London Travel Tips
How to get there, how to get around, where to find stuff and how to ask for it. These are tips from the local insider to make your stay here a breeze
Ashlee House Hostel in London - Trekker's Hostel Highlights
Sticking with the well connected Kings Cross Station area here is a little blurb about Ashlee House, a hostel for the more quiet inclined backpackers.
Designed by Amsterdam 24-H architects about 10 years ago, initially you might get the sense that some updating might be in order and that there is a feeling of it being a little drab. However, Ashlee house is in a good spot and has a lot of potential, barely a 2-minute walk from Kings Cross Station and just round the corner from lots of shops and restaurants. Right by the front desk is a great board listing all the activities and tours available from the hostel. Even though it is one of the smaller London hostels with only 171 beds, Ashlee House also offers a laundry, family rooms and basic breakfast.
Date: April 25th, 2008 |
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Clink Hostel in London - Trekker's Hostel Highlights
Greetings and salutations, fellow travelers. Over the next few weeks I hope you will join me as I explore the UK and Ireland. During this time I will be writing thumbs up or down on the numerous London hostels and others scattered throughout these regions. Due to the high number, I was unable to stay at them all so these reviews are my initial take on the vibe, the cleanliness, how friendly the staff was and all that jazz. Feel free to comment, or if there is a hostel you want to hear more about be sure to let me know.
To start with we will wander around London for a few days, deciphering the tube maps, shouldering your way through crowds and taking in the sights.
Clink Hostel
Opened July ’07, this impressive hostel is built inside a 200-year-old courthouse. Unlike most places that would have gutted the law-related history in the building, Clink has made it their own. From the court room internet café (you want to sit in the judges chair) to the soon-to-be opened “cell” rooms with heavy duty doors and all, present capacity is 400 to 500. But May 2008 they hope to have their capacity up to 650, which makes it an ideal spot for groups. Alcohol is allowed and there is a bar being built as we speak. There is no curfew, and a basic continental breakfast. The beds all have a small locker under the bed, individual lights and a nifty little locker by your head for passports and small valuables. Some of the bigger dorms have high-tech pod-style beds, which for some, could be a little claustrophobic. The halls are painted bright colors and each floor is a different color (this helps when trying to find your room).
Date: April 22nd, 2008 |
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British Summer Time
At 1am GMT tomorrow morning Sunday 30 March British Summer Time will officially begin when clocks are put forward one hour making it 2am. This will mean that sunrise tomorrow will be at 6.41am compared to 5.43am today and the evenings will seem to stay lighter a lot longer with the sunset tomorrow being at 7.28pm.
Britain’s latitude means that the sunsets will keep getting later until the 21 June, the day with the longest amount of daylight during the year. British Summer Time stays the same until Sunday 26 October 2008 when the clocks go backwards one hour.
Date: March 29th, 2008 |
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LondonLogue forum
The good people at BootsnAll are thinking about setting up a dedicated LondonLogue forum, somewhere readers who are coming to London or are planning a trip here can interact with other travellers, sharing information, asking questions and getting direct feedback from people who are in or have recently visited the capital.
Before they start burning the midnight oil setting the forum up they’d like to know if there’s a demand for it, would readers find it useful or do you think its something that’s not really necessary and its not the type of thing you’re …
Date: March 16th, 2008 |
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Brazil-Sweden Tickets
Tickets for the Brazil v Sweden football friendly at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium are now on general sale to the public. The game is taking place on Wednesday 26 March 2008 with kickoff at 7.45pm.
This is Brazil’s third trip to the Emirates in the last couple of years and the previous two games have had a good atmosphere. Tickets for this month’s game are on sale from £30-£40 and can be booked online at
Date: March 5th, 2008 |
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How to swear like a London local
British people like to have the image of themselves as courteous and polite even if that image has taken a bit of a battering over the last few decades with anti-social behaviour, lager louts and football hooligans becoming more the norm. The use of of swearing and bad language, while always being present, seems to have become way more excepted in every day life, from kids using it to casual swearing on regular tv programmes.
Here’s a look at some of the most common swear words a visitor is likely to here on an every day basis, with some people almost in every sentence.
Date: April 23rd, 2008 |
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London travel tips for first time visitors
Spring is here and travellers and tourists will soon be arriving in London in ever bigger numbers. For the first time visitor there’s a myriad of places to go and things to see once they get here especially if the trip is only short, maybe over an extended weekend. Here’s a quick look at some of the things people coming to London for the first time might want to know about or fit into their schedule.
Flights and Hotels
You’ve booked the airfare to London but what about the hotel room. The accomodation available in London is extensive and varied, not the cheapest, if fact expensive at the higher end but there are deals if you do a bit of searching.
Date: April 1st, 2008 |
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Land Rovers – Buy one or list yours for free
While Land Rovers are probably not suited for downtown London, they are quite popular (and useful) all over London’s suburbs. These beautiful and powerful British vehicles never go out of style and are high prized among collectors. Here’s a cool site that is nothing but Land Rovers for sale, also featuring free listings if you are selling a Land Rover yourself. Check it out if you are ready to buy a Land Rover or just like looking at these classic British vehicles.
Date: March 16th, 2008 |
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Petrol prices
Visitors to Britain who are planning on renting a car and driving during their visit may want to reconsider their options as the price of petrol has skyrocketed 20% in the last year as highlighted in a story in the Daily Mail.
The average price of a gallon of petrol in the UK is now £4.80 (US$9.65) while a gallon of diesel costs a staggering £5.30. People on a trip here for the first time may be caught out by petrol being sold at the pumps by the litre where the cost is around £1.06 at the moment,
Date: March 6th, 2008 |
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Red Bull Flugtag London
Flugtag (Flying Day), is an event organized by Red Bull that has taken place in over 70 cities around the world and the second Red Bull Flugtag London day is happening on Saturday 7th June 2008 in Hyde Park.
Flugtag involves competitors constructing man powered flying machines and launching them and their pilot or pilots off a 6m high ramp and into the water below, which in London’s case will be The Serpentine in Hyde Park.
Anyone can apply to enter and entries are free, but you need to download the design manual from
Date: February 26th, 2008 |
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