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Our Towns

London

London, England is one of the world's most historic cities – but much of its historic charm has been hidden by building works. But with our guide, you can still see many places of interest, without hitting the tourist spots that make London an even more expensive place to be than it already is.

Getting from the airport.

If it is at all possible, do not fly into or out of London Heathrow. Apart from the fact that is is huge, you can easily wait an hour for your bags in a dingy and dirty hall, then you have a long walk to the underground station or bus station. And if you are being met, you will find it difficult to find your greeter. And when you leave, it is just as bad, although for different reasons. Completely over the top so-called security measures make getting to your plane a totally exhausting and frustrating experience and if one more person says “take off your jacket, belt and shoes and take out your laptop, camera and any other electronics and throw away your medicinal skin cream” it would not surprise us to hear that violence has resulted. Honestly, if there is any way of using another airport, do so. London has plenty of choices.

Getting to London from Heathrow (LHR)

LHR is massive, and even before you get to immigration you will have had a long walk, often in conditions where you are tired, not sure of where you are going and where everyone seems to be in a rush. Also, do go to the toilet before leaving the plane. LHR has a desperate shortage of loos, and you will almost certainly be standing in an immigration queue for a long time.

If you have ended up at Heathrow anyway, be prepared for a long walk to whatever transport you choose.

The Airport Express Bus has been shut down. It used to go to the West End for a flat fare. It was expensive, but still a lot cheaper than most of the alternatives.

The Heathrow Express train goes to Paddington Station. They say “a revolutionary non-stop train service.” We say “it's a train. It takes 15 minutes and it takes you to a part of London that you don't want to be in unless that's where you are actually going.” Oh, and it costs GBP15.50 each way, or GBP29 return if you buy your ticket on the platform. If you buy on the train, that goes up to GBP17.50 / 31.00.

National Express Coaches.

These run from the airport bus station to Victoria. Victoria is where there are many hotels and shows and some delegates may prefer to stay in this district, so the coach is convenient. But heavy or bulky luggage can be difficult to get onto the coach. However, one enormous advantage of the coach is that you can go from baggage retrieval to the bus terminal, use the coach and get off in central London without having had to contend with a single kerb or step. However, the walk to the bus terminal in the airport can be as long as 15 minutes, although travelators are available for some of that journey. This is an economical way to travel with an open return (remember to book when you want to go back) fare of GBP8.

Note on luggage from National Express: “Our drivers are happy to help you with your luggage. Unfortunately, we are unable to carry more than two medium-sized suitcases weighing up to 20kg each plus one small piece of hand luggage per person.”

Remember that, when you arrive in Victoria unless you are booked into a hotel near the bus station you will need a taxi to get to your hotel, or to take a tube if you are going somewhere else in London.

Taxi.

Unless you are feeling rich, don't even think about getting a black cab (the traditional London taxi. The usual cost is around GBP60 – but if there is traffic, you bear all the risk of an ever-running meter. And the meter runs up large bills quickly. Our worst experience was a one mile trip, in heavy traffic, that cost GBP7 – and that was in 2005. Prices have increased since.

Private Hire Car.

A private hire VW, Mercedes or Jaguar car will often work out cheaper than a black cab / taxi. For one thing, there will be a fixed rate so you don't take the risk associated with traffic or bad weather. One company that we found using an internet search engine quotes a little under GPB50 for the airport to Holborn trip, and a little over GBP35 for Holborn to Heathrow. There are desks in the arrivals hall where you can book a car if you have not prebooked. Note that some car services include a waiting time from your landing time and if you exceed that waiting time you will be charged for additional time. Often that waiting time is one hour from landing but, as it can take that long to get through immigration, wait for your bags and exit customs plus the walk to the meeting point, an hour may not be long enough. If you are flying from countries that the UK regards as high risk (Middle East, Pakistan, for example) you should contact the car company and request that they do not arrive until at least 30 minutes after your aircraft has landed. Even if you are travelling with hand-luggage only, you are very unlikely to be in the arrivals hall within 30 minutes of landing.

London Underground.

Pay attention! Our office and training centre are at 88 Kingsway. That's right on top of Holborn Underground Station. The London Underground service is clean, fast and quite reliable. OK, so it's no comparison to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, in any of those things and it's much more expensive than a similar journey in any of those cities but by UK standards, it works pretty well. The best reason for using the Underground (often called “the tube”) is that LHR is on the Piccadilly Line – and that's one of the two lines that passes through Holborn Station. The journey will take around an hour and five minutes, assuming there are no delays. The tube is crowded between 07:30 and 09:30 and 17:30 to 19:00 Monday to Friday. Piccadilly line trains have places for luggage. Most other lines do not. If you are carrying heavy luggage, the tube can be tiring but if you are travelling from LHR to Holborn, you will not have to change lines.

The fare from Heathrow to Holborn is GBP4.00. The fare for other stations in the same vicinity is the same. Fares to other districts will be different.

There are several good hotels in Holborn and Bloomsbury close to our training centre and at stops either side of Holborn. And if you change to the Central Line at Holborn, within a few minutes ride either side, you will find a range of hotels at a variety of prices.

For more information on using the tube, see http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

London has a very well integrated public transport system. Buses are quick, and direct and due to extensive use of bus lanes are rarely delayed. However, whilst Londoners tell us it's easy, we find getting bus tickets to be something of a nightmare. Frankly, we can't even work out what to pay and where to get tickets. We think that you have to buy a ticket from a machine at a bus stop and that it costs around a pound for a local journey, which makes it very expensive to hop on and hop off for short trips. But if anyone can tell us exactly how it works, we will gladly update this information.

Private Cars

London applies “congestion charges.” That's a mealy mouthed way of saying that much of central London is subject to an entry tax. There's nothing wrong with that, but surely it's better to call it what it is? The tax is GBP10 per day (reduced to GBP8 if payment is made the same day) and covers much of central London and from 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday. You can see the area covered by the charge on a pdf map downloadable from http://www.cclondon.com/infosearch/dynamicPages/WF_ZoneCheck_W.aspx

Alternative Airports.

London Gatwick (LGW).

Originally a charter flight / holiday airport, Gatwick remains a manageable size despite an increase in international scheduled flights. There are two terminals (North and South) connected by a light-rail system.

Getting to the City.

It's easy, and pleasant: the Gatwick Express train runs frequently to London Victoria from where you can get a tube to Holborn and the surrounding areas. A one way ticket costs about GBP16.00.

BUT even better is the Gatwick to City Thameslink service. This runs right into the heart of the City, just five minutes walk from our training venue. Or get a cab for the short ride. The train fare is about GBP15.00 one way.

Taxis: expect to pay a black cab fare of around GBP95 – rising if there is traffic, and for most of the day, there will be.

Private hire cars: fares will be fixed fee at approx GBP60 one way. There are several providers on the internet.

London City (LCY)

The really cool thing about London City Airport is that it is on the edge of the City – and that means that the approach flies over – and close to – many of London's landmarks. It's not technically in the City, but then again nor are many businesses that call themselves City businesses.

LCY is in London's Docklands, right by Canary Wharf where HSBC, Citi and the Financial Services Authority have their principle UK offices.

Getting into London from LCY could hardly be easier: use the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Bank. To get to our training centre, change to the Central Line. Note: Bank station is not at all a place to try to carry lots of, or heavy, luggage. Other lines also run through Bank – the Circle and Northern Lines may be useful depending on where your hotel is located. The DLR is an elevated railway that runs through the regenerated Docklands area. The mix of old, new and renovated buildings makes for a very pleasant arrival and coupled with the approach to LCY, this really is the most pleasant way to arrive in the Capital.

London Stansted

London Stansted is north east of London. If you intend to spend time in Cambridge, this is a good choice. To get to London from Stansted, you can get a fast train from within the station complex to London's Liverpool Street Station and a Central Line underground train to Holborn, which is directly under our office and training centre in Kingsway.

There are also buses from Stansted to central London, too but we strongly recommend using the train. Similarly, whilst taxis and hire cars are available, they are more expensive and not as quick as the train.

Stansted is a small airport on one level, with little walking from plane to train.

Trains

For those that really cannot stomach using LHR but can't get flights into the other London airports, you can route through Paris, Brussels or Lille and use the Eurostar train to the beautifully renovated London St Pancras station (about a mile from our training venue and close to many hotels – also on the Piccadilly tube line which connects directly to our training venue),

For those that intend to extend their stay, a quick trip to Paris from St Pancras will take less than three hours each way and can cost as little as GBP55, arriving in Paris at the historic Gare du Nord station.

Getting around London

Transport for London has a selection of downloadable maps at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1106.aspx.

Shopping.

If you look at a map you will notice how central our office and training centre is. Just five minutes west is the beginning of Oxford Street with a huge range of shops including the famous John Lewis and Selfridges. And Piccadilly, with its more upmarket shops including Burberry and Laura Ashley.

To the north of Oxford Street is London's electronics centre – Tottenham Court Road – and to its south is Soho, Chinatown and the theatre district.

To the west of Piccadilly are the tailoring districts of Jermyn Street (shirts) and Savile Row (suits, etc.) And to the east, you will find the famous Carnaby Street. To be fair, it mainly sells tacky stuff these days but it's still a bit of fun.

Off Oxford Street, the side roads have a range of boutiques – try St Christopher's Place and Bond Street – but remember to increase your credit card limits if clothes are your thing!

Hop on a tube to Bank and visit one of the best preserved Victorian markets in the world at Leadenhall. Or get off at Liverpool Street and visit Spitalfields and the famous outdoor market at Petticoat Lane (Sundays only). To the north of the City is Camden market – renowned for its bric-a-brac – and lively pub music scene.

To the west, you'll find Portobello Road market which is full of (mostly not very old) “antiques,” flowers and interesting people.

In Farringdon, near Holborn, you'll find London's last large meat market – and unusually cafes and pubs that are open all night serving food and drinks to the wholesale meat traders.

Costs.

London is a very expensive city. Everything is always expensive but with the decline of the US dollar, visitors' purchasing power is seriously depleted. Expect to pay GBP25 a head for a decent dinner in a reasonable restaurant without wine. However, it is possible, with a little bit of judicious research to eat and drink well for much less.

The main thing to remember is that fast food is no better in London than anywhere else so stuff in a bun isn't an option unless you are desperate – and there is no need to be. Sandwiches seem to be the ubiquitous snack food and some specialist shops are very good. But also very expensive. However, small – generally Italian – coffee shops still offer excellent food at reasonable prices, and so do many pubs.