Greenwich

We are flying into Heathrow on a Saturday in May and will be taking the train the next morning to Bath. My grandchildren would like to visit the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Can someone suggest the best area to stay for that one night?

Thank you in advance.

That's a tricky one since Greenwich is on the other side of London to both Heathrow and Bath.

 

The train goes from Paddington, and you can get a fast train direct from LHR to Paddington (HEX). It would make sense to find a hotel nearby where you can drop your bags before heading for Greenwich.

 

There are several ways to get there and hopefully someone more knowledgable than me will give better advice.

 

The underground takes about an hour and involves a couple of changes. The tube fare for an adult is £4.90 or less if you get an Oyster Card. A taxi would be easier, bearing in mind the time constraints and that this comes after an overnight flight, would be around £50 each way for all of you.

 

So my advice is to find a hotel near Paddington and go to Greenwich by a pre-booked taxi (Uber would work)

Thank you for the great information!

Driving from Paddington to Greenwich will take about the same time as public transport. You'd need to get across central London, which is not traffic friendly. But you could take a drive-by tour of some sites on the way. And as Bob says it's easiest, especially if you are unfamiliar with London. But the drive from central London to Greenwich has little to commend it!

 

By public transport, I'd go (from Paddington Station) Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus, Central line from there to Bank and then the Dockland Light Railway to Cutty Sark, in the heart of maritime Greenwich. You'll be right by the old tea clipper of the same name and a few minutes walk to the museum. The DLR is quite fun - it's driverless and above ground most of the way. You'll go through the new financial area of Canary Wharf.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Since the vast majority of trains to Bath depart from London Paddington station, and Heathrow to Paddington station is very quick & easy, and since I'm guessing those are the journeys when you'll have luggage, I concur with my learned friends - choose a hotel handy to Paddington station.

 

From there to/from Greenwich there are several tube and DLR options - yes I'm guessing they'll be as fast as by car.

But nobody's mentioned the river. :confused:

http://www.thamesclippers.com/route-time-table

Ferries every 20 mins between Westminster Bridge and Greenwich, and the Greenwich pier is 5minute walk from the maritime museum. OK not the quickest at 45 minutes, but certainly the most pleasant & scenic.

Direct tube (Circle Line) from Paddington to Westminster

 

For Heathrow Express, book soonest - the fare for a ticket purchased about 3 months out is just £5, rising gradually and ending up at over £20 for a walk-up ticket. https://www.heathrowexpress.com/

For the Bath train, again advance booking saves money, though this can be booked as late as the day before (mebbe when you arrive at Paddington).http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

JB :)

The OP doesn't say what time they are landing at LHR. Add on a couple of hours for customs, HEX and checking in, I doubt there will be time for taking the scenic route there. The return to the hotel though is a different matter and they will no doubt want to eat at some time. There is a cafe at the museum for lunch but dinner is a wide open choice.

 

How about a river taxi to The London Eye, followed by dinner at one of the many restaurants ranging from steak to fish and chips to sushi in the immediate area.

I think the most enjoyable way to get there is by the water. We took this: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/river/about-river-bus

It's very scenic, especially at night. From the pier, you walk up to the Greenwich Maritime buildings and you walk right by the Cutty Sark if you're interested in touring that as well.

 

Here's the map. There are many stops where you can get on the boats and they're all by tube stations so it makes it super easy to link up to them: https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/river?intcmp=40403

The OP doesn't say what time they are landing at LHR. Add on a couple of hours for customs, HEX and checking in, I doubt there will be time for taking the scenic route there. The return to the hotel though is a different matter ..................................

 

Hi Bob,

 

I'd not suggested the return by ferry cos I wasn't sure how late they run - but in fact they run late into the evening, so mebbe to Greenwich by other means, and back as far as Westminster by ferry as you suggest.

 

But ........

 

By car or tube / DLR, Greenwich is about an hour from Paddington.

Paddington to Westminster by tube is 20 minutes, then ferry from Westminster is 45 minutes.

So there's very little difference - just the two minute walk from Westminster tube station (right by Big Ben) to Westminster pier plus any waiting time for a ferry (every 20 minutes). And there'd be similar wasted time switching trains twice.

So I'd be inclined to use the river both ways.

 

DLMario and I are on the same wavelength :)

Those links are to the same ferry service

 

JB :)

Sorry, not having that JB :)

 

The tube/DLR route I described will take about 45 minutes, including wait times for both changes.

 

I agree with taking the river at least one way for an interesting journey (I usually suggest coming back to town), but in practice it will take about 30 minutes longer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Sorry, not having that JB :)

 

The tube/DLR route I described will take about 45 minutes, including wait times for both changes.

 

I agree with taking the river at least one way for an interesting journey (I usually suggest coming back to town), but in practice it will take about 30 minutes longer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Hi, Eagle,

 

OK, you win.

48 mins according to google.

But even if the difference is as much as 30 mins, I'd still prefer the ferry.

 

But it's not you or me doing the trip, and I guess the OP's choice will depend on things like time available, the weather, energy levels, etc.

And whether this is a first visit to London - cos there's no doubting the number of sights to be seen from a boat is significantly higher than those to be seen in a tube tunnel ;)

 

JB :)

Except that the tube itself can be quite an adventure for grandchildren. Not to mention if they bagged a front seat on the DLR :)

 

Too many unknowns now - hope the OP comes back.

By public transport, I'd go (from Paddington Station) Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus, Central line from there to Bank and then the Dockland Light Railway to Cutty Sark, in the heart of maritime Greenwich. You'll be right by the old tea clipper of the same name and a few minutes walk to the museum. The DLR is quite fun - it's driverless and above ground most of the way. You'll go through the new financial area of Canary Wharf.

For any future readers of this thread: Depending on exactly where near Paddington you start from, it may even be easier to walk to Lancaster Gate Tube station and take the Central Line directly to Bank from there. The walk from Lancaster Gate Tube to Paddington station is really only about 5 minutes, and this would avoid the change from the Bakerloo Line to the Central Line at Oxford Circus, which isn't the most straightforward. (It is hard to avoid the equally frustrating change from the Central Line to the DLR at Bank - but Bank is the obvious place to go because that's where the Lewisham trains start from.)

 

Importantly, however, this won't help the OP because Lancaster Gate Tube is currently closed, and will be closed until sometime in July.

 

I absolute concur with the advice not to go by road.

We stayed at the Ibis in Greenwich for a week pre cruise and it was perfect for touring London

Thank you. You have all provided some interesting options!

When you decide, post it on here and we can refine it for you.

Hi there

 

We are flying into LHR and staying 5 nights in London prior to our QE cruise. I booked Rhodes Hotel, which is a 10 minute walk from Paddington, just above Hyde Park. Their rates are very reasonable and they do very well on review sites.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. Here's what we decided on. We are staying at the Park Plaza County Hall! Getting there from LHR by Smiths for Airports. We plan to take the Thames Express one way to Greenwich the next day and the tube back in the evening. Depending on timing we may stop at St Paul's Cathedral for evening Eucharist mass.

 

I can't wait.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. Here's what we decided on. We are staying at the Park Plaza County Hall! Getting there from LHR by Smiths for Airports. We plan to take the Thames Express one way to Greenwich the next day and the tube back in the evening. Depending on timing we may stop at St Paul's Cathedral for evening Eucharist mass.

 

I can't wait.

 

Actually it's a Choral Evensong at St Paul's. Well worth the effort if you can get there by 4pm or so. It starts at 5.

Actually it's a Choral Evensong at St Paul's. Well worth the effort if you can get there by 4pm or so. It starts at 5.

Although timings are different at weekends, and when there are special events on. The best information is from the detailed service schedules (including the programmed music for each service), available as PDFs from this page: https://www.stpauls.co.uk/worship-music/music/service-schedule

 

I have to say, though, that I don't think you really need to get there by 4 pm for a 5 pm evensong, particularly during the week, unless you want to spend time looking around the cathedral first. Last Sunday, I got there at 3 pm for a 3.15 pm start and it was still a bit early.