Sherlock Holmes Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 EDIT - Please note the change of venue for the Fan Rally! This is the official Saturday afternoon Redskins fan rally, superseding the one I set up. Pub is right outside London Bridge station. http://www.redskinsrally.com/event/redskins-road-rally-london/?instance_id=90 DATE: Saturday 29th October TIME: 3pm Onwards LOCATION: Barrowboy and Banker, London Bridge - http://www.barrowboy-and-banker.co.uk/ Original Message: Wotcha! A few of you know me, but I have not posted on ES for quite a while. I was far more active (and probably objectionable) in my youth. I live in London, and have been a Redskins fan all of my life (you can thank my Dad for that one). Anyhow... I am extremely excited that I'll have the opportunity to watch the 'skins in a regular season game in my home country, and home city. I can't wait to see the hordes of B&G around London Town and to that end I thought I would start a thread which gives the 'skins fans planning on travelling to London the opportunity to ask questions and garner advice about the Capital. It could be about anything, and I'm sure other UK based 'skins fans will be willing to offer up their advice about hotels, travel, restaurants, food, beer, pubs, tourist spots, costs etc. I've lived in London for 4 years now, and previously only lived an hour or so outside of the capital, so I have a pretty good knowledge of the City which I am willing to impart. I also worked for the Transport Authority here (TfL) so I am somewhat of an expert on getting around. So, fire away! HAIL. Sherlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsGuy Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 There is already kind of a thread about this here: However, people travelling to London for the first time might need help getting around that you could offer them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 My wife and I will be arriving at LHR, late Saturday afternoon, and staying at the Grosvenor, at Victoria Station, for 5 nights. We're leaving early Thursday afternoon, so we'll have ~ 4 days to get around. While we're there, in addition to Wembley, at the very least, we'll take the Tube, or bus, to Westminster, Tower Hill, Aldgate, Waterloo. We do not have contactless credit cards. Should we get Oyster cards? Which type, and how much should we load on them? Is lugging a couple of suitcases, frowned upon when taking the tube? On the day of arrival, in the interest of saving time, we are considering a car service, (Blackberry), and was quoted £39, to take us from the airport, to the Grosvenor. The price includes, "parking and waiting" It's steep, but convenient. We'll probably take the Tube, when we leave, figuring that we'll be familiar with how it works by then. Any tips, or suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 56 minutes ago, Skinsfan1311 said: Any tips, or suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! End every sentence with "Guvnah!" Also, it's not goodbye. It's cheerio. You should be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 I'm still trying to find cheap airfare for this. All the round trip tickets I can find put it out of my budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 3 minutes ago, Stugein said: I'm still trying to find cheap airfare for this. All the round trip tickets I can find put it out of my budget. If you don't mind, what is your budget? And I assume you've set up fare alerts on multiple sites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 2 minutes ago, NattyBo said: If you don't mind, what is your budget? And I assume you've set up fare alerts on multiple sites? Basically to make it work I need to get the flight to around $700 (preferably less, of course). With the hotel deal I've been able to line up + the game ticket, $700 or less would get me there. I haven't set any fare alerts yet because I haven't seen anything reasonable below $800 so I am assuming it's too far off target to bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 4 minutes ago, Stugein said: Basically to make it work I need to get the flight to around $700 (preferably less, of course). With the hotel deal I've been able to line up + the game ticket, $700 or less would get me there. I haven't set any fare alerts yet because I haven't seen anything reasonable below $800 so I am assuming it's too far off target to bother. http://www.momondo.com/flightsearch/?Search=true&TripType=2&SegNo=2&SO0=DCA&SD0=LON&SDP0=28-10-2016&SO1=LON&SD1=DCA&SDP1=31-10-2016&AD=1&TK=ECO&DO=true&NA=true $712 nonstop from Dulles to London, departing the Friday before the game and returning the Monday after it. I recommend you set a fare alert on that website if you don't hop on that fare, I think it's better than Kayak, etc. If you take off nonstop, you can go as low as $549, but you have a layover in Istanbul, or $654 with a layover in Dublin. Good luck! I hope this helps, I thought those are pretty decent fares, especially that Aer Lingus Dublin one if you don't mind the layover (though I'd probably spring for the $712 nonstop one if I could afford it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Just now, NattyBo said: http://www.momondo.com/flightsearch/?Search=true&TripType=2&SegNo=2&SO0=DCA&SD0=LON&SDP0=28-10-2016&SO1=LON&SD1=DCA&SDP1=31-10-2016&AD=1&TK=ECO&DO=true&NA=true $712 nonstop from Dulles to London, departing the Friday of. I recommend you set a fare alert on that website if you don't hop on that fare, I think it's better than Kayak, etc. If you take off nonstop, you can go as low as $549, but you have a layover in Istanbul, or $654 with a layover in Dublin. ! Holy crap that's awesome. I don't mind layovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Just now, Stugein said: ! Holy crap that's awesome. I don't mind layovers. I used Momondo for my recent trip to Spain so I find it reliable and safe - again, good luck! Let me know if you end up booking! Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Ah it's from DC. For some reason there's a huge drop in fares flying out of DC versus Philly. I'm willing to drive down to get in on the cheapness though. Thanks for the site. I'll keep an eye on it there and let you know if I'm gonna make it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 2 minutes ago, Stugein said: Ah it's from DC. For some reason there's a huge drop in fares flying out of DC versus Philly. I'm willing to drive down to get in on the cheapness though. Thanks for the site. I'll keep an eye on it there and let you know if I'm gonna make it! Could be worth it to save the dough: I'll be living vicariously through all folks going - of course this game was announced after we had booked a huge European trip earlier this year. EDIT: from philly you should definately check fares out of Newark, too. Airport code EWR. It's a big hub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 2 hours ago, zoony said: End every sentence with "Guvnah!" Also, it's not goodbye. It's cheerio. You should be good Piss off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huly Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 We fly in Thursday morning at 6:30am staying at the Hilton Kensington. Stugein I am flying direct Dulles to Heathrow and my flight was $750ish per person. We fly back to DC on 11/2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns Bass Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 I'm coming over on my own, not the Redskins package. Flying in on the 28th (scheduled mid morning) & have a reservation @ the London House (Kensington) but I'm going to have to cancel that one and get some other one in about that area. I'm going to be there over seven days so from what I've researched my best bet for travel looks like an Oyster with a 7 day regular Travel Card on it and not the visitor version. I don't need any of the specials that one gets with the visitor versions so does that sound about right or is some other plan better? The hardest part for me so far is getting or arranging for a phone chip that I can get with a UK phone number soon enough that I can leave the number in the states before I go and has reasonable international calling. I don't care if I can't activate it till I get there, just would like a number in advance. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. My seat's @ Club Sideline 226/Row 4. That's the side that Redskins.com was selling so it should be the Skins side. Unless it's not. It looks like there's a bit of a walk from where public transportation ends to the stadium (but that's on Google maps). Normally I wouldn't care but I need to be careful with how much walking I do at the moment. Does anything get closer when there's an event or are there shuttles? Thanx for any info you can help with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinC Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 6 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said: We do not have contactless credit cards. Should we get Oyster cards? Which type, and how much should we load on them? Is lugging a couple of suitcases, frowned upon when taking the tube? On the day of arrival, in the interest of saving time, we are considering a car service, (Blackberry), and was quoted £39, to take us from the airport, to the Grosvenor. The price includes, "parking and waiting" It's steep, but convenient. We'll probably take the Tube, when we leave, figuring that we'll be familiar with how it works by then. Any tips, or suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! You credit cards are good without contactless. You will find most stores use chip and a pin though so if you only have cards you sign for you might have issues in a couple of places. You could get an Oyster card but for 4 days I would just buy a day travel card each. You can get them for tube or tube and bus. They start at about £12 depending which zones you want to travel to. Thats a good price for the car. But with traffic it might take you longer to get to your hotel than going by the Heathrow Express (train) from the airport. But after a long flight I'd go the car route as well so there is no stress finding your way around. It's about £22 one way on the train from Heathrow into central London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinfan2k Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Flights are so cheap for london. I saw flights as low as 350 roundtrip and i paid 789! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 27 minutes ago, MartinC said: You credit cards are good without contactless. You will find most stores use chip and a pin though so if you only have cards you sign for you might have issues in a couple of places. You could get an Oyster card but for 4 days I would just buy a day travel card each. You can get them for tube or tube and bus. They start at about £12 depending which zones you want to travel to. Thats a good price for the car. But with traffic it might take you longer to get to your hotel than going by the Heathrow Express (train) from the airport. But after a long flight I'd go the car route as well so there is no stress finding your way around. It's about £22 one way on the train from Heathrow into central London. I'm sorry, if I wasn't clear. My statement, about contactless cards, only concerns getting around town on public transport. If we had them, we wouldn't bother with Oyster, or Travelcards Please bear with me. If the oyster card caps at £6.50 each day, how is a £12 each, daily, for a Travelcard a better deal? It won't be a long flight, either. We're staying in Dublin, for a few nights prior, so the flight won't be that long. That being said, we're probably still going to use the car service. I'd like to see London, above ground, so we don't mind a longer ride. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 54 minutes ago, Johns Bass said: I'm coming over on my own, not the Redskins package. Flying in on the 28th (scheduled mid morning) & have a reservation @ the London House (Kensington) but I'm going to have to cancel that one and get some other one in about that area. I'm going to be there over seven days so from what I've researched my best bet for travel looks like an Oyster with a 7 day regular Travel Card on it and not the visitor version. I don't need any of the specials that one gets with the visitor versions so does that sound about right or is some other plan better? The hardest part for me so far is getting or arranging for a phone chip that I can get with a UK phone number soon enough that I can leave the number in the states before I go and has reasonable international calling. I don't care if I can't activate it till I get there, just would like a number in advance. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. My seat's @ Club Sideline 226/Row 4. That's the side that Redskins.com was selling so it should be the Skins side. Unless it's not. It looks like there's a bit of a walk from where public transportation ends to the stadium (but that's on Google maps). Normally I wouldn't care but I need to be careful with how much walking I do at the moment. Does anything get closer when there's an event or are there shuttles? Thanx for any info you can help with! Those are your seats at Wembley? TI didn't think that they assigned seats yet. I bought our tickets, through the email that the Skins ticket office sent season-ticket holders. Here's the excerpt from the email, that I received, after purchasing the tickets. Thank you, your order for International NFL Series game has been placed. Once the NFL has assigned seat locations, you will be notified by email from the Washington Redskins Ticket Office. Tickets will be shipped from the Washington Redskins Ticket Office approximately 2-3 weeks before the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmills67 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 The Redskins UK Surporters Club are trying to organise a get together on the Saturday night before the game, I will keep you informed when I know more details. HTTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns Bass Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 41 minutes ago, Skinsfan1311 said: Those are your seats at Wembley? TI didn't think that they assigned seats yet. I bought our tickets, through the email that the Skins ticket office sent season-ticket holders. Here's the excerpt from the email, that I received, after purchasing the tickets. Thank you, your order for International NFL Series game has been placed. Once the NFL has assigned seat locations, you will be notified by email from the Washington Redskins Ticket Office. Tickets will be shipped from the Washington Redskins Ticket Office approximately 2-3 weeks before the game. I don't have the actual seat - justy the row and sec I didn't make that very clear, sorry. The actual seat hasn't been set but they will be in Club Section 226 Row 4. I got them thru Stub Hub quite awhile ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincyfan Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 We decided to rent a flat instead of getting a hotel and got a 2BR apartment in Chelsea for less than $200/night. Try VRBO.com or Airbnb.com to find a deal. Look for ones with reviews so you know they have been rented before. I am looking for recommendations of things to do that maybe tourists don't know about. HTTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinC Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 4 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said: I'm sorry, if I wasn't clear. My statement, about contactless cards, only concerns getting around town on public transport. If we had them, we wouldn't bother with Oyster, or Travelcards Please bear with me. If the oyster card caps at £6.50 each day, how is a £12 each, daily, for a Travelcard a better deal? It won't be a long flight, either. We're staying in Dublin, for a few nights prior, so the flight won't be that long. That being said, we're probably still going to use the car service. I'd like to see London, above ground, so we don't mind a longer ride. Thanks! Oyster card is cheaper - but that £6.50 cost is only for travel in zone 1 which is central London. Wembley Stadium is in zone 4 from memory. Not sure what the cost is to include zone 4. Personally for a couple of days I could never be bothered getting the Oyster card. Just lazy. It was easier to me to buy a day travel card at an Underground Station using my debit card. I always used the tube in London. It's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold4life Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 3 hours ago, Johns Bass said: I didn't make that very clear, sorry. The actual seat hasn't been set but they will be in Club Section 226 Row 4. I got them thru Stub Hub quite awhile ago. The wife and are at sec. 233 row 1.... Also a stub hub purchase. If you see a largish guy (6'3") in a Kerrigan jersey with a shortish woman (4'11") say hello. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold4life Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 5 hours ago, Johns Bass said: The hardest part for me so far is getting or arranging for a phone chip that I can get with a UK phone number soon enough that I can leave the number in the states before I go and has reasonable international calling. I don't care if I can't activate it till I get there, just would like a number in advance. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. What carrier do you use? Verizon offers an option for the UK that I will be using. Just need to learn the dialing requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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