Travelling to England, need help... (Updated 19.08.2006) — Forum Archive

28 Jul 2006, 21:16

So, it looks like my wife is almost convinced! In fact, she even talked about it with me tonight, and of course I can't let it pass :evil4:

We would (speculative) flight to London on the 26th, and get back to Montreal on the 31st, or something like that, depends of the budget really.

Now, I will probably be alone in London from the 27 to the 29th, as my wife will be visiting a friend (and ex roomate) of her that moved to england a few year ago and stay there while I'm going to the shows in London and Wolverhampton, including NOOL day.

So, what are my options for a few cheap nights of sleep in London for a guy who's coming from Canada, is pretty strict on budget and though would like a decent place? Any ideas? recommandations?

I checked the flights.. British Airways from Montreal is about 400$ each, so 800$ round trip, still expensive but my cheap carrier doesn't go to London on those dates, just to Paris, and I'm not sure it would be that cheaper. Pretty decent price I would say.

Now, if I could find a place to stay for the 27 and 28 in London, and then 29 in Wolverhampton, that would be wonderful.. I'll figure out the rest of the mini-trip afterwards if budget allows it.

Great! Let's hope this time it's for real and it will work.. it's a lot of money to gather on such short notice, but I'm sure with good will I can do it ;)

29 Jul 2006, 01:38

If you can get a cheaper flight to Paris, say, 100 GBP difference you might be advised to get a Eurostar Deal into London. Certainly going from London to Paris they've got crazy deals on at the moment for cheap Eurostar travel PLUS hotel, so it might be worth looking at their website to get a deal from Paris which includes cheap travel into London PLUS accomodation on top!

29 Jul 2006, 03:55

If I still had my flat Nic, I could have put you up... however, Al's suggestion is a good one. If you sort out all your travel arrangements and still need somewhere to stay, I'd be happy to find a good hotel or B&B for you, if it's easier to do from England rather than Canada... Email me

29 Jul 2006, 06:37

You're welcome to stay at my house for these nights Nic - I'll be at the same gigs after all!

29 Jul 2006, 13:13

Last development is that I would go to England alone and catch up with my wife in Paris after the two shows. Of course this is going to change once we'll budget this.

Cheapest flight I found is Montreal->Manchester on the 25th (so arriving the 26th in Manchester), so sleeping in the air.

Since it's Manchester, I don't mind that much, however trains from Manchester to London sees rather expensive on the site I went to (http://www.raileurope.com) as it's 120$, which is more expensive than a roundtrip to New York from Montreal!

Otherwise the less expensive one-way flight is passing by New Jersey and is lasting, ech.. 12 hours, so there must be a very long wait at Newark.

Can you believe the price of a single one-way ticket to London costs 75% of the price of a round-trip for 2 on the same plane? That's aweful.

Idea is to take the Eurostar to Paris on the 30th and fly home from Paris later in the week.

29 Jul 2006, 13:27

nah, trains to London arent that expensive. Just travel off-peak.

http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/default.aspx

29 Jul 2006, 13:48

Spotty,

your more than welcome to stay at mine when you are in london.

29 Jul 2006, 15:09

I might have found a plane on the 25th, so getting in London on the 26th AM.. not too expensive and it's a direct flight!

So I would spend the 26/27/28 in London and go to Wolverhampton on the 29, and get back to London either after or the next day... don't know how it works yet and how far it is.

For the rest of the trip, it's still undecided.. might go to Paris, or do a little tourism elsewhere in England before going back, this should be decided later.

But right now I'm focusing on those 4 days. Thank you for the offer of shelter, it's very appreciated of course. Biggest problem will be the jet-lag...

Now I have to try to get freebies to enter the gigs :p

30 Jul 2006, 04:25

I know you've had a few offers, but it would be rude not to offer you a bed at our place too!

We are driving back to London from Wolverhampton on the night of the gig aswell.

Be good to meet you finally :)

30 Jul 2006, 20:11

Well, if I annoy somebody I have a plan b, that's great :lol:

I snore, so I might get very annoying, especially with jet-lag ;)

Thanks for the offer, I will most likely accept one of it since it assures me that I will be at the gigs...! So we'll sort that later.

On a more serious note, I'd evaluate the chances I'll be there to 95% right now... my wife is excited, so it's proof enough for me. I should buy my plane tickets at the end of the month. Fortunatly it's off-season, so there won't be any rush.

Since I will be there on the 26th, I'll probably find a room to stay and annoy nobody near the venue on that day since I'll be in London around 10 AM, so everybody will be at work and I will want to drop by bags somewhere before starting visiting a few places... I will try to travel light, but I don't have much of a choice... so any thing cheap near Wembley arena would be quite nice I must say...

I'll have to prepare a room for people visiting Montreal someday ;)

30 Jul 2006, 23:23

Spotnick wrote: so any thing cheap near Wembley arena would be quite nice I must say...

You do NOT wanna stop near Wemberlee. It ain't the nicest part of London and certainly does NOT cater for tourists!

Try get somewhere around Baker Street. There's a fast service into Wemberlee from there which doubtless most people will use. And it's Tourist Heaven around there (Madam Tussaud's, Planetarium, easy access to Oxford St, etc).

31 Jul 2006, 22:37

I bought my plane ticket today, :-)

Air Canada from Vancouver arrive into Heathrow Oct 26. Any suggestions on a good hotel in London? I don't mind spending 100 pounds or so per night.

What would be the fastest most convenient way to Wolverhampton? Bus (National express?) or train?

Any advice on how to get back to Heathrow quick? I fly out on Oct 30 at 13:30, so it will be tight. I am guessing I should get on the bus after the concert, to get to Heathrow at 3 or 4 am or some ungodly hour. If I wait until morning, I could miss my flight, is that right? What time will the concert end?

Any advice is greaty appreciated.

Spot, I could not convince my common-law to come out either, so I am bringing my sister! Yikes! But at least she is a true New order fan!

1 Aug 2006, 01:28

Wolverhampton's shite to get to by train or coach, they hadn't got a direct route when I checked yesterday.

Gig will finish around 11pm I would think, and as long as you are at Heathrow by 11am the next morning, you'll be alright for your flight.

As for London hotels, there are literally thousands. Difficult to recommend any as I generally go home rather than to a hotel!

1 Aug 2006, 03:59

so that's two Canadians and one Texan in town that week.

I must hide my rucksack from Rocket Mick!!!

:nod:

1 Aug 2006, 04:25

well seeing as you managed to hide it from yourself as well 4 years ago...... :evil4:

1 Aug 2006, 04:57

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: so that's two Canadians and one Texan in town that week.

I must hide my rucksack from Rocket Mick!!!

Shot your boss finally? :wink:

1 Aug 2006, 05:45

oldmonkey wrote: Wolverhampton's shite to get to by train or coach, they hadn't got a direct route when I checked yesterday.

There are quite a few direct trains from London Euston to Wolverhampton, even on a Sunday (I do this trip every week or every other week), although it does take slightly longer on a Sunday - roughly 2 hours 45 minutes (even if you need to change at Birmingham New Street).

Bear in mind that if you're staying over, do check train prices if you need to be back in London at an early(ish) time on a Monday morning, as you might need to buy an 'open' single (i.e. if you arrive back in London during rush hour (before 9:30)), it might cost you a bit more...

Luckily, for this journey, I can get work to pay for travel/hotel/meals, as Telford is only 15 minutes train ride away! :evil4:

1 Aug 2006, 12:43

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: so that's two Canadians and one Texan in town that week.

I must hide my rucksack from Rocket Mick!!!

Ok, so now I'll have to deal with a texan accent as well?

You guys will want to kill me, I'll be on "I'm sorry what?" mode all the time :lol:

1 Aug 2006, 13:21

Just tell them to speak very slowly, almost as robots, that should piss them off!!

Even Rocket Mick becomes quiet understandable when your ear gets kind of used to the accent :laugh:

Nothing worse than a proper Scottish talk, mind :nono: :eek:

1 Aug 2006, 21:41

Thanks for the info. Maybe we should hire a private coach and we can all ride out together from London to Wolverhampton! Any local person up for organizing this?

1 Aug 2006, 21:58

Foreign F**kwitt wrote:

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: so that's two Canadians and one Texan in town that week.

I must hide my rucksack from Rocket Mick!!!

Shot your boss finally?

nope, but I did tell him that I needed a "NO" by July 31...he never came right out and said no....sooooooo....

silence is approval...anyways, now I'll just tell him he can keep me at work that week...if he, or the company, will refund my ticket...and THAT will NEVER happen...

so now you are going to have to put up with me for a night or two...you are buying the beers, right?

1 Aug 2006, 21:59

Spotnick wrote:

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: so that's two Canadians and one Texan in town that week.

I must hide my rucksack from Rocket Mick!!!

Ok, so now I'll have to deal with a texan accent as well?

You guys will want to kill me, I'll be on "I'm sorry what?" mode all the time

don't worry Nicos, I come with French sub-titles!!!

2 Aug 2006, 02:36

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote:

you are buying the beers, right?

NO! :laugh:

2 Aug 2006, 08:36

Foreign F**kwitt wrote:

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote:

you are buying the beers, right?

NO!

well, what fecking good are ya?

2 Aug 2006, 12:02

Spotnick wrote: so now I'll have to deal with a texan accent as well?

You guys will want to kill me, I'll be on "I'm sorry what?" mode all the time

I always find the best way to understand a different accent is get roaring drunk... When everyone else has had a drink too you seem to drop into the universal language of the pisshead... a language no sober person will ever understand..

10 Aug 2006, 10:57

Last development would be I would be by myself in England for the whole week. So somewhere from October 20th to 30th.

The lenght of my trip depends of course on the price I can get for a room. Not sure I want to bother you people with me unable to sleep before 7 AM :p

11 Aug 2006, 09:16

Nicos, try

cheapest hotel in London

good for a laugh, at the very least!!!

19 Aug 2006, 09:13

Ok, I'm booking this this week-end.

So far, here's my plan:

Departure from Montreal at 19:45 - October 22nd (so I'll be in London on the 23rd at 7:30)

Staying in London until the 29th

Train from London to Wolverhampton on the 29th (time to be decided)

Hotel Britannia in Wolverhampton (already booked) on the 29th

Train from Wolverhampton to London on the 30th (early in the morning)

Departure from London - October 30th at 14:00, back in Montreal at 16:25

Now, Expedia has a pretty good deal at 100$/night at the The Strand Palace in London, I didn't check much, but is that a shite hotel? 3 stars though, and is it in the middle of nowhere?

My biggest concern is the trip back home, from Wolverhampton to London by train then the Heathrow for the flight back home. I'm no expert, but that might be risky, I have no idea how much time it takes to go from the train station to the airport, and the security at the airport will still be crazy then... maybe I should play it safe and come back the next day? What do you people think?

And I guess I should buy concert tickets.. might be a good idea, would be stupid to bet on the guest list after buying plane tickets...

19 Aug 2006, 09:38

The Strand Palace is, surprisingly enough, on the Strand, just a few yards from the Lyceum Theatre that JD played in 1980, and wihtin 5 mins walking of Charing Cross mainline and underground station. It's an ideal location for Central London. It's also a very good hotel!

I am staying overnight in Wolverhampton on the 29th, and getting the train back to London on the morning of the 30th. That train will get back to London by 10am, and for you it is very straightforward to get to Heathrow from central London - either the underground all the way (Piccadilly Line straught there, takes 90 minutes from Charing Cross one change of train, at Leicester Square) or the underground to Paddington (7 stops from Charing Cross) and then a Heathrow Express to Heathrow (takes 20 minutes, and costs about £10 one way, a far better option for getting to Heathrow quickly).

19 Aug 2006, 09:46

The 12.30 train from London Euston to Wolverhampton gets in at 15.08, which leaves plenty of drinking time before the gig. The following morning, the direct 8.05 will get you to Euston at 10.02. From Euston it will simply be a case of getting to Paddington and then onto Heathrow.