Category Archives: London travel

Olympic traffic and travel updates for Tuesday and Wednesday, 31 July and 1 August

Sorry I skipped posting the Tuesday, 31 July bulletin in a timely fashion. Here’s the one for Wednesday, 1 August.

Posted in European festivals, London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The latest traffic updates and tips for 2012 summer Olympics

According to London Transport, Monday will be one of the busiest for the Games. There getaheadofthegames website will have all the latest. The next few days have the following hotspots, according

Posted in England, European festivals, London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Virgin Atlantic is updating their fleet

From Virgin Atlantic July newsletter – Virgin is updating its fleet. Click here to watch a speeded up video of the process and find out more.

Posted in London travel, News from Europe, UK news, Virgin Atlantic | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Get traffic updates for 2012 summer Olympics around the UK

London Transport has a website with current information on traffic issues now that the Olympics activities has begun. There is more to the Olympics rash than the scrum in London over the next couple of weeks. There is also the … Continue reading

Posted in England, European festivals, London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Olafur Eliasson’s blackouts at Tate Modern

I saw this artist’s other-worldly Weather Project installation at the Tate Modern several years ago. Now he’s got something different planned for the same museum,  Little Sun, beginning on July 28. I hope it runs long enough for me to … Continue reading

Posted in European art, General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Breaking up the lines at customs and immigration at Heathrow

OK, here’s one I didn’t know they needed – separate lines at London Heathrow  for incoming visitors depending on whether they need a visa to enter the UK. I don’t know how much difference it will make when multiple flights … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

weekend craziness in and around London for 21-22 July and beyond

Things are getting wild, with just one week to go before the opening Olympic Games hoopla. Click here to find out about the torch relay that starts in Greenwich at 7.30 am and concludes in Waltham at 7.30 pm this Saturday: … Continue reading

Posted in European festivals, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

As the London Olympics approaches, London travel tips

TfL (Transport for London) has some additional thoughts on how to survive the Olympic travel pressures.

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 14 – 15 July 2012

Paddington Station on the Circle and Hammersmith/City lines is no-go again this weekend. Other shutdowns this weekend include partial closures on the Metropolitan (all weekend)and Northern (Sunday) lines. ALL OF THE VICTORIA LINE WILL BE OUT ON SATURDAY. That’ll put a … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tips from Transport for London on getting around during ”The Games”

Don’t you just love how the Brits don’t feel the need to add modifiers to entities or events? In case you’re trying to move around London during ”the Games” (aka the London Olympics), click here for some fairly useful information … Continue reading

Posted in London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 7 – 8 July 2012

Nice to see that Wimbledon/Southfields and the District Line are immune from the Tube  shutdowns this weekend. Paddington Station on the Hammersmith/City line is no-go for the weekend, as well as the Circle Line from Edgware Rd all the way … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hotel rates will drop like a stone in mid-August

From the London Independent. Hotels in and around London are cleaning up big time during the Olympics, but the best time to find a really GREAT deal will be right after the Olympics end. I mean, really… what did anyone … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, News from Europe | Tagged , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 30 June – 1 July 2012

Nice to see that Wimbledon/Southfields and the District Line are immune from the Tube  shutdowns this weekend. Marylebone station on the Bakerloo line will be closed both days, as well as big chunks of the Northern and Metropolitan lines. There … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

an Afghan Shakespeare in London

From the London Independent. Reviewing A Comedy of Errors at the Globe Theatre. It’s spoken in Farsi and set in Afghanistan. Can’t get much more universal than that.

Posted in European festivals, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 23 – 24 June 2012

Paddington Tube station on the Circle and Hammersmith lines is closed on Saturday. Other  shutdowns this weekend include a portion of the Northern Line both days and some disruption on the Jubilee line on Sunday. There are also disruptions on Docklands … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 16 – 17 June 2012

A large part of the Central Line east beginning at Marble Arch and on the Northern Line north from Camden Town will have shutdowns this weekend. Metropolitan line from Wembley Park northwest to the end of the line will see … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 9 – 10 June 2012

A large part of the Central Line east beginning at Marble Arch and on the Northern Line north from Hampstead will have shutdowns this weekend. There are also disruptions on Docklands Light Rail, London Overground and London Tramlink. See map … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

London travel update for Jubilee weekend, June 2012

Click on the link for the latest information on travel around London during the Queen’s Jubilee festivities. (Sure, they tell me not to drive into the city, but send me a plane ticket so I can join in the scrum? … Continue reading

Posted in European festivals, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What’s on for the Queen’s Jubilee next weekend

From France 24. Listing of the events celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee. No beheadings, no abbey destruction; only civilized fun on the official slate. (Who gets to take the leftovers home? Just wondering).

Posted in European festivals, London travel, UK news | Tagged , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 26 – 27 May 2012

Lots of Tube lines being worked on this weekend. Half will be in effect both days, the others only on Sunday. The Circle Line between Edgware Rd and Kings X (big pain), Hammersmith/City and Metropolitan will be disrupted on Saturday … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Buck House opening early this year

From France 24. Buckingham Palace, which usually opens to the public in July or August, will open for a week at the end of June this year, close for a few weeks, then reopen from the end of July thru … Continue reading

Posted in European art, London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Claim your riverside spot for the Queen’s Jubilee flotilla on the Thames

From France 24.  A flotilla of hundreds of different boats will sail down the Thames on June 2nd for the Queen’s Jubilee. The Queen’s barge (sounds like something out of Cleopatra, doesn’t it?) will include William and Kate. Isn’t that nice.

Posted in European festivals, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 19 – 20 May 2012

This weekend’s Tube closures are minimal. The only Tube closure is on the Central Line between Marble Arch and Liverpool Street. And while a major headache, at least there are plenty of alternate lines to get around the mess. There are … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 12 – 13 May 2012

Here are this weekend’s Tube closures. The biggest disruption in central London is the Central Line closure, extending east beginning at Marble Arch. Partial closures on the Bakerloo, Metropolitan and Northern lines are also scheduled, as well as some Overground, … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 5 – 7 May 2012

This weekend’s Tube closures will mess up the bank holiday, no surprise. Depending where you live, the worst bit may be the closure of the entire Victoria line. Big chunks of the Circle, District, Hammersmith/City, Northern, Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What’s coming – UK art and music festivals

June thru Sept around the UK http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/cultural-gold-britains-100m-olympic-jamboree-7682542.html  From London Independent Music festival in Witney is on now thru May 19th. Festival schedule is here. From Oxford Mail. London Time Out’s best bets for May.

Posted in European festivals, General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Wallace will be at the Proms, and other news

A grand day out at the Proms on 29 July only. Main Proms link here.  

Posted in European festivals, General magpie travel, London travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Upcoming fun stuff from Time Out London

A new, occasional blog post. Stuff to do this weekend, this month or this summer. From London Time Out.

Posted in Europe food & wine, European festivals, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

London Tube closures for weekend of 28 – 29 April 2012

London Tube closures this weekend are relatively limited on the District (both days), Bakerloo (Sunday) and Jubilee (Sunday) lines. London Overground have some disruptions on both days.

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

An official’s view of UK tourism numbers for 2012

From the London Independent… (bolding is travelmagpie’s) Tourism chief: 2012 visitor boom unlikely Any increase in the number of tourists visiting the UK during this Olympic year would be “against all the odds”, the chairman of VisitBritain has warned. Speaking … Continue reading

Posted in General magpie travel, London travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments