fishball

the last post on this topic was over 2 years ago so let me start a new one!

So I'll have a whole afternoon in London waiting for my flight that departs at 10pm. I wish to visit either one (or both?) of borough market and covent garden for some food tasting and xmas/souvenir shopping. Which one would you recommend? (I'm quite on a budget, I'd suppose.) I'll be lugging a roller suitcase around.

Also I see on covent garden's website that their tube station is closed...yet on tfl's website it's open! Can somebody clarify this?

Thanks.

Morland

They're very different places. Borough Market is almost exclusively foodie, and is a great place to eat, to nibble or to buy treats to take home. However, depending on where you're headed, you may be restricted in what you can take (e.g. agricultural products). A large wheelie suitcase would be quite cumbersome here if you're visiting at the height of lunchtime on Friday or Saturday.

Covent Garden these days is much more general, it has some interesting restaurants and food stands but is much more a speciality shopping area - not as quirky as it used to be, as the chains have moved in, but there are still interesting nooks and corners and is probably a better place to spend a longer time, with more variety. However, you won't eat as well as at Borough Market!

Borough Market is best Weds-Sat daytimes (although I think some of the stalls now open Monday and Tuesday). After about 3-4ish things will wind down. Covent Garden is lively much later.

Covent Garden tube station is exit only Mon-Fri and closed completely at weekends until the end of 2015. However, other tube stations such as Leicester Square and Holborn are extremely close so that shouldn't be a factor in your decision.

Microwave

I would associate myself with Morland's advice above and add a bit of my own opinion.

Personally, I think Covent Garden is a bit overrated at this point. If you end up there and are looking for food, I'd actually suggest some adjacent restaurants that aren't inside Covent Garden itself and have great food. The market itself, especially around the holiday season, will be rammed with people, though there are still some decent shops if you're looking for specific things. What kind of souvenirs are you looking for? You may find it easier to do some shopping on Regent Street or even in some other (slightly) less touristy neighbourhoods like Sloane Square.

I love Borough Market. Much of that is because there's such a great diverse range of food and foodstuffs to be found and I don't usually go out to shop for things (I'm an internet shopping kind of guy).

helosc

Heathrow airport has luggage storage according to this :
http://www.heathrowairport.com/heath...s/left-baggage

Just in case you weren't aware of it.

Stewie Mac

While I agree with all Morland's comments about the relative merits of the two places (and indeed the alternate tube ideas) CG tube is indeed open now at weekends (and indeed probably fully open M-F)... I used it last Saturday!

Morland

Thanks for the update - it appears that they have replaced two of the four lifts, and the station is currently fully open. They will replace the other two starting in February next year and the changes will apply then again until the end of 2015.

UKtravelbear

If you want FOOD then Borough Market is the place to go (as already mentioned bear in mind any customs regulations at your destination of you want to buy things to take with you though many of the stores do sell pre-packed items with labels of ingredients on them)

If you want PRESENTS then go to Covent Garden.

As for the tube station whether it is open or not just avoid it as it just gets very busy. Far better to use Leicester Square or Holborn. Yes it's a longer walk but it will be less pressured.

BTW last year I heard an American saying how 'neat' it was that they had named the Apple Market at Covent Market after the electronics store!

Mind another one asked at Borough Market why they build it under the railway bridge when it was the other way around

stut

Embankment and Charing Cross are also perfectly fine stations for access to Covent Garden, depending on where you're coming from. Plenty of buses down that way, too (there's also the RV1 tourist bus that links Borough Market and Covent Garden, not to mention a number of ferries).

Do ditch the suitcase. You won't be able to drag it round the crowds at Borough or the cobbes at Covent Garden. Airport and mainline stations will all store it for a fee, or you can try to blag it at a large hotel

But the real question is - what do you want to do? There are loads of interesting markets and shopping districts around the city, but perhaps less 'classic' London, and less tourist-friendly. This may be a positive or negative to you.

Showbizguru

Plus at Borough Market you can drink in a 300-year-old pub where Charles Dickens used to hoist a few. How cool is that ?

http://www.gkpubs.co.uk/pubs-in-lond...george-inn-pub

I'd also recommend the Market Porter.

www.markettaverns.co.uk/the_market_porter.html

And generally the restaurants are MUCH better than around Covent Garden.

ppp909

If it's a nice day you should do both. Start off at Borough Market and get yourself some food. Walk along the South Bank and cross the river using either Waterloo or the Golden Jubilee Bridges. Waterloo has traffic, but it also has the best views of the river, as it's on a bend and you can see far in both directions. It's particularly good at sunset. There are two Jubilee bridges, either side of the Hungerford railway bridge, which gets in the way of views. So you can only see one direction or another. No traffic though.
It's a five-minute walk from Victoria Embankment (the North bank) up to Covent Garden, where you can look around the shops and get yourself a tube back to LHR.

Of course, this assumes you like walking. Personally, I walk everywhere in London where I can. Usually quicker than the tube for short distances, especially where changes are involved.

fishball

thank you all for the prompt and expert replies!!!

I guess I will still stick to the two spots I've mentioned...don't have the daring yet to explore London off the beaten track yet

What I'm aiming to buy hmm...not much of an aim actually lol just wanna avoid overly generic stuff (keep calm and carry on, union jack themed etc) but more unique specialities. That's why I wanna visit both but am not sure if time allows...

Arriving at KGX noon-ish, and if I take up ppp909 suggestion of doing both (does time really allow? 10pm flight), where can I store my luggage? I checked out the left luggage service links, but it's not like that I put them at St. Pancras and travel back to pick my suitcase up when I leave right...

And I won't mind walking, yet it's my first time in London (go figure), so that's why I'm so confused about the various stations that seem right next to each other yet on google maps (sorry) they tell a different story.

anyway thanks for the patience

stut

If you're arriving at King's Cross, you can leave your luggage there - there's an Excess Baggage Company branch in the main concourse, underneath the Parcel Yard pub (to the right of platform 9 - walk past the platform 9 3/4 thing and you'll find it!)

Then you can quite easily head to Borough Market via the Northern Line to London Bridge (or the number 17 bus from the Caley Road) or Covent Garden by the Piccadilly Line, or just on foot.

Don't take the tube map as being an indicator of how far things are from each other - it's a diagram and no more!

From King's Cross, you can either head direct to Heathrow via the Piccadilly Line (takes max 1h, not the most comfortable, but dead easy) or via Paddington (take a Hammersmith train to Paddington - there are lifts and escalators on an indirect route at Paddington, although I usually use the steps).

UKtravelbear

Could also take the Thames Link to London Bridge as well - probably easier to get to than the endless corridors at Kings X

fishball

wouldn't the detour back to Kings X to take my luggage cost quite some time? or unless they forward it to heathrow...

stut

Thameslink to London Bridge is closing from 20th December until 2018. Beware!


FWIW, if you're taking the Piccadilly or Victoria lines from King's Cross, it's far easier to use the southern ticket hall (near the old front of the station) - particularly the lifts which take you right down to the platforms.