Duxford VE Accommodation??

Parking for the Ibis Hotel.

Tesco’s car park. Whilst you get an entrance ticket (sometimes), during the night the barrier is left open. I normally get my shopping after night shift from there and have never had to use the ticket.

Also all the sportspersons using the leisure centre use this car park, for nought.

The entrance for Ibis you have to drive past the car park so drop your bags off then drive the short distance to the car park and walk back using the cut through between Tesco and the Land Reg offices.

BP.

Well, thanks to Merlin70, I will be staying at Stevenage on May 7th, Sat. After the airshow on Sunday, we intend to spend whatever is left of the night driving through London central, while spending the next day(Mon) at Hendon, or RAF museums. On Monday itself, we have to be at Dover by 5.30 for our ferry. So effectively, I only have slightly more than half a day on Monday, so timing is crucial, as well as travelling distance.

So ideally, if someone could point out a town/place, near London central, so I can access the tube, and park the car, escape all the gridlock, and closer towards Dover. I’m finding hotels in London bloody expensive…., so is this too much to ask?

Trying to explain the UK (public) transport system to a novice would make my head hurt – a lot.

As Merlin70 has said, we’re a bit short on detail. We don’t know where you’re picking up and dropping off the car for a start. I believe our hotels are amongst the most expensive in the world which doesn’t help either.
In my opinion, the big chains such as Ibis and Holiday Inn Express although being bland are probably as reasonable as anywhere.

If you could find one near Potters Bar you have the choice of a fast mainline rail link to London King’s Cross, or Cockfosters underground station is only a mile or two to the south. Oakwood, a further mile or so down the road, has a bigger car park and slightly more frequent trains.
Having said that, I would like somebody to confirm or disagree with my comments as I moved away from the area nearly 20 years ago.

I’m sorry for asking so many travel questions here, but you guys share the same interest and have been wonderful! Much appreciated

.[/QUOTE]
Never, ever apologise for asking. It is nice to be able to help someone visting for the first time. I hope you enjoy the trip.

Derek

Difficult to answer as it is not clear how you intend to get to Dover and from where. From Stevenage you need to allow 2 hours to the port. From London the time varies depending on where you are. For example, I was in Kensington today and it took 1 hour 45 minutes to get to Stevenage.

Getting access to the tube from Cockfosters or Redbridge is easy enough and there are places to stay below £40.

Sorry to be vague, but more info is needed for a better reply.
tc

Thanks a lot for all your help, it has been most useful. Of course, I hope to take some good pics to contribute as well.

At the moment, I’m having a hard time picking a place far away London, yet well linked to the tube. I have a 6pm ferry to catch at Dover, so if someone could recommend a decent(GBP30+) accommodation, it would be great. The UK transport systems seems a little complex to a novice!

I’m sorry for asking so many travel questions here, but you guys share the same interest and have been wonderful! Much appreciated.

Here’s what’s on at IWML: http://london.iwm.org.uk/ in case any of the temporary exhibitions take your fancy. I may be biased, but I think it’s worth the visit for the veteran Camel and Spit MkIa. And the Holocaust exhibition of course 🙁

I work in London and go in by road from Stevenage. If you are going to Hendon you really need to spend a whole day there. If you are intending to go to the IWM as well I would say drive to Hendon, tour the museum, be away by 1:00p m then park near to Finchley Road tube station and use the tube for the rest of the day. Have some nosh in China Town, (Picadilly Line) before heading back to collect your car.

The last time I went to Lambeth, which was probably 10 or 11 years ago, I couldn’t believe the difficulty or costs of parking. To put that into perspective, from 1977 until 1988 I drove into London every day to work! Don’t even consider driving.

Hendon’s different. At an educated guess it’s about 40 minutes drive to or from Stevenage, except during the rush hour, and has a big car park. I always drive there.

Derek,

This Yank visited Hendon in December. Although I only had 2-3 hours and didn’t get to see everything, it was well worth the visit. The North Line of the Underground will get you within easy walking distance (there are two North Line branches, refer to the RAF Hendon Website for directions) from London. If you’re serious about photography, bring your tripod and use long exposures as the low level of lighting does live up to the notoriety expressed on this board. You need a special pass to use a tripod, but I had no problem getting one (I contacted the museum by e-mail before the visit).

If you have the time, you won’t be sorry.

Jeff

Driving and parking in London?
Probably your best bet is to park your car in the suburbs and catch the tube (underground railway) in, or else you will be stung for a big fat congestion charge (week days, anyway) plus parking.
Museums?
Do a search on the forum using the search facility. Shift through the chaff and make up your own mind. As an influence here are a few pix and whines from my visit to the RAF Museum a year ago (but there are loads of other views/reviews/pix out there).
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=23484
Not been to the IWM at Lambeth for a while, but there are lots who have and you can merrily search for them too.
Good luck.

Flood

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for everybody’s help! Now, a couple more qns….

How is the IWM and RAF museums in London? Are they worth a visit at all?

You guys have been so helpful! Could someone who lives or commutes reguarly in central London email me? Some qns on driving n parking within London.

Many thanks,
Derek

Hi TC,

I have booked a room Ibis Stevenage Centre first. Looks great, other than the £2.50 parking. Thanks for your help!

Derek

Derek

Try pasting the addess below into your address bar. It is for a twin room in a hotel in Stevenage. £36.95 per room.

http://travel.ian.com/index.jsp;jsid=tNTRuUSlKdX5

tc

May 7th & 8th

What is the date of this event? Remind me.

Moggy

I moved away from the area some years ago so my existing knowledge is extremely out of date.
I wonder if it would be worth looking around the Stansted/Harlow area?

Hi TC,

Thanks for the heads up. I actually found a place near Saffron Walden that charges £48, but was wondering if anyone could come up with a cheaper place. I might be pushing it…. but where I come from, the pound is almost 3x my dollar! The YHA hostels would have been great, but all booked up….

Anyway, thanks for your assistance,
Derek

Welcome! There is also a pub in Fulbourn village (about 10 minutes from Duxford) that does B & B, which migh be worth a look. I’ve never used it myself, but it looks OK from the outside.

Try this link:
http://www.localsecrets.com/review.cfm?id=139

rcaero. Welcome to the Forum.

Stevenage has some good places to stay and is only 30 minutes drive from DX. There are a few small hotels and B&B’s which are around £40 for a twin room with ensuite. Ordinarily I would have offered you a room here, but our baby is due anytime now and we are likely to be in baby mode rather than host mode for a few weeks or so.

Leaving Stevenage at 7:45 will get you near the front of the entry queue and give you loads of time to see the museum and buy lots of goodies from the many stalls. There is usually a Forum meet at DX on airshow days. Keep visiting the Forum and make yourself known on the day.

Look forward to seeing you there.

tc