U.K. and Ireland - Is it mad in london?

For those of us thinking of FLYING BA and visiting is it mad or is it livable?

Can you pick up Tix?....3rd Party

Good areas of London to see....TS or PC maybe

Maybe those living in London can pitch in.....

For those of us thinking of FLYING BA and visiting is it mad or is it livable?

Can you pick up Tix?....3rd Party

Good areas of London to see....TS or PC maybe

Maybe those living in London can pitch in.....

Things are going pretty much as usual in London, but parts of Central London are closed off because of the Olympics and the tube and road network are busier than normal.

I would think that someone coming to London to see London is probably better off coming after the Olympics when all sites and sights are available again.

If you don't have any tickets, then be prepared to be disappointed and to not get in... Don't buy from touts, you'll pay over the odds and could very well end up forking out a lot of money for fake tickets.

You do get to see things you don't see otherwise though. The other day, I ran into parts of the Russian team (in their rather, well, "special" design of kit) on Piccadilly, then shortly afterwards bumped (literally!) into what looked like Cuban boxers (again in their official gear) just off Park Lane. :D

Just returned from central London to see the cycling and it is really no worse than any other time in the summer. A few key railway stations are busy, but main streets are fine. Some areas closed because of event venues, but that's about it. A great buzz around the place. Come- you're most welcome!

Commuting into London yesterday and travelling around during the day I'd agree no worse than normal. In fact, if you're not at the main Olympics venues it's actually a little quieter since a lot of people are staying away.

Use the underground to get around, rather than taxis, the streets *are* quite a lot more clogged due to the Games lanes.

You don't say what country you're based in, but check with your official distributor, there might be some tickets left for something, especially if you're prepared to pay for one of the more expensive seats.

My view - there's such a buzz in London right now I'd come if you can.

The true test will be next week during the rush hour peaks.

To give the organisers and Transport for London credit, in terms of communication, they have done a lot, for both visitors and residents/businesses.

There is huge unmissable signage everywhere across the main railway and Tube stations to direct passengers to venues and residents have been given plenty of notice of the likely hotspots. Ticketholders have also been issued with Travelcards in advance.

Transport for London is also issuing daily updates to forewarn residents of likely hotspots for the following day and twice daily updates for businesses.

A lot of people have taken time off or planned to work from home. For those who are working, many will find out what it's like on Monday and adjust accordingly if they can.

Wished that I stayed in London, I think the buzz and spirit of the Olympics is incredible. I still remember it from when it was in LA and when the world cup was there as well.

Lucky who are there and enjoying the city. ^

Last 3 days of last week my daily commute from SW6 to EC3 were actually noticably quieter.

Monday will probably be the litmus test as it's the first day of full Olympic events and a normal working day. I think a lot of people have taken time off to go on holiday (not necessarily abroad). I heard this morning that T5 Arrivals was a breeze.

Press reports are indicating that many hotels in central London have space available so it won't necessarily cost you an arm and a leg.

If it's your first time in London, I'd probably wait when it's a bit quieter but there is no sign yet of the predicted traffic and transport meltdown (and thank goodness it's got a bit cooler after last week's scorcher). If the weather stays dry and warm like now it should be lovely.

For those of us thinking of FLYING BA and visiting is it mad or is it livable?

Can you pick up Tix?....3rd Party

Good areas of London to see....TS or PC maybe

Maybe those living in London can pitch in.....

London is a very big city and even the Olympics only have a small effect.

Ticks are not endemic in urban Britain. If you visit our moorlands you may pick them up but no injections are required. (They nestle in your warm damp areas but you can remove them easily.)

Not sure what TS and PC are. There are KFCs all over if you fancy that.

Enjoy your visit.

I'd say come on over. LHR T5 is working better than normal!

There are still tickets available for quite a few events on the official site and some hotels have deals where you get Olympic tickets and your hotel. ( just google it).

London is buzzing. It's a great time to be here. Go for it.

"Not sure what TS and PC are. There are KFCs all over if you fancy that."

Sorry, Traf Square and Picc Circus.....i was led to believe they had Olympic related activities (not events)

Yes been to London dozens of times ....favorite city in the world pretty much

Thank you for the advice.....only issue sounds like getting tickets i will contact hotels as per Littlegirls advice

cheeers

PS...can someone tell me how to do the quote box thing, esp for multiple ones....cheers

We've just had a really nice day around town. Started with our 4 year old at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Both the shops and the museum were very quiet by Saturday standards.

Had lunch in a theatre restaurant off Drury Lane which according to my aunt was the quietest that she's ever seen it. Walked down to the Embankment and queued about 20 minutes to catch a river boat down to Tower Bridge. Nice views of the rings hanging from the bridge. Finished with a walk past the Tower of London, then across Tower Bridge to sit in the field next to the GLA building. Free music and short films in a pretty relaxed atmosphere and there was room to sit on the grass. Plenty of people around on the South Bank as we headed towards London Bridge but no worse than any other Saturday. The bus we got back through Islington and Hackney didn't encounter any more traffic than a normal Saturday either.

If you've got kids then trying to locate the very individual Wenlock and Mandeville mascots is fun. I think we saw about 10 on our wanders with Somerset House and the Beefeater our favourites.

Off to the basketball tomorrow night so it will be interesting to see how busy Stratford is compared to when I work there. Guessing next week could be more manic once the athletics gets going. A cab company that I deal with for work is actually predicting that the highest levels of congestion will occur during the three days after the games finish as everyone will head off at the same time.

We thought today was less crazy than during the Easter holidays. Although there are closures, Tube and buses have been okay and even Oxford St was not as bad as it often is on a Saturday evening.

Ticks are not endemic in urban Britain. If you visit our moorlands you may pick them up but no injections are required. (They nestle in your warm damp areas but you can remove them easily.) However, be aware they can carry and transmit Lymes Disease, which is potentially pretty nasty. If you experience flu like symptoms up to 30 days after removal, or a rash around the bite site then please go to your doctor and explain you want antibiotics because you may have Lymes Disease.

However, be aware they can carry and transmit Lymes Disease, which is potentially pretty nasty. If you experience flu like symptoms up to 30 days after removal, or a rash around the bite site then please go to your doctor and explain you want antibiotics because you may have Lymes Disease.

He was talking about tickets not Tics surely!

Come to the UK but head to Cornwall and stay away from London ;)

The Cornish economy needs the dosh far more !!


cs

Come to the UK but head to Cornwall and stay away from London ;)

Oi! :p

The Cornish economy needs the dosh far more !!

Surely, with the amount of pasties being flogged here to tourists at exorbitant prices, the Cornish economy must be flourishing ;)

Surely, with the amount of pasties being flogged here to tourists at exorbitant prices, the Cornish economy must be flourishing ;)

The cost of a 99 was exorbitant as well the last time I was in that area. Kelly's were the rip off merchants IIRC.

So far it's been fairly normal. Traffic is a little worse but public transport doesn't seem to have suffered yet but then the main events haven't really started and I've not been anywhere near Stratford.

Suggest there's little point coming to London now for sight-seeing only. And I doubt there's much chance of getting tickets legally.

Is it mad in London?

Well, based on last nights opening ceremony........bonkers. :D

Well, that was Dizzee Rascal's opinion, any road...

Does anyone know where I can get tickets for ANY event on Sunday the 29th?

Only have one day tomorrow and would love to see some Beach Volleyball! I'm from the US if that matters.

Does anyone know where I can get tickets for ANY event on Sunday the 29th?

Only have one day tomorrow and would love to see some Beach Volleyball! I'm from the US if that matters.

Looking at the tix site, no VB tix tomorrow.
http://www.tickets.london2012.com/

I have not seen tix for sale elsewhere in London, but others may know.

If you can convince someone from the EU to go with you then they might still be able to buy tickets via the official London2012.com site. Looks like a choice between Judo, Weightlifting and Artistic Gymnastics in the higher price bands. It would have to be on a Visa card and they'd have to get there well before the event to pick up the tickets.

Oi! :p



Surely, with the amount of pasties being flogged here to tourists at exorbitant prices, the Cornish economy must be flourishing ;)




Hey come on, iv got to try ;)

and on the subject of the humble Cornish Pasty, if anyone is ever in Cornwall i would very much suggest a visit here (http://www.cribbox.co.uk/) ^


cs

Are they running the tube and trains longer hours to LHR?

I know in the past if you arrived late you were out of luck (cost me 20 quid to get a cab from t3 to hilton t4 since train service was shut down at LHR lol!! great story as the lead cab for the morning rush assured me he would get back to the front of the line, felt a bit like the mob running the cabs :eek:).......any chance of using the LHR hotels as a base and getting very late night tube/train service?

I was in soho central London a couple hours ago. Both there and Oxford street was very quiet, it felt like a sunday rather than a Saturday night! Perhaps everyone is in watching tv but it was quieter than a normal weekend!

If anyone is planning to be in the vicinity of Hyde Park, according to the daily TfL emails I am getting, both Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner tube stations are exit-only from 10am onwards for most of the rest of the day.

Not sure what TS and PC are.Tethered Swimming (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9MTMbg2mxo)? I think those sold out pretty quickly.

Are they running the tube and trains longer hours to LHR?Yes - the last Piccadilly Line trains arrive around 0200, rather than the usual 0115 on weekdays. Terminal 4 still closes at 0000.
You can find the times here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/first-last-piccadilly-olympics.pdf

If I buy tix via the London site and I'm not from the EU or UK, what happens?

For example, if I put my hotel's address in, when I pick up the tickets, will I be rejected? Do they ask for proof of residency? I'm also looking for tix for Aug 2 or Aug 3. Anyone that can help, PLEASE PM me! I'll buy you as drink

If I buy tix via the London site and I'm not from the EU or UK, what happens?

For example, if I put my hotel's address in, when I pick up the tickets, will I be rejected? Do they ask for proof of residency? I'm also looking for tix for Aug 2 or Aug 3. Anyone that can help, PLEASE PM me! I'll buy you as drink

The issue, I think, is the billing credit card. I could not use a US card, I had to use my UK Visa since it is what matched my UK address.

He was talking about tickets not Tics surely!Yes. Only Jenbel fell for it though. Or maybe she didn't, my sarcasm detector's on the blink today.

Here's the odd thing about London at the moment. Because of the very strict rules on Olympic branding, using the rings or even the world Olympic, you can walk down most streets - even Kings Road where we are - and you wouldn't know the Games were on! No posters in the shops allowed (except at Lloyds and McDonald's) etc.

After the peace and quiet of Central London yesterday the Westfield shopping centre next to the Olympic Park was a bit of a nightmare. The rain drove everybody inside and there was even a queue to get into the Olympic store in John Lewis. Pretty relaxed in the park itself although there weren't loads of places to hide from the rain.

Well, I was dreading the commute this morning (it was one of the "warning" days for Kings X) but it was an absolute breeze. Plenty seats on the train, and, although I tend to cycle on back roads anyway, I set a new personal record of train-to-desk (Aldgate way) in 19 minutes. Bradley Wiggins, eat your heart out.

Wouldn't like to have been on 4 wheels around Aldgate, though... And fingers crossed for the return home!

So far so good. Journey to Green Park this morning was painless. But we'll see how things go in the evening peak.

Also, the athletic events in the Olympic Stadium don't start until Friday so the Olympic Park will be considerably busier from then.

The issue, I think, is the billing credit card. I could not use a US card, I had to use my UK Visa since it is what matched my UK address.

What happens when you show up to get the tickets? Do they leave them at will call somewhere? Ask for a resident ID or can I use my US drivers license?

Currently in Mayfair, having exited Green Park which was meant to be hell on earth. Dead. Deserted. I am looking down Dover Street now and there is no one there.

For anyone who is out and about in Central London it is definitely worth checking out all the various countries "Olympic Houses". Clearly these are largely promotional in nature; but having visited a couple yesterday, I can vouch that there can be lots of interesting stuff going on and the occasional freebie.

Here's a map that shows most of the locations (red pins):
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=200617413582726908849.0004a4924af2a481f971 3&msa=0&ll=51.512909,-0.116386&spn=0.042946,0.114155

I was a Tate Modern, and near London Bridge yesterday and the tube/streets were fine - more tourists and people with Olympic passes - but perfectly acceptable.

Tube from Central London to LHR was pretty quiet this morning and the airport is less busy than normal too by the looks of it. :confused:

Sitting in GC in T3 and it's pretty quiet in here, apart from the discrete Olympic coverage with the ever dishy Ian Thorpe commenting on events :D

Quiet again today, but be aware that a fire at Leyton has been severely disrupting Central Line services to/from St Ratford.

Tube from Central London to LHR was pretty quiet this morning and the airport is less busy than normal too by the looks of it. :confused:

Sitting in GC in T3 and it's pretty quiet in here, apart from the discrete Olympic coverage with the ever dishy Ian Thorpe commenting on events :D

Eerily quiet in the AA Arrivals Lounge too - where we too are enjoying the Thorpedo. :)

Hello from BT Live in Hyde Park!

It is busy but not completely insane.

We used the Javelin train from St Pancras to Stratford ... very painless and took 6 minutes!

We will see how Wembley is tonight!

:)

It seems that many many people have got out of London for the duration of the Games so it's surprisingly quiet in central London, outside the tourist areas.

Travel on the roads seems to be more variable than usual. Generally the traffic is fairly light and often the Olympic Lanes are off - the traffic is then far faster than normal. However, where they've blocked roads to accommodate Olympic Lanes, or where they are switched on, then traffic is hell. So it's doubly difficult to guess journey times.

Bakerloo Line and the train to Wembley from Marylebone are packed tonight!!!

On the train now! :)

Customer footfall down 11.7% in central London stores (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19059880)

....T5 yesterday midday was standing room only. Someone got opupped on my IAD flight, not me :p

WT+ was quite civilized. No Dilbertian experiences onboard or with luggage. le vin français était excellent....and even the purser was a turncoat French guy. Muahaha!

Immigration inbound the day before (T5) was tedious but not unbelievable. 30 mins in the non-EU line. There were also mass irops - weather delays stacking LHR inbounds - that appeared to be causing frustration and crowding at the T5 desks. Luckily for me - knowing how Dilbertian this would have been - I had a 23 hour layover and could thus ignore the irop issues.

There was significant delay out of BRU on BA that day, to add to the immigration delays.

Entering ABZ last week there were also immigration inspection delays. But this time, worse for EU nats. Causing the Russians behind me to remark it was the only time in their lives that the non-EU line completed faster than the EU one... but then, there were ten non-EU folks and 130 EU nationals off the LH733.