Trip to the UK in late April and early May - What clothing should I bring?

[ter1413]



A great way to get up close and personal with London locals is to get roaring drunk and then urinate out in the open in Trafalgar Square.

+1...

 

[DocHolliday]



I'll just watch some BBC shows and pick up pointers on how they talk

Should you have any difficulties, my advice is to keep saying, "Come again, guv'nor?"

 

[Achilles_]



A great way to get up close and personal with London locals is to get roaring drunk and then urinate out in the open in Trafalgar Square.

That's step one. Step two is to insult football and tell them how much better American football is (while raving drunk of course)

 

[F. Corbera]



That's step one. Step two is to insult football and tell them how much better American football is (while raving drunk of course)

Are you sure? Travel is an opportunity to behave differently than one does at home.

 

[F. Corbera]



Should you have any difficulties, my advice is to keep saying, "Come again, guv'nor?"

Wearing a beret also helps. I believe that they are "in" Spring/Summer12.

 

[DocHolliday]

An expatriate Englishman asked me the other day if I was English based on what I was wearing. I knew then that I had my shtick down.

 

[Bounder]



This sounds like a good compromise. I have two business meetings, so a suit and a couple of ties will be coming along. Any tips for traveling with ties?

To be safe, avoid striped ties. Many are copies of regimental ties. It's not a huge issue but you might as well avoid striped ties for a week rather than risking it. Being an SF regular, I won't repeat the whole thing about black vs. brown shoes.

How long will you be there? Don't underestimate how much there is to see and do in the city. A week will barely scrape the surface, especially if you take time to enjoy the sights.

This. He's absolutely correct. You can easily spend a week wandering around in just the West End and still come nowhere close to seeing or doing everything.

Personally, I hate tourist hot spots, they tend to be full of tourists. But I suppose if you haven't been before, you might as well get it out of your system. Luckily, there are a lot so you can, at least, choose them judiciously. National Gallery > Harrods > The London Eye > Madame Tussauds.

If your wife is a theater buff, try some pub theater. This is theater produced in a small venue, often a room over a pub. It is a very different experience from going to a west end mega-show seating 1000 people. The quality is often surprisingly excellent. On occasion, extremely famous actors will appear in these productions without billing as a way of exercising their serious acting chops. Here's a venue, The Lion and Unicorn, which is quite decent and happens to have some Shakespeare on while you are there. http://www.giantolive.com/april.html

If you're interested in music, I would try Club 606 in Chelsea. This place is what jazz clubs used to be and still should be. Once again, it's off the beaten tourist track.

 

[DocHolliday]

The modern Tussaud's is quite the slick spectacle. Loud, crowded, very produced, rather pricey. If, like me, you can appreciate the simple pleasures of an old-fashioned waxwork in an old-fashioned setting, the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street offers a certain charm Tussaud's is almost entirely missing.

Wear your striped tie improperly and you run the risk of receiving a hard stare.

 

[E TF]



Less-often-mentioned places I like:
The last galleried inn in London, dating to the 1600s and featured in Dickens' Little Dorrit: The George.
If you're in that area, it's nice to stroll along the Thames and walk by the reconstructed Globe, though I've never felt compelled to pay to enter.
The Museum of London, which traces the city's history.
For true English eccentricity, Sir John Soane's.
Cordings, of course.

Excellent suggestions. Doc - if you like Sir John Soane's house you might like Dennis Sever's too - similar to Soane's but even more eccentric (its creator was an American who evidently did "English" better than the English).

Definitely worth watching a play at the Globe if you're even faintly interested in Shakespeare (after a pint of beer at the George first) - I think they still do standing tickets for £5 but your legs will be aching by the end.

I had visions of finally being able to wear a suit casually, but I figured jeans and maybe a SC would win out

I would like to take a train to the countryside for a day, does any town stand out among the others? ( I realize this is based on opinion, but I figure you gents will know better than most)

You can wear a casual suit in London - I do. Go for it.

The obvious candidates for a day trip by train are Oxford or Cambridge; both well worth a visit. For something a bit less visited you could get to a small town in Kent or Sussex like Arundel, Lewes, Canterbury, Whitstable or many others. But as others have said, you won't run out of things to do in London in a week. You could visit Hampstead and walk across Hampstead Heath to Highgate for a small taste of the country. There are great country style pubs in both hampstead and highgate, a stately home to visit (Kenwood House - some excellent art), and 800 acres of parkland - all 15 mins on the tube from central london.

A great way to get up close and personal with London locals is to get roaring drunk and then urinate out in the open in Trafalgar Square.

A must.

 

[Gus]

I recommend heading to Portobello Road for the weekend antiques market.

Some of my favorite shops are Holland & Holland, D.R. Harris, Foster &Son and just about any of the places on Walton street but especially Bentley's.

If I was going to get out of London, I would head over to the Cotswolds and stay over night.

 

[k4lnamja]



When I go to London, I always seem to get by just fine with dark jeans, a pair of nice shoes and a sport jacket. Smart casual dress seems to work well in London and you will get comments on the cut of your jacket or the look of your shoes. People do notice. I have brought suits and flannels but never seem to wear them.

THIS

Have fun, Ach

 

[Achilles_]



To be safe, avoid striped ties. Many are copies of regimental ties. It's not a huge issue but you might as well avoid striped ties for a week rather than risking it. Being an SF regular, I won't repeat the whole thing about black vs. brown shoes.
This. He's absolutely correct. You can easily spend a week wandering around in just the West End and still come nowhere close to seeing or doing everything.
Personally, I hate tourist hot spots, they tend to be full of tourists. But I suppose if you haven't been before, you might as well get it out of your system. Luckily, there are a lot so you can, at least, choose them judiciously. National Gallery > Harrods > The London Eye > Madame Tussauds.
If your wife is a theater buff, try some pub theater. This is theater produced in a small venue, often a room over a pub. It is a very different experience from going to a west end mega-show seating 1000 people. The quality is often surprisingly excellent. On occasion, extremely famous actors will appear in these productions without billing as a way of exercising their serious acting chops. Here's a venue, The Lion and Unicorn, which is quite decent and happens to have some Shakespeare on while you are there. http://www.giantolive.com/april.html
If you're interested in music, I would try Club 606 in Chelsea. This place is what jazz clubs used to be and still should be. Once again, it's off the beaten tourist track.

Great info, thank you!

The modern Tussaud's is quite the slick spectacle. Loud, crowded, very produced, rather pricey. If, like me, you can appreciate the simple pleasures of an old-fashioned waxwork in an old-fashioned setting, the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street offers a certain charm Tussaud's is almost entirely missing.
Wear your striped tie improperly and you run the risk of receiving a hard stare.

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is on the "must visit" list now, excellent idea.

I have a green silk turnbull and asser tie that has the Union flag crossed with the American flag, I can finally wear it (Unless this breaks some rule? I have a few grenadine to fall back on if need be.)

Excellent suggestions. Doc - if you like Sir John Soane's house you might like Dennis Sever's too - similar to Soane's but even more eccentric (its creator was an American who evidently did "English" better than the English).
Definitely worth watching a play at the Globe if you're even faintly interested in Shakespeare (after a pint of beer at the George first) - I think they still do standing tickets for £5 but your legs will be aching by the end.
You can wear a casual suit in London - I do. Go for it.
The obvious candidates for a day trip by train are Oxford or Cambridge; both well worth a visit. For something a bit less visited you could get to a small town in Kent or Sussex like Arundel, Lewes, Canterbury, Whitstable or many others. But as others have said, you won't run out of things to do in London in a week. You could visit Hampstead and walk across Hampstead Heath to Highgate for a small taste of the country. There are great country style pubs in both hampstead and highgate, a stately home to visit (Kenwood House - some excellent art), and 800 acres of parkland - all 15 mins on the tube from central london.
A must.

Excellent suggestions, I will look into them.

I recommend heading to Portobello Road for the weekend antiques market.
Some of my favorite shops are Holland & Holland, D.R. Harris, Foster &Son and just about any of the places on Walton street but especially Bentley's.
If I was going to get out of London, I would head over to the Cotswolds and stay over night.

Are those stores near each other, or more spread out?

 

[Hayward]

Suprised no one has mentioned the Churchill Museum/Cabinet War Room complex in Whitehall.

 

[fox81]

what to see and do in london has been done to death

as for weather in april/may, its a roll of the dice. it may snow. it may be warm.

and contrary to your thoughts of ye olde england, people dress pretty casually. no top hats and monocles.

 

[Spong]

considering the country is currently in the grip of a hosepipe ban, snow seems unlikely. April has been uncharacteristically baking for the last couple of years but there's always the chance of the odd heavy shower - if you don't want to bring the trench maybe pick up an inexpensive coat when you get over here. You should bring something for the warmer weather too though.