The Lemon Fool

You have 4 hours to kill (11am - 3pm) on your own in London on a Saturday. No missus, no offspring, no mates.

So what would you do?

It might depend on which Saturday and whether or not you are familiar with London.

Tomorrow I’ll be watching England v Argentina followed by Japan v Samoa. Doesn’t leave much time after then.

If asking for yourself, it is hard to answer if we don’t know what you like.

Depending on the weather, we might go for a walk in Hyde Park or Regent’s Park or maybe Holland Park such that one could sneak into The Castle for a swift half https://www.thewindsorcastlekensington.co.uk/.

Museums?
Shopping areas?
Sightseeing?
Pubs?
London “Villages”?
Marylebone?
Pubs?

moorfield wrote:You have 4 hours to kill (11am - 3pm) on your own in London on a Saturday. No missus, no offspring, no mates.

So what would you do?

Personally I would most likely go off to South Kensington. I know the area so that helps, but would take a look at the V & A and see what is on offer.

Otherwise, find a decent bookshop say Sanfords in Covent Garden, followed by a good restaurant. It is lunchtime after all. Have a decent meal accompanied by a glass or three of vino.

Dod

PinkDalek wrote:It might depend on which Saturday and whether or not you are familiar with London.

If asking for yourself, it is hard to answer if we don’t know what you like.

I am chaperoning Moorfield Jr #1 to a Yoof Theatre Workshop in a couple of weeks, which I am not needed to hang around at.

Oh I'm familar enough with London - arrived at university in 1991 and have lived, worked, commuted to/from ever since so I've done it all... which makes filling this time slot with something imaginative actually thought provoking.

Obvious (to me) things to do are.

Dod101 wrote:Personally I would most likely go off to South Kensington. I know the area so that helps, but would take a look at the V & A and see what is on offer.

- As do I. Walk to South Kensington and/or Fitzrovia to peruse old haunts. But avoid the museums done those to death already.

- Not interested in shopping.

- Walk to the National Gallery - Holbein's Ambassadors and Rousseau's TIger are still to be ticked off my "Cultural Bucket List". But the tourist crowds will irritate me.


The one thing I have never "done" because these happened after my bachelor days finished and commuter days started - I may try a Boris Bike (or equivalent) and cycle down to the Olympic Aquatics Centre. I do a lot of swimming these days and would quite like to get in that pool. But the thought of cycling in London terrifies me.

Book a highlights tour at The John Soane's museum. The unfolding of the walls in the Picture Room is quite spectacular.
https://www.soane.org/whats-on/tours

You can go round the house on your own for free but you have to book a timed free entry ticket in advance.

There are loads of historic and interesting pubs that I never got round to visiting when I lived in London.
Random se!ection: Prospect of Whitby, Flask , Spaniards Inn (Hampstead)
Or just go book hunting down Charing Cross Rd, then spend an hour drinking Estrella in Bradley's basement bar off Oxford St

Always good stuff at South Ken in temporary exhibitions. The projected Moon globe at the Natural History museum is great, and I had a lovely time in the Science Museum on Thursday at their cryptography exhibition and Art and Science one, the latter has bigger hitter artworks and no crowds. I had Turner's Rain Steam and Speed to myself, and you could get within inches of it. All free. The Science Museum are busy revamping their permanent stuff too, so plenty of new stuff to see.

How about the newly opened Roman temple of Mithras on Walbrook near Cannon St, or the Post Office Railway

I used to live in london and my wife and I once took a few days off work to do some things in london that we hadn't done and probably wouldn't do unless we pretended we were on holiday. We went to highgate cemetery, regents park zoo, kew gardens, portobello road market (which is very touristy) and south kensington museums as mentioned above.

I used to love london transport museum too. https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

A lot depends when the OP last went to places. Some museums and galleries have changed much more than others. Science museum a lot, LT museum hardly at all (and its eye-wateringly expensive). Post Office museum completely red-one, with added train ride.

I'm a bit odd, but given 4 hours to spend I might circumnavigate London on the Overground line. Probably easiest to start at Clapham Junction, and go clockwise to Barking, using the Goblin Line from Gospel Oak, from Barking you may be able to get a train to Stratford, otherwise Diastrict Line to West Ham, then the DLR to Stratford, then back to Highbury and Islington, then back to CLJ via Canada Water.

You could shorten it by cutting out Barking and Stratford. And watch out for weekend closures.

TJH

I'd second Kew Gardens, although 4 hours might not be enough, there and back, etc
dp

JohnB wrote:A lot depends when the OP last went to places. Some museums and galleries have changed much more than others. Science museum a lot, LT museum hardly at all (and its eye-wateringly expensive). Post Office museum completely red-one, with added train ride.

LT museum entrance for one adult is £18 on the door or £16.50 in advance on line. I wouldn't call that "eye-wateringly expensive"

fisher wrote:

JohnB wrote:A lot depends when the OP last went to places. Some museums and galleries have changed much more than others. Science museum a lot, LT museum hardly at all (and its eye-wateringly expensive). Post Office museum completely red-one, with added train ride.

LT museum entrance for one adult is £18 on the door or £16.50 in advance on line. I wouldn't call that "eye-wateringly expensive"

Hmmm. I would. It had better be good!

Dod

I personally prefer to avoid cycling in London as I don't find it a pleasant experience.

Experience 1

https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/en/co ... elo-track/

Track Taster
One hour
Standard £45 | Off Peak £35
Gift voucher £45
Minimum height 4ft 9in / 145cm
Minimum age 12

Track Tasters are a fun, one-off experience where you can ride the olympic velodrome track.

These one hour sessions are an exciting introduction to track cycling where you'll be coached in the use of a fixed wheel bike and the basic skills required to safely ride the velodrome track.

I have also done the BMX course taster which was also excellent. I preferred the BMX but I am in my early 30s and it is definitely a younger crowd on this one.

however, I should add both are really really good

I usually find the best things in London are those you just happen across. Not very helpful.

I'd second Sir John Soane's museum. It's a real gem unlike anything else.
Foundling Museum - sounds boring, but I spent a long while in there and it wasn't.
Whitechapel Gallery, for weird modern art and then
for a cheap lunch, wander up Brick Lane and got into the Truman Brewery Boiler room (I think Sats only) were you can pick up various street food and a drink, sit at a long bench and chat to total strangers, all for under a tenner.
Temple Church (check when it's open!)
Tower Bridge - trip round the workings is interesting and if you search on line you can check if the Bridge is lifting when you are there
Or for something with exercise... plan a route in as straight a line as possible from the river near embankment north-westish, ending up on Primrose Hill with those iconic views of London. I did it once, and it's a great climax to the walk.

Or something more expensive: a trip up the Shard is worth making with the right weather. Book on line and it's cheaper.

And finally, both Tate Galleries are immensely popular, especially Tate Modern, so they must be worth an hour or too!

Arb.

A stroll along South Bank from Waterloo to Tate Modern, then across the Millenium Bridge with a great view of St Pauls as you cross to wend my way over through Covent Garden to Chinatown for dim sum. Then to Den Hems Dutch Bar for a couple of Belgian beers.

John

moorfield wrote:
The one thing I have never "done" because these happened after my bachelor days finished and commuter days started - I may try a Boris Bike (or equivalent) and cycle down to the Olympic Aquatics Centre. I do a lot of swimming these days and would quite like to get in that pool. But the thought of cycling in London terrifies me.

I live fairly close to the Olympic Park, so you would be venturing into my neck of the woods if you decided on this option. It's worth having a look round here, as it's changed out of all recognition over the last decade or so. Mostly for the better...

I've been cycling daily in London for more than 20 years and so it doesn't terrify me - but, of course, you do need to keep your wits about you, and, ideally, know where you're going, too. The good news is that weekend traffic is generally less daunting than weekday traffic.

And, depending on where you start from, it's possible to get pretty close to the Aquatics Centre without going on the roads at all. I would recommend getting to Angel by bus / tube, and picking up your steed around there. As well as Santander Cycles, you should see Jump and Lime e-bikes in the area - they're all over the place, all of a sudden (although I haven't ridden one myself).

You can then follow the Regents Canal towpath East, ride through Victoria Park, and go over the A12 on the footbridge next to Cadogan Gate. You'll get to see a spot of achingly-hip Hackney Wick before crossing the Lee Navigation and landing in the Olympic Park itself.

There are Santander Cycles docking stations by the pool, and also a bit further North near the Velodrome, in case you want to have a look in there, too (entry is free unless there's a competition taking pace).

If you subject yourself to all this exercise and manage a swim, too, you'll have earned an ice-cream from La Gelateria (http://www.lagelatiera.co.uk) - I'm not a big fan of sweet things in general, but these really are very good.

And then you can brave the living hell of Westfield shopping centre to get the Central Line (from Stratford) and save yourself pedalling the return journey...

Chris

National Gallery. The best free entertainment in London.

Stroll up the Strand, perhaps calling in at Covent Garden, and on to St Pauls. As recommended by RedSturgeon, turn right and cross the Millennium Bridge to the South Bank (Tate Modern), and follow the river bank upstream, past the London Eye and back across the bridge to the Houses of Parliament. The skyline views from the South Bank are properly magnificent.

BJ