A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes: I'm staying at my friend's house in London this weekend for one night,as we are going to a convention on Saturday, but i'm not sure which night would be best to arrive there?. I'll write down the pros and cons of both and you can let me know what you think. I only need to buy the train tickets on the day that i am travelling, and you can buy the tickets for the convention on the door when you get there.The pros of staying over night on Friday are that we will be able to get to the convention anytime we want on Saturday, we can meet one of my other friends on Friday night and my friend that i am staying with has more time to get to the station to meet me when i arrive in London ( it's about an hour away from the part of London that she lives in ).The con is that we won't have much time to have a look around London, as i will only be able to arrive from 5pm onwards.The pros of staying over night on Saturday are that i can travel really early in the morning to London ( i'd arrive at about 9.15am ), and it would probably be a lot quieter on the train and at the station at that time ( i sometimes feel nervous when i am on a train or at a station alone and it is really busy ). And if i am there on Sunday as well, we can try to meet the actor on Sunday if we can't meet him on Saturday. He will be at the convention on both days, and it's likely that we might not get to meet him at all on Saturday, as he is very popular, so the queue will be huge. Or , if we do meet him on Saturday, we would have more time to look around London on Sunday, as i would only need to go home in the evening. The con is that my friend would have to meet me earlier at the station, and i would worry incase she can't get there on time , if there is any trouble with transport, for example. Although, i guess that could happen on Friday too.Another con for both days though is that i don't want to be outside too much if the weather is really bad, so therefore it would probably be better to arrive on Friday instead of Saturday. We would be outside if we queue to get into the convention though anyway. However, my friend said she might be able to buy the tickets on Friday, and then we can walk straight into the building on Saturday. I can pay her for my ticket when i see her.I also don't want to take much luggage as i will only be there for one night, but i'm not sure which clothes to take, as the weather changes a lot here in the UK.I'm also not sure whether to wear trainers or flat boots, as we will have to do a lot of walking and also standing around, and i'm not sure what kind of coat/jacket to wear. Any suggestions lol?. Any advice would be much appreciated . Reply to this Question Share |
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female
reader, Battista +, writes (5 July 2012):
Have you looked into booking an advanced ticket? Even if you book the day before you can find some good savings if you look for two single tickets rather than a return.
I think that as the train cost is your major outlay I would say it's worth spending 2 nights down there as you've paid all that money to travel in the first place. There's LOADS you can do in London which doesn't cost anything, and you can also minimise travel costs by taking the bus rather than the underground- plus then you get to see more- depending on the distances you have to travel. Also, in central London a lot of the places you might want to visit are within a fairly easy walking distance so you might only need to make a few bus trips. Also, you can eat cheaply by picking up a sandwich in Boots or Tesco or something like that. If you go to your convention on Saturday then on Sunday you could spend the day sightseeing; lots of the main museums are free to get in (British Museum, National Gallery, etc), plus you can walk along the river, wander around Covent Garden, you name it. Sounds like a good weekend!
A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (5 July 2012): It was actually my idea to stay one night. I'm thinking about how much it will cost really, as i'm already spending a lot, so if i stay an extra day, it will cost even more. Of course, it depends what we would do on Sunday too. I have the option to stay for two nights at the most, but i'm not sure how long i will stay for yet. I wish the train fare wasn't so expensive, as obviously, i could spend more money around London then.
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A
male
reader, CaringGuy +, writes (4 July 2012):
Unless you can stay both nights (which would surely be more fun!), probably best to get up Saturday morning.
A late Friday night in London getting around might be a bit of a pain. I know, because I live here! You won't get here until late, then you'll have to contend with got knows what on the tube.
Must better to arrive on Saturday if you have to make the choice.
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A
female
reader, Battista +, writes (4 July 2012):
Is it not possible that you can stay for 2 nights, ie. Friday and Saturday? Has she said you can only stay for one?
Does she live rurally? I mean, does she have to pick you up from a station? If you're worried about her getting to the station early on Saturday is there no way you can make your own way to her place? I'm sure she must be on a bus or train/underground line?
If you can only stay for one night I would suggest Saturday as that will give you all Sat and most of Sun in London.
As for clothes, don't overthink it. Just take basic essentials so you don't have much to carry. I would take a change of underwear/socks/tight/whatever, a fresh top and then whatever cosmetics etc you need. You don't need more than a small rucksack full. Wearing comfy shoes is definitely a good idea though.
Most of all, try not to worry about it. I think you're making too much out of the issues, and none of them are really problematic. London is easy to get around even if you're not that familiar with it. You'll have a great time whatever.
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