all knowledge is found in LJ -- UK help

[rm]

Weird UK questions:

1. Free or low-cost Wi-Fi in Cardiff. I have my own laptop, but I need to know where I can pick up a signal and loiter for hours. I'll buy as much damn coffee as I need to.

2. For that matter, free or low-cost Wi-Fi in London. Same as above, particularly near the British Museum, Canary Wharf, Brick Lane. God, that says so much about me it hurts.

3. Is there some roaming hotspot thing where I can buy remote access for like a set period of time and be connected wherever? I'm explaining this badly, but they had it in Switzerland and it was cool.

4. Day trips from London for non-drivers. Especially ones that make sense on Saturday or Sunday. Are France or Ireland actually viable options? What about Stonehenge? Help, help.

Comments

[redwitch.livejournal.com]

Stonehenge is definitely doable. I suggest one of the tours. They're actually quite interesting and Stonehenge is in BFE!!!

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Oxford's eminently daytrippable: there are two rival coach services that run between London Victoria and the bus station in central Oxford.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh! That's a good idea and may appeal to Patty and be less brutal on us than some of the other crazy plans we are entertaining.

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

If you want to do Ireland in a day you'd have to fly and it might not be worth the hassle, but France is totally doable by train - check out Eurostar.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Note sent to friend who lives in the London area. Let's see what she says.

[spaced.livejournal.com]

I'll echo Oxford; In addition to the coaches, there're relatively frequent trains from Paddington Station. The Ashmolean recently went through a massive renovation/buildout, so I'm not sure what'll be where, but the posey ring and coin collections are marvelous. It's a good town for wandering, especially if you can get into a couple of the colleges (I know the tourist board operates a walking tour that'll get you into at least one, although which specific one depends on the day).

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

I second Oxford. Both the Oxford Tube (bus) and the train have their strengths and get you there with plenty of time to do sightseeing. From Oxford you can go on to visit Blenheim Palace or just walk in the countryside if you like that sort of thing. You can go out on the river. You can visit the university, obviously. There are great museums and Oxford is all in all a wonderful place to spend the day.

(says the person who spent ten years there)

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

There are plenty of day trips from London, check out viator.com for ideas or to book if you're okay with tours.

One of my favorites was Brighton Beach, though I did that one on my own and not with a group. The fact that Barrowman had a concert there that day was purely coincidence. Really.

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

LOL

umm

LOL

[eac.livejournal.com]

Bath is also doable, if that appeals to you...

[rm.livejournal.com]

It does, but I might do that when I (we? we don't know yet) am in Bristol, since I understand it to be super close.

[eac.livejournal.com]

Oh, right. :) Please gawk at the Costume Museum for me. I haven't been since 2003...

[alterjess.livejournal.com]

If you do Stonehenge, I highly recommend hiring a tour guide who will drive you all around Salisbury - white horses, Avebury, Silbury Hill, etc. I can't remember if the tour we did left from London or if we had to make our own way out there by train, but either way it was worth it. There are also buses that just go directly to Stonehenge and back, but Stonehenge, honestly, was the least cool thing I saw on that trip. (They've had problems with graffiti in the past and you can't get really close to it so it feels like visiting a museum. At Avebury, you can go right up and touch the stones.)

Bath and York were the other day trips we did when we were in London last. Edinburgh is just barely doable if you leave *really* early in the morning. For Paris, there's the Eurostar, but it's pricey.

[silverkit.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'm not sure how much time you'd want to spend at each place, but when I visited London last October I took a day trip by bus that took us to three places in one day. Ours was Salisbury Cathedral, Bath and then Stonehenge.

You only got a few hours at each place, but I didn't feel rushed. Our tour guide was also fantastic since he had tons of interesting tid bits about the stops and let us know where to go to get the good pictures/see good sights.

Funny story our tour guide was also dressed in a very sharp gray suite, tie and fedora. Not because it was the uniform, but since he liked the way everyone dressed in vintage photos and he doesn't see why we shouldn't make an effort to do the same.

Hope you have a good trip!

[pandarus.livejournal.com]

If you're good with train travel (or coach travel - the latter's much cheaper, but the former is faster & more comfortable), and are prepared to book weekend jaunts some months ahead of time, you can get to most places. The UK is, by US standards, a tiny wee place, you must remember; my Dad used to make the journey from London to our home in Yorkshire in two hours, driving (although he drove like a lunatic, in fairness). I had a friend in York who used to commute down to London & back every day, so such journeys aren't crazy.

Also, consider overnight trains as an option - you could get the sleeper train up to Edinburgh, say, have a day there, and sleep your way back down to London very comfortably, if you're married to the idea of one day things rather than doing a B&B somewhere. (Or Glasgow.) Wouldn't be surprised if the same is true of Eurostar.

Brighton is where many Guardian-reading type Londoners, particularly LGBT ones, like to move to.

Check out 'Time Out' for what's free to do in London - 'Time Out' used to be my bible when I lived there. You may get a kick out of the walking tours too - lovely way to find your way around the place & get insights into the history.

Canterbury is well worth a visit, in Kent - beautiful city, fascinating history.

Further North, I &hearts Lincoln to pieces - my favourite cathedral, and I've lost many a happy hour in the bookshop on Steep Hill (you'll know Steep Hill when you're on it. It's not the most subtly named of cobbled streets).

I'm sure you'll visit Cornwall, one way or the other, between Cardiff and London, so I'll not pimp it out.

Oh, hey, You might find this website useful, actually, for last minute deals on various things?

[nonsecateur.livejournal.com]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-mobile-broadband
There's a useful list of businesses that offer free wireless (click on 'wireless web access'). There are PAYG/ long term roaming wireless plans through BT Openzone and suchlike, but finding free hotspots might make more sense in your case; I wouldn't buy a monthly subscription, for example.
There are sites that can point you to nearby free hotspots, eg: http://free-hotspot.com/

Day trips: Most places are quite accessible without a car- you can travel by coach or train, and see a lot of the country too. What would you be interested in: history, eclectic nightlife, arts, countryside, good food?
France would be doable by Eurostar out of London- it only takes a couple of hours. I really don't recommend trying to visit Ireland in a day unless you're super organised and really motivated- you'd have to fly, and although the flight itself doesn't take long the airport stuff eats up time and you'd only have a few hours in XAirport City (Probably Galway or Dublin) to show for it. Go for it anyway if you're really keen, but do plan ahead.

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

When we were in London in '05, we did the London Walks "Jack the Ripper" tour. Our guide was a big-name expert and actually wrote a book on the subject. They had another on the East End gang wars that I was dying to do, but we didn't have time.

Hampton Court is a short (45 min) train ride from London, and there's a light rail you take across the river from Canary Wharf if you are of a mind to visit the Greenwich Observatory.

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

I third Oxford! Not at all biased or anything. But really, some the university colleges are breathtaking (mine wasn't, lol) and this time of year is SO pretty there. Good museums, good food, pretty countryside, etc.

Stonehenge very doable. France or Ireland...well, sure, but the travel will eat up a lot of the day, since the London airports are so far out. Paris on the Eurostar is possibly doable, but tbh, Paris deserves more than 5 hours or so. And Ireland deserves weeks, IMO.

[gement.livejournal.com]

On our trip, while you can't move for the history anywhere you look, the highlight of Oxford for me was the Eagle and Child, which is still eminently a relaxed student pub. It just happens to have a photograph of Tolkein, Lewis, etc. etc. framed above the bar with a signed statement from all of the above the the owner of the establishment is a fine fellow.

The walking tour was a blast, and they dutifully pointed out every Harry Potter filming location. I was stunned and a little horrified to learn that the infirmary was filmed in the hall of the Bodliean where generations of scholars defended for their Doctorate of Divinity.

[count-to-seven.livejournal.com]

The hotel we stayed at just beside Canary Wharf had wifi and all of my hostel-sleeping friends were able to cadge connection when they visited. The International, I believe it was. You could chill in the downstairs bar with your laptop and they could care less whether you're staying there. Aside from that, I had my best luck on trains. Gosh I wish our country had more mass transit.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

The Pain Quotidien at St Pancras station has free unlimited wi-fi, and as I was Googling to see what if any gluten-free offerings it had, I came across a roundup on London for people with celiac disease: http://bit.ly/aXMOQd

Paris is easily reachable by Eurostar and there are day-trip fares, but as another poster said, it's hard to do justice to it in so short a time. Still, let me know if you do decide to come, and I will show you around - I live 10 minutes' walk from the Eurostar terminal.

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

Hullo. elionwyr sent me.

I'd suggest Windsor Castle-- it's a short trip, the scenery is gorgeous, and there's a lot to see. Don't sell yourself short, though: allow enough time to actually see the whole thing. And make sure the State Apartments are open. There are some lovely exhibits there-- whatever the Queen chooses to allow out of her private collection. I saw a Holbein sketch January '09 that just stopped me in my tracks. Also, Queen Mary's Dollhouse is there, and it's lovely. Don't miss the chapel!

Bath is indeed a day trip, but you could spend an entire day in the baths alone. It's a bit of a schlepp, so you might want to allow two days. If you're driving out that way, allow time to eat at a pub on the road, if you're so inclined.

Stratford Upon Avon. It's slightly annoying to get to and from if you're in the market for an RSC performance, as only select performances have late-night trains back to London. Go on a night with no late-night special train, and you're rather screwed to get back. You could do a matinee (almost anything the RSC does is worth it), but you still won't get to see much of the town before curtain, and will have to rush a bit to get back to the regular evening train. Also, the town is breathtaking if you're a Shakespearean history buff. There's really nothing quite like touching the quavering beams and whitewash.

I'll also second Salisbury Cathedral. It's been twenty years, but you know, it's not as if it's going to change that much. The interior is exquisite, and its architecture uplifting. And the light is...I can't quite describe it.

I also had the good fortune to see Chawton, which is a little town in Hampshire, best known for being the town where Jane Austen lived and wrote before illness disabled her in the final years of her life. We went in the spring, and if there was ever a quintessential little English village, it was Chawton. Masses of flowers everywhere. We took the train to Alton, and I believe we must have taken a bus or cab to Chawton. It was gorgeous, and the museum-- what was once her house-- is beautiful.

As for the Wifi, if you find a solution, let me know. Perhaps you could tether your phone? I find it distressing that most hotels seem to be going towards charging exorbitant rates there for what so many offer free here, but such is life. Many coffee shop chains offer it, and I'm sure you can rent a satellite hookup whilst there. Check out a Carphone Warehouse (http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/), as they may be able to help.

Above all? Oh, have a WONDERFUL time!

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Hi - here via wcg. Quite a lot of coffee shops have free wifi hotspots - try Pret a Manger or Starbucks. Also, in the City of London (i.e. the business district known as the Square Mile), there is a free public network, but the signal is variable. Several of the phone providers have roaming wifi; the largest is probably BT Openzone (http://www.btopenzone.com/index.jsp). I don't think I know anyone who uses these regularly, though, so I don't know much about them.

You've already got some good advice about day trips. My recommendations would include Cambridge, Wiltshire (for both Stonehenge and Avebury, which you can easily do in the same day - Avebury is by far my favourite of the two, as you can walk right up to the stones and even touch them, so the experience is far more immediate), and Paris via Eurostar (but you need to book well in advance to get tickets at a decent price).

[m-nivalis.livejournal.com]

Twenty minutes by train, iirc. Bath is gorgeous. Don't miss it!

[m-nivalis.livejournal.com]

Contact me if you want any Oxford tips. There are tons of things to see and do here.

[erykah101.livejournal.com]

For wi-fi access, I can recommend BT OpenZone. I've bought it pay as you go when I go into London for weekends or when I go to hotels around the country for conventions.

But you get more guaranteed coverage if you go for the mobile broadband option. I've been using 3 for years and they're pretty good coverage wise: http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/Choose_a_price_plan/Pay_As_You_Go

For sightseeing in London I'd recommend the London Pass: http://www.londonpass.com/ The river cruises are really nice. It's good value for getting into places, lets you skip queues and there's all sorts of dining and shopping offers too.

I've also got to plug The Royal Parks and what they have to offer (I actually do their website *wink*): http://www.royalparks.org.uk/ They do all sorts of events; guided walks, sporty things and they have deckchair rental so you can just laze in the sun (if we get any) in beautiful surroundings. There's all sorts of great places like Speaker's Corner and places like Buckingham Palace and Westminster are all in walking distance from them. There's also music festivals happening this summer. And there's the open air theatre in Regent's Park: http://openairtheatre.org/ :)

I'd also agree that Avebury is worth seeing! It's an amazing place. And the White Horse at Uffington is cool. :) This tour sounds good for seeing everything in the area: http://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/stoneseeker.htm

If you do wander down to Windsor, you should also take a walk over the river to see Eton College; the, er, traditional birthing ground for British Prime Ministers. http://wikitravel.org/en/Windsor_and_Eton

France is definitely doable. Paris is about 2 and a half hours away on the Eurostar: http://www.eurostar.com/. You can also get to Brussels but, apart from the good chocolate, it's actually the most boring city I've ever visited.

Other thoughts for places that are easy to get to on the train from London include Hastings (as in "Battle of"), Brighton, Hever Castle, and the New Forest National Park.

[ayoub.livejournal.com]

For the Wi-Fi, you could look into BT Openzone... Most places have a hotspot :)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Stonehenge is totally doable. I did a trip that combined Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath, which were really beautiful and I'm glad I did them all together.

I also did a day trip to Edinburgh, which I wouldn't recommend. It was wonderful to see the city and castle but we were way too rushed--I'd definitely stay at least overnight if I were to go there again.

Oh, and I'm not sure if it counts as a day trip, but you can quickly take a train to Hampton Court Palace, which is beautiful and full of history and also has an amazing garden and hedge maze.

You could also try Oxford or Cambridge. This place organizes day trips to them and various other places, and also runs an absolutely fantastic collection of walking tours around London.

[browneyedgirl65.livejournal.com]

I'd have to second (third, fourth, etc) all the recommendations I've seen here. If you're going to Bristol, Bath (and Cardiff) is totally doable from there. I loved Hampton Court (really a 1/2 day trip, and it's fun to take the one that puts you thru a few of the locks on the Thames on the way up there), Windsor Castle, Oxford, Canterbury, & Stonehenge/Avebury (as others have said, you are not roped off from the stones at the latter, it's lesser known but more impressive; some of the tours ppl have mentioned sound like a good way to get all of it, including the white horse, on one trip. Stonehenge by itself can be a little bit underwhelming; it makes more sense in a larger context). Salisbury Cathedral was a lot of fun. The coast of cornwall is a good bet as well. Edinburgh I'd totally recommend, but not as a day trip, it deserves a couple/several days in its own right.

Damn. Now I want to go back there, again!

[delchi.livejournal.com]

Left you an email with contact info for a friend in London.

[isil-helyanwe.livejournal.com]

4. You can get easy, cheap trains to Brighton or Oxford or Cambridge, all marvellous. Alternatively, I'd consider searching for National Trust properties just outside of London, they're always lovely for a visit.