London Travel Tips

For American travelers

Author’s photo

Note before we begin: I understand that people have different methods of doing things, and that how I navigate travel may not be how others do it. I also understand and respect that I have a different perspective than a UK resident or a business traveler. Take what you can use, leave the rest. This is what I’ve learned, and what has worked for me so far.

I just arrived back to the U.S. from London three days ago, via Heathrow Airport. I am, by no means, an expert on the city, but I’ve learned some things in my visits there that may be helpful to others. I’ve been to several other places in that beautiful country, but I’ve spent the most time in London.

That being said, I know that a lot of UK residents consider London to be an entirely different entity than the rest of the country, which is absolutely fair. London, while it’s been around for at least 2,000 years in some form, does not reflect many other places in the UK. If you only visit London, which is a wonderful place, you’re not seeing ‘the UK’ or even ‘England’. Yorkshire is very different from London, as is Chester, Swansea, the Scottish Highlands, or the Lake District. I was reminded of that last week when I was staying in Stansted, about 45 minutes north of London. I was talking with the group of people in my spiritual program, many of whom were from differen parts of the UK…