One of Wallace & Gromit's 2010 holiday stamps for the Royal Mail

Anyone you know dreaming of London this holiday season?

Or at the very least, a holiday that celebrates the greatest city in merry old England?

Well, here are my suggestions for great London gift ideas for the Anglophile in your life…

…even if that Anglophile is you.

London: The Novel

A great big book full of answers to questions about London’s most fascinating secrets, Edward Rutherfurd’s exhaustively-researched (and enormously enjoyable) epic covers the 2,000+ year history of London, from the Roman era to today.

Keep Calm and Carry On Apron

Using the famous 1939 slogan designed to boost British morale in the face of an impending World War II, this cheerful apron sends a message that any London-loving cook will treasure, especially while preparing potentially dramatic holiday meals.

Tea Palace

This delightful Covent Garden tea shop offers some of the finest teas in London — and on the internet. Delight your favorite tea drinker with the Secret Blossom Collection, gorgeous hand-tied bundles that bloom into “flowers” when you add hot water. Or, try a set of tea-scented candles for an extra little London touch of warmth.

Union Jack iPhone Covers

Every iPhone-using Anglophile outside the U.K. would be proud to flash the Union Jack every time the phone rang. If the crystal-encrusted case is a bit too razzle-dazzle for your taste, there’s this more subdued version of the flag, or this one bearing the “Keep Calm and Carry On” slogan.

Why Do Shepherds Need a Bush? London’s Underground History of Tube Station Names

For anyone who ever wondered what the heck Tube stations with names like Hammersmith, Tooting or Swiss Cottage are all about, David Hilliam takes readers back to the 19th century, when London was a largely rural place…and Bethnal Green was actually green.

Poster of the Tube Map

And to go with all that newfound knowledge about the Tube, how about a big poster to help keep it all straight?

London in a Bag

For an entirely different kind of bag, spill out this vibrant collection of London landmarks in miniature, sure to delight the smallest (or simply the most playful) of Anglophiles.

A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary

Modern-day philosopher Alain de Botton will have you not only contemplating your next trip to London, but thinking about the enormous, complex world of Heathrow Airport and what its often-overlooked details can tell us about our society. (For the truly perfect gift, bookmark it with tickets to LHR.)

Fortnum & Mason’s Bespoke Hampers

Official grocers to the Prince of Wales, this impeccable Piccadilly emporium has been open for business since 1707. Fill one of their signature hampers (read: a wicker picnic basket) or a gilded box with some of the finest British treats money can buy. Elegant teas, chocolate dainties, sugary dollies, buttery biscuits, fragrant soaps and much more can be assembled into a gorgeous gift that will either inspire a trip to London, or offer a perfectly civilized alternative…for now.

Once you arrive in London and need to take another plane to other British city or other European city, you’ll probably also need to travel between the airports. Thankfully, London’s public transportation system is known to be very efficient, but at times , quite confusing.

This article gives you the details for the possible options to travel between Stansted Airport and Gatwick Airport (or the other way around).

Quick summary

The cheapest way to travel between Stansted Airport and Gatwick Airport is to change coaches at Victoria Coach Station. Doing this means you’ll pay £6.80 for a ticket, one way, instead of £32.40 if you choose the direct coach (which is also the only direct way to get between the two airports).
Taking the train and bus means you’ll pay £25.95 but you need to change means of transportation at Victoria Rail Station.

Coaches from Stansted Airport to Gatwick

National Express runs direct coaches between Stansted Airport and Gatwick, every 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the time of the day. Coaches stop at both the North and South Terminals.
The journey time between the two airports is about 2h 45 min. The single fare is £32.40.
Tickets can be bought on board, at the tickets desk at the terminal (at Gatwick) or at Stansted Airport bus station.

A much cheaper option is to make some stops along the way, in order to choose the cheapest route. First, take the coach from Stansted Airport to Victoria Coach Station. It costs £10 and the journey time is about 1h 40 min. Then, at Victoria, take the coach to Gatwick Airport (with a change in Brighton). But the single fare is £6.80. The journey time is about 4 ½ h and there are coaches departing every hour from Victoria.

Trains and underground from Stansted Airport to Gatwick

It is easy to get between Stansted Airport and Gatwick by train and underground. Make sure to follow these steps:

1. From Stansted , take the Stansted Express train to London Liverpool Station; the journey time is about 45 min. An express class single ticket costs £20.
2. From Liverpool Tube St. take Circle line (yellow) or District Line (green) to Victoria Station.
3. From Victoria St. take the Gatwick Express train to Gatwick Airport; the journey time is about 30 min. An anytime single ticket is £15.95.

Read more about :
>>Major Railway Stations in London
>> How to Navigate the London Tube: Practical Tips

Trains and coaches from Stansted Airport to Gatwick

A cheaper option is to get from Stansted Airport to Gatwick by coach and train. Follow the steps:

1. From Stansted, take the National Express coach to Victoria Rail Station ; the journey time is about 1h 40 min and the single fare is £10.
2. From Victoria Rail Station , take the national rail (or the faster and more expensive Gatwick Express) to Gatwick Airport. On the express train the anytime single ticket is £15.95 and the journey time is about 30 min.

Driving from Stansted Airport to Gatwick

If you want to drive between the two airports, the best option is via M25. The 72 miles can be covered in about 1h 20 min. Be aware that you have to pay a toll (£10) for crossing the Queen Elizabeth Bridge.

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Photo credit : Stansted rail station

But you might want to travel to other cities in the UK or Europe and you need to transfer to London Stansted Airport , which is the third busiest airport in the UK and a major hub for European low-cost carriers.

London is known for the excellent network of public transportation , but also for how hard it is to figure out connections between the many options.

If you need to get from Stansted Airport to Heathrow Airport , or the other way around, this article explains the possible ways to do it.

Quick summary

The easiest and only direct link between Stansted Airport and Heathrow Airport is by a public shuttle operated by National Express. The journey time is about 1 ½ h and the single fare is £24.90.

Another fast option is to travel by train and tube. Take the Stansted Express to Liverpool St. Station, get to the tube station and take the tube to Paddington Station and from there take the Heathrow Express.

Shuttles from Stansted Airport to Heathrow

The only direct shuttle between Stansted Airport and Heathrow is provided by National Express . This is the most popular way to get between the two airports and is available near 24/7.

At Stansted Airport, the pick ups are in front of the passenger terminal, from the bus station.

At Heathrow, all buses go to the Central Bus Station , where Terminal 1 and 3 are. From the bus station, it takes 10 minutes (via moving walkways and lifts) to actually get to the Terminals.
From Terminals 4 and 5, there is a free train to/from the Central Bus Station, which runs every 15 minutes.

Single fare is £24.90 and the travel time between the two airports is about 1 ½ h. Coaches leave from Stansted Airport every hour or half hour , depending on the time of the day.

Bus and Tube from Stansted Airport to Heathrow

The cheapest way to get between Stansted Airport and Heathrow (or the other way around) is by taking the bus and the tube.

To get from Stansted Airport to Heathrow, follow the steps:

1. Stansted Airport to Stratford station by National Express; single fare is £8 and buses leave every 30 minutes from Stansted Airport bus station.
2. Stratford to Holborn by tube Central Line (red)
3. Holborn to Heathrow Terminal 1 and 3 by tube line Piccadilly (blue); the first train from Central London arrives at Heathrow around 6:30 a.m. and the last at 00:20 a.m. During the night there is the night bus (N9) , which stops at Terminal 1 and 3, as well as 5. The bus includes stops at Hammersmith, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly.

The total travel time between the two airports is about 3 hours.

>>read more about How to Navigate the London Tube: Practical Tips

Trains and tube from Stansted Airport to Heathrow

To get from Stansted Airport to Heathrow (or the other way around) by train and tube follow the steps:

1. From Stansted Airport, take the Stansted Express train to London Liverpool Street ; the journey time is about 45 minutes. An express class single ticket costs £20.
2. From Liverpool St. tube station, take the tube (Hammersmith and City line – pink ; or Circle line – yellow) to Paddington station.
3. From Paddington station take the Heathrow Express train to Heathrow Airport; the journey takes about 15 minutes. An express single ticket purchased online is £16.50.

Both express trains run every 15 minutes.

>>read more about Major Railway Stations in London

Private transfers between Stansted Airport and Heathrow

Another possibility is to book a private transfer between the two airports. Fares start at £119 for 4 people but there are shuttles which can carry 17+ people. The journey time is 1h 20 min.

Driving from Stansted Airport to Heathrow

You can also rent a car and drive the distance between the two airports.
The direct route is on M25. The 65 miles between Stansted Airport and Heathrow can be covered in about 1 ¼ h.

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Photo credits: Heathrow tube station , Stansted bus

Traveling from London to other parts of the UK is an excellent way to explore the country. You can set your base in Cardiff or Bangor, and then explore the rest of Wales.

Quick summary

Coaches remain the cheapest way to get around the UK, so they are also an excellent option for traveling between London and Wales, regardless of which city you plan to visit.

Flights from London to Wales

Cardiff International Airport (CWL) is the only major airport in Wales. It is located 12 miles from the city center. Flybe is the largest carrier here, but the airport is also base for Manx2, Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines.

Cardiff airport does not receive any direct flights from London. However, connecting flights are available by way of Belfast City, Edinburgh or Dublin , with single fares starting at £116 (on Flybe) and the total travel time being almost 16 hours.

>>read more about Getting from London to Cardiff

Train from London to Wales

South Wales (Newport, Cardiff and Swansea) is connected to London Paddington via trains operated by First Great Western . Trains to Cardiff run every half hour during the day and the cheapest single standard ticket is £22. An off peak single ticket is £48 and is valid on any off peak train on the permitted route.

North Wales (Bangor) is connected to London Euston Station via trains operated by Virgin Trains . Trains to Bangor depart London every hour. The journey time is about 3h 20 min and the advance single ticket starts at £34.00.

>>read more about the Railway Stations in London

Buses from London to Wales

National Express runs coaches from London Victoria Coach Station to a variety of cities in Wales.
Coaches to Cardiff arrive at Cardiff Bus Station and the travel time is between 3h 10 min and 3 ½ h, depending on the traffic. Single fares start at £7.50.
Coaches to Bangor take about 8 ½ h and the single fare starts at £8.50.
There is only on coach to Caernarfon and it leaves London at 10:30 a.m. The travel time is 9 h and the single ticket is £32.50.
Coaches to Swansea depart London every hour and the travel time is between 4 ½ h and 5 h. The single fares start at £10.50

Driving from London to Wales

Driving between London and any town in Wales can be an interesting and beautiful experience. You can get to Cardiff via M4 and drive the 151 miles in less than 3 hours.

Swansea is just 187 miles from London. If you drive on M4, you can get there in about 3 h 20 min.

Should you want to drive to Bangor, you can change between three routes, the fastest being on M1 and M6. It takes about 5h to drive the 268 miles.

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Photo credit

Getting from London to Belfast involves crossing the sea, so you’ll need to add the ferry into the route, whether you travel by bus, train or car.

Quick summary

The easiest, fastest and cheapest way to travel between London and Belfast is by plane. It costs about the same whether you fly London Luton to BFS on easyJet or from London Stansted to BHD on bmibaby (single fares start around £20).

Should you want to see the country as you travel, a good option is to travel by bus and ferry. But that involves quite a bit of hassle. First, take the bus to Glasgow, then another but to Stranraer , cross the sea and take another bus to Belfast. Starting with late November 2011, the new ferry crossing will be from Cairnryan, so add another bus ride from Stranraer to Cairnryan to the mix. Still, the entire journey costs less than £40 one way.

Flights from London to Belfast

Belfast is served by two airports:

• George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD): is located about 3 miles from the city center and is a major base for Flybe. It is also hub for bmibaby and Manx2.
  Flights from Belfast to London are operated by: BMI (Heathrow), bmibaby (Stansted) and Flybe (Gatwick).
  If you want to fly during the shoulder season (late November 2011), expect to pay from £26 one way on bmibaby (on Stansted; flight time 1h 20 min). Should you plan to fly for the winter holidays, expect to pay from £23 one way on Flybe (on Gatwick; flight time 1h 30 min), while in the spring (March 2012), single fares start at £20 on bmibaby.
• Belfast International Airport (BFS): is the bigger airport serving Belfast and is located about 13 miles from the city center. It is the second busiest airport on the island after Dublin and is hub for Aer Lingus, Easyjet, Jet2.com(Seasonal), Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways.
  Flights from Belfast to London are operated by: Aer Lingus (Heathrow) and easyJet (Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Southend).
  If you want to fly during the shoulder season (late November 2011), single fare starts at £26 on Aer Lingus (Heathrow; flight time 1h 15 min) , while during the winter holidays expect to pay from £28 one way on easyJet (Stansted; flight time 1h 15 min). In the spring (March 2012), single fares start at £23 on easyJet (Luton; flight time 1h 10 min).

Read more about:
>>Cheap flights to London Heathrow
>>Cheap flights to London Gatwick
>>Cheap flights to London Stansted
>>Cheap flights to London Luton

Trains and ferries from London to Belfast

There are three possible routes to travel from London to Belfast by a combination of trains and ferry:

Route1 : via Holyhead and Dublin

This is the cheapest option. A combined single ticket is £44 and can be bough here.
Start the journey in London and take the morning train to Holyhead in Wales. Then taken the afternoon ferry to Dublin and from there take the evening train to Belfast.
Trains from London to Holyhead are operated by Virgin Trains and they depart from London Euston Station every hour.

Read more about
>>Getting from Dublin to Holyhead
>>Getting from Dublin to Belfast

Route 2: via Stranraer

This is the traditional route and takes the same time as the first route, but it’s slightly more expensive. Single tickets cost £49.
Leave London in the morning for Glasgow (Virgin Trains) and then another train for Stranraer (Scot Rail). Trains leave London Euston Station and the total travel time is about 6 ½ h
Then, take the Stena Line ferry to Belfast port.
Starting with late November 2011, Stena will use the Cairnryan port, which is not connected to the railway, so the route will involve an hour bus ride from Stanraer to Cairnryan port.

>>read more about Getting from London to Glasgow

Route 3: via Liverpool

This is a comfortable way to travel but you need to book the train and ferry tickets separately. Take the afternoon train from London to Liverpool and then take the overnight ferry to Belfast.
Trains tickets from London to Liverpool start at £61.00 one way (valid on a specific train).
Stena Line runs a ferry from Liverpool Birkenhead to Belfast and the single fare is £30.50 on the morning ferry and £49.50 on the evening ferry. The crossing time is 8 h.

>>read more about Getting from London to Liverpool

Coaches and ferries from London to Belfast

Another option is the “coach & ferry” from London to Belfast. This combined ticket is offered by Stena Line and the sailing is via Stranraer.
First, you need to take the bus from London to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station. You can choose between Megabus and National Express . The travel time is between 8 h 20 min and 10 h, depending on the stops along the way. Single fares start at £12.50.

>>read more about Getting from London to Glasgow

From Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station take another bus to the Stranraer ferry departure and another bus to Belfast Europabus Centre.
There are two departures from Glasgow , at 10:50 a.m. and 4:35 p.m and the travel time is between 6h and 7 h 15 min, depending on the departure. The appex standard adult fare is £26.00 and includes the entire route from Glasgow to Belfast.

Driving from London to Belfast

There are two possible routes to travel by car from London to Belfast:

• M1: 462 miles, 9 ½ h, includes the Holyhead to Dublin ferry crossing
• M6: 465 miles, 9 ¾ h , includes the Stranraer to Belfast ferry crossing

For the first route, if you cross with a small car, expect to pay from £133.00. The ferry crossing is 3h 15 min (and is included in the entire route above).

If you choose the Stranraer to Belfast crossing , expect to pay from £99.00 for a small car.
As mentioned above, starting with late November 2011, the new crossing route will be Cairnryan to Belfast and for a small car expect to pay from £95.00. The crossing time is 2h 15min.

The map below shows the M1 route:

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Photo credits: Belfast Airport , Stena Ferry

With so many low cost carriers serving the UK cities, it’s not fast, easy and cheap to travel between them. But, many travelers prefer to take things slowly and choose to travel by land.

Quick summary

If you are on a budget and don’t mind spending 8h to 10 h in a bus, then this is definitely the best option to travel from Glasgow to London as fares start at £12.50 one way.
However, if you are in a hurry and don’t mind spending some money on transfer to/from the airports, then flying is a good choice. The flight time is 1h 10 min and the fares start at £34 on EasyJet .

Flights from Glasgow (GLA) to London

Glasgow is served by two airports located close to the city:

• Glasgow International Airport (GLA): is an international airport, located 8 miles from the city center. It is the second busiest airport in Scotland, after Edinburgh and the eights busiest in the UK. It is hub for Loganair, as well as base for EasyJet, Flybe , Jet2 , BMI , Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways.
  Flights from Glasgow to London are operated by: British Airways (Gatwick, Heathrow, London City) and EasyJet (Gatwick, Luton, Stansted).
  During the shoulder season (late November 2011), expect to pay from £34 one way on EasyJet (to Luton – LTN). Should you plan to fly for the winter holidays, single fares start at £33 on the same airline. Similar single fare (from £32) can be found for spring on the same airline. The flight time is 1h 10 min.
• Glasgow Prestwick International Airport (PIK): is the second international airport serving Glasgow and is located about 32 miles from the city center. Ryanair uses this airport as hub. There aren’t any flights to/from London.

Read more about:
>>Cheap flights to London Heathrow
>>Cheap flights to London Gatwick
>>Cheap flights to London Stansted
>>Cheap flights to London Luton
>>Cheap flights to London City Airport

Trains from Glasgow to London

Glasgow is served by two railway stations:

• Glasgow Central: south of Scotland, England, southern suburbs
• Glasgow Queen Street Station: Edinburgh, north of Glasgow

Trains to London depart from Glasgow Central and arrive at London Euston.

First Scot Rail runs trains from Glasgow Central to London Euston every 20 to 40 minutes, each day. The journey takes between 4 ½ h and 5h, depending on how many stops there are along the route. Trains from London Euston depart to Glasgow every hour. The cheap single standard ticket is £57.35 and the cheapest off peak return ticket is £114.70.

>>read more about the Railway Stations in London

Buses from Glasgow to London

Coaches from Glasgow to London are operated by:

• Megabus : links Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station to London Victoria Coach Station. There are five departures a day and the travel time is between 9 h and 10 h, depending on the stops along the way and traffic. Single fare is £23.00.
• National Express also links Glasgow to London Victoria Coach Station. There are also five departures per day and the fastest connection takes 8 h 20 min. Other connections take up to 10 hours. Single fare starts at £12.50 and depends on the date and time of travel.

Driving from Glasgow to London

There are three possible driving routes between Glasgow and London:

• M6: 403 miles, 6h 50 min
• M6 and M40: 415 miles, 7h
• M1: 405 miles, 7 h 10 min

Regardless of which one you choose, make sure to plan some stops along the way.

The map shows the driving route also M6:

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Photo credits: Glasgow Airport , London Euston

Its proximity to London means that the city can easily be reached by air via the airports serving the capital. Gatwick is the closest, located about 25 min by train from Brighton.

Quick summary

The cheapest way to travel from London to Brighton is by coach. It takes about 2 h and the single fares start at £3.50.

Trains from London to Brighton

Brighton Station is well served by trains departing from London Victoria Station and London Bridge Station.

Southern connects London Victoria Station to Brighton and there are departures every 10 or 20 minutes. The travel time is about 1h and it depends on the stops along the way. Single fare starts at £6.75 but it depends on the hour of departure and how much in advance you book the ticket.

First Capital Connect runs trains between London Bridge and Brighton and there are departures every 20 or 30 minutes. The travel time is about 1h and it depends on the stops along the way. The cheapest standard singe ticket is £20 and the cheapest anytime day single ticket is also £20.

>>read more about the Railway Stations in London

Buses from London to Brighton

National Express operates coaches between London Victoria Coach Station and Brighton. Coaches depart London hourly. The travel time is between 2 h and 2h 20 min and depends on the traffic and number of stops along the way. The single fare starts at £3.50 and depends on the date and time of departure.

Driving from London to Brighton

The shortest driving route from London is via M23 and A23. You can drive the 53 miles in about 1 ½ h. But once you are in Brighton , you might want to leave the car in a parking lot and tackle the city using the public transportation as it’s quite congested.

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Photo credit

Although the city is served by Bristol Airport (BRS), the ninth busiest airport in the UK, and a major base for both Ryanair and EasyJet, there aren’t any flights to/from London due to the short distance between the two cities. Actually, London’s airports are very good alternatives for those who need to travel to Bristol. Heathrow (LHR) is just 2 hours by car from Bristol via M4, while Gatwick and Stansted are 3 hours by car.

Quick summary

The cheapest way to travel from London to Bristol is by coach. Fares start at £5.50 one way and the journey takes between 2h 20 min and 3 h, depending on the traffic.

Trains from London to Bristol

Trains depart London Paddington Station and arrive at Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station, which is located 15 min from the city center and is the oldest, continuously and still operating train station in the world.

The service from London is run by First Great Western and there are trains departing London every 15 min. The journey takes between 1 ½ h and 2 hours, depending on the number of stops along the way. The cheapest standard single ticket is £17.50 and is valid on the specified train only. The off peak single ticket is £37.00 and is valid on any off peak train; while the anytime single ticket is £84.50 and is valid any time of the day.

>>read more about the Railway Stations in London

Buses from London to Bristol

There are two companies which offer bus services between London and Bristol:

• National Express : departs from London Victoria Coach Station and arrive at Marlborough St Coach station , near the city center. Buses depart every hour from London and the travel time is between 2h 21 min and 3 h. Single fares start at £5.50 and depend on the day and hour of departure.
• Mega Bus : departs from London Victoria Coach Station every hour , in the morning, and every 2 ½ h during the day. The journey time is 2h 30 min and the single ticket is £7.00.

Driving from London to Bristol

Bristol is located 118 miles west of London and can be reached by car in about 2 h 10 min via M4.

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Photo credit

Since London is very well served by low cost carriers and commercial airlines, most travelers prefer to arrive here and then travel to Liverpool by land.

Quick summary

The cheapest way to travel from London to Liverpool is by coach. The journey takes from 5h 10 min and the fares start at £7.50 one way.

Flights from London to Liverpool

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) is an international airport serving Liverpool and is located about 7.5 miles from the city center. It does not receive any direct flights from London.

A good alternative is Manchester Airport (MAN) , located about 45-60 min drive from Liverpool. The airport is the busiest UK airport outside of London and receives direct flights from the capital operated by: BMI (Heathrow) and British Airways (Heathrow, Gatwick).

If you plan to travel during the shoulder season (November 2011), single fares start at £39 on BMI from London Heathrow. The flight time is 1h 5 min.
Should you plan to travel between the two cities during the winter holiday, you can find single fares from £36 British Airways from London Gatwick. The flight time is 1h.

Read more about:
>>Flights to London Heathrow
>>Flights to London Gatwick

Trains from London to Liverpool

Trains to Liverpool Lime Street Station depart from London Euston Station every hour and are operated by Virgin Trains . The journey takes between 2h and 2 ½ h , depending on how many stops the train makes.
Advance single tickets start at £61.00 (valid on the specified train only) , while anytime single tickets cost £130.50.

>>read more about the Railway Stations in London

Buses from London to Liverpool

Coaches operated by National Express connect London Victoria Coach Station to Liverpool Coach Station. The journey takes between 5h10 min and 6 ½ h depending on the traffic and changes. Single standard tickets start at £7.50. Be careful though , when you book online the fare you find while you make the research might be cheaper than the fares you get when you book, if you don’t book at the same time you search for the information. That happens because you are given the lowest possible fare for your chosen departure day and time at the moment you check the fare.

Driving from London to Liverpool

There are three possible driving routes between London and Liverpool:

• M1: 215 miles, about 4 hours
• M1 and M6: 210 miles, about 4 hours
• M40 and M6: 221 miles, about 4 hours

Choosing the best route is a matter of whether you want to go via Birmingham or not. The map below shows the route via M1:

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Photo credit