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London Advice.
Uncle Long
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Depending on how this interview goes tomorrow, I may be supervising about 300 students from my university while they study abroad in London this summer. My position is essentially head RA.
I am looking for advice on what to do and what not to do in London. Where to eat, where to drink, where to get groceries, general streets and corridors with nice and worthwhile surprises along the way.
If you live there or around the area or studied abroad and know of something I really shouldn't miss telling these students about, please tell me.
I want to use the kind of esoteric information I can't just pick up from a map or guide and disseminate it amongst the students on the trip as well as use it, if needs be, in my interview.
Thanks.
I am looking for advice on what to do and what not to do in London. Where to eat, where to drink, where to get groceries, general streets and corridors with nice and worthwhile surprises along the way.
If you live there or around the area or studied abroad and know of something I really shouldn't miss telling these students about, please tell me.
I want to use the kind of esoteric information I can't just pick up from a map or guide and disseminate it amongst the students on the trip as well as use it, if needs be, in my interview.
Thanks.
Uncle Long on
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I only know that we are residing at University of London. I do not, however, know where precisely we are situated.
I'll be there for a decent amount of time June 20- Aug 13 so, I'll try to get about as much as possible.
As an addendum: What would you suggest for weekend trips about Wales, England and Scotland?
Ryan M Long Photography
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As for weekend trips, Stratford-upon-Avon is really nice, particularly if you can get bookings for a Royal Shakespeare Company show.
For groceries, the closest that I've found so far to an American-style grocery store is a store called Budgen's near where I live (Bayswater), although selection will vary depending on your location. Look for your local Tesco, Sainsbury, or Waitrose. Marks & Spencer has groceries too but are generally pricier.
Also remember that not only is everything more expensive from living in a major city, the prices are also doubled from the exchange rate (as it stands now). Once you get above maybe £5-6, everything pretty much stops being equivalently cheaper (50p for a soda, etc.) and they just treat pounds as if they were dollars in the US - £9 for a movie ticket ($18 american). Keep an eye on your finances. ATMs (or cashpoints, as they're called) are a great way to get money - most of them are free to use, although your bank may charge a fee for international transfers. It's almost always worth it to go through an ATM rather than mess around with traveler's checks or currency exchange shops.
Remind them to be extra careful crossing the street, as the British drive on the "correct" side of the road, as they say, and pedestrians don't have the right-of-way as they do in the US.
Make sure you plan ahead and get them all Oyster cards - the travel card for the London Underground (or "tube") - the city makes it a point to make it much cheaper to travel by Oyster card than buying individual tickets; you can have it take money from a pool or just buy blocks of time.
Thanks!
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
I'll be studying at Oxford the same time you'll be in London. If I make it to London (or I guess if anyone wants to come to Oxford), I'll buy a round of beers for whoever wants to get together.
Also, my hostel was in Bayswater!
Seriously.
If you like clubbing, go to Fabric.
You don't have to even like tennis to enjoy it, just sports. It's one of those events you just have to see for yourself to get how truly special it is.
One: Money. Bring lots. London literally eats money. I imagine it is saving up for those streets paved with gold.
Two: Food. Yes, it will depend on where you live. Supermarkets are pretty good here though. Best one imo is Sainsbury's, there will probably be one near you. There will definitely be a Tesco near you, but if you are into ethical shopping stuff, they are WalMart-esque bastards. If you are into ethical shopping stuff, Waitrose isn't bad, but their basics are more expensive than the others. Marks & Spencer food is useless, overpriced, and pretentious, avoid. Their clothes aren't bad though. Morrisons also an option, they recently bought out Safeway. The economy end of the scale you might run into are ASDA (decent), Iceland (all frozen, avoid), CO-OP (avoid).
Three: Where to drink. Everywhere, basically. Pubs are good. Try to avoid the bar chains which dot central London (All Bar One, Pitcher & Piano, etc), and NEVER EVER go into a Wetherspoons, unless you enjoy the smell of baby sick. Also avoid anywhere mega-expensive unless you have found your bar soul-mate, there are a million and one places which will rip you off by looking funky & exclusive. They aren't. You can tell this because you are sitting next to a bunch of Essex girls. In London, it's only exclusive if someone with a lot more money than you, who is a member there, had to sign you in.
There are an increasing number of places in London eschewing the standard breweries and serving only from the Alpine brewery in Europe - these beers are pretty damn good, and more importantly, cost half the price of any other pint (ie £2 instead of £3.80 or thereabouts). If you find one of these, go there - the best one I know in Central London is The Fitzroy Tavern. There are also several in Docklands & east of the City. Other ubiquitous places that are worth checking out are The Elbow Rooms pool / bar joints. Davy's in Covent Garden & elsewhere I quite like too. Otherwise, especially in summer, just wander and find the nearest place with a beer garden outdoors and spare seats. Remember that as of July sometime, there will be a smoking ban. This is good, because Big Brother knows what is best for you.
I don't really go clubbing anymore, but I do know that Fabric is still kind of a shithole. However, I don't have anything better to offer.
Four: Where to eat out. This is also hard. The standard is top class compared to most cities, but still some places will be crap. I'll just throw you some decent upmarket chains, and you can work out individual places yourself. Wagamama, nice Japanese chain. Belgo's, good Belgian mussels & beer chain. GBK, hands down the best burgers in the world. J is also one of my favourite places if you are in North London (West Hampstead or Primrose Hill), always superb Italian food, very cheap. Aside from that, just dive in to local curry places, etc.
Five: Travel. The Oyster card advice is sound, everyone needs one. The tube isn't that complicated, learn to read the map. It will, however, greatly piss you off by being late, early, hot, cold, having a headache, etc.
That made me laugh. You've clearly never been here. We don't do sensible street plans, you will not find any 'corner of 45th & Enema' style grid system which makes sense. We've just been sticking street on top of / next to / inside / street for a couple of thousand years pretty much at random. You will go where the street wants you to, not where you want to. If you want to get someplace, get a compass. Running twice as fast will also possibly help.
Alternatively, buy an A-Z the second you get here, they come in all sorts of useful sizes. Even so, you will permanently get lost. I did for the first 4 years I lived here. It's inevitable.
Finally, if anything proudly purports to be Traditional English or Best of British, it's nothing of the sort. Avoid.
Not going to happen, no offence. Reason I'm not going to reveal all of our secret cool uncrowded places is because we quite like them to stay cool, uncrowded, and, y'know, secret. I've done this kind of thing before, and you would be much better served & much better in your interview by having a very sound basic knowledge of the city, rather than knowing a couple of esoteric hangouts. Once you get here, you can then all discover the little interesting places for yourself.
In London you will not have a 'British' experience. You will have a pretty typical city experience with landmarks (that you will not find unless lucky). And cockneys.
Also, learn all about roundabouts. If you try to go anywhere in the UK without knowledge of their mysteries, you will die.
Must be the lack of sheep. ;-)
Anyway, London is great. Just use usual care you'd take in any city. It has dodgy areas, watch bags, so on. Most the touristy stuff is within walking distance too.
you're going to almost get hit by a lot of cars early on, it's inevitable. try and force yourself to look down before you cross because every cross has which way to look written down and it helps pound it into your head early on. also, if you see a car kind of in the distance that doesn't always mean it's cool to cross as the car will likely speed up as soon as you step foot onto the road. it's weird and kind of homicidal. more common with cabs, i think, but it happens to me with everyone.
again, not knowing where exactly you'll be makes recommendations about basic places to go difficult. if you're interested in club nights my favorites have been buttoned down disco and chalk. just search either of those and you'll find them. those are both less focused on electronic type club music and more on pop and rock and such. the end is a pretty good drum and bass club i went to one evening, though it was kind of tough to find. just pick up the latest issue of time out whenever you want to do something as that'll have all the listings and such.
don't convert in your head or you'll go insane (unless you're on a ridiculously tight budget and you really have to convert). you are going to spend a lot of money, just accept. also if you have a debit card don't bring any american cash to convert. atms generally give the best exchange rate, and at the very least don't take commission. one of my friends converted $200 at a money exchange place and got like.. £75. not a good deal.
If any of your students suggests attempting to hire a car to get around, ignore them or laugh at them at your discretion. The Mayor hates cars with a burning passion and fines every single one that comes into the city. Also, "gas" costs at least two dollars a litre, which works out at ~$9/gal.
Oyster cards yes, but simplify your life and get a Travelcard valid for the duration of your stay put on it, rather than charging it with cash - unlimited travel on bus, train and Tube vs. paying for each journey individually. Esoteric side benefits include never having to actually look at the damn thing again once you've got it: Oysters are RFID cards and will work if placed anywhere within about two inches of the reader.
Also, be really fucking careful what sort of cab you get into: Black cabs (the ones with the driver license plate above the car registration on the back) are more expensive, true, but they are heavily regulated and licensed up the wazoo - they will know where you want to go. The other sort are grubby sedans with a council issued operators license, but they aren't nearly as well trained, even if they are cheaper. Also, the cheaper the cab fare, the more likely the driver is to relieve you of your wallet as he "helps" your drunken ass out of his car. Especially if you managed to miss the window when it all became too much for you.
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Of all the things in London you can do that cost money, do yourself a favour and explore the Tower of London. It's fairly expensive, but it's definitely worth it.
Don't bother going up Tower Bridge, it's a nice view, but the London Eye offers better ones. Best thing you can do is just walk along the south bank of the Thames, enjoy the scenery, and investigate what tickles your fancy.
London has some really cool markets. Covent Garden is really impressive, Borrough Market is really cool. For a seedy market where you can get some fairly good deals if you can find 'em, try Camden Market.
Stuff to see on a budget? Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Hyde Park, Parliament Buildings, National Gallery, British Museum, Tate Modern (Modern Art Gallery), check out Picadilly Circus, and there's just so much more.
Tourist Traps: London Dungeon (wasn't impressed), Tower Bridge tour (again, not good value). There are 3-4 different tour bus operators, so be sure to figure out which one does the sites you want to see for the best price. There's even a bus/boat (Amphibious tourbus?) that does a tour of the city, then goes for a short cruise down the Thames. Coincedentally I believe it goes down into the Thames right near MI6 headquarters, so if you have any James Bond fans with you, it could be worth it.
Hell, pay me and I'll be your tour guide. I've done enough tours of the city for friends and family I've gotten quite a good structure of a tour going on.
Yeah I put my nose up at that rule. I chat with folks all the time. Especially when the train driver brakes to fast, and I "accidently" bump against the girl next to me and apologize profusely.
As soon as she hears the Canadian accent, instant conversation.
Or the bus
Or the train.
Only talk to other people for directions, unless you are in a pub and both you and they are wasted.
NEVER ask for directions! You will get so robbed!
i've never known anyone who had any problems when asking for directions.
i haven't been to any markets except for camden (which was pretty overrated in my mind). i hear portobello is where it's at, though.
if any of your peeps are into film, there's a really great cinema in hammersmith called riverside. £6.50 for a double feature is pretty much the best price you'll find anywhere and they show great stuff.
the science museum is really really awesome.
i dunno, it's a big city, lots to do.
Unless it is delayed. Then moaning is fine.
This also applies on trains.
Also, if you do talk, you'll find people will probably talk back. They won't throw holy water on your or anything. It's just socially impossible to start a conversation (except in the aforementioned delays situation).
All government-owned museums are free. That means the British Museum, the Tate Galleries, the National Gallery.... use this to your advantage.
More importantly, most of the major museums and sights are within walking distance of each other. If you can get to Nelson's Column in Trafalgar square, then you can walk to pretty much anything you want to. The National Gallery is right behind you, Chinatown and Picadilly Circus are just a few minutes away, it's a quick jaunt down to the Thames.... you're pretty much set.
The tube is your friend. Figure out how to navigate it, and ride that sucker everywhere. As others have suggested, getting a pass is vital for longer stays.
Don't eat out if you can avoid it. Food can be ridiculously expensive, especially with the exchange rates. Fast Food is even worse. However, if you happen to be in the Camden area, you can get yourself dinner for around 3 pounds. It won't be any good, or at all nutritious, but it will be food.
Speaking of Camden, it's a nice little area, with sort of a mix of ethnic and counter-culture shops. It's somewhat off on it's own, though, so you would have to take the tube there.
And I might be biased because I've lived there all year, but the South of England is incredibly lovely. If you want to get the class out to the country for a couple of days or something, I suggest heading out in that direction. And if you want to take them to another city, Brighton (on the south coast) is great, though ridiculously touristy.
That's about all I can think of for now.
So you're posting in H/A why, exactly?
You should be fine in the actual City (as far as I know). Kind of empty and barren at weekends though.
what
We are staying in Bloomsbury. Two different halls within about a 5-10 minute walk of each other but in that general area. I'd tell you specifically which ones but they were mentioned and in a quick and furtive manner and I did not receive any paper with their names written down.
Thanks for all the help so far and I'll be keeping you H/Aers posted as developments...well, develop.
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
TheLong, I went to university at UCL, which is the Bloomsbury college. Send me a PM when you get more details of the halls or the streets they are on, I probably know them and can give you the lowdown on the area. Also, turns out you are right next to the Fitzroy Tavern I mentioned above, make it your local, you won't be sorry ;-)