London weekend trip on a budget...
I travelled to London in October for 2 nights and 3ish days, (Saturday morning to Monday afternoon).
Where to fly to
I flew into London Southend Airport which is 70km away from London city centre.
It is a small airport but really nice.
We did have to walk a bit from the plane to get to the airport since the plane parked further away but it was a nice morning so it was nice.
I arrived in at the airport around 8 am-9 am local time.
There weren't any shops, the airport was very small and simple but nice.
How to get to the city?
There is a train station right outside the airport.
Unfortunately, there was construction on the train tracks so the weekend I was there the train wasn't working.
We had to take a bus to a little town with a train station. (I don't remember the name of the town, sorry)
It took us over an hour to get from the airport to that town.
It was quite a tiring bus ride since it took a while and the seats were kinda uncomfortable.
Also, there was a woman who opened up windows and other passengers that sat around that area were freezing, so it wasn’t pleasant.
Overall I felt more tired after the bus ride.
Once we arrived at the train station, we took the express train to Liverpool Street station in London city.
The train was very nice and modern.
It only took us around 40min- 1 hour to get to the city centre.
I really enjoyed the train ride, the scenery of suburban London was so nice to look at as well.
All together that bus ride plus the train ticket cost us around £10 each.
Transport for the weekend
After arriving at Liverpool Street Station we went over to the information/ticket desk.
We were offered an Oyster card as it was the best way to travel around London.
All together for that weekend, we paid roughly £19 (£14 for travel and £5 for the card).
London is divided into zones. The £14 allowed us to travel between zones 1-4, which was all we needed.
The Oyster card could be used for buses, trams and underground.
I still have my Oyster card so when I come back to London I just have to put money into it and I can travel again.
The £14 allowed us to travel for the three days and we travelled a lot however on the last trip (from the hotel to city centre) we had to buy an extra ticket because the £14 ran out.
Overall I’d recommend you get an Oyster card while in London.
First day in London
We arrived in London city centre at 12:50 pm on Saturday.
After getting our Oyster card we took a bus down to Tower Bridge.
And when I say I fangirled, I mean it!
Why would I fangirl over a bridge?
Well, this was the bridge the iconic fight scene between Spider-Man and Mysterio happened in Spider-Man Far from Home. Aahhhh!
It was crazy to be where the movie was filmed not too long ago. Well like a few years ago, but still!!!!
The bridge was packed with people, but it was wide enough to fit everyone.
There are many street food stands beside the bridge and the Maiden and the dolphin fountain.
I was in London with two more people.
So I got some noodles with 2 different types of meat, which was delicious. (I actually think I didn't finish mine because there was so much so I kept it for later)
And the people I was in got a kebab, which was also absolutely delicious. We also got some tea and coffee. The essentials haha!
There wasn’t much space to sit though and a lot of people were sitting on the fountain edge, the side of a wall or on the curb.
There was a lot of choices including a churro stand (which I got a free sample of and it was soo good!!!) and foods from different cultures,(mostly German, Indian and Chinese).
Overall our lunch break cost us around £3-£6 each. Which isn't bad for the amount of food we got!
(I don’t remember the exact prices since it’s been so long but these are roughly accurate).
After that, we were so exhausted from an early flight that we decided to go to the hotel and drop off our bags.
When we got to the hotel, we laid down on the bed to take a little break. Which we all needed!
And then around 5 pm, we went back to the city centre. By this stage, it was getting dark since it was almost winter.
We saw Big Ben (unfortunately it was under construction but you still could see the clock).
We went to Piccadilly Circus. It looked at like Times Square. (at least the times square we see in movies). And in the evening the place was so beautiful with all the lights, Ads and street acts.
We then went to get dinner. We got a Chinese takeaway box for £5 and you could put whatever you want into it.
The Hotel
We stayed in Shepard’s Bush.
Which is like 12km away from London city. It was a nice quite area, with a park, a playground and shops.
The hotel we stayed in was called OYO Grantly.
I don’t remember exactly how much we paid but right now on booking.com, it costs €72/$85 per night. (Which is a good price for a hotel in London).
The hotel is divided into a new and old complex. The new one has a restaurant where you go for breakfast and rooms, while the old one has just rooms.
The hotel room itself wasn’t aesthetically pleasing but it was comfortable.
There was an empty mini fridge for personal use, a tv, en-suite bathroom, wardrobe and beds.
It did the job.
The vibe inside of the old part of the hotel was vintage, Victorian style since it was in a Victorian era house, while the new one also in the Victorian era house was more modern.
We stayed in the old building so I’m not sure if the new building has more modern rooms.
I’d definitely recommend staying there if you need a place to stay the night and get breakfast, since the staff are friendly and it is clean and comfortable.
The breakfast is very nice and simple - a choice of egg (omelette, boiled etc.), cereal, toast etc.
You can see the kitchen from your seat so you can see how they make your breakfast, and the way they made the omelettes was very interesting so we paid close attention and tried it when we got back home and we do it their way to this day.
There were two underground stops beside the hotel.
Shepherds Bush and Shepherds Bush market, both are a 5-10 min walk to the hotel through a park.
There is a shopping centre beside the hotel with a few shops like Argos and Lidl.
There is a petrol station and a lot of food choices around the area.
There is also a bus stop around the corner.
Second day in London
On the second day, we went back to see Big Ben during daylight. We took a few pictures and bought gifts for friends and family at a stand on the bridge.
There was a deal on the gifts, (something like 5 for £3).
We then made our way to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. Where we waited for 1.5 hours because we didn’t book tickets online.
We paid £35 each.
And then every time you take a professional picture and want to have it printed you need to pay extra.
Personally, I don’t think it’s worth the money you pay but it is nice and interesting to see how real like the wax figures are.
But I will probably not go back there when I go back to London, unless in like 30 years and there will be new wax figures.
After that we went on a little walk past the Sherlock Holmes museum, unfortunately, we didn’t get time to go inside so instead, we went to Buckingham Palace.
The place was crowded with tourist.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see the queen :( but we did get to see a little show.
I still do not know what exactly they were doing but we asked an old couple (who were very nice) and they said that their grandson was one of the guards in the show and it was some occasion for the guards we see at the palace. (Not the guard change but something else)
Even though we don’t know quite what was the occasion, it still was very fun to watch.
After that, we went back to the hotel where we went to the same Chinese restaurant from the day before to get dinner.
Instead of taking it away we stayed there and had our dinner.
It cost us £7 but it was all you can eat buffet and it was very nice and affordable.
After dinner, I had to get ready and I headed to a concert in Hammersmith to see Why Don’t We.
Getting to the airport
On Monday morning we left the hotel and went to St.Pancras international.
Inside the train station, it was like a whole shopping centre. I was shocked at how nice as big it was. It was like in the movies.
We got train tickets to Luton Airport for £17 each one way, in a ticket machine.
When arriving at the Luton Airport station you need to wait for a bus which then takes you to the airport itself.
The whole trip lasted 40min-1 hour and it was very comfortable.
The airport is very nice, it has lots of shops inside and it’s one of my favourite airports that I have ever been to.
Like it literally was a shopping centre with big brand shops as well.
Overall
From this trip to London we learned two things:
- The weekend isn’t enough time to get everything done in London.
- We are never getting an early flight again.
Arriving early the first day we were very tired all day, so that slowed us down.
And during that weekend we didn’t get everything done like:
- Go on the London Eye
- Visit the Harry Potter museum
- Visit the Sherlock Holmes museum
- Go to Hyde Park
- Go on tours
- Visit other museums
- Go to sea life
- Go to stone hedge
- Go to Oxford Street
- Go to Carnaby Street
And many more things, because London is packed with stuff to do and see and you definitely need at least a week.
I do hope to go back to London again soon and stay there for a longer time and visit everything that I can.
Check out my the checklist for London (that’s only a bit of the places, I would have to make like 10 checklists to get everything in).
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest.
Have you ever been to London???
I’ll see you all next week with a new blog.
Yours Truly,
E. xxx
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