is Southampton central.

But if you pre-book on https://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx the fare is around £1 to £15. Non-amendable, you travel on the train time that you've chosen or you throw your ticket away. And whereas there are 3 trains per hour, Megatrain tix are only available for about ten of those trains, but there'll be two or three trains that suit cruisers. Megatrain is a booking website operated by a consortium of travel operators to encourage travel on under-utilised trains, it's a respectable & safe site. Bookings available from about six weeks out - for research use a date within the next six weeks.

 

Coach service from Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station costs about £15 but often less, journey time about 2.5 hrs, limited frequency. It's important to book, coaches don't have elastic sides.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

 

A taxi from train or coach station to Indy's berth will cost about £6.

 

A private transfer would cost about £125 to £145

.................................................. .....................

 

 

Hope this helps

 

JB :)

[Globaliser]

Our plane lands at LHR at 7:30am so don't know how long it will take to get out of customs but probably 1 hour? So I would probably be on the line at the end of the morning rush? If I change to Hammersmith or Barons Court which train do I take so that I don't go to Wimbledon or Edgware Road?

Yes, I think that an hour would be about right, so you would be in the later end of the morning peak. If you want to avoid that, one option would be to get a coffee and some breakfast at the airport and not get onto the Tube until 9.30 or 10.00 or so. Lower fares apply on the Tube after 9.30 am on weekdays, too, although that's probably not a big consideration.

 

When you get off the Piccadilly Line train at either Hammersmith or Barons Court, you simply walk to the other side of the same platform, which is used by the District Line. Pretty much every train will go as far as Westminster - except in unusual circumstances, they will be Upminster, Barking, Tower Hill or Mansion House trains. The trains themselves have signs on their fronts and in each carriage that say where the train is going.

 

You can't get from Hammersmith / Barons Court to Wimbledon without changing at Earls Court, so there's no risk of going that way by accident. And I don't think I've ever seen a train going to Edgware Road from Hammersmith / Barons Court, although I think that the track layout means that there is a theoretical chance of this happening. But at the very worst, if you get on the wrong train without noticing, then all you need to do is to get off at Earls Court and get on the correct train there.

[mattR]

Yes, I think that an hour would be about right, so you would be in the later end of the morning peak. If you want to avoid that, one option would be to get a coffee and some breakfast at the airport and not get onto the Tube until 9.30 or 10.00 or so. Lower fares apply on the Tube after 9.30 am on weekdays, too, although that's probably not a big consideration.

 

When you get off the Piccadilly Line train at either Hammersmith or Barons Court, you simply walk to the other side of the same platform, which is used by the District Line. Pretty much every train will go as far as Westminster - except in unusual circumstances, they will be Upminster, Barking, Tower Hill or Mansion House trains. The trains themselves have signs on their fronts and in each carriage that say where the train is going.

 

You can't get from Hammersmith / Barons Court to Wimbledon without changing at Earls Court, so there's no risk of going that way by accident. And I don't think I've ever seen a train going to Edgware Road from Hammersmith / Barons Court, although I think that the track layout means that there is a theoretical chance of this happening. But at the very worst, if you get on the wrong train without noticing, then all you need to do is to get off at Earls Court and get on the correct train there.

 

Thank you wasn't sure if all trains on the District Line would stop at Westminster but I guess if i am getting on at Hammersmith they probably do?

[SteveH2508]

Thank you wasn't sure if all trains on the District Line would stop at Westminster but I guess if i am getting on at Hammersmith they probably do?

 

Correct.

[mattR]

National Express coaches (buses) have a direct route from LHR to LGW which cost £20.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/airports/heathrow-to-gatwick-coach.aspx

 

Do you have to pre book these transfers? From there website it looks like you can pay extra to make your ticket more versatile so makes me think you have to?