FlyWithX

United Kingdom

London

Four World Heritage Sites

  • the Tower of London
  • Kew Gardens
  • the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church
  • the historic settlement of Greenwich

Others

  • the british museum
  • 221B baker street
  • London Eye
  • Piccadilly Circus
  • St Paul's Cathedral
  • Tower Bridge
  • Trafalgar Square
  • The Shard.

Government/Residence

  • 10 Downing Street: the headquarters of the Government of the United Kingdom, the official residence and office of prime minister
  • Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the British monarch
  • the Palace of Westminster: the meeting place of both houses of parliament.

Movie/TV Shows

  • The Tudor(imdb)
  • Sherlock Holms
  • The Queen: about Queen Elizabeth
  • The King's Speech: about George VI
  • The Iron Lady(imdb)

Day Trips Near London

Oxford

By rail ~1hr:

  • GWR: from Paddington (via Reading)
  • Chiltern: from Marylebone

Cambridge

By rail ~1hr:

  • Thameslink: from Liverpool Street
  • Great Northern: from King's Cross

Bristol

Great Western Railway(GWR) 2hrs

Railway

The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world.

Great British Railways (GBR) will oversee rail transport in Great Britain from 2023. GBR will own all stations and most infrastructure in Great Britain.

  • 1825: the first locomotive-hauled public railway opened
  • 1948–1994: nationalisation (British Railways)
  • 1994-2023: privatisation / franchises
  • 2023-: re-nationalization (Great British Railways)

TfL vs DfT

  • TfL: Transport for London (https://tfl.gov.uk/). London Undergound, Overground, DLR, Tram, Elizabeth Line are managed by TfL
  • DfT: Department for Transport, responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved.

Inter-regional Railway Lines

  • High Speed 1: London (St Pancras) to Channel Tunnel to France
  • High Speed 2 (Planned): London - Birmingham - Manchester
  • West Coast Main Line (WCML): London (Euston) - Manchester / Liverpool - Glasgow / Edinburgh
  • East Coast Main Line (ECML): London (King's Cross) - York - Durham - Newcastle - Edinburgh
  • Midland Main Line: London (St Pancras) - Nottingham - Sheffield
  • Great Western Main Line: London (Paddington) - Bristol
  • Great Eastern Main Line: London (Liverpool Street) - Norwich
  • Cross Country Route: Bristol - Birmingham - Sheffield - Leeds - York

Overnight Sleeper Trains

Only 2:

  • Caledonian Sleeper: between London (Euston) and Scotland ("Calendonian": relating to Scotland or the Scottish Highlands.)
  • Night Riviera: between London (Paddington) and Penzance, operated by GWR.

Open-access operator

A train operating company that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and in countries where rail services run under franchises are not subject to franchising.

  • Eurostar: high-speed rail connecting London (St Pancras) with France, Belgium and Netherlands.
  • Grand Central
  • Heathrow Express: between London (Paddington) and Heathrow Airport
  • Hull Trains: between London (King's Cross) and Hull / Beverley
  • Lumo: between London (King's Cross) and Edinburgh

London Trains

London underground

The oldest underground railway network in the world.

11 lines:

  • 7 Deep tube: smaller cars, tunnel diameter about 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m)
    • Bakerloo
    • Central
    • Jubilee
    • Nothern
    • Piccadilly: Connecting Heathrow Airport and London downtown.
    • Victoria
    • Waterloo & City
  • 4 Sub surface: cut-and-cover
    • Circle
    • District
    • Hammersmith & City
    • Metropolitan
      • one of only two Underground lines to cross the Greater London boundary (the other being the Central line)
      • In 1863 the Metropolitan Railway began the world's first underground railway between Paddington and Farringdon with wooden carriages and steam locomotives
      • Unlike the deep-tube railways, its tunnels are just below the surface ("cut and cover")
      • The longer distance between stops allows trains on this line to achieve the system's highest speeds of over 60 miles per hour (100 km/h) on some sections.

London Overground

Suburban / commuter rail network. 9 lines. Operation has been contracted to Arriva Rail London.

Docklands Light Railway

7 lines. Automated.

From London Docklands (Canary Wharf):

  • North to Stratford
  • South to Lewisham
  • West to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district
  • East to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal.

Elizabeth line (Crossrail)

Crossing the capital from west to east, connecting Great Western Main Line (Paddington) and the Great Eastern Main Line (Liverpool Street).

  • west branches: Reading, Heathrow
  • east branches: Abbey Wood, Shenfield

Other Trains

  • Chiltern Railways: from London Marylebone to north / northwest (including Oxford)
  • Greater Anglia
  • Great Northern
  • Great Western Railway
  • London Northwestern Railway
  • Southeastern
  • Southern
  • South Western Railway
  • Thameslink: through London center,
    • Bedford and Cambridge (North) to Brighton (South)
    • Peterborough (North) to Horsham (South)
  • Essex Thameside, operated by c2c: from Fenchurch Street and from Liverpool Street to east London and parts of Essex

London Train Terminals

  • Paddington: Great Western main line(London to Bristol)
  • Euston: West Coast Main Line(London to Liverpool to Manchester to Edinburgh), Virgin Trains, HS2
  • Kings Cross: East Coast Main Line
  • Charing cross: South Eastern main line
  • Stratford: Great Eastern Main Line
  • St Pancras: High Speed 1(to Continental Europe, Paris by Eurostar)
  • Waterloo: South Eastern main line
  • Victoria: Brighton main line to Gatwick Airportand Brighton and the Chatham main line to Ramsgate and Dover via Chatham
  • Liverpool Street:
    • Stansted Express
    • Greatanglia
  • Fenchurch Street: c2c

Airports

London:

  • Heathrow
    • Heathrow Express: from Paddington, open-access operator
    • Piccadilly Line
    • Elizabeth Line
  • Gatwick
    • Gatwick Express: from Victoria and Brighton. Part of Thameslink.
  • Stansted
    • Stansted Express: from Liverpool Street. A sub-brand of Greater Anglia.
  • Luton: Thameslink
  • London City: DLR

Other major airports (ranked by annual passengers):

  • Manchester
  • Edinburgh
  • Birmingham
  • Bristol
  • Glasgow
  • Belfast International
  • Liverpool
  • Newcastle

London Bus

Prefix:

  • X: Express
  • N: Night
  • Other letters: regions
    • A: Airport
    • B: Bexley
    • C: Central
    • D: Docklands
    • E: Ealing
    • EL: East London
    • G: St George's Hospital
    • H: Hampstead / Harrow / Hounslow
    • K: Kingston
    • P: Peckham
    • R: Orpington (Roundabout) / Richmond
    • S: Sutton
    • U: Uxbridge
    • W: Wood Green / Waltham Forest

Notes from watching "Last Kingdom"

Danelaw: Danish-ruled territory of England

7 Kindome: wessex, alfred the great; halfdan northumbia, guthrum east anglia; Anles: northumbia, east anglia, mercia; saxon: sussex, wessex, essex; kent: jutes

Bamburgh Castle

The Tudors

(2007-2010) 4 seasons, 38 episods

Kings and Queens

  • Henry VII 1485-1509
  • Henry VIII 1509-1547
    • (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547)
    • initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority.
    • "the father of the Royal Navy,"
  • Edward VI 1547-1553
    • Son of Henry VIII
  • Jane 1553-1553
    • Great-granddaughter of Henry VII
  • Mary I and Philip 1553-1558
    • Bloody Mary, Daughter of Henry VIII
    • The only child of Henry VIII first wife Catherine of Aragon
    • best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation
  • Elizabeth I (The Virgin Queen) 1558-1603
    • Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn