Hairy Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Somewhat OT, but -- I have a twelve-hours stopover in London on my way to Bangkok. I've been told by the airline that I can leave the airport. However, is there going to be anything open? This will be on December 25th only. I wouldn't mind just taking a walk around to see some of the sights, but will there be any public transportation ("the tube") or cabs available? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murgatroyd Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Hello Hairy, I really wouldn't bother to leave the airport, unless you want to spend a small fortune on Taxis and go sightseeing. (a round trip into London, sightseeing tour and back to the airport will cost you something between 150.00 GBP and 200.00 GBP. Nothing will be open, except for the occasional fast food joint. Taxis will cost 50% more than the usual extremely high fares. The Pubs will all be shut until the evening, All the shops will be shut. No Busses, No Underground, and hardly any mainline trains running. I used to work in security, doing nightshifts. I used to knock off work at 06.00 AM on christmas day in central London. It would take me three or four hours to get home... I found it impossable to even buy a packet of cigarettes, or a soft drink. It's an absolute wasteland. You will encounter a totally disporportionate number of streetpeople, all of whom will be asking for money "'Cos it's Christmas Guv". Not only that, You'll have to drag all your luggage around with you. The airport is designed to operate 24/7 365 days a year... and even there, you will find many of the shops shut, and transport in very short supply. If you stay airside, you won't have to go through immigration, or clear your luggage through customs, let alone drag it around with you. It will be boring, but so's any stopover. At least you will be able to get food, and have a drink. If you carry your laptop in your handluggage, you can go online... I really wouldn't leave the airport... (And it will probably be cold and raining.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 Well, bugger. It looks like even the peak rate taxi fare is 40 GBP one way, so US$120 round-trip to get into central London and back. Do the drivers expect tips? (In the U.S., taxi drivers usually expect 10% over the fare.) Is there any way to leave bags at Heathrow any more? Used to be lockboxes in most airports, rentable for a few dollars a day, but I guess post-9/11 those have gone the way of the dodo. I'm probably only going to have a backpack on the outbound trip; I'll be buying most of my clothes once I get to Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murgatroyd Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 No Mate... no storage lockers at airports in the UK anymore... security risk I'm afraid... Taxi drivers always expect a tip in the UK... it's kinda part of the deal... and on Xmas day the meters are set to a 50% surcharge... Even with a favourable Dollar rate, a trip into london would still cost a small fortune. Money that would go a lot further in LOS... I hate to be so pessamistic, but that's the way of it... Murg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Well, bugger. It looks like even the peak rate taxi fare is 40 GBP one way, so US$120 round-trip to get into central London and back. Do the drivers expect tips? (In the U.S., taxi drivers usually expect 10% over the fare.)Is there any way to leave bags at Heathrow any more? Used to be lockboxes in most airports, rentable for a few dollars a day, but I guess post-9/11 those have gone the way of the dodo. I'm probably only going to have a backpack on the outbound trip; I'll be buying most of my clothes once I get to Bangkok. Can't you get a day pass on the Tube for only 15 pounds? Terminal 3? Can go into the city for a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murgatroyd Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 The Tube... AKA the london underground doesn't run on Christmas day... so no go there... no Busses either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 The Tube... AKA the london underground doesn't run on Christmas day... so no go there... no Busses either. Thank the lord for Unions!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsfbrit Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 (edited) No Mate... no storage lockers at airports in the UK anymore... security risk I'm afraid...Taxi drivers always expect a tip in the UK... it's kinda part of the deal... and on Xmas day the meters are set to a 50% surcharge... Even with a favourable Dollar rate, a trip into london would still cost a small fortune. Money that would go a lot further in LOS... I hate to be so pessamistic, but that's the way of it... Murg I agree about the taxis being a rip-off, but the left-luggage office is available at 6 pounds per item for 24 hours. I dumped 2 bags off in terminal 3 last month. I used to live near Heathrow and there are small towns fairly close by. Places like Hounslow and Southall are populated by a lot of Indians and Pakistanis. I cannot think they will be shut for a christian holiday like XMAS. May be worth a try. Also Windsor is fairly closeby. Like Murgatroyd says though, there is no bus service on XMAS day on the routes I normally use when I arrive at Heathrow. This is from the 140 bus route. I guess its the same for the other routes as well? 'Public holidays: A Saturday service operates on Good Friday. There is no service on Christmas Day, but a reduced service will operate on Boxing Day. On other bank holidays, a Sunday service generally operates. Fuller details of arrangements over Easter and Christmas/New Year can be found via the home page nearer the time' You might find this useful nearer the time. Its the London Undergorund Journey Planner. You can at least be sure if there are any trains or buses running or not! It doesn't show a planner option for XMAS day yet. http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT...ST2?language=en It looks like the 'Heathrow Express' will be running into London, but replacing the service with buses. https://www.heathrowexpress.com/engineering...=410&type=0 Good Luck and MERRY XMAS!!! Edited November 17, 2008 by dsfbrit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw25rw Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 London's a pain in the arse on Christmas day. Unless you have family to visit, it's bleak and lonely with nothing open and no way to get around. Some of the hotels/restaurants might have lunches on, but I would change my booking personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 I've been meaning to update this with how it went. Despite "nothing being open" and "taxis will be 300L roundtrip" (even the flight attendants on BA told me all this), the airport had a shuttle bus for 11L each way to Paddington, and in the spirit of Christmas (and because all the ticket machines were shut off), the driver on the return trip didn't even charge me. Quite a few small shops were open, and I got to feed some M&S(*) "digestive biscuits" to the geese at Hyde Park. (*) the airport location was open The only disappointment was when I walked into a pub, and they refused to serve me on the grounds that they were closed despite lots of other people sitting at tables and eating/drinking. I'm guessing that there was some sort of closure law in effect for the day, and that they weren't legally open, but that the owner was serving friends and family anyway, and that he didn't want to pour me a drink lest I turn out to be a revenooer (or whatever you Brits call them). Got some nice photos of the geese, saw quite a few pretty British girls, and generally had a nice stopover. Sadly, my return flight only has three hours, which isn't enough to leave the airport, and I can't "accidentally" miss the second leg because of a meeting I have to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Hans Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 They weren't British girls. Poles, probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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