Going to London

[Mark Albery]

You have some very good suggestions there already.
Certainly the science museum while you're in London, the V&A is next door and Harrod's nearby if your party needs more cultural or retail indulgences.

Depending what transport you have, then Duxford and Shuttleworth are highly recommended. If you can make a flying evening or display day at Shuttleworth, all the better.

Brooklands Museum is also not far out of London, where much of 'Those Magnificent Men.." was filmed; easily combined with a visit to the nearby RHS gardens at Wisley.

Slightly further afield is the RAF museum at Cosford.

If you are in the vicinity of Nottingham, you can arrange to visit the Rolls-Royce Heritage centre at Hucknall where the first Merlin powered P51s were converted and flown. They also have an engine collection at Derby, but you need to book an appointment to see either.

This is a good list of other flying events in the UK - http://events.royalaeroclub.org/eventuk.htm

[frankh]

This was always a favourite place to visit when I was a kid growing up in London.

When I went back to London with my Wife (she is American, we live in Oregon) I took a trip down there and it was a s good as I remembered.

The IWM is being refurbed and will re-open on July 19th and is easy to get to using the London Underground.

It is not specifically aviation related but well worth a look.

Frank

[az_gila]

If you are going further afield...

To the West, just past Stonehenge (on the way to Doc Martin country) is the Royal Navy Aviation Museum at Yeovilton -

http://www.fleetairarm.com/

And to the North, past Birmingham is the RAF Museum, Cosford - probably the only place in the world with all three types of V-bombers under the same roof -

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/

[nzrv8]

The RAF museum in Colindale is very easy to get to.. and has free entry!

[rzbill]

In the vein of "haven't seen that in real life before", the IWM got a mark from me for the Heinkel 162 Salamander. Duxford has the prototype Concord still wired up for testing. Man, its a small cabin. Of course there was a lot of WWII hardware there too. Wish I had made a show but my work schedule was wrong.

[RBR]

Whilst not exactly aviation related, a great day can be found at Greenwich. There you will find the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval College. Harrison's clocks are in the museum there, and is the location of the Cutty Sark too.

If churches are your thing, St Clement Danes on the Strand is the church of the RAF and has loads of war material.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by RBR

Whilst not exactly aviation related, a great day can be found at Greenwich. There you will find the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval College. Harrison's clocks are in the museum there, and is the location of the Cutty Sark too.
.....

And you can stand straddling the brass line in the parking lot with one foot in the Western hemisphere and the other foot in the Eastern hemisphere.

[mculver]

+1 on Duxford. You can take the train from London to Cambridge, and then a local bus out to Duxford (if you don't have your own wheels). Tip: purchase the train ticket a few days in advance and as I recall you can save a few pounds.

[Jimboscr]

There are a lot of aircraft related things to see around London and in the UK generally.

The Imperial War Museum is great, but as already said it will be opening soon as it has been renovated.

Duxford is the IWM annex and is truly fantastic. If you are getting a car then while your out at Duxford you can go and see the Shuttleworth collection at Biggleswade. This is a unique group of aircraft, with just about everything there in flying condition, with a lot of WW1 vintage planes. They have flying days too where you can see all of these very old aircraft take to the air.

The RAF have two museums. Cosford is one, and it contains many of the large transport and experimental aircraft used by the RAF. However just near London there is Hendon, this can be reached by tube and contains a huge range of aircraft from WW1 onward, as well as helicopters and a lot of other memorabilia. By the way they all have a lot of US aircraft in their collections as well.

Others have also mentioned the Science Museum and the RAF chapel St
Clements Dane. The chapel is at the bottom of the Strand and after looking at it you can walk up the hill to St Paul's Cathedral!

Have a great trip, London is a very nice city, hope you enjoy yourself.

Cheers

Jim

[mculver]

One more idea that I can't believe I missed!

Take your logbook along, and your medical, and by some dual in a Tiger Moth. You can do this at White Waltham, which is very near Heathrow in Maidenhead.

In fact, just head out there late Saturday morning. There are benches out front to watch from, and a restaurant with a pub and proper English beer. In theory the place is members only; however in my experience all pilots are welcome.

No wheels? You can get there on a train plus bus or taxi.