Day trip from London....MADE IT

[dav3469]

Folks,

I will be in London the first week of August. I will have roughly from 9AM to 9PM on one free day, to take in the sights. I have been to the Imperial War Museum, as well as the RAF Museum Hendon on previous trips (as well as done the touristy things in London).

I would like to get out of the city by rail or bus for the day, and am looking for Aviation (vintage preferred) minded places to visit. I am considering Duxford, but am looking for suggestions if anyone has other places I may not realize are close.

Also, it does not look like a long trip out of London to get to Duxford. Can anyone confirm this?

Any suggestions or assistance would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[johnwayne]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

You couldnt do better than go to Duxford! Yes it's a 'good' day getting there and back and seeing it all though but has more than flying if you're interested (the Land Warfare bit is very good and worth seeing) but hailing from the US I'm sure you'd be keen on the American Air Museum, they've a few A2s on display as well as all the aircraft - a quite impressive tribute to what your countrymen did, why we should never forget and why it's there!! Of particular interest too are hangars 2-3 (which are original pre WWII) and are the working part of Duxford where all the restoration work is undertaken.
Easy to get to from London by car (about an hour's drive up the M11) and I think public transport but check http://duxford.iwm.org.uk or google it, where you'll see the transport info!!
Enjoy!!!

Wayne

 

[havocpaul]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

I agree, Duxford would be first choice. You can get a train to Cambridge where a bus does frequent services to the airfield or get a train from London to Whittlesford (I think) where a 15/20 minute walk gets you to the museum or finally National Express do a bus from Victoria coach station. Leave early and you'll see many great sights with the added atmosphere of it being a genuine WW2 Battle of Britain/USAAF airfield.

 

[dav3469]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Thanks for all the tips folks.....Duxford it is.....

 

[jnlight75]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Just add my $.02 - I recently had a similar layover in London and made the trip to Duxford. If you only have one day, using the public transit option will be tough. The train or National Express bus from Heathrow to Cambridge takes around 2 hours each way, depending on time of day. The local bus from central Cambridge to the Duxford Museum takes another 45-60 minutes each way. It is easy enough to figure out, but works better if you can do an overnight in Cambridge. For a single day, I'd try to go the car route. The museum was well worth the trip to get out there, though!

 

[dav3469]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Ouch, I didnt realise the train would take so long. I was going to take the express train into London and catch a train from there. Do you think that would be any quicker?

 

[stubbyeighth]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

For what it's worth, I've visited England only once, in 2002. I went to Duxford and RAF Tangmere in Sussex. Of the two, I remember my visit to Tangmere more vividly and fondly.

Duxford is great, but it's polished, crowded, regulated, and somewhat sterile. At Tangmere you can walk right up and into the old towers and walk the old runways. And the museum is good, too. The "host" was a old RAF pilot who flew from Tangmere during WW2. It lacks the barracks and hangers that Duxford has, but offers a more intimate experience. Duxford feels like a "museum," somewhat artificial, while Tangmere feels like a decaying relic. I guess it's a matter of taste.

When I visited, Tangmere was a day trip from London, but I had a car at my disposal. Can't speak as to how long it might take using public transportation. Also, my visit was 7 years ago now, so things may have changed, but I kind of doubt it--unless someone or something threw a lot of money at Tangmere to change it.

Link: http://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/index.php


Just my 2 cents.

______________________________

stubbyeighth

 

[wop54]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Having gathered info recently i can tell that National Express operates a regular service between London Victoria Coach Station and Cambridge that stops at Duxford I.W.M.
Departure 9,30 AM (arrive 11,10) and return at 4,00 PM (5,45 PM). The fare is 11,60 GBP.
Here's the link:
http://www.nationalexpress.com/bp/b2.cf ... N=14822573
Hope this helps!

 

[rich]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

If you're starting out in central London, it might be better to catch the train from King's Cross railway station to Cambridge. If you catch a direct train, you'll be in Cambridge in 46 minutes. You can catch a bus from outside the train station at Cambridge to Duxford, they run every 30 minutes.

If you take the Tube/Subway from Heathrow to get to King's Cross, you're looking at around an hour's journey, much of it over-ground, those trains run every 5 minutes or so.

Good luck with your trip, I hope you enjoy it - don't forget your umbrella!

 

[dav3469]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Thanks Folks for all the tips.

I am going to take the Express train from Heathrow into London to make a Rail connection. The express is a bit more expensive but only takes 15minutes into Paddington Station London.


Thanks again!

 

[deeb7]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

To reach Cambridge from Heathrow, it is necessary to travel to central London (by subway or train) and catch a connecting train from London to Cambridge. The Underground (subway, also called the Tube runs from Heathrow into central London via the Piccadilly Line (navy blue). The Tube journey will cost about £3.40, depending on how far you wish to travel. The Piccadilly Line goes straight to King's Cross, which is the departure point for trains to Cambridge. The journey time on the Piccadilly Line is about one hour and and ten minutes into King's Cross.

A faster line into central London is the new Heathrow Express, which takes you into Paddington Station from where you can connect with the Tube. You will then need to transfer to King's Cross Station to catch a train to Cambridge. The Heathrow Express takes 15 minutes non-stop: and costs approximately £15.50 one-way for tickets purchased in-person before departure (£24.50 1st Class). You may take the Underground from Paddington Station to King's Cross, but bear in mind that if you are going directly to Cambridge from Heathrow, your total travel time on either route will be comparable, and the Underground connection at Paddington involves many stairs (no elevator) – not fun with heavy luggage!

 

[asiamiles]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

An old friend of mine recently visited Duxford and has posted some photos online (which might help you making a decision on whether to go) along with some snapped at the air show at Cosford, which I used to live right next to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pawoodhead/

 

[dav3469]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Folks,

I will be there in a couple of days. Was wondering if anyone had any firsthand knowledge about Taxi's in Cambridge. In specific, how far from Cambridge rail station is Duxford. In the interest of saving time I would be willing to fork out for a taxi if we are talking just a few miles from the city.

Anyone have a guess kind of time we are talking Taxi wise from the station to Duxford?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Andrew]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Dave, according to the maps function on my iPhone, it's 8.2 miles, 15 Mins by car (or in the unlikely event you walked 2hrs and 44)... But I'm sure that nothing beats local knowledge.

 

[dav3469]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Thanks Andrew!... A taxi it may be.

Will be up on the Gold Coast from Aug. 16th. I am going to take a day that week at drive up to the QAM I think. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Andrew]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Thanks Andrew!... A taxi it may be.

Will be up on the Gold Coast from Aug. 16th. I am going to take a day that week at drive up to the QAM I think. Thanks for the suggestions!

Dave, if you can stretch things till the 29th you should try to get out to Watts Bridge an hour by car NW of Brisbane. That's a good little event to get to- here's the link
http://www.wattsbridge.com.au/welcome/page.html

plus I forgot to mention if you ar in Brisbane you might want to check out the MacArthur Museum in the city. Dont know how good it is or which days it's open but might be worth a peek. If I could get away Id like to meet up at the QAM but it's not looking good at this moment.

 

[johnwayne]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Dave
Try this info (from Duxfords website)
Cambridge C7 Bus Service – Monday to Saturday
Between Monday and Saturday the scheduled Stagecoach C7 service operates from the Bus Stop B in Emmanuel Street, via Cambridge Rail Station and Addenbrookes hospital, departing at 30 minute intervals from 8.55am and then throughout the day. The return times from Imperial War Museum Duxford are on the hour and half past the hour. The last departure is at 5.30pm. On Sundays the first bus leaves Cambridge at 10.35am and then departs at hourly intervals. The last departure from Duxford is at 4.35pm. We would recommend that you contact Stagecoach in advance of travel to confim final departure times. Visit their website at www.stagecoachbus.com/cambridge/ or call 0871 200 22 33.

Visitors using the C7 service will receive a reduced rate of admission upon production of their bus ticket (excludes Special Event days).

You will have good day, I know that for sure - let us know what you think at some point!!!
Wayne

 

[jnlight75]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

If you are arriving at the Cambridge train station, you can catch the C7 bus to Duxford in the roundabout just outside the front door of the station. It costs around £5 (less, I think) for the round trip (you pay for the return when you get on and save the ticket). I did it and it was easy, just takes 45 minutes or so each way as there are a lot of stops before Duxford, but the bus goes to the front door of the museum. You can get a taxi easily as well if you wish.

 

[dav3469]

Re: Day trip from London.... What to do VLJ-aviation wise

Thanks for the information folks. Looks like it will be a little rainy when I am there, but still gonna give it a go.

Andrew, I will be up on the Coast Aug 16th thru the 22nd (17-21 useable) If you can indeed get away on any of those days let me know as I will have computer access and I will check. It would be great to meet up if you get the chance to get away.

 

[dav3469]

oops duplicate