​​Backpacking in the United Kingdom: London Day 1
February 2, 2023 | Tagged: United Kingdom
Suddenly finding myself back in London, I backpacked the city over 5 days. I enjoyed visiting some of the iconic though less well-known sights across the city.
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I based myself at St Christopher's Hammersmith, which is part of the St Christopher's Inn Backpacking Hostel chain. Over the years I have stayed in their hostels in Paris and Barcelona.
It felt very strange to me to be using hostels in England. And even more strange that I was not going to be heading to my dad's house after arriving at London Heathrow Airport.
It felt very strange to me to be using hostels in England. And even more strange that I was not going to be heading to my dad's house after arriving at London Heathrow Airport.
The St Christopher's Hammersmith is perhaps one of the best deals to be had in London, though I stayed here a year later and the place has gone down hill. I booked directly and got a bed for 6 nights with breakfast included, for £110.
If I had used the more popular and now much more expensive booking platform, the same bed would have cost me £110 without breakfast which was priced at £4.
As I said, it's one of the best deals in London if booked directly.
If I had used the more popular and now much more expensive booking platform, the same bed would have cost me £110 without breakfast which was priced at £4.
As I said, it's one of the best deals in London if booked directly.
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But don't expect too much. It's like staying in a hotel in that you don't get anything beyond the bed and a place to shower but you are staying in shared dorm rooms.
The ever-so-tiny common area on level 1 has a microwave and kettle but no plates, cutlery or cups which is pretty useless in my opinion and no fridge.
But the breakfast was spot on and made up for everything else that was lacking in the hostel.
Cereals, bread, jam, honey, Nutella, ham, cheese, tomato, cucumber, orange juice and of course tea and coffee and of course it was ALL YOU CAN EAT.
The ever-so-tiny common area on level 1 has a microwave and kettle but no plates, cutlery or cups which is pretty useless in my opinion and no fridge.
But the breakfast was spot on and made up for everything else that was lacking in the hostel.
Cereals, bread, jam, honey, Nutella, ham, cheese, tomato, cucumber, orange juice and of course tea and coffee and of course it was ALL YOU CAN EAT.
And the convenience of location, directly across the street from the Hammersmith Underground Station so it's easy to get into Central London.
Getting around in London:
Top priority, get yourself an OYSTER CARD. This is the top-up travel card used in London.
They now cost £7 but you can recover that cost in just 1 day.
The fare system in London is based on Zones. Central London is Zone 1, Hammersmith is Zone 2. Heathrow Airport is out in Zone 7.
Sample fares:
Zone 1: Using the Oyster Card, a ride within Zone 1 costs £2.50 at any time but £6.30 when paying for a single ticket
London Heathrow Airport to Hammersmith: Heathrow (zone 7) to Hammersmith (zone 2) off-peak fare is just £1.90. The fare for riding in the rush hour, 6:30 am to 9:30 am and 4 pm to 7 pm Monday to Friday, known as peak time, is £3.90 with the Oyster Card. A single-trip ticket is £6.30.
Hammersmith to Central London: Hammersmith (zone 2) to Central London (zone 1) is £3.30/£2.60 peak/off-peak with the OysterCard. And again, if you buy a single trip, the fare is £6.30.
Big savings to be had.
You can check the fares for yourself on the Transport For London website.
They now cost £7 but you can recover that cost in just 1 day.
The fare system in London is based on Zones. Central London is Zone 1, Hammersmith is Zone 2. Heathrow Airport is out in Zone 7.
Sample fares:
Zone 1: Using the Oyster Card, a ride within Zone 1 costs £2.50 at any time but £6.30 when paying for a single ticket
London Heathrow Airport to Hammersmith: Heathrow (zone 7) to Hammersmith (zone 2) off-peak fare is just £1.90. The fare for riding in the rush hour, 6:30 am to 9:30 am and 4 pm to 7 pm Monday to Friday, known as peak time, is £3.90 with the Oyster Card. A single-trip ticket is £6.30.
Hammersmith to Central London: Hammersmith (zone 2) to Central London (zone 1) is £3.30/£2.60 peak/off-peak with the OysterCard. And again, if you buy a single trip, the fare is £6.30.
Big savings to be had.
You can check the fares for yourself on the Transport For London website.
Ticket machine for buying and topping up your Oyster card:
This is the first of 5 blog posts detailing my days in London:
London is one of the greatest cities in the world. And until now I only ever went to London to catch a flight out of Heathrow or Gatwick or to take the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels.
So naturally, there were a lot of sights on my London Bucket List. And I wanted to see some of the lesser-known sights as well as the more famous ones.
And I used the Underground, known as the TUBE, to get myself into the centre and then explored on foot.
The first morning like all the mornings that followed, I took my breakfast and took the Tube into Central London.
First up was SIS HEADQUARTERS, better known as Mi6. Britsh Secret Intelligence. The name's Bond, James Bond. Yes, 007 works here.
Of course, you can't just roll up and wander around.
This place is locked down tighter than Fort Knox.
But you can see the well-known landmark from Vauxhall Bridge and from across the River:
London is one of the greatest cities in the world. And until now I only ever went to London to catch a flight out of Heathrow or Gatwick or to take the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels.
So naturally, there were a lot of sights on my London Bucket List. And I wanted to see some of the lesser-known sights as well as the more famous ones.
And I used the Underground, known as the TUBE, to get myself into the centre and then explored on foot.
The first morning like all the mornings that followed, I took my breakfast and took the Tube into Central London.
First up was SIS HEADQUARTERS, better known as Mi6. Britsh Secret Intelligence. The name's Bond, James Bond. Yes, 007 works here.
Of course, you can't just roll up and wander around.
This place is locked down tighter than Fort Knox.
But you can see the well-known landmark from Vauxhall Bridge and from across the River:
Next up was Tate Britain, National Collection of British Art.
Not overly impressed but at least the entrance was free.
Not overly impressed but at least the entrance was free.
Cool to see L.S. Lowry's Industrial Landscape 1955:
I rather liked this one, Death and the Conquistador 1959 by Aubrey Williams
You see, it is not always raining in England:
Continuing past Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament:
Then along Victoria Embankment to see the iconic New Scotland Yard sign, headquaters of the Metropolitan Police:
Then I headed away from The River to go visit the Mail Rail.
I had wanted to visit here since I saw the explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes visiting the Royal Mail Underground Railway and being a former postie myself, this place was on my London Bucket List. Here are a couple of photos but you see many more on my Mail Rail Postal Museum blog post, where I detailed my visit in full:
I had wanted to visit here since I saw the explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes visiting the Royal Mail Underground Railway and being a former postie myself, this place was on my London Bucket List. Here are a couple of photos but you see many more on my Mail Rail Postal Museum blog post, where I detailed my visit in full:
On the move again, to the British Museum, an impressive building but wasn't impressed with the collections. Glad it was free to enter.
Back on the Tube, I rode to Bond Street, then St John's Wood, and a short walk to Abbey Road and the famous Abbey Road Cross Walk, the one on the cover of The Beatles Abbey Road album.
Enough for my 1st day, I headed back to Hammersmith to plan Day 2.
This post is the property of Nomadic Backpacker
This post is the property of Nomadic Backpacker