First day in London

[dogpoundmike]

Hello All! We arrive at Gatwick at 6 am and cannot check in until 2 pm. What have you all done that first day to both adjust while playing in London. And are there any secrets to get from Gatwick into the city?
Thanks, Mike

[WillTravel]

Where are you staying? The usual best option is to take the train from Gatwick, either the Gatwick Express, Southern, or First Capital Connect. Gatwick Express and Southern both go to Victoria Station, but Southern is cheaper and takes several minutes longer. First Capital Connect goes to several stations in central London. With any of these train options, you would then walk to where you are staying, or you would take the tube.

In most instances, you can drop off your luggage where you are staying, prior to check-in.

Once that is done, I'd suggest going for a nice walk. You can also take a London Walk - www.walks.com - if you are feeling like it. These are very informative and enjoyable. The best thing is to keep moving and if possible keep outside in order to fight off jetlag. Then, around 8 PM, you can let yourself go to sleep, and hopefully wake up the next day feeling great.

[herrbert]

For a first day in London, I would suggest to drop off the bags at the hostel/hotel (that is almost never a problem, and you can comeback to check in, later in the day.), and then go for a walk on the South Bank. You can start at the Houses of Parliament, and walk along the Thames, all the way to the Tower Bridge. It a perfect way to get to know the city a little bit, and to get some sort of orientation in this city.

Along the way you will see a lot of the sights already. (Big Ben, The Eye, Oxo tower, Tate, Millenium Birdge, HMS Belfast, Globe Theater, St Pauls (on the other bank, across the Millenium Birdge), The Tower and the Tower Bridge.

[Eagle]

dogpoundmike, a few comments to add to the others.

Even though you'll be arriving at 06:00, you might not actually be in London until about 09:00. It will take some time to disembark, collect luggage, and especially go through Passport control (on my visit last Fall, that was the longest part of the process). The ride to London will take a minimum of 30 minutes.

As the others have said, the Gatwick Express is a good option. It leaves about every 15 minutes and goes direct to London Victoria station. From there it's an easy ride on the Tube to just about anywhere in London. I was staying in the Victoria Station area, so that was perfect for me. The cost of the least expensive ticket (one way) is UK$16.90.

After Passport control, as I recall you'll need to go upstairs to get to the rail lines. You can buy tickets on the train (the Conductor will come along once the train starts moving). Be sure to have a few Pounds on hand.

Are you staying in a Hostel or Hotel? Most lodgings will allow guests to store their luggage until check-in time. If the room wasn't occupied on the previous night (ie: doesn't need cleaning), they might even allow you to check in early?

As the others have said, it's a good idea to keep active the first day, and then go to bed early. At times I've allowed myself a short nap just to give me a bit more energy to get through the day.

Happy travels!!!

[pointofnoreturn]

I would definitely take it easy. Without a specific place in mind, I'd just drop off the bags and have a walk around and even go for a late breakfast-early lunch with a quiet sit-down in mind.

[dogpoundmike]

Thanks for all the ideas! We are staying at the Farringdon Travel Lodge which is between Kings Cross and Farringdon stops. We can check at noon the earliest. And will go from there.
Thanks, Mike

[WillTravel]

Travelodge is one place you cannot drop off your luggage. However, I think that some train and bus stations (like Victoria) have lockers, so look into that. With terrorism concerns, though, these are not always available.

Otherwise, you maybe could do something like go to the British Museum and check your luggage in the cloakroom, if you are traveling light.

[madamtrashheap]

You can leave your bags at the Left Luggage area at Platform 8 in King's Cross station (not St Pancras side), but as far as I know there are no more lockers in any stations. Victoria Station also has a Left Luggage facility between Platform 7 & 8 (it's basically in the middle of the station, past Krispy Kreme and behind W H Smith shop). Don't know the cost per hour, but it's usually resonable, however it might make sense to make your way to Kings X and leave your bags there, that way you're closer to the hotel. Farringdon has some groovy bars and cafes too so you won't have to go far on your first night if jet lag kicks in.

[dogpoundmike]

I could not find a price for Left Luggage so I emailed them. Not going to sweat it though. Hopefully jet lag won't affect me enough to not want to find a rugby practice in London the first night. Thanks for all of the help.
Mike