Help for day trip to London?

[kate7047]

We will be arriving in Southampton 16 June, 7 AM and leaving at 5 PM for the Norway portion of the cruise on the QM2. We are fairly familiar with London but completely unfamiliar with Southampton and other suburban areas (I'm not sure that that distance qualifies as "suburban", but whatever). My question is wheather it's realistic to plan to take the train into Waterloo, dash about on a few sightseeing things in London (my daughter has just been reading "Julius Caesar" and wants to go to the Globe, for instance) and still get back in time to board the ship. It looks like there are several direct trains that take only about 1:15 or so to get there, but how far is it from the port to the train station in Southampton? Is it walkable? Will a taxi be easy to find? Thanks for any help.

[guernseyguy]

About 3 trains per hour from Southampton to Waterloo:

 

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

Journey time typically 1 hr 20 minutes

 

Taxi to Southampton station ~ 10 minutes

 

The Globe Theatre:

 

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

 

is about a 25 minute walk from London Waterloo station where the trains to/from Southampton are:

 

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/visiting/howtofindus/#train

 

I think you would have plenty of time (assuming you get off the ship first thing) to go up to London, visit the Globe, have an early lunch then catch a train back to Southampton - a 1.30 train would get you back before 3pm.

 

Peter

[pnhmrk]

I think you would have plenty of time (assuming you get off the ship first thing) to go up to London, visit the Globe, have an early lunch then catch a train back to Southampton - a 1.30 train would get you back before 3pm.

 

As long as you don't want to do any more than that. Whilst The Globe is interesting in its own way I wouldn't say that it was one of the "must see" sights of London. If it were me I'd want to stay far more local to Southampton and see some of the sights of the area.

[dak]

I wouldn't say that it was one of the "must see" sights of London

 

IMHO THE "must see", and most fondly sought location is the departure gate at Heathrow or Gatwick!:D

 

David

[exlondoner]

Hi, Yes the trip is possible, but only worth doing if you really, really, want to see the Globe, and can't see when you will have another chance. The trains are much more efficient than they used to be, but delays do occur, and there are quite interesting things to do around Southampton, as shown on another thread. I think, if it were me, I would be spending the whole day worrying about getting back to the ship on time.

[guernseyguy]

IMHO THE "must see", and most fondly sought location is the departure gate at Heathrow or Gatwick!:D David

 

Nah - there are better options:

• Eurostar at Waterloo
  
• The Boat Train
  
• Kings Cross for The Flying Scotsman or The Tees-Tyne Pulman

;)

[kate7047]

Well, I'm not wild about the mad dash into London, but as I mentioned, my daughter is keen to visit the Globe. We have spent a lot of time in London on various trips and have done all the major sights and many minor ones (often repeatedly!) but missed that one. Unfortunately, almost all my time in the UK has been spent in London, so I have no real sense of what else to do out near Southampton. Any suggestions?

[lannp]

I too will be on this trip. There are lots of things around Southampton. I'm planning to take the ferry over to the Isle of Wight to see Osborne House. Another option is Beaulieu House and Motor Museum in the New Forest, just outside Southampton. Have you joined any of our roll calls? We have one for the departure from NYC June 10 and of course for the Norway cruise on the 16th. Linda