Southampton to london?

I would urge caution about 8 of you + lots of luggage getting the train to London. I live 8 miles from Southampton and the trains in this area (apart from those going to the North) are designed as mainly commuter trains with very little space for luggage. Think slightly larger than overhead storage on a plane and you have to lift them up there. They do not have specific areas for cases. You do see some folk putting cases on spare seats or tables but you could be asked to move them if the train gets crowded down the line. If you do decide to stay in London then my suggestion would be National Express Coach from Southampton then taxis from London Victoria to your hotel. Do book in advance .... you can get some very good prices. It's obviously slower than train but it is comfortable enough and the luggage issue is sorted.

Thank You chrisg1uk for the suggestions and for your time to respond. There will be only 4 of us traveling together with approximately 8 pieces of luggage or 2 each. I will check out National Express Coach. That sounds good. Thanks again.

If you book your final pre-cruise night at a Southampton hotel, perhaps that hotel might store luggage you don’t want for your three night stay in London? You would need to make contact to check whether that is possible.

Otherwise there are these links

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk...uggage-storage

http://www.cruisesouthampton.com/places/pack-and-send

http://www.thebaggagehandlingcompany.com/

which are probably worth investigating. I have not used any of them but have read good reports of the baggage handling company. I think they might be able to collect your bags from your arrival ship and return them to your return one BUT that might be complicated by customs as you are not UK citizens. Worth checking out ... it would make life much simpler for you.

The week you will be in Southampton/London will be a busy holiday week, with the Monday of your arrival being a Bank (i.e. public) Holiday and schools being on holiday too. Tourist facilities ought to be open in Southampton; London will certainly be open for business, but you should make double sure that whatever arrangements you make are watertight

Happy New Year

As a Southampton person born and bred I would say the best way to do it would be to book four nights in a good Southampton hotel and travel to London on day visits on National express coaches. Most of the attractions in London are all within a mile and a half of each other and well worth seeing but you would miss so much not being in Southampton. For instance a short ferry trip to the Isle of Wight would see you at Osbourne House the home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and where Queen Victoria spent most of her time after Albert died. It's open to the public and and well worth seeing. Other attractions are Portsmouth historic dockyard and Winchester which are both very interesting and very 'English' if that's what you are looking for.

Whatever you do you should stay in Southampton the night before you embark on Cunard as the traffic in Southampton on cruise days can be horrendous and just one accident on the M3 can cause serious hold ups getting from London to Southampton docks. Above all whatever you do enjoy yourselves and welcome to the U.K.

I’m sure you would really enjoy a visit to the historic dockyard at Portsmouth - I know I did and the tour of The Victory (Nelson’s flagship) was the highlight for me. If you can fit it in then you won’t be disappointed.

I’m from London and I would recommend:

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben - I think you need to pre book a tour. (1/2 day)

St Pauls Cathedral and its Whispering Gallery, but only if the you have a good head for heights and are fully mobile. (1/2 day)

The Shard - make sure you spend a penny (= visit the restroom). Possibly combine with a visit to Borough Market and a walk along the south bank/visit or walk past the Cutty Sark (nice little pub right next door) (1/2 day)

The Tower of London

And for shops Oxford Street - Selfridges or John Lewis maybe. Or somewhere like Stratford with Olympic stadium nearby.

You would probably also want to visit Buckingham Palace for either a tour or to watch the changing of the guard (check timings)

Lower down my list would be Covent Garden, the London Dungeon (Black Death & Jack the Ripper story), Leicester Square, The London Eye and Trafalgar Square in that order.

And of course parks, theatres, art galleries & museums.

I would stay in Southampton with a day (or two) trips to London - much easier. The Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth is superb and not to be missed. Southampton is a very pleasant base with hotel prices much cheaper than London. Recommend The Pig in the Wall, Premier Inn Westquay or the Holiday Inn. (I think I am correct in saying that P Inn have offers at the moment.)

Here’s the link for National Express coaches. Considerably cheaper than the train and you are guaranteed a seat

http://www.nationalexpress.com/route...to-london.aspx

The driver will load your cases on and off. It’s quite a comfortable way to travel, you’ll see a bit of London as you drive in.
London Victoria coach station can be a bit of a trial, and the walk to the tube is inconvenient. However, with your luggage and with folk who are maybe not so good on their feet, I think the savings you might make on the Southampton - London part of your journey could fund taxis to your hotel direct from the coach station. I wouldn’t advise trying to cope with luggage on the tube at any time of day

Although I did the reverse (London to Southampton), the bus is very easy. I also stayed walking distance to Victoria Station. The bus terminal is a couple blocks away. I would stay in that area again. Convenient and walkable to so much in London.


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Hi smarks...... if you do decide to go to London, I would agree totally with chrisg1uk's and eddie111' s recommendations to go by National Express and a taxi to your hotel as those commuter trains are a nightmare with luggage.

Hi
Just a thought- if travelling to London on Sunday 27th, then there will be fewer trains and coaches. The trains that do run will be slower and less frequent. The same might happen on Monday 28th as it is a bank holiday in the UK. if the weather is good then motorways could be very busy. I can't remember if anyone has posted this link for you. You would get the train from Southampton Central ( not Southampton Airport Parkway) to London Waterloo(WAT).
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey Also sometimes engineering works on the railways occur on Sundays and bank Holidays. You can check that but only for the next 12 weeks so to find out about planned work in May you would probably need to check the site at the end of February. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...AndFuture.aspx
Rail journeys on the other dates should be fine.
It might be worthwhile contacting Cunard or P&O in case they are running a land tour that fit in with your dates.
What about hiring a car? Having said that, the roads will be busy on Monday especially going to the New Forest or the coast.
Good luck
Cathy

If you book your final pre-cruise night at a Southampton hotel, perhaps that hotel might store luggage you don’t want for your three night stay in London? You would need to make contact to check whether that is possible.

Otherwise there are these links

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk...uggage-storage

http://www.cruisesouthampton.com/places/pack-and-send

http://www.thebaggagehandlingcompany.com/

which are probably worth investigating. I have not used any of them but have read good reports of the baggage handling company. I think they might be able to collect your bags from your arrival ship and return them to your return one BUT that might be complicated by customs as you are not UK citizens. Worth checking out ... it would make life much simpler for you.

The week you will be in Southampton/London will be a busy holiday week, with the Monday of your arrival being a Bank (i.e. public) Holiday and schools being on holiday too. Tourist facilities ought to be open in Southampton; London will certainly be open for business, but you should make double sure that whatever arrangements you make are watertight

Happy New Year

Thanks so much eddie11 for the links and the heads up on the holidays. I never even thought about that. Good to know what to expect. I will be checking out the links and the hotel. Thanks again.

As a Southampton person born and bred I would say the best way to do it would be to book four nights in a good Southampton hotel and travel to London on day visits on National express coaches. Most of the attractions in London are all within a mile and a half of each other and well worth seeing but you would miss so much not being in Southampton. For instance a short ferry trip to the Isle of Wight would see you at Osbourne House the home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and where Queen Victoria spent most of her time after Albert died. It's open to the public and and well worth seeing. Other attractions are Portsmouth historic dockyard and Winchester which are both very interesting and very 'English' if that's what you are looking for.

Whatever you do you should stay in Southampton the night before you embark on Cunard as the traffic in Southampton on cruise days can be horrendous and just one accident on the M3 can cause serious hold ups getting from London to Southampton docks. Above all whatever you do enjoy yourselves and welcome to the U.K.

Thank you Strawberry field for the suggestions. Good to know about the traffic. Whatever we decide to do, we will be sure to have a hotel booked in Southampton the night before we sail. Thanks again.

I would stay in Southampton with a day (or two) trips to London - much easier. The Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth is superb and not to be missed. Southampton is a very pleasant base with hotel prices much cheaper than London. Recommend The Pig in the Wall, Premier Inn Westquay or the Holiday Inn. (I think I am correct in saying that P Inn have offers at the moment.)

Thank you to the Morgans for the suggestions. All the options sound good. Not sure which we will be doing but I am loving the suggestions. Thankfully I have till 2019 to get it all worked out. I am learning so much from this board. Everybody has been so helpful. Thanks again.

Although I did the reverse (London to Southampton), the bus is very easy. I also stayed walking distance to Victoria Station. The bus terminal is a couple blocks away. I would stay in that area again. Convenient and walkable to so much in London.


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Thank you Baseball fan for the info.

Hi smarks...... if you do decide to go to London, I would agree totally with chrisg1uk's and eddie111' s recommendations to go by National Express and a taxi to your hotel as those commuter trains are a nightmare with luggage.

Thank yo Scriv. I really appreciate the information.

Hi
Just a thought- if travelling to London on Sunday 27th, then there will be fewer trains and coaches. The trains that do run will be slower and less frequent. The same might happen on Monday 28th as it is a bank holiday in the UK. if the weather is good then motorways could be very busy. I can't remember if anyone has posted this link for you. You would get the train from Southampton Central ( not Southampton Airport Parkway) to London Waterloo(WAT).
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey Also sometimes engineering works on the railways occur on Sundays and bank Holidays. You can check that but only for the next 12 weeks so to find out about planned work in May you would probably need to check the site at the end of February. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...AndFuture.aspx
Rail journeys on the other dates should be fine.


It might be worthwhile contacting Cunard or P&O in case they are running a land tour that fit in with your dates.
What about hiring a car? Having said that, the roads will be busy on Monday especially going to the New Forest or the coast.
Good luck
Cathy

Thank You Cathy for the info and the link. I will be arriving in May 2019 and will be arriving on a Mon. the 27th. Will the holiday be for the 27th and 28th? Sometimes when our holidays fall on a Tuesday we get the Monday also. Thanks again for the information.

Hi
Sorry forgot it was 2019! The last Monday in May is always a Bank Holiday and only transport will be affected. Tuesday onwards will be fine. Happy planning!
Cathy

A worthwhile trip when stopping in London is via River Boat from the Tower heading East towards the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. You'll pass the Rotherhithe home dock of the Mayflower which set sail for Plymouth to pick up the Pilgrims who ventured forth to discover New England the good ol Us of A! It takes about 45 minutes each way.

On display in the museum is the coat worn by Admiral Nelson when he met his fateful end on the decks of the Victory. There's a busy under cover market and a proper old boozer serving Fullers London Pride. Food courtesy of any one of the stalls or local chip shop.

Greenwich is also the home of the Royal Astronomy on top of the hill in the park. The Greenwich meridian passes through it but due to modern gps it is about 20 yards out! Also holds John Harrison’s watch which won him the 10000 pound prize.


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Greenwich is also the home of the Royal Astronomy on top of the hill in the park. The Greenwich meridian passes through it but due to modern gps it is about 20 yards out! Also holds John Harrison’s watch which won him the 10000 pound prize.


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Can also recommend river cruise to Greenwich as it gives a different view of London

Can also recommend river cruise to Greenwich as it gives a different view of London

Just being a pedant but surely the Greenwich meridian must be correct because that's where all longitude lines start from?

Sent from my iPad using Forums[/quote][quote=simonpjd;54900716]Greenwich is also the home of the Royal Astronomy on top of the hill in the park. The Greenwich meridian passes through it but due to modern gps it is about 20 yards out! Also holds John Harrison’s watch which won him the 10000 pound prize.

Just being a pedant but surely the Greenwich meridian is correct as all longitudinal lines are measured from this?
Apologies for previous wrong quote