LONDON in June?

[Bobster]

Jon898,

Thank you for the help on that.  I based my times on a Scottish website I look at from time to time - Nessie on the Net.  Currently shows a 6 hour time gap but I agree  most of the year it is five.  Don't know where it is right now but I forgot to mention the Flying Scotsman steam locomtive.

1 more thing - there is so much to do in London that you need to prioritize just what you want to see.   That way you have a good reason to go back!

Best regards,
Bobster

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks guys! You've got me convinced about York, now we need to work on my better half
I'm grateful for the suggestions and getting excited about the trip, even if it is some moths away...
Otto

[jbcz]

There is an excellent museum in Swindon that contains several examples of Great Western Railway steam locomotives and the large engine shops there.  It is a short walk from the railroad station and a large shopping mall where you can eat with a 4-6-0 locomotive.  It is a short trip from London by the fairly high speed First Great Western Railroad.

[Cajonpassfan]

Otto
Line up a few LHS to look for scenic and structure kits you can't get in North America.  There is a company in England that will do a 3D scan of You and make an N Scale version....if you're really lucky to catch one of the shows they set up at....
If recall properly when you get home you'll be able to look for a 1/160 kit for the Cutty Sark....one of the small number of plastic ships where the box size scale worked out to N Scale.  Maybe for a TTrak British theme dock scene?
Charlie Vlk

Thanks for the advice Charlie, all useful. Some of the European companies do make great scenic materials and they should be easy to pack. I'll skip the Cutty though, except maybe one or two one in liquid form; I'd have a hard time sailing it in Cajon Creek, the largest body of water on my layout
I'm not sure I want a scale model of myself either, but it would be cool to populate the layout with some of my friends?
Kind regards,
Otto

[mrhedley]

We were there last August after a visit to Sweden.  Good choice going in June, avoid going in August as most of mainland Europe is on holiday and many of them came to London.  It was also hot by English standards (high 80's to 90's) and most places do not have air conditioning, including many hotels.  We stayed at Doubletree Westminister.  Just a few blocks from Parliament and Westminister Abbey.  Good value and modern amenities.  No rail themed exhibits during our trip.  But I would heartily recommend the Churchill War Museum.  We flew British Airways, which means arrival and departure from Terminal 5, which resembled total chaos.  BA doesn't schedule gate arrivals until the planes arrive at the gate, which made for many passengers making mad dashes to get to their flight.  It was a wild scene at peak hours.  And the less said about the lines at Customs the better.  2 hour wait.  Otherwise it was a great getaway.   

Enjoy your trip. 

[Cajonpassfan]

Thank you.

[prbharris]

You've got me convinced about York, now we need to work on my better half

Otto - if your wife enjoys afternoon tea - or morning coffee and cake - you might want to try 'Betty's', www.bettys.co.uk/cafe-tea-rooms a famous cafe in the center of the city. There will be a line, but it moves fairly quickly - allow a 15 minute wait [I think that you can pre-book for some times but we just turn up and line]. Try and get onto the ground floor rather than the basement, although that is OK but no view out [and the restrooms are downstairs anyway]. Alongside the restrooms are preserved mirrors where US airmen scratched their names in WWII whilst stationed in the area.The York Minster is an astonishing medieval cathedral with 700+ year old carvings and stained glass..

There is plenty to do in York whilst you are in the Railway Museum, if she wants to split!

Peter

Peter Harris
N Scale Kits
www.nscalekits.com

[Cajonpassfan]

Thank you Peter, I'll be sure to check out Betty's, too.
Otto

[Cajonpassfan]

Bump! Our June tripis fast coming up and my wife seems agreeable to a day trip to York. That’s the good news. The rather not so good news is that the round trip tickets from Kings Cross to York start at 114 pounds each
That seems bit steep, almost a month in advance? Am I missing something? Is there a discount site?
Advice appreciated...
Otto

[prbharris]

Otto

Book in advance on a fixed time train and it can be as low as £40. Use the LNER site

https://www.lner.co.uk/

but this is not a flexible ticket, so you have to know which train you are catching. I can do a search for you if you want.

Also, if you are over 60 years [!] you can get a Senior Rail Pass. This has to obtained before you travel [but you can book the ticket without having the Senior Railcard before you travel - and buy the Senior Rail Card with proof of age such as Passport at a major rail station - but must have and carry one when you travel] and this gives you a 33% discount too. Easy and simple to get and use  and costs £30 each for a year card so even one trip might well save you the cost on one long trip.

Best wishes

Peter

Peter Harris
N Scale Kits

[Cajonpassfan]

Peter, thanks a bunch for your advice and link. I just booked my tickets through LNER and for a few extra pounds, decided to go First Class. What the hell, my wife deserves the best, and I just have to suffer through it...Really looking forward to it, and to enjoying a classy ride through the lovely English countryside without having to drive on the, you know, wrong side of the road...😬
Regards, Otto K.

[prbharris]

my wife deserves the best, and I just have to suffer through it...

Otto, I hope that you enjoy the ride - in first class you get drinks and a light meal as well! As you go north [and south] look out for the lineside large metal sign on the east side of the line half way between Peterborough and Grantham indicating the area where the Mallard achieved 126mph - the world record for a steam loco, and is in the York Museum.

Best wishes

Peter

[GaryHinshaw]

Also, if you are over 60 years [!] you can get a Senior Rail Pass.

Thanks for the tip @prbharris.  My wife and I are in London for a while and we're heading up north for a few days (Hadrian's territory & Edinburgh) and the senior card just saved me a nice chuck of change.  Best part is, having just turned 60 a month ago, I don't yet feel old.

[MK]

60???     Some of the pictures of you on TRW shows a 50 year old (maybe even less)!  Unless those are old pictures. 

[Bobster]

Greetings,

Edinburgh ye say!  Must see the castle and get the tour of it.  Crown Jewels os Scotland and the Stone of Scone.  The Scots being thrifty folk fire a cannon at 1PM at the castle,  twelve rounds at noon would cost too much.  I don't remember the evening schedule of the battle / light show at the castle.  There is also the Edinburgh tatoo but I think it is a bit later in the year.  They also have a changing of the guard at various posts around the castle.  Aye, and ye must sample a wee dram of a single malt scotch.  Water it lightly if ye must but never over ice.  Some people can tell where the ingredients were grown by the taste of the scotch.  Peat in the soil leaves a distinctive taste on the final product, so I've heard.  And remember if you wear anything under a kilt it becomes a skirt!  Get out to the Forth Rail Bridge.  Dang impressive!  Built to last!  Google the images!

Bobster out, Break time at work is over.

OK at home now.  As I rode over the Forth (Firth of Forth) Rail bridge I was thinking that is sure a long ways down.   The framework is just massive.  Live dangerously - try haggis, neeps, and tatties.  I think it is a better way to be eat it.   It isn't as bad as it sounds.  If you can find Arbroath smokies (smoked haddock) I hear it is good too.  I didn't see it advertised until I was on the way to the airport.  If you like clam chowder try the Cullen skink.  Cullen is a town, skink is a modified Dutch word for a stewor soup.   Spent the night at a hotel near the college of surgeons.  Surprised to find a Kentucky Fried Chicken on the corner.  I think the KFC was on Bridge Street just up from the Waverly Rail statiion.  I only got to spend an afternoon and a day in Edinburgh.  Spent most of my time in the Highland town of Nairn.  Chranachan (sp) would be a nice dessert you might want to split with your wife.  The one I had near Loch Ness was huge.  Check the tipping policy when you enter.  Most places pay their people a decent wage and tipping isn't "normal."  We often left some extra anyway.  Scottish money is has different people on the currency than in Britain.  Spends the same though.  Up north and west of Edinburgh the road and business signs are often in Gaelic first.

Well this is probably more than you all needed to know so I'll sign off now.  Happy traveling. 

Bobster