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This topic comprises 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Topic: What is London like in January?
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Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 04-15-2007 04:30 AM
Claude,
It's really not possible to say what the weather will be like, it varies so much. Very severe winters are unusual, though they do happen, 1963 was one I remember, and there was another maybe 15-20 years ago.
At worst, daytime temperatures are likely to be from a few degrees below freezing, to quite comfortable, though you probably wouldn't want to go out without a coat. When the sky is clear temperatures tend to drop quite rapidly after sunset. Temperatures below freezing are quite likely overnight We don't get a lot of snow here, but it's more likely in January than in any other month; snow before, or during, Christmas is unusual. A small amount of snow does seem to cause more disruption here than in other countries.
I don't know about the flight time; London to New York takes about seven hours, returning East getting on for an hour less, so you are talking about a long flight whichever way round you go; I would guess that you're looking at something like an 11 hour flight.
Will you be hiring a car or using public transport, and which airport will you be arriving at; what part of London will you be staying in?
One thing you should be prepared for, London is very expensive, most things seem to cost about twice as much as they do in New York.
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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 04-15-2007 04:39 AM
quote: Claude S. Ayakawa
My non stop flight to London from San Francisco or Los Angeles and back will not be Trans Atlantic but will be the polar route and I understand it will be much longer than nine hours.
I believe it is still considered a trans-Atlantic flight.
Regardless, why should the so-called Polar Route take longer? The Polar Route is precisely why it won't take much longer than the duration you've been told.
I've flown to and from Europe eight times in my life. A couple of them were non-stop, and my recollection is that Los Angeles to Frankfurt was ten hours, and Frankfurt to Los Angeles was eleven. Considering the Polar Route, it would appear that L.A. to London is a shorter distance than L.A. to Frankfurt (but not by much), and if you fly out of San Francisco it would be even shorter.
I've never flown to London directly from L.A. The last time I flew to London, I went L.A. to Vancouver and then Vancouver to London, the duration being 2 1/2 or 3 hours to Vancouver and then I think seven to London.
I'd also like to add that during that Vancouver to London flight, I experienced something that I thought was pretty cool: pitch black looking out one side of the plane, and daylight out the other side. (This was a night flight during the month of July.)
[ 04-15-2007, 11:10 PM: Message edited by: Michael Coate ]
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 04-15-2007 10:52 AM
There are no direct flights from Anchorage to Europe that I could find. When I visited Anchorage last October the only way of doing it was via the major US airlines' lower 48 hubs. I went on Northwest via Minneapolis (MSP to ANC is 6-7 hours), because NW/KLM is the only airline which offers through international tickets from the most convenient airport to where I live (Teesside) apart from Shitish Airways (oops, Freudian slip). If you start at a little English regional airport, the ticket for an intercontinental trip typically costs £50-100 more than if you made your own way to the nearest big hub (which in my case would be Manchester), but it'll cost you that (if not more) to get there and spend the night before flying in a hotel if necessary, so I find that including the MME-AMS hop into the ticket actually saves money and hassle in the long run.
Attempting to transfer through London Heathrow is a nightmare - for example, they won't check your hold luggage through if you're transferring between terminals - and well worth an extra hour on the timetabled journey time to avoid. Amsterdam Schiphol is all one terminal under one roof - very easy and stress-free for transfers.
Like Ian said, you'll be using public transport almost exclusively in downtown (central) London. Once you've got over the shock of how much it costs to hire a car and put petrol (gasoline) in it, you have to pay an £8 per day 'congestion charge' to drive a car within the central area, and unless your hotel includes parking as part of the room rate, expect to pay £20-30 to park.
Most places are within 30 minutes walk of each other, and if you'd prefer not to walk, the Tube (nickname for subway - it's officially called the Underground) and bus networks are extensive - they cover almost everywhere in the city and immediate suburbs you're likely to want to visit - and are reasonably reliable. But, like everything in Britain, they ain't cheap. On a recent visit to stay with a friend, I paid £4 (about $7.50) one-way from London City Airport to Russell Square: this compares with the $2 I paid last week on the 'T' from Logan Airport to Copley Square in Boston!
quote: Stephen Furley
Very severe winters are unusual, though they do happen, 1963 was one I remember, and there was another maybe 15-20 years ago.
1991-92 sticks in my memory, which was the last winter I lived in London. The journey from my home in Wimbledon to the sixth form college near Hampton Court involved a mile-long walk across a golf course from Esher station, and I remember it being snow covered for two to three weeks in succession. The winter of 1995-96 was also pretty harsh: I was living in Norwich at the time, and remember that you'd wake up to see snow on the ground for weeks rather than days. But there hasn't been anything like those two winters in the decade since.
Edited to answer Stephen's point about cold winters.
[ 04-15-2007, 01:37 PM: Message edited by: Leo Enticknap ]
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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"
Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 04-16-2007 01:22 AM
That kind of CDs costs more or less the same everywhere. That's why we don't but them in stores anymore. We buy them online. Online stores like amazon.com often have good deals, you can find many CDs new for much less than the typical list price, or used in very good condition, often for a ridiculously low price. I have no idea if shipping to Hawaii adds substantially to the costs though. You can also get a lot of classical CDs for very good prices (including many titles which are out of print in the Western World) from hmv.co.jp and other online sellers in Japan. They have an English version of their webpage. The nice thing is that shipping costs aren't that high at all, and if you order several items, the overall shipping cost per item goes down (unlike many online stores which charge you standard shipping rates even if you order several items at once). Again, I have no idea if the shipping costs to Hawaii are different from those to the continental US (they might even be less), but in general, hmv.co.jp has fair rates and the shipping is amazingly fast. I had a package here once within 4 days (!) - that was their standard shipping, not an upgrade.
What you can do in London is go to live concerts. The "classical" scene there is incredible. They have several top class orchestras (London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony) and dozens of freelance ensembles, including several which play on historical instruments, plus orchestras typically stop by in London when they are on tour, and orchestras from other parts of the UK visit the capital regularly to present themselves. So there are tons of concerts going on everywhere all the time, at the Barbican Centre, at the Royal Festival Hall and in many other venues. I think London has the liveliest "classical" scene in the world, apart from Berlin.
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Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 04-16-2007 12:00 PM
quote: Claude S. Ayakawa
I will be staying at the Novotel in the Hammersmith district of London and I understand it is about ten miles from Heathrow International Airport and near your subway stations. No, I will not be renting a car or have any intention of driving but I might do a lot of walking if it is not too cold outside.
Avoiding driving is something I would recommend. The traffic in London can be pretty bad, and driving in a country you're not familiar with is something that demands a lot of concentration, you can't really look at anything of interest while you're driving. Something important if you're walking, remember that traffic drives on the left here; when I went to America I found it very difficult to get used to this, and to look in the right direction for approaching traffic.
Hammersmith is served directly from Heathrow by the Underground, it's on the Piccadilly line, the dark blue one on the map. Transport for London have a website at www.tfl.gov.uk, and maps and a journey planner are available at this page: web page . If you download the Tube Map and look at it, Heathrow is on the dark blue loop near the bottom left, and if you follow this line to the point where the pink Hammersmith & City line almost meets it, that is Hammersmith. The Journey Planner gives thirty minutes for this journey, which sounds about right. If you don't want to use the Underground, then I would suggest taking a taxi; I don't know what that would cost, I haven't used one for years. I wouldn't recommend the bus; there isn't a direct route, you would need to take either two or three buses, depending on which route you took; not really a good itea in a unfamiliar city, and when carrying luggage. There is now a main-line railway from Heathrow, but it goes to central London and doesn't serve Hammersmith, so it's not much use to you. It's also very expensive.
For travelling around London generally the buses are quite good; many of them are double-deckers, and you get a good view from the top deck. Try to avoid travelling in Central London at peak times, about 7-9 am and 4-6 pm if you can; just about any means of transport will be very crowded, and not very pleasant, at these times.
There are several companies who offer guided walks around parts of London; this one London Walks has been around for many years, and is good.
quote: Claude S. Ayakawa
It would be nice to see and hear the many great European orchestras you had mentioned but sadly, lack of time will prevent me from seeing them when I am in London.
If you're coming all that way, can't you arrange to stay for a few extra days?
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