London...is this doable?

[Riversedge]

Due to a flight schedule change we now have a 12 hour layover at Heathrow from approx 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Rather than just hang out at the airport we thought it might be fun to do some sightseeing. We plan to use the luggage storage to store our carryon luggage, take the tube to London and then do the Hop On, Hop Off bus. Are we crazy or is would this be reasonable?

[LHT28]

You could do it

Just be back 2 hr before your flight as you will need to go through security

[skisteamboat]

With the recent turmoil at the London Airports, I would count on 2-3 Hours getting through Customs and Immigration. With checking back in taking another 2 hours or so, you are limited in the time you will have land side. Windsor might be a better choice but if you do get land side quickly, it is certainly doable via the Heathrow Connect train service, about 30 minutes to Paddington Station.

 

Cheers

[TLCOhio]

With the recent turmoil at the London Airports, I would count on 2-3 Hours getting through Customs and Immigration. With checking back in taking another 2 hours or so, you are limited in the time you will have land side. Windsor might be a better choice but if you do get land side quickly, it is certainly doable via the Heathrow Connect train service, about 30 minutes to Paddington Station. Cheers

 

I would strongly second the great suggestion for doing the closer and very interesting Windsor Castle. We did that option in 2010 on our way to Copenhagen and to do a Norway coast cruise. There are lots of time questions and logistic challenges in and around Heathrow. You've also got to allow time to get your baggage after being checked, etc. Below are a few of my visuals samples for what you can see, do and enjoy at the large and very historic Windsor.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 81,835 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 70,487 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

At Windsor Castle, just outside of London and near Heathrow, there is 900 years of history at the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world:

 

 

 

The Waterloo Room at Windsor Castle celebrates with large painting of the key players involved in defeating Napoleon.:

 

 

 

This Queen’s Reception room at Windsor Castle has spectacular ceilings and architectural detailing, plus nice furniture and paintings. Just like home in the State Apartments!! :

 

 

 

St. George's Chapel is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England with many members of the Royal family buried here with the walled areas of Windsor Castle. This chapel is also the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter.:

 

 

 

At Windsor, the Changing of the Guard

 takes place at 11:00 daily:

 

 

 

This ceremony also includes a large band with the unique and expected British Royal uniforms and hats.:

 

[Twickenham]

Due to a flight schedule change we now have a 12 hour layover at Heathrow from approx 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Rather than just hang out at the airport we thought it might be fun to do some sightseeing. We plan to use the luggage storage to store our carryon luggage, take the tube to London and then do the Hop On, Hop Off bus. Are we crazy or is would this be reasonable?

 

If I had that schedule, I'd definitely be going into London. If you really want to save time, take the Heathrow Express (15 minutes into Paddington from LHR), but personally I'd probably need the 45-60 minute tube ride for a nap :).

[FritzG]

I'd agree with just going to Windsor. There's lots to see there, and we love the small town atmosphere. There's a HOHO in Windsor too, but it's small enough to walk around. I'd be nervous going into London with that short of a layover. It sounds like a lot of time, but by the time you get off the plane and through customs and allowing for check in time for departure, you won't have as many hours as you think.

[TLCOhio]

Glad to know there are more wise and smart fans of Windsor Castle. Below is more on its history, beauty, background, long-term residents, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Here is more from Windsor Castle. With 900 years of history as the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world, this medieval castle and royal residence was originally built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Queen Victoria, shown in the statue seen as you enter this castle, made minor changes to the castle. Her reign of 63 years and 7 months is longer than any other British monarch and was known as the Victorian era. She was Queen from 1837 until her death in 1901. Windsor was the center for royal entertainment for much of her long reign. With a current reign of sixty years, Queen Elizabeth II could exceed that Victoria record. The castle itself occupies a large site of more than thirteen acres. Below are some of the stone and design details as you center the castle, plus certain gardens and interior towers/walls and one of the famed guards with their unique hats.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windsor Castle includes the 15th-century St George's Chapel, the baroque style hall originally built under Charles II. It was reconstructed after the 1992 fire that did major damage at Windsor. This is where traditional State Banquets are held with a table seating up to 160 guests. Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952 and decided to make Windsor her principal weekend retreat. The second picture shows some of the town architecture across from the castle. For more detail, check: http://www.royal.gov.uk/theroyalresidences/windsorcastle/windsorcastle.aspx

 

 

 

[HawaiiUK]

12 hours - let's say 4 hours for airport stuff = 8 hours; an hour there and back = 6 hours. If you really want to see London and don't know when or if you'll ever be back, then go for it! There is a school of thought that thinks the tube is better over the expensive Heathrow Express. It may appear slower, but at least it puts you right into the heart of London. And oh, did I mention it's much less expensive? ;)

 

But as the others have said, Windsor is also a delightful place to visit. The castle opens at 09.45am (And Terry in Ohio - how did you manage to take photos inside the state rooms? Tsk, tsk! Normally the staff are very hot on people trying to sneak a few crafty photos.) If you did want to go to Windsor, prebook a taxi (it's about £20 each way) as that's cheaper than taking a taxi off the taxi rank. It's about 20 minutes by car.

[Giantfan13]

GO FOR IT

 

If this is your one opportunity to see the great city of London, even a few hours there will bring you many more hours of memories once you are back home.

Windsor is fine, but London is London. Sure you will never even make a dent in what there is to see and do, but with the HoHo buses you will see the main sites and still have time to get off at several places to walk around.

 

We did a one day in Paris, when we visited London. People said we were nuts to travel all that way just for maybe 7 hours in Paris. But it was our one chance to see Paris and we jumped at it, and to this day we do not regret doing it.

 

I would leave a couple of hours for security but the trip into London is about 40 minutes at the most so it will give you ample time to see this wonderful city.

 

Look at some of these pixs and see if that will entice you to travel to London

 

From across the Thames, Parliament and Big Ben

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe121.jpg

 

If you can get into London early enough you have a decent chance of seeing the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe1466.jpg

 

If not, just stop by the Palace for a some great photo ops

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europept2005.jpg

 

The HoHo bus will take you by the Tower of London. No time to go in, but some great photo's

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europept2127.jpg

 

You will gwet some great views of the Tower Bridge, and you might have some time to do a quick boat ride along the Thames

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europept2128.jpg

 

Give yourself a few minutes to get 'up close and personal' with Mr Big Ben

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europept2104.jpg

 

Again, GO FOR IT

 

Cheers

 

Len

[lisiamc]

I agree - Windsor is a good compromise. It will be easy to see some interesting things in the time available. (Great photos, as always, Terry!)

[TLCOhio]

I agree - Windsor is a good compromise. It will be easy to see some interesting things in the time available. (Great photos, as always, Terry!)

 

HawaiiUK: Terry in Ohio - how did you manage to take photos inside the state rooms? Tsk' date=' tsk! Normally the staff are very hot on people trying to sneak a few crafty photos. [/quote']

 

Appreciate the nice comments from lisiamc on my pictures. It's fun sharing these various great sights and sites.

 

For HawaiiUK, maybe I'm guilty?? . . . or could it be that my camera when not at my eye and at the lower tummy level just kind of goes off (without flash) accidentally, kind of, somewhat, on purpose. These things do happen!! Some of restrictive no camera rules don't make as much sense when not shooting with a flash. I do understand, however, in crowded, busy places that too many people trying to take pictures and shoot videos could create some congestion, traffic flow problems.

 

On Len's very good point (and maybe your plane has a nice tail wind), gets in early, things in London could work out OK. Below are a few of my key visual highlights for this sprawling city with so much wonderful architecture, history, culture, etc. One challenge with going into London is that to really experience many of the good places, require more time to GO INSIDE for places such as Harrod's, National Gallery, Tower of London, theatres, Churchill war rooms/museum, other important museums, etc., etc. Of course, having the time to get in line, see some of the places, takes more hours than what might be available. Maybe a "drive-around" would be enough and OK.

 

Lots of good to super great options in and around London.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 81,835 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 70,487 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

From the London Eye, here is a view of Westminster Abbey, Ben Ben and Parliament:

 

 

 

At the Victoria & Albert Museum in London they have spectacular rooms, architecture and art works:

 

 

 

London’s theater offerings are great, including this performing place across from Victoria rail station.:

 

 

 

Harrod's unique Food Hall has lots to see and eat:

 

 

 

London’s Trafalgar Square is a wonderful, central gathering place for people. The Westminster, “Big Ben” Tower is shown in the background. At the center of London, this famed Square has Nelson’s Column with the four lions and has the National Gallery overlooking it:

 

 

 

Covent Garden Market and its activities:

 

[ednria]

One thing the OP forgot to mention is what day/date is this layover? If you are going to be there during the Jubilee doings, or nearer the Olympic Games, I would definitely recommend Windsor, or finding a comfortable spot in the terminal.

[Bob++]

One thing the OP forgot to mention is what day/date is this layover? If you are going to be there during the Jubilee doings, or nearer the Olympic Games, I would definitely recommend Windsor, or finding a comfortable spot in the terminal.

 

I was going to say the same thing. First week of June and the first half of July will be very busy in London.

[TLCOhio]

I was going to say the same thing. First week of June and the first half of July will be very busy in London.

 

Excellent point/question on timing!! My view/experience has been that London is ALWAYS busy. For the above-mentioned periods, I would rate London as being SUPER or hyper busy. Great city with a wonderful underground system. Love the cabs, too!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 82,350 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Riversedge]

Thanks so much for all the information, awesome pictures and insight as to how to spend our day. Now we just have to make decisions but all your thoughts and suggestions will really help. We will be there on June 15.

[bee-ess]

I'd say go for it - if you get yourself to Westminister, there alot you can see around the river - Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Cenotaph, Downing St, Cross over the river at Westminister brige for London Eye and boat trips to Tower of London (or further to Greenwich if time allows).

You won't see it all but you can see a lot by just sticking to the river.