Advice for a visit to the UK

[Tumbleweed]

Hello there to our UK Disney friends. A friend and I
are going to be attending the Crufts Dog Show in
Birmingham in March. We are flying into London and
taking the coach to the Birmingham Airport where we'll
take a taxi to our B&B. Here's where I could use your
help! From Birmingham we will be staying with a friend
of a friend in Weybridge. What is the best way for us
to get from Birmingham to Weybridge? We'll be visiting
the London area for a couple of days and then we'll
need to get back to Gatwick. I've read up on the
websites for coach and rail travel, but I'm confused.
We've never been out of the country, so we're pretty
new. One other question - is there something that
folks in the UK want from this side of the pond that
we could bring as a gift to our hostess?

Thank you so much for any help you can give me!

 

[Goofyish]

Welcome to the UK Community Board

Can't help much on travelling from Birmingham to Weybridge apart from suggesting renting a car.
There would not be a direct public transport route (train or bus), so the journey would involve multiple changes.

The most direct and most expensive way would be to take a cab!

As for Crufts - it's a great experience. But get there early as it does become very busy. Walking round the various halls and stands pushing through the crowds is very good training for a busy Magic Kingdom

 

[Daysleeper40]

Ok, I have had a quick look re Birmingham - Weybridge and you could either get:

1. Train from Birmingham - you would have to make at least 1, maybe 2 changes. The quickest option seems to be the train from Birmingham New Street Station to basingstoke, then change at Basingstoke for a train into Weybridge Station.
There are other trains from Birmingham that go into London where you have to get to either Vauxhall or Waterloo on the London Underground. There are trains direct to Weybridge from either Vauxhall or Waterloo.

OR

2. National Express Coach from Birmingham (there are lots of different pick up points - would depend where your B&B is) into Woking Rail Station. Woking is only a few stops on the train from Weybridge.

I found this site which has information on travel to Weybridge - it has the links you will need:

http://www.allaboutweybridge.co.uk/aaw/travel.htm#Trains

The train will be more expensive but generally much quicker than the coach.
Hope that helped!!

 

[Tumbleweed]

Thanks! You folks are the best! We're trying to do this on
a budget, so we'll have to use public transportation, but I've
heard yours is great!

One more question. I've heard about a travel card that is
good for getting around London, but you have to purchase
it before you leave. Is this a smart thing to do? Also, I've
heard the guided tours in London are terrific. Is there any
you recommend or have heard are really good?

 

[mikki.young]

I would take the train from Birmingham to London. It's a bit over an hour so you could choose to use part of the day looking round London. Waterloo (where you get the train from London to Weybridge) has a left luggage store that you could use. I know the sort of London tickets you are talking about - they are much better value than anything you can buy in the UK.

There are fast and slow trains to Weybridge but you have a better chance of a fast one (and more chance of seating) if you board at Waterloo.

I think any gifts are always appreciated and maybe something special to your local area is the best bet.

If you want to pm me for any other info feel free - I lived in London for 20 years so have a few clues about what is available.

 

[Daysleeper40]

Thanks! You folks are the best! We're trying to do this on
a budget, so we'll have to use public transportation, but I've
heard yours is great!

One more question. I've heard about a travel card that is
good for getting around London, but you have to purchase
it before you leave. Is this a smart thing to do? Also, I've
heard the guided tours in London are terrific. Is there any
you recommend or have heard are really good?

I'm guessing you mean an Oyster Card. They are definately cheaper than single fares or travel cards if you are going to be spending a few days in London. You have to pay £3 for the card itself and then you load it with prepaid funds. When travelling you swipe it and it deducts the fare - it will also cap the amount it charges you for one 24 hour period so you will never pay more than the equvilent one day travel card would have been.

It is well worth getting one - a single fare on the tube is £4 but it will only cost you £1.50 on an Oyster Card. You can use them on buses, overground trains, London Underground, trams and DLR.

BUT - If you were only going to be in London for the day it might be easier to just get a one day travel card.

 

[mikki.young]

No, there are overseas tourist cards that do transport cheaper than an oyster card for several days and get entry or discounts to attractions. I'd need to check the London Tourist Board site to see what the latest options are.

 

[Dimplenose]

I live near Weybridge. I think the quickest route would be via London but it might be a lot cheaper to go via Basingstoke. (I haven't travelled this route for years as we always drive to the Midlands these days). Have a look at this site
http://ojp1.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/jp

(It looks to me like the cheapest option may actually be to go from Birmingham Snow Hill Station via London Marylebone get the underground to Waterloo then the train to Weybridge.)

Waterloo to Weybridge is a very busy commuter line so I suggest you try to time your journey to avoid the rush hour. (We try to be on a train at Waterloo before 5pm if we've had a day out - or leave it until after 7pm).

If you go via London don't forget you'll need time to get from you arrival station to Waterloo using the underground. I'd prefer to go from Waterloo than Vauxhall as you'll have more choice of trains (all the Waterloo to Weybridge trains go through Vauxhall but not all stop there.)

I'm sure that's as clear as mud!

Libby

 

[mikki.young]

OK - heres the site - better than I remember. Reduced prices until the end of this month if you can manage to buy now:
http://www.londonpass.com/prices.asp

 

[Chilly]

London has a lot of tour companies. They all have open top buses that visit all the top locations and they do a hop on/hop off service so you buy a ticket for the day, then stay on the bus when you want and get off at which ever tourist spots interest you.

Here are a couple of examples:

http://www.theoriginaltour.com
http://www.bigbus.co.uk

 

[Jets fan]

I work in London and agree that the hop on hop of buses are great as I recently had colleagues over from Brussels for the day and they loved it.

Here's some links that I sent them prior to their trip:

Good website to visit
http://www.visitlondon.com/

Bus Tour as these are fun - you can hop on and off as well
http://www.theoriginaltour.com/
http://www.bigbus.co.uk/

Shop and look around:
Covent Garden - Lovely place shopping and history all in one. Home of the Royal Opera House
http://www.coventgardenlife.com/
http://www.covent-garden.co.uk/

Knightsbridge
Home of the most famous department store in the world - Harrods. From Knightsbridge you can walk to the Natural History Museum

For theatre:
http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/

For dinner shows
http://www.lastminute.com/site/ente...re-dinner.html?intcmp=lnav_theatre_dinnershow

Hope you have a brilliant hols