London

[blueshell]

Hi! I am planning my 1st ABD (London/Paris) and have a few questions for anyone who has done the same itinerary recently. It seems the itinerary has changed and no longer includes time at Windsor Castle. It looks like we will be in the town of Windsor with time on our own for lunch (before archery), but I don’t know if that would be a sufficient amount of time to get to see Windsor Castle while we are in the area (and how would we get there?) If anyone has done it, I’d love to hear how! I’d also like to know if there’s a particular day in the itinerary that works to fit in a show at one of the West End theaters. (The itinerary I see now doesn’t provide the specific times for our nights on our own, so I’m unsure if we will be free to make it to a show). Any assistance will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

 

[sayhello]

Hi! I am planning my 1st ABD (London/Paris) and have a few questions for anyone who has done the same itinerary recently. It seems the itinerary has changed and no longer includes time at Windsor Castle. It looks like we will be in the town of Windsor with time on our own for lunch (before archery), but I don’t know if that would be a sufficient amount of time to get to see Windsor Castle while we are in the area (and how would we get there?) If anyone has done it, I’d love to hear how! I’d also like to know if there’s a particular day in the itinerary that works to fit in a show at one of the West End theaters. (The itinerary I see now doesn’t provide the specific times for our nights on our own, so I’m unsure if we will be free to make it to a show). Any assistance will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

ABD isn't going to give you specific times for your OYO time until the day before because things can always change. The Adventure Guides might be able to give you a reasonable idea when you meet with them the first day. If you call ABD, they can give you a general idea of what time the OYO time starts, but again, there's no guarantee. I know it makes it hard to plan! But if they gave you a time, and the order or timing of the day had to change for some reason and you missed your show, you'd be blaming them. And they don't like that!

It's been 14 years since I did the London/Paris trip, so I can't actually help you with the timing, sorry!

It's a great trip! You're going to love it!

Sayhello

 

[blueshell]

Thank you so much!!

 

[JackieT1182]

We did England and France in July 2023, so relatively recently. On our Windsor day, we did archery first, then Windsor, then Hampton Court Palace - it looks like it's in the reverse order now. I'm assuming you'd spend the same amount of time at each place as we did, and if so, there's definitely not enough time to go to Windsor Castle. We had less than 2 hours total, but you also have lunch there on your own. If you are able to squeeze it in somehow, you'll be within walking distance to the Castle from where you're dropped off.

Also, one thing to note is if your ABD tour starts on Monday instead of Friday, you'll be in Windsor on Wednesday, and the Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

We really wanted to make sure we had time to visit, so we arrived in London 3 days before our tour started and visited then.

If you want to see a show, we were done on day 2 by 4 PM, so that day would give you plenty of time.

Happy to answer any other questions you have!

 

[blueshell]

We did England and France in July 2023, so relatively recently. On our Windsor day, we did archery first, then Windsor, then Hampton Court Palace - it looks like it's in the reverse order now. I'm assuming you'd spend the same amount of time at each place as we did, and if so, there's definitely not enough time to go to Windsor Castle. We had less than 2 hours total, but you also have lunch there on your own. If you are able to squeeze it in somehow, you'll be within walking distance to the Castle from where you're dropped off.

Also, one thing to note is if your ABD tour starts on Monday instead of Friday, you'll be in Windsor on Wednesday, and the Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

We really wanted to make sure we had time to visit, so we arrived in London 3 days before our tour started and visited then.

If you want to see a show, we were done on day 2 by 4 PM, so that day would give you plenty of time.

Happy to answer any other questions you have!

Oh my goodness, thank you so much!! Yes, our tour starts on a Monday - so you are 100% right that we’ll be in Windsor on a day the castle isn’t even open! I didn’t even realize that! Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention!! This is so helpful so I can plan around that to try to get there on one of our pre-tour days instead! I’m hoping to also get to Westminster Abbey on one of those days because it seems the ABD tour no longer includes that either. Thank you for the tip about the timing for day 2!

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I used to live in London. There is a an official reseller for the West End shows in Leicester Square called the TKTS Booth. They sell on the day or day before cheap tickets for the shows. Not all shows are available, but if you just want to see a show and dont have a specific one in mind, its a great way to see a show when you have an unpredictable schedule.

 

[blueshell]

Thank you for that tip!

 

[blueshell]

We did England and France in July 2023, so relatively recently. On our Windsor day, we did archery first, then Windsor, then Hampton Court Palace - it looks like it's in the reverse order now. I'm assuming you'd spend the same amount of time at each place as we did, and if so, there's definitely not enough time to go to Windsor Castle. We had less than 2 hours total, but you also have lunch there on your own. If you are able to squeeze it in somehow, you'll be within walking distance to the Castle from where you're dropped off.

Also, one thing to note is if your ABD tour starts on Monday instead of Friday, you'll be in Windsor on Wednesday, and the Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

We really wanted to make sure we had time to visit, so we arrived in London 3 days before our tour started and visited then.

If you want to see a show, we were done on day 2 by 4 PM, so that day would give you plenty of time.

Happy to answer any other questions you have!

Would you mind telling me how you did the Windsor visit on your own on the pre-tour day? Did you book a car to bring you there, or was it easy enough to get there on your own by train? Any suggestions would be great! Thank you!

 

[JackieT1182]

Oh my goodness, thank you so much!! Yes, our tour starts on a Monday - so you are 100% right that we’ll be in Windsor on a day the castle isn’t even open! I didn’t even realize that! Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention!! This is so helpful so I can plan around that to try to get there on one of our pre-tour days instead! I’m hoping to also get to Westminster Abbey on one of those days because it seems the ABD tour no longer includes that either. Thank you for the tip about the timing for day 2!

We also did Westminster Abbey before our tour!

Would you mind telling me how you did the Windsor visit on your own on the pre-tour day? Did you book a car to bring you there, or was it easy enough to get there on your own by train? Any suggestions would be great! Thank you!

It is pretty easy to get there by train, but we booked a private car with a Blue Badge Guide. He showed us several places around London as well.

 

[blueshell]

We also did Westminster Abbey before our tour!



It is pretty easy to get there by train, but we booked a private car with a Blue Badge Guide. He showed us several places around London as well.

That sounds perfect! Would love to know which company you used

 

[JackieT1182]

That sounds perfect! Would love to know which company you used

I went through Guide London. Alexander Davy was our guide.

https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/guides/samdavy/

 

[blueshell]

Thank you so much!!

 

[Alison S]

Westminster Abbey is a must do. Buy your tickets online before you go so you don't have to wait in line.
Windsor was nice. It was a half day trip for me. Took the train from London Paddington- extremely easy. Also make sure you get tickets online before you go!

 

[jimmymc]

If you're doing Westminster Abbey on one of your pre-days, it's only 2 blocks away from the Churchill War Rooms, which I highly recommend. Also something you should book in advance.

 

[Kit Jackson]

If you're doing Westminster Abbey on one of your pre-days, it's only 2 blocks away from the Churchill War Rooms, which I highly recommend. Also something you should book in advance.

I also highly recommend the Churchill War Rooms. @blueshell if you want more recommendations or a second opinion on what to do with your pre-tip days or on your own time in London, please let me know.

​

 

[blueshell]

Thank you all for the suggestions!!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Ditto the Churchill war rooms!

 

[Chris931]

I just did this ABD in September.

As for Windsor castle, on our drive there, the guides said there was availability to go into Windsor Castle. You needed to purchase those tickets on your own through an app but there was time to do so. We wanted to explore the town and have lunch so we did not do that.

As far as a show, we had purchased tickets for our pre-night before the ABD started. However, on the day of the ABD when we touched base with the guides at the hotel, they told us which night would be a good night to see a show if we wanted. We did get tickets for a second show then as well. You just may not be able to get the more "popular" shows.
We are from NY and big Broadway fans so we wanted to be sure to see Hamilton and got those tickets for the pre-night. We would have liked to have seen Six as the second show but it was sold out. We ended up seeing MJ which we enjoyed.