An exciting day out in London from Dyer’s Holiday Cottage Halifax
Set an alarm for 06.00 and book a taxi for 06.45 to take you to Halifax railway station to catch the 07.12 Grand Central train to London from Platform 1. Book tickets in advance at https://www.grandcentralrail.com
Sit back and enjoy the trip which takes under 3 hours covering 200 miles. Refreshments are available.
Arriving into London Kings Cross station at 10.07, take a quick look at platform 9 and three quarters for a photo with Harry Potter; then follow signs for the Underground Piccadilly Line (Dark Blue) and look out for ticket machines from which you need to buy an off peak zone 1 and 2 one day travelcard.
Then take the Piccadilly line (Dark Blue) south to Russell Square and walk a few minutes across Russell Square to the British Museum (free entry) where we suggest you visit the Rosetta Stone and Parthenon Sculptures (Elgin Marbles) but you may prefer to look at https://www.britishmuseum.org and plan your own short visit of about an hour.
Leaving at about 12.00, return to Russell Square tube station and take the Piccadilly line (Dark Blue) south to Covent Garden station. Explore the Piazza with its street performers and shops and maybe take a look inside St Paul’s Church (the Actors Church) before taking a short lunch break in Neal’s Yard leaving about 13.30.
Walk through Seven Dials to Charing Cross Road and from there to Trafalgar Square to see Nelson’s Column, St Martin in the Fields church and the National Portrait Gallery. From here head up the Mall into St James Park and Buckingham Palace. Return down Birdcage Walk to St James Park tube station by 14.30 and catch a District (green) or Circle (yellow) line train Eastbound to Westminster.
On reaching ground level, the awesome sights of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and Westminster Abbey will greet you.
The Houses of Parliament also known as the Palace of Westminster
The London Eye and Big Ben also known as the Elizabeth Tower
Thirty minutes maximum here before going underground again by 15.45 and continuing eastbound on the District (green) or Circle (yellow) line to either Blackfriars or Mansion House from where it is about a 5 minute walk to see St Paul’s Cathedral. No time to go inside unless you miss out the next 2 landmarks, The Monument to the Great Fire of London 1665 in Pudding Lane and the outside of the Tower of London by the River Thames.
By 17.00 you should have arrived at the iconic Walkie Talkie Building with your pre booked tickets (free for 1 hour but bring ID) for the Sky Garden 20 Fenchurch Street https://www. skygarden.london. A lift whisks you up 35 floors to enable you to access the highest public garden in London with panoramic views of the Shard, the Gherkin, Tower Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Photo from the Sky Garden showing the Shard, London Bridge, the South Bank and also the gold top of the Monument front right.
At 18.00 make your way via the Bank of England to Bank station and from here along the Northern line (black) Northbound to Kings Cross station. All being well you should have time for a wander into Coal Drops Yard which as its name suggests was formerly a coal depot but is now a buzzing area of cafes, restaurants and shops. Maybe grab some street food from one of the vans? Then make your way back to Kings Cross station in plenty of time for your return train. This is the 19.48 Grand Central train to Bradford and you get off at Halifax at 22.13. Then catch a taxi from outside the station back home to Dyer’s Holiday Cottage Halifax having had a grand day out in London.
This photo of the River Thames shows the Shard to the left, Tower Bridge, the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, the Walkie Talkie Building and the Gherkin.
https://www.tfl.gov.uk is a helpful website
All photos taken by Jane Giorgi and cannot be copied.
