London in Sept

[Youfah Mizzum]

WIll be in London, UK for 7 days in September. From 22nd onwards.
Have already been a couple of times & loved it. Explored a few major museums (British Imperial War Museum, a couple of others, Tower Bridge), wandered the theatre district, day tripped to Bath, Stonehenge. Seen WIndsor Castle.

Thing is, would love to have a few other "non touristy" things to do, see etc. I mean, I'm a tourist so I guess some touristy things would be nice (not interested in the the Eye). I like history, beautiful architecture, castles, music (I'm a part time professional musician so might lob into Ronnie Scotts one night), hidden things like tunnels, WW2 sites (want to see Churchill war rooms so thats on the list), natural beauty. Any canal tours from London?
Just looking for things to fill my days. Don't mind travelling an hour or 2 out to get to a site.

Any and all suggestions welcome. I can filter out based on my preferences, availability, location.

I know Google is my friend here, but sometimes it's nice to get others thoughts.

 

[Hvr]

Bletchley Park | Home

Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the World War Two Codebreakers, is now a vibrant heritage attraction in Milton Keynes, open daily to visitors.

bletchleypark.org.uk

I really enjoyed this place and lots of history.

I also enjoyed Dover, Ben and Eileen were great.

Information Resources

www.dovermuseum.co.uk

 

[RooFlyer]

The Borough Market in Southwark is worth a visit - great foods (cheeses!!) from all across the UK.

Visit Borough Market

Opening times, travel instructions, maps and accessibility guides - find all the information you need for your visit to one of London’s finest food markets.

boroughmarket.org.uk

 

[VPS]

WIll be in London, UK for 7 days in September. From 22nd onwards.
Have already been a couple of times & loved it. Explored a few major museums (British Imperial War Museum, a couple of others, Tower Bridge), wandered the theatre district, day tripped to Bath, Stonehenge. Seen WIndsor Castle.

Thing is, would love to have a few other "non touristy" things to do, see etc. I mean, I'm a tourist so I guess some touristy things would be nice (not interested in the the Eye). I like history, beautiful architecture, castles, music (I'm a part time professional musician so might lob into Ronnie Scotts one night), hidden things like tunnels, WW2 sites (want to see Churchill war rooms so thats on the list), natural beauty. Any canal tours from London?
Just looking for things to fill my days. Don't mind travelling an hour or 2 out to get to a site.

Any and all suggestions welcome. I can filter out based on my preferences, availability, location.

I know Google is my friend here, but sometimes it's nice to get others thoughts.

Churchill War rooms are excellent and I recommend them to lots of people.

If you are a coughtail drinker coughtail bar in Kingly Court | Cahoots London is in an old tube station

The boat down to Greenwich and wandering around there (you can walk under the Thames somewhere down there) and the Greenwich Royal Observatory with Harrison's clocks

Longitude (book) - Wikipedia John Harrison - Wikipedia

The naval college at Greenwich is nice to wander around. I also like the V&A and the Natural History Museum. The other one that is a bit quirky and has just been done up is the Museum of Home previously the Geffrye museum Home | Museum of the Home

I love London so I'll let you know if I think of anything else but also would recommend Bletchley Park

 

[OATEK]

This tour has been getting a bit of attention:

New Hidden London tour of Shepherd’s Bush Underground station launches | London Transport Museum

For the first time, Hidden London ticketholders can explore historic sections of the original Shepherd’s Bush Underground station dating back to 1900.

www.ltmuseum.co.uk

I usually try to get to an EPL match. West Ham at home is often easiest because they have trouble filling the Olympic Stadium.

 

[Anna]

Based on your interests of history, castles and architecture - maybe Hampton Court, and a day trip to Oxford?

 

[VPS]

This tour has been getting a bit of attention:

New Hidden London tour of Shepherd’s Bush Underground station launches | London Transport Museum

For the first time, Hidden London ticketholders can explore historic sections of the original Shepherd’s Bush Underground station dating back to 1900.

www.ltmuseum.co.uk

I usually try to get to an EPL match. West Ham at home is often easiest because they have trouble filling the Olympic Stadium.

I've never done that - maybe I should do that in a couple of weeks

 

[kookaburra75]

+1 for taking a ferry down the river to Greenwich, and walking around the grounds and up to the observatory. I had read Longitude before going there, and watching many of Harrison's clocks still ticking away is amazing. Catch the bus back from Greenwich into London, and it weaves through the suburbs.

Also, have a sunset drink/coughtail at the Aqua Bar on top of The Shard. The views are amazing, especially from the men's toilet.
View from our table - not the men's toilet


Also, check where Word on the Water is parked, and go buy a book from a unique book shop.

It was behind Kings Cross Station when we in London last.

If you're after a day trip from London, go to Cambridge. I find it nicer than Oxford, that while it has a great historical centre, it's let down by all of the 1940's industrial housing. Cambridge has nicer surrounds and parks. You could even go punting.

 

[Peter D]

Easy out of town train day trips to walkable towns such Bath, Cambridge, Canterbury, Winchester. Arrive early and check out the local visitor centre to see what’s on, such as local walks etc.

Be sure to try London Walks London Walks - London's Best Guided Walking Tours

A fantastic range of walks and we have never had dud leader. Make sure you use the original organisation. Some imitators claim to be free but then heavy you for tips.

September is good time to visit London in terms of weather and crowds.

We often end up with October and November . SWMBO always want to be in Melbourne for the last week of September for some unknown reason.

 

[kelvedon]

Maybe try a guided walk ?
I’ve been on several of this guys walks, he’s a fountain of knowledge and has some really interesting and quirky tales to tell. I’ve lived in London for 10 years and I always learnt something new.
it’s a free walk…you pay what you think it’s worth afterwards. Usually £20 for me.

Bowl Of Chalk - London Walking Tours

Fun, informal and informative London walking tours ... or at least, that's the plan.

www.bowlofchalk.net

 

[Youfah Mizzum]

a day trip to Oxford?

Ha! We're already planning on spending a few nights in Oxford & using our accommodation as a launching pad to explore the Cotswolds - done previously but would like to explore more.

Maybe try a guided walk ?

Yep - also on our list but good to get recommendations of who to go with. Appreciate that.

Easy out of town train day trips to walkable towns such Bath, Cambridge, Canterbury, Winchester. Arrive early and check out the local visitor centre to see what’s on, such as local walks etc.

Bath, Canturbury - done.
Cambridge my wife has been there but I might like to pop up for a wander.

All great suggestions peeps. Keep 'em coming! This thread has given me (and hopefully many others) some great input.

 

[kookaburra75]

If you have a car, try something different and spend a night in a quaint village which has all of the usual tick-list items, such as old church, graveyard, village green, megalithic ruins etc. For work, I used to stay at The Greyhound Inn in Letcombe Regis rather than the Marriott at the business park whee the office was located - ask for the Segsbury Room. The local work team couldn't understand why I didn't want to stay at the Marriott.

 

[Anna]

Hastings and Canterbury have a lot of history and aren't far from London.

Culture - you could google who might be performing (music/theatre/dance) on the dates you're there and book online now. Unlikely to be able to get seats for anything good at short notice if you leave it till you get there.

Next time I'm in UK I'm planning to get a National Trust membership and do an intensive study of tearoom quality, specifically Devonshire teas .

 

[kookaburra75]

Ha! We're already planning on spending a few nights in Oxford & using our accommodation as a launching pad to explore the Cotswolds - done previously but would like to explore more.

Not to derail your plans. if you want to explore the Cotswolds there are better bases than Oxford - which is a long drive (by UK standards and horribly expensive). Cirencester has a lot of good places to stay. An "odd' alternative is Avebury, where you can go an hug the megalithic stones, as compared to Stonehenge, while having a drink at the pub.

 

[drcam]

Churchill War Rooms are great, even if I am no fan of its namesake himself. Kew Gardens is enjoyable if a bit overpriced.

 

[kelvedon]

Next time I'm in UK I'm planning to get a National Trust membership and do an intensive study of tearoom quality, specifically Devonshire teas .

I believe it’s cheaper to join the Australian National Trust which has reciprocal rights with the UK National Trust….not that we should condone short changing charitable institutions.
….but a commendable research project !

 

[Youfah Mizzum]

If you have a car, try something different and spend a night in a quaint village which has all of the usual tick-list items, such as old church, graveyard, village green, megalithic ruins etc. For work, I used to stay at The Greyhound Inn in Letcombe Regis rather than the Marriott at the business park whee the office was located - ask for the Segsbury Room

Not to derail your plans. if you want to explore the Cotswolds there are better bases than Oxford

Points taken.
Would prefer those quainter & character-filled places than Oxford - it just looked closer than London on a map. And was thinking of doing a Morse/Endeavour/Lewis tour which, for those who watch Brit cop dramas, are/were based in Oxford.

Was thinking of hiring a car as we did that last time we were in UK (well, all the times we've been there) and it's very convenient but this time we thought we'd go rail-heavy and just hire car when/if needed. But certainly to explore Cotswolds a car is a given and was thinking Oxford would have rental businesses in town for pickup/dropoff, not that I've done any research yet but would've thought Hertz/Avis/Europcar and other usual suspects would be in a larger centre than other regional towns...or maybe we do pickup/dropoff in London? Hmmm - something to think about.

 

[Youfah Mizzum]

Culture - you could google who might be performing (music/theatre/dance) on the dates you're there and book online now.

Great suggestion - in fact so good I have already done that, several times! And on the back of that research I discovered one of my favourite UK bands are performing a few hours north of London so immediately booked tix!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There’s also the Royal Mail tunnel train that has been restored and opened to the public. You travel on part of a dedicated underground rail system set up for Royal Mail, in miniature rail cars. Advance bookings essential as numbers are limited and it seems sold out well in advance every time I’ve looked to go.

 

[DCFF1961]

Did this a few years ago, was very impressed..

Imperial War Museum Duxford

IWM Duxford

Visit Imperial War Museum Duxford for a huge day out. See Spitfires take to the skies from the airfield where they first flew, get up close to gigantic aircraft and walk in the footsteps of the men and women who served here.

www.iwm.org.uk