doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com London - best hotel value??

There is a bed & breakfast area in Horley near LGW. It has good train connections and is sorta "homey." Say $100-$125/night.

Be sure to stop by William Evans at 65 ST. James Street. It is the best "gun shop" in town - usually a decent selection and very friendly if not too busy. Beretta is across the street and up a few doors - worth a stop. Be sure to shop Jermyn (sp?) Street - interesting shops.

Consider going shooting for a lesson or just fun - it is good to do something you are familiar with.

To impress your girlfriend, be sure to have tea on the terrace at Harrod's. And, lunch at the pub across the street from H&H is fun.

Don't plan for any bargains - at $2/1 BPS, it is 'spenzive over there.

If you have not spent a lot of time in London, try Duke's Hotel. Small, elegant, expensive (but no worse than any other).

Believe it or not, The Rennaissance Hotel at Heathrow is reasonable (half the price of Duke's) and quite nice.

My walking tour is as follows: Start at Purdey, make way to Boss, Holland, William and Co.; go down Bond St. Look in at Burlington Arcade, down Picadilly to Cordings for shooting clothing, backtrack to St. James St. to visit Swaine Adeney, William Evans, and Beretta Gallery, then down Jermyn St. to look at Edward Green shoes, T and A shirts, etc. then down to Farlows for fishing stuff. In between, lunch at Green's restaurant.

Where Woodward used to be:

Where Greener used to be:

What $600/night gets you in London:

A bunch of good suggestions so far. Plenty of museums, palaces etc with guns and swords lining the walls. I may try to do a day of pigeon shooting with Dig if I had the chance- it sounds fun and challenging.

When I was backpacking 12 years ago I couldn't afford London, so I stayed in Brighton about an hour south on the coast. Very cool town, and much better value than London. I understand it is still a hip town, especially with a younger crowd. I stayed at a hippy hostel but I think there are plenty of affordable nicer places.

Of course, it is not London.

Westminster Abbey was my favorite spot to visit in London.

Victoria and Albert museum and the British Museum.

Wood pigeons are maybe the most fun gamebird to shoot that there is.

I strongly disagree that the food is bad in London. Green's, Rules', The Rib Room, the Ivy, Wilton's, Bibendum, and ANY Indian restaurant (the best Indian food in the world is in London).

I have heard, that Scott's restaurant in Mount St. is open again. This was always one of London's finest seafood restaurants.

Being a pilot and aviation enthusiast, if I had the time, I would probably visit Duxford's museums about 50 miles north. Also, Farnborough not so far to the southwest of Heathrow. Both have websites.

London is one of my favorite cities: I make a point of going every year or two. It is always expensive. It has some of the best food in the world, especially if you stick to ethnic spots and stay away from the hotel resturaunts.

Fresh fish is great, so is the lamb: beef is unimpressive. Try the burough market (London Bridge tube stop) on Friday or Saturday morning and get some fresh diver scallops or posh bangers or literally dozens of other specialty items. From there walk along the river past the Globe Theatre to the Tate Modern. You can spend two days in the British Museum and two more in the Victoria and Albert Museum and not see everything. Most of the museums are free and are world class: During the height of the empire, the Brits got most of the good stuff and brought it home and its on display.

Everything in London is quickly accessable by tube or public transport and distances are quite short. Be sure to stop at Liberty for your girl friend when you're touring the gun shop area.

Hotel rooms are tiny and very expensive. If you want top flight, stay at the Meridian (for close to 1k a day). I stay at small hotels in the Bayswater neighborhood: still 2-300 per night for a tiny room with en suite bath, but who hangs around in a hotel when you've got the city to explore?

A couple of places you shouldn't miss are the Imperial War Museum and the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. My wife liked both.