London in July- where to stay?

[berettafan]

Visiting for first time along with family. Will be needing to hitch a ride to EJ Churchill west of London two of the days; don't know if that should impact where we choose to stay. Maybe 4 or 5 nights then to Edinburgh for a couple days. Am behind on planning! Air bnb makes me nervous but I’ll go with what looks nice and convenient for traveling locally.
Thoughts? Seeing prices in the $400+ range per night. Areas to avoid? Looking for good food, markets, stuff like that.

[berettafan]

Ok I'm looking around High Wycombe as I'll hopefully be there a couple days and there are some seriously beautiful places to stay in that area. How expensive/difficult is it to get from there to London?

[recycled sixtie]

It has been five years since I was last in England. July in the UK can be good but if it is hot you may find that many hotels do not have air cond. The better hotels may. You should do your research regarding this.

When I get off the aircraft I usually check into a local hotel. I do not like driving myself especially on the other side of the road jetlagged. You can order ahead a limo which might suit you better than trains or buses/coaches. So when you get out of customs a limo driver will hold up a sign with your name on it.

EJ Churchill? Not sure about this or where. Sir Winston Churchills estate?

London there is so much to see. The tube or subway is a great way to get around or London taxi. In London the Imperial War Museum is a must see.

Captain Ahab would give you a more recent perspective.

Cheers, Guy

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Ok I'm looking around High Wycombe as I'll hopefully be there a couple days and there are some seriously beautiful places to stay in that area. How expensive/difficult is it to get from there to London?

From the Heathrow airport High Wycombe is about an hour by limo/taxi. That would be more expensive than bus or train. Yes you could check out air bnb or alternatively I am sure there are some nice hotels.

[MBAtarga]

We were there in August last year but just stayed at a Holiday Inn in town so we were relatively close to museums and other attractions.
Edit - definitely visit the Churchill War Museum as mentioned above!

[Rtrorkt]

Find a hotel near Covent Garden or Seven Dials. Stayed in a raddison there.

[JavaBrewer]

IMO as long as you are walking distance from a tube station you will be good to go. I met my son in London 1 month ago. We only had 3 nights with a 6 AM departure so we stayed in a hotel at heathrow airport. The tube/train combo will get you downtown effortlessly. I would imagine it will be rather warm and as Guy pointed out many places do not have AC. London is a very walkable city so bring comfortable shoes. Too many places to recommend. I will say if you like food the Borough Market is a must visit. The Ginger Pig pork rolls are amazing and there are a hundred other options from beer, wine, cheese, you name it. Start your day near the Tower of London and you can pretty much walk everything.

Taking the train from London to Edinburgh is actually relaxing journey, ~ 3 hours or so. We spent 4 nights in Edinburgh and stayed in an AirBnB in the old town close to the castle which was very nice. We use AirBnb nearly exclusively in Europe. Just narrow your search criteria for a "super host" run property. After our short stay in London we met the the girls and used AirBnB in Nice, Prague, Regensburg, and lastly Lucerne. Zero complaints however if you are mobility challenged many ABnB properties are in older/historic buildings and few have elevators.

Have fun and feel free to ask for more info if needed.

[PorscheGAL]

No advice on hotels. It's been a while since I was in London.

But I do have a suggestion for transportation: Welcome Pickups is super easy for getting to and from the airport or transport outside the city.

[berettafan]

Thanks to all!

Ended up with a place in Chelsea....or at least I think I have a place in Chelsea- air bnb is kinda weird with owners having to review the request.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Thanks to all!

Ended up with a place in Chelsea....or at least I think I have a place in Chelsea- air bnb is kinda weird with owners having to review the request.

Yes you chose a good area. Well done. Accommodation in London is not cheap. Perhaps the host has had issues with guests. As long as you don't have a criminal background you should be good to go!

Cheers, Guy.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Brighton on the coast nearby, take the train to London.
Goodwood is coming up soon.

[berettafan]

yep we will get there around Goodwood time but I can't see how we're gonna make that. was on my list but it's getting a bit messy trying to plan stuff. I'm hopefully gonna be shooting two days so don't want to overdo it with stuff for me.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Goodwood is definitely a must do if you have time

Only Thurs tickets left for sale, other days sold out

https://www.goodwood.com/motorsport/festival-of-speed/tickets-and-packages/

[wildthing]

I've heard from co-workers to book a room near the airport and just take the train to London. Hotels are cheaper and newer.

On the other hand, with three kids and the wife, commuting gets expensive quickly, so we ended up booking in London near a station, Premier Inn or something, in Waterloo.

[edgemar]

Here is a guy who has a bunch of Airbnbs in London. I stayed near Notting Hill. It was nice and reasonable. Mine had a bunch of stairs to get to the top of the bldg.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/users/show/118539108

[matthewb0051]

If you are playing tourist... skip changing of the guard at Buckingham.

Instead go to the 4pm Household Cav Dismount Parade. Its on Whitehall where the horse mounted soldier sits all day. There are lines on the ground, ask the security/cop where to stand. Basically if you stand with your toes on the line, they will not allow anyone to get in front of you. You will be front row for the show. The show at Buckingham, you are behind the fence line and really don't see much.

https://changing-guard.com/dismount-parade.html

[matthewb0051]

If Wimbledon is in full swing, that is a must see!

Even if you just get on the grounds it is spectacular. They have a line for resale tickets for when ticket holders leave for the day and turn in their tickets to Centre Court, Court 1 and others. You can buy them and the small fee goes to charity. That is how I got on to Centre Court. Outer courts have limited seating but most of them are first come/first serve.

https://www.greenandpurple.com/how-to-buy-returned-wimbledon-tickets-at-the-resale-kiosk

[matthewb0051]

Two other things I recommend:

Take a boat out to Greenwich and see where the prime meridian is located separating West from East. You can see where they estimated it to be, marked by lines on the ground. Then the actual final version.

Then take the boat out to the Thames barriers, which is a flood control device. Nice boat ride and you are on the same route when going to Greenwich.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by wildthing

I've heard from co-workers to book a room near the airport and just take the train to London. Hotels are cheaper and newer.

On the other hand, with three kids and the wife, commuting gets expensive quickly, so we ended up booking in London near a station, Premier Inn or something, in Waterloo.

Center London - we really like the HI Express just south of Tate Modern. It's well placed for transit and among some fun neighborhoods south of the river. I usually stayed there when I was meeting at Whitehall - it was a great morning walk to work.

I agree on LHR hotels though. Especially if you're leaning to the west side of the metro for activities (Legoland, Windsor and such) - you can get a reasonable marriott/sheraton/hyatt for less than half that in central London. And, if you learn the bus system, there are lots of good places to see and eat near LHR once you get out of that airport bubble. The purple line gets you into the city or to Reading for points further west. On the busses, once you figure that out and for a just a little more time you can get to a TfL station that doesn't have the airport surcharge. And there likely will be good food nearby.

BTW the bowling alley on Bath Rd, north side of LHR at about the east boundary, has cheap but tasty off-brand periperi chicken and nasty sticky cocktails. And skee ball. A hearty recommendation...

(Too much time hopping between LHR and my colleagues' joint (AWE) west of Reading - now luckily only my wife does that. 12yo junior johnson and I are learning the cheap tourist-ish things. Spouse and kids don't get per diem)

[Brian 162]

I’m heading to London and staying at the Tower Hotel in Sep.
It’s a quick stop