We finally have our first week off in 6 months and the first thing we have planned is a little staycation in London. I have never been so excited to book night away and a meal out. Before Covid a meal out and a few cocktails would equal the perfect date for Matt and I, not necessarily in London though. Matt and I live around a 2 hour drive from London so travelling to London has never been a regular thing. So whenever we make a trip we like to make the most out of our stay! Here’s what we got up to for 24 hours in London and some ideas for anyone else booking a trip to London.
1. Travel
I won’t lie I am not a massive fan of the underground so if possible I try avoid it. The best way is to plan where you’re going and make sure everything you want is within walking distance. This includes the hotel, restaurants and attractions. Might sound like a lot of work, but in London you’re not stuck for choice on what to do. So we picked the area around the Tower of London.
Parking or driving through the capital can be expensive, so it’s best to park outside of the centre and commute into the middle. Getting to London is usually quite easy from where we live in the Peak District, when we travelled down we parked overnight at Luton Parkway, £11 for the night and a 50 minute train to London Bridge.
2. Tower of London
There are plenty of things to do in London, whether you’re into the major tourist attractions or want to stay off the beaten track. It’s funny how you can live in a country and not visit the things that attracts so many tourists from across the world. Matt and I wanted to visit a tourist attraction and chose the Tower of London. It’s a great visit for anyone who’s interested in history! The Tower of London has housed many people for almost a 1000 years whilst also acting as a prison and the home for the crown jewels.
We visited on a Sunday afternoon and the Tower was very quiet. We managed to tour the Tower in 2.5 hours, including a very tasty lunch at their restaurant. It cost £29 per ticket, which for a major tourist attraction isn’t too bad at all.
3. Dinner and Drinks
Dinner: London is a foodie’s Heaven! You are spoilt for choice- we had real trouble picking where we wanted to go! Right next to the Tower of London and the River Thames is a beautiful restaurant called Coppa Club. We chose to sit outside which has beautiful views over the river. They have heated outdoor pods you can book which over look the river too. The food was really yummy and not too over-priced given the location.
Drinks: We couldn’t help ourselves stopping off for a few pre-dinner drinks. Around a 10 minute walk from the Coppa Club is a bar/ crazy golf called ‘Swingers‘. There are 2 courses to pick from, and we did the ‘Windmill’ course. Drinks are brought over to you whilst you play, which can make for an interesting game of crazy golf.
The next day we stopped off at a coffee shop next to the Tower of London called Pauls. It’s a small French shop, which does the best cakes! We chose 3 cakes to eat after our journey home.
4. Sky Gardens
The Sky Garden, as you might guess, is a tropical garden at the top of one of the high-rise buildings in the heart of London. If you’re wanting a glimpse of London from up high then it’s the perfect place to go. You can see for miles, there’s a large balcony, coffee shop and best of all, it’s free! You need to book tickets but it’s free of charge to climb the 36 floors! Which is ideal if you’re looking for something affordable.
5. Walking
A great (and cheap) way of seeing London is just to walk around. There are some beautiful pathways near the Tower of London, one that we walked many times wrapped around the outside of the Tower. You can also walk alongside the River Thames crossing over the water at the Tower Bridge and London Bridge. A full loop takes around 40 minutes. Along the way you will see many tourist attractions, obviously the Tower Bridge and London Bridge, but also the Tower of London, the Shard and HMS Belfast (just to name a few).
And that’s it, everything we managed to cram into 24 hours! It was a very busy day, however we both loved our visit and can’t wait to get back!
