London 2
Practical Travel Advice for Seniors: London
While we could easily repeat the same itinerary every time we visit London, this visit we decided to go off the beaten path a bit and experience some of the things that we hadn’t gotten to yet.
We definitely have a list of things that we like to do no matter where we go, of which botanical gardens is near the top. Even though we had been to London multiple times, we had not had enough time or forethought to go to Kew Gardens, formally known as The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Kew Gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage site and are actually located in a suburb of London called Richmond. It is easily accessible via “the Tube” or the London subway, though it is out of the main zone so the fare may be a little more – make sure you top up your Oyster Card.
Also, while we are on the subject of Oyster Cards, this trip I was able to order them online and have them shipped to the US. An Oyster Card is like a credit card that one uses for the subway access gates. You can pre-load money onto the card via your credit card. It is a super easy and safe way to get around in London and you should definitely try it.
Kew Gardens covers about 326 acres of land, so wear good walking shoes. Much of the gardens is accessible. You will need about 3-4 hours or longer to explore. Key highlights are The Palm House, Temperate House, Kew Palace, and the Treetop Walkway. They also have several restaurants/cafes on site for sustenance to keep up your stamina!
Waterlily House was one of our favorites and of course the Palm House and the Pagoda. The rose gardens were in full bloom and breathtaking. When we visited and it was a beautiful sunny day and we took our time to stroll and truly enjoy ourselves instead of running from “must see” to the next “must see”. You may want to do a little research on your own before you arrive….there is so much to see and it is a big place. It may be helpful to narrow down your “must see” list before you need multiple tea breaks!
There is a lot to experience in London and a lot that I would visit again and again, but Kew Gardens was a very worthwhile stop and deserves its place on any itinerary, just keep in mind that to truly enjoy it you should take your time on a pleasant day and not run through it.
Another “must see” that we had not been able to work in during our visits was Buckingham Palace. The Palace is only open for the public July – September, while the King is away, and we just made the deadline. Of course, you don’t get to see the WHOLE palace, only the King’s Gallery, Royal Mews and State Rooms. Highly recommend buying your tickets online on a combination ticket and you will want to do this well in advance as it is very popular.
The touring areas are on the west side of the Palace and are pretty easy to locate. Make note of your ticket entry time for each of the attractions, as you don’t want to miss your time slot and they don’t give you a lot of time at each location. Further, if you miss your allocated time, you may be out of luck.
The King’s Gallery housed a number of artworks, mostly paintings and some exceptional historic dresses and first copy books, It took about an hour to go through. Highlights were Princess Alexandra’s Coronation Dress and an original Puccini score.
The Staterooms were of course magnificent, though no pictures are allowed. We toured through nineteen of the rooms including the Throne Room and the Ballroom. About two hours here. When walking through the State Rooms, I couldn’t help but think that many famous historical figures had passed through the same rooms and walked the same walk. Makes you feel pretty awesome.
The Royal Mews houses the royal collections of carriages. The horses are also stabled in the area and were being put through their paces when we visited. The Mews was one of the most interesting on the tour as each carriage had a placard with its history and there was a full-scale mock up of the coronation carriage complete with replica horses and guardsmen. It was nicely done, about an hour unless you are a carriage afficionado.
Something I was looking forward to on this particular tour as well, was the opportunity to have “tea” at Buckingham Palace! It is not cheap and comes with a commemorative tin for two (your tea savories and sweeties are in the tin). You will want to purchase the tins and tea service in advance as well, just in case. We picked ours up at the Garden Café which is just outside the Palace attractions.
In case you are interested, we had ham, “Coronation” (curried) chicken, smoked salmon and egg salad finger sandwiches, scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream and sweeties featuring Bakewell tart, lemon cake, red velvet and carrot cake, plus hot tea of course. The actual menu was much more bougie, I’m just paraphrasing here (for instance, the ham sandwich text was “Wiltshire pulled ham, sweet pickle and English mustard mayonnaise” on homemade wheat bread ! It was pretty crowded, so again, make your reservations early. Very enjoyable and a nice pampering experience!
Before you leave, make sure to have your picture taken in a set up that appears as if you are on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the royalty in attendance behind you, all waving to the masses of commoners. Be sure to give the “Queen’s wave” and send the pix to all of your friends back home!
After tea, it was a stroll through some of the nicely manicured yard to the exit point. Take a left out of the exit point to get back to the west side of the grounds where you started and of course, where the souvenir shops are located. We did pick up a nice cookbook on the King’s favorite tea sandwiches and sweeties and some of the King’s favorite tea (special mix made only for the Royals) from the Royal Gift Shop. Also not cheap.
To top off our two days in London, we ended with an evening candlelight concert at St Martin in the Fields, to hear a little Vivaldi. The church is in Trafalgar Square, which has its own many attractions and history. The National Gallery is also located here and we spent a few hours taking a look before the concert.
The National Gallery is one of our favorites along with the Victoria & Albert which was closed this trip. Must see works at the National Gallery include Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, The Arnolfinis Portrait by Jan Van Eyck and The Fighting Temeraire by JMW Turner to name a few. I can stand for hours in important art galleries like this one looking at rooms full of Rembrandts, Da Vincis and famous Spanish, Italian and Dutch painters. Heaven!
St Marin in the Fields is a smallish church built in the early 1700’s. I’ve always liked the scale and beauty of it. There is a café in the crypt of St Martin in the Fields if you’d like a quick bite or a glass of wine and nibbles before the concert. The concert was nicely done by talented musicians. A very enjoyable way to end the day.
We also made time to go for an extensive walk from Buckingham Palace all of the way over to the Parliament Building and Westminster Abbey. We didn’t go inside, just a slow walk through some of the most notable parts of London and a quick view of the Thames. Can’t stop in London without seeing Big Ben!
So next time you are in London and feel that you have seen everything at least once, try Kew Gardens or Buckingham Palace (watch the opening dates) and maybe take in a candlelit concert. If all else fails, at least grab some fish and chips!
Where we stayed: Mercure Earls Court. Comfortable, easy access to Tube stop, breakfast included. Centrally located. Fully accessible.
How we got there: Flight from US to Heathrow. This was a pretrip before commencing a 15-day small group tour through Scotland and Ireland.
General Accessibility Information: Accessibility Information: Major tourist areas, newer hotels, transportation and most cities are accessible. VisitEngland’s National Accessible Scheme (NAS) highlights accommodation and attractions that have improved their accessibility. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
