# Just got Sloane Gardens Club through SFX for Feb!!!



## BarCol (Sep 19, 2013)

Quite excited :whoopie:
After sending several friends to the SGC several times, we have finally snagged one for ourselves, now to begin the planning.

My husband wants to visit the Royal Navy dockyards and HMS (HMCS?) Victory after the Sloane Gardens stay and I want to visit Bath, and/or Oxford so the question is would we be better to move for a few days to a B and B in central London (any recommended?) and take the train or organized tours (anyone in particular recommended?)out for day trips to these places or bite the bullet and rent a car and travel around and stay at each place for a few days..

Inquiring minds would like to know from all you England experts.
TIA


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## Pompey Family (Sep 19, 2013)

BarCol said:


> moved to it's own thread...



As a resident of Portsmouth I'm well acquainted with the dockyard.  For £26 for an adult ticket you get access to HMS Warrior, HMS Victory, the new Mary Rose exhibition, the Royal Navy Museum, Action Stations and a boat tour around the harbour to see all the ships that are currently in port.  All in all it's a fantastic place and will easily occupy an entire day.

Last Friday we drove to Bristol in order to visit the Roman Baths in Bath (no Marriott in Bath!) and it took 2 hours in rush hour.  You can take the train from Portsmouth to Bath which will take about the same time.  Parking is very expensive in Bath even by British standards so if you want to do without the car it would make sense.  It's not a big place and is easily walkable.

If you do drive it's very easy to fit in Avebury and Stonehenge on your travels, particularly if you're heading back to London.


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## rickandcindy23 (Sep 19, 2013)

Congrats on a great exchange. 

Our daughter is going to England in March and is hoping for something to come through, but she and her husband have two little ones, so I don't think that one will work for them.  

Hoping SFX comes through for them, too, with Allen House.  I would love to help them with some of their accommodations, since the nice hotels are very pricey.


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## mck (Sep 21, 2013)

It would certainly be possible to do all the trips you suggest from London by train.
Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour take about 1hr 30 mins (shortest journey) and trains from London Paddington take about the same to Bath. Both are great days out. We were in Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago to visit the new Mary Rose exhibition and really enjoyed it and the Harbour Cruise. Then we ran out of time! The £26 tickets are valid for a whole year though so we will be going back. You can do Oxford by train too.
Another nice trip out from London by train is to Windsor to see the castle and Eton.
This website http://www.thetrainline.com/ will give you all the times of the trains and prices. It is usually cheapest to book online 3 months out, paying on the day at the station is the most expensive way to travel.


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## falmouth3 (Sep 21, 2013)

mck said:


> This website http://www.thetrainline.com/ will give you all the times of the trains and prices. It is usually cheapest to book online 3 months out, paying on the day at the station is the most expensive way to travel.



I'm certainly not an expert on travel by rail in England, but I understand that you may be able to get better deals online in the US than you can in England.  I'd suggest that you do a little research online now that people have made good suggestions on how to get there by rail.  A Rick Steves book or other good travel book may have some good information too.

Good news about getting your exchange.  Enjoy your vacation.


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## SmithOp (Sep 21, 2013)

When we visited London in 09 i pre-purchased train passes, you can do multiples of days, I even splurged on first class it was worth it.  All the London stations have first class lounges that offer a respite from the hustle and bustle, specially during commute hours. Think of London as the transport hub of England, rail lines got out like spokes in every direction, it's the best place to stay to ride the rails.  The passes included RT Heathrow Express tix also.  I studied the time tables and stations before we went, online at Britrail site, so I would know which hub station to use.  We used taxis in London, very cheap and no tipping.  We rode the underground once just for the experience, hot, humid, smelly and expensive, don't use it to get around taxis are much more fun.  If you do ride it, the sign for the exit is "Way Out" . Oh, and mind the gap!

We rode out to Bath and spent 2 nights in a hotel, it was an easy walk from the station with our wheelie suitcases. The town is built for strolling, there is so much to see a day trip doesn't do it justice. We spent a good six hours at the Roman baths with lunch in the pump room at the end. We also took a shuttle to Stonehenge, about an hour each way and an hour visiting the site using the included audio tour.

We did a day trip up to Warwick castle, that was plenty of time.

I also purchased a British heritage pass that gave us entrance to most of the museums, abbeys and castles. We enjoyed British Museum, St Paul's, and Hampton Court. Some sites weren't included like the Tower of London.  We used the hop on double decker buses to get around too.


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## Pompey Family (Sep 21, 2013)

BarCol said:


> ..... and take the train or organized tours (anyone in particular recommended?)out for day trips to these places or bite the bullet and rent a car and travel around and stay at each place for a few days...



If you only want to go direct to a couple of destinations then the train is probably your best bet but if you want to experience more of England and want to drive through picture postcard villages and stop off when you want then hiring a car is the better choice.  As long as you're comfortable with driving a manual (unless you opt for the way more expensive automatic) on the opposite side of what you're used to and you set up the sat nav to avoid motorways then you'll experience a lot more of England.  It'll probably take a bit longer than by train but not by much, an hour at the very most.


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## BarCol (Sep 21, 2013)

great suggestions folks- we are mulling things over  but I'm leaning towards the train to Porstsmouth then to Bath then back to London in time to fly home - my husband is now being ever so noble and suggesting that if I don't get Bath then he should forego Portsmouth.....and so it goes.. 

Have also started to look for airfare - using our Air Canada aeroplan points it will take 120,000 points AND $1355 in additional for taxes, fees and the fuel surcharge. ARGH!!!! may as well just bite bullet and fly BA with the Premium Economy on the overnight flight over.......decisions decisions....


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## SmithOp (Sep 21, 2013)

Here is the official site for Canada to purchase advance passes if you want to compare pricing of a rail pass vs tickets.

http://www.visitbritainshop.com/canada/home.html


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## SMHarman (Sep 22, 2013)

BarCol said:


> great suggestions folks- we are mulling things over  but I'm leaning towards the train to Porstsmouth then to Bath then back to London in time to fly home - my husband is now being ever so noble and suggesting that if I don't get Bath then he should forego Portsmouth.....and so it goes..
> 
> Have also started to look for airfare - using our Air Canada aeroplan points it will take 120,000 points AND $1355 in additional for taxes, fees and the fuel surcharge. ARGH!!!! may as well just bite bullet and fly BA with the Premium Economy on the overnight flight over.......decisions decisions....



Chatham docks are also very much worth a visit and close to London.

You need to consider how long you want this trip to be and how much time you want to spend in London.  If this is your first visit to London then honestly, London is a week itself.  
Great Museums, the 'City of London', the parks, Cemeterys, South Bank, Eye, Theater, Docklands, Greenwich, Camden, Kew Gardens.
The quick day trips will take you to Windsor, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Whitstable.
To do Bath or Portsmouth justice it is not a day trip, you are better doing a longer or second trip to explore further afield.
I'm not sure where you live in the US, but that is like coming to NYC for a visit and doing day trips to New London, CT, Philladelpia, PA and Albany, NY.  A lot of travel for somewhere that has so much to see (well maybe not Albany  )

If you have the time, and have dropped the money on flights and the TS then maybe you should extend to a 10 day trip (perhaps leave on the Thursday, go to Bath on Friday and Saturday, London Sat - Sat, then Sunday - Monday in Portsmouth before heading home?

Here is a great thread for how to occupy more than a week in London.
http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1060


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## x3 skier (Sep 22, 2013)

London Walks do day trips out of London but the schedule is spotty. www.walks.com. 

If it meets your schedule, I recommend them as good value for money. 

Cheers


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## Carolinian (Sep 30, 2013)

Great resort! SFX got us in there, too!  It is well located a few steps from a tube station in an upscale part of London.

The historic ships at Portsmouth are great.  The train station is within sight, and an easy walk of the ships.  HMS Warrior is directly in front of you as you look toward the water from the station.


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