I am hoping someone can help me here, as I'm having such a difficult time figuring out where to stay when visiting our son. I have never been to London and didn't realize how big an area it is! He will be doing a semester at Roehampton U which is in SW 15, but I think I would like to stay closer to the sights and he could visit on the weekend and at night. I also think it would make sense to be near a train station so we could go back and forth to the University easily. I prefer to stay in a flat that is within walking distance to most of the sights. Please, can someone point me in the right direction? I've been doing some research, but am still so confused! Thanks so much!
Hi Jayneann7, and welcome to Slow Travel. You are not the first to be confused about where to stay in London. In a recent thread here, I have a few links to websites that describe the various London neighborhoods. And, as I said there - London has so much to offer that no matter where you decide to stay, there will be times when you will have to travel to get to where you want to go!
Looking at the Roehampton University site, it looks like trains to Barnes leave from London's Waterloo Station, which is on the South Bank of the river, near the South Bank Center. I have seen some rental flats listed that are not far from there - but you might prefer to be more centrally located.
I would suggest you take a look at a London Underground map to get a sense of the areas with the most direct connections to Waterloo, and choose a rental location convenient to one of those stops. On our main Slow Travel pages, you will find reviews of many possibile rental properties.
Happy planning!
Judy
Posts: 3899 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
This may not be as close as you'd like, but it is a Gloucester Road, on the Circle Line. It's in a nice neighborhood, and currently showing 74 gbp a night for a single with a kitchenette. You might want to file it away if you can't find anything closer. It's the Rosary Gardens property.
I also wanted to let you know that if you were looking for something to do near to his college, White Hart Lane has some lovely shops and restaurants.
Tobias and the Angel, at 68 White Hart Lane is one of my favorites, with lovely handmade things and antiques. There's also the Dining Room Shop and a couple of tea shops. I usually get off at Barnes Bridge, take a left out of the station and it's a 5-10 minute walk along the river into town.
I have become very, very creative at getting things home from these shops!
Stayed in Kennington this past May in a wonderful flat in a quiet neighborhood. Kennington is south of the Thames, near Lambeth Palace and the Imperial War Museum. It was about 100 yards to the Kennington Tube stop, near a very nice park and you could walk to Tesco (supermarket). The landord, Simon lives above and is most helpful. Here is the link: http://www.holiday-rentals.co....nt-London/p61823.htm
(edited by kaydee to activate link)
This message has been edited. Last edited by: kaydee,
Posts: 6 | Location: Port Orange, FL, USA | Registered: 31 August 2003
Thank you all for such valuable information. I will check out the links and get back to you. I'm sorry, but I forgot to mention that I would like a 2 bedroom flat so our son could stay with us on the weekend, plus another son might be coming with us!
As tourmama suggests the quickest route to and from central London is likely to be the suburban train from Waterloo to either Putney or Barnes (15-20 minutes or so) and a bus from there. I used to commute into town from Putney, which may be an option in itself, since it has a fairly lively town centre.
An alternative might be anywhere along the District or Piccadilly tube lines to Hammersmith, from where you can get a bus to Roehampton.
Between those two options, pretty well anywhere where most tourist accommodation is likely to be found is not impossible.
But are you sure he's going to be living near the main campus? The University was formed from a federation of smaller colleges scattered across the area, and he might be living nearer a different set of bus routes.
Thanks PatrickLondon, more great information! Our son isn't going until the Fall 2010, so he doesn't know exactly where he'll be staying, but I want to begin planning our trip now. Most likely, we will stay in the center of London, just not sure where. Please keep the information coming! Thanks again!
But on the whole they will all get you either to the suburban line running between Waterloo and Barnes, or to the underground at Putney Bridge (likely to be a bit slower to central London than Waterloo).
So you could stay anywhere in central London within reasonable reach of Waterloo, or District Line - which is pretty well anywhere you might think of anyway.
