9h stop at Gatwick Airport

Hey folks,

I am planning my flight from USA to Switzerland and have basically two
flight options:
a) Tampa - Gatwick, Gatwick - Zurich (with a 9h stay at Gatwick)
b) Tampa - Gatwick (8am), Heathrow (3pm) - Zurich

I'm pretty sure that I'll pick the first option as I don't wanna take
the hassle of picking up my luggage at Gatwick, transfer to Heathrow
and check in again.

My question is if there is anything to do for me in London in this 9
hours between scheduled landing and take-off. Is it worth to make a
trip into London (Friday morning) to see something or even just have a
beer in a nice pub. I won't have to worry about my luggage as it will
be checked through to Zurich.
I read that the best way would probably be to take the Gatwick express
that takes you to Victoria Station in half an hour. Would this be close
to anything worth to see? How much is a transfer for both ways?

Thanks a lot for your ideas...
Michael

In article . com,
() wrote:

*From:*
*Date:* 1 Sep 2006 19:27:21 -0700

Hey folks,

I am planning my flight from USA to Switzerland and have basically two
flight options:
a) Tampa - Gatwick, Gatwick - Zurich (with a 9h stay at Gatwick)
b) Tampa - Gatwick (8am), Heathrow (3pm) - Zurich

I'm pretty sure that I'll pick the first option as I don't wanna take
the hassle of picking up my luggage at Gatwick, transfer to Heathrow
and check in again.

My question is if there is anything to do for me in London in this 9
hours between scheduled landing and take-off. Is it worth to make a
trip into London (Friday morning) to see something or even just have a
beer in a nice pub. I won't have to worry about my luggage as it will
be checked through to Zurich.
I read that the best way would probably be to take the Gatwick express
that takes you to Victoria Station in half an hour. Would this be close
to anything worth to see?

I thought the Gatwick Express was closing, but anyway...yes, it would put
you within walking distance of Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral,
and the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben etc.).

And even if the Express train disappears, the standard trains on that
route don't take much longer.

From Gatwick you could also go south to Brighton.

wrote:

Hey folks,

I am planning my flight from USA to Switzerland and have basically two
flight options:
a) Tampa - Gatwick, Gatwick - Zurich (with a 9h stay at Gatwick)
b) Tampa - Gatwick (8am), Heathrow (3pm) - Zurich

I'm pretty sure that I'll pick the first option as I don't wanna take
the hassle of picking up my luggage at Gatwick, transfer to Heathrow
and check in again.

My question is if there is anything to do for me in London in this 9
hours between scheduled landing and take-off. Is it worth to make a
trip into London (Friday morning) to see something or even just have a
beer in a nice pub. I won't have to worry about my luggage as it will
be checked through to Zurich.
I read that the best way would probably be to take the Gatwick express
that takes you to Victoria Station in half an hour. Would this be close
to anything worth to see? How much is a transfer for both ways?

Thanks a lot for your ideas...
Michael


If you just want a pub there are several ones in the nice little town
adjacent with all the B&Bs. My memory says Harley or Horley.

It's a small taxi ride ~ 5 minutes and much safer than going into the
center. Then come back, go thru security, and pick up a bite to eat
while waiting.

Thanks for your responses

Oh, I didn't know that the Gatwick express isn't in service anymore.
The postings I read in here have probably been a couple of years old.
Anyways, how much would it be to go into the center with the other
trains?

Frank, what do you mean with "safer". I guess you mean to be back on
the airport by time...? Well, if the time allows it I would love to see
just a little bit of London (as I have not been there before) but if 9
hours might be too short it may be safer to stick around the airport...

Any other opinions?

Frank F. Matthews wrote:

If you just want a pub there are several ones in the nice little town
adjacent with all the B&Bs. My memory says Harley or Horley.

It's a small taxi ride ~ 5 minutes and much safer than going into the
center. Then come back, go thru security, and pick up a bite to eat
while waiting.

In article . com,
() wrote:

*From:*
*Date:* 1 Sep 2006 22:14:31 -0700

Thanks for your responses

Oh, I didn't know that the Gatwick express isn't in service anymore.
The postings I read in here have probably been a couple of years old.
Anyways, how much would it be to go into the center with the other
trains?

The return fare is around GBP15/20 (USD 30/40), as I recall.

Frank, what do you mean with "safer". I guess you mean to be back on
the airport by time...? Well, if the time allows it I would love to see
just a little bit of London (as I have not been there before) but if 9
hours might be too short it may be safer to stick around the airport...

It's only a half-hour journey, so as long as you leave plenty of margin
for delays it should be quite safe to plan on spending a few hours in
London.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks for your responses

Oh, I didn't know that the Gatwick express isn't in service anymore.

This is just a proposal, it hasn't yet happened.

In any case there will still be 10 trains an hour from Gatwick
to London, it's just that they will arrive from further down the
line, not sitting waiting in the platform for 15 minutes.

The postings I read in here have probably been a couple of years old.
Anyways, how much would it be to go into the center with the other
trains?

Frank, what do you mean with "safer". I guess you mean to be back on
the airport by time...? Well, if the time allows it I would love to see
just a little bit of London (as I have not been there before) but if 9
hours might be too short it may be safer to stick around the airport...

9 hours is more than enough to do 'something'.
Just don't cut your return trip too fine.

tim

Make sure you check on arrival exactly how much time you really have
before you have to be back to check in.

Trains to London take about half an hour and cost around £8. Gatwick
Express is a non-stop to Victoria, but you can get a slightly cheaper
stopping train to Victoria, or to Blackfriars or London Bridge further
east.

You could take a hop-on hop-off tour from Victoria or London Bridge:

www.bigbustours.com
www.theoriginaltour.com

Or you could just get on the tube or ordinary bus from Victoria to
Westminster and stroll up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square; or from
London Bridge you could stroll along the South Bank towards Tate
Modern and the footbridge to St Pauls.

Another option might be to go the other way from Gatwick. Brighton is
about half an hour away by train. You could get a breath of sea air
and/or wander the antique shops in the Lanes or visit the Brighton
Pavilion.

But it all depends on how time you really have.

PJW

On 1 Sep 2006 19:27:21 -0700, wrote:

My question is if there is anything to do for me in London in this 9
hours between scheduled landing and take-off. Is it worth to make a
trip into London (Friday morning) to see something or even just have a
beer in a nice pub. I won't have to worry about my luggage as it will
be checked through to Zurich.
I read that the best way would probably be to take the Gatwick express
that takes you to Victoria Station in half an hour. Would this be close
to anything worth to see? How much is a transfer for both ways?

Thanks a lot for your ideas...
Michael

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey folks,

I am planning my flight from USA to Switzerland and have basically two
flight options:
a) Tampa - Gatwick, Gatwick - Zurich (with a 9h stay at Gatwick)
b) Tampa - Gatwick (8am), Heathrow (3pm) - Zurich

I'm pretty sure that I'll pick the first option as I don't wanna take
the hassle of picking up my luggage at Gatwick, transfer to Heathrow
and check in again.

My question is if there is anything to do for me in London in this 9
hours between scheduled landing and take-off. Is it worth to make a
trip into London (Friday morning) to see something or even just have a
beer in a nice pub. I won't have to worry about my luggage as it will
be checked through to Zurich.
I read that the best way would probably be to take the Gatwick express
that takes you to Victoria Station in half an hour. Would this be close
to anything worth to see? How much is a transfer for both ways?

Thanks a lot for your ideas...
Michael
You have two options for London.
Go to London Victoria using either Gatwick Express train
http://www.gatwickexpress.co.uk/ or normal trains (less money) or the
frequent trains to London Bridge. Look at the times on
www.nationalrail.co.uk Just input GTW for Gatwick and LBG for london Bridge.
I would suggest taking the normal train to London Bridge. Won't take more
than 45 minutes and usually about 30 minutes. Walk over the Bridge for the
great view of Tower Bridge and into the 'square mile' - the financial centre
of old London. Then head for one of the older pubs in this vicinity. There
is the Lamb in Leadenhall Market close to Lloyd's - they do a good a good
pint. But at lunchtime it's 'chocker'.
There are some other historic pubs in this area. Just ask a local. Go down
an alley to find Simpsons Tavern and have a chop and spotted dick if you're
hungry washed down by some well stored ale. Lovely jubbly. Beware though as
Friday lunch is quite a relaxing time for city slickers and places will get
busy by 1pm ! .

On 1 Sep 2006 22:14:31 -0700, wrote:

Frank, what do you mean with "safer". I guess you mean to be back on
the airport by time...? Well, if the time allows it I would love to see
just a little bit of London (as I have not been there before) but if 9
hours might be too short it may be safer to stick around the airport...

Any other opinions?

Nine hours is not too short. You can get into London in less than an
hour. Allow half an hour for immigration before leaving the airport.
Allow four hours for the trip back, to be safe. You will have about 4
hours in London.

My sister did something similar a few years ago. When she (and her
husband and son) got to Victoria station, they asked a cab driver to
give them a quick tour in his cab, and they spent the rest of the time
walking around the Westminster area.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

I read that the best way would probably be to take the Gatwick express
that takes you to Victoria Station in half an hour. Would this be close
to anything worth to see? How much is a transfer for both ways?

http://www.southernrailway.com/promo...promotions.php

Is the local (slightly cheaper) train operator, they will stop once or twice
(maybe 5 times if you get on the wrong train). The link has some offers. The
open top bus might be an idea as you are likely to be a little jet-lagged.

You can also buy a one-day travelcard for the local train to London and
unlimited tube and bus journeys. It is only a pound or two more than the
return fare.