Where to have Christmas Day lunch in London

Christmas 2010 is only 35 days away and for those of you who will be staying in London this Christmas, you may be starting to wonder what you’ll be doing for Christmas Day itself.

If you have family to go to then great, but for others, we have some great ideas for where you can eat your Christmas lunch.

Eat it at home

Seriously, if there are a bunch of you (perhaps from overseas), sticking around in London this year, then eating Christmas lunch at home doesn’t have to be an earache. It can be heaps of fun and you can save a lot of money compared to eating out. Consider getting a massive shop in from a supermarket such as Sainsburys. If you spend enough (often more than £100), then you’ll get free delivery. If ever there is a time of year to get a supermarket shop delivered to you, it’s at Christmas, as the supermarket aisles are rammed and deeply unpleasant.

Youngs Pubs

The pub company Youngs, have a multitude of pubs dotted throughout London – some in Central London, some in the residential areas. Not all of them choose to be open on Christmas Day, but there are some lovely menus on offer at pubs such as the Dulwich WoodHouse in Sydenham, The Grove in Balham, The Alexandra in Wimbledon, The Flask in Hampstead and The Grange in Ealing. The price of a Christmas lunch at each establishment differs per pub, but in general you should expect to pay between £50 and £60 per adult for a welcome cocktail, 3 course meal, coffee and mincepie. Check out christmas.youngs.co.uk/christmasday for further details.

Christmas Day Lunch Cruise

Splash (!) out a bit on your Christmas Day Lunch and buy a ticket aboard a City Cruise boat trip on the Thames.
Departing from Westminster Pier at 12.30pm, you’ll receive a welcome drink, a 105 minute river boat cruise, 4 course meal, coffee and mints and a christmas cracker. The cost of your ticket will be £105 including VAT. You should be aware that aside from your welcome drink, alcohol does not come as part of the ticket price, although a cash bar will be in operation. To book, visit citycruises.com

Gordon Ramsay at Claridges

Go all out on the Christmas Day dining experience and indulge in a 7 course feast at the Central London restaurant – Claridges (W1K 4HR). It will set you back approximately £185 before you add alcohol or a discretionary 12.5% service charge, but it’ll certainly be a Christmas to tell the grandkids about! Visit gordonramsay.com/claridges for further details.

Browns Brasseries

The Browns restaurants located in Islington and West India Quay (not the ones in Mayfair, Covent Garden or Old Jewry) will be open on Christmas Day. They’re serving a delicious and truly varied 4 course Christmas menu for £60 a head (or £30 for children under the age of 12).
Visit browns-restaurants.co.uk for further details.

If you are considering eating out for lunch on Christmas Day 2010, then we would urge you to book as soon as possible. Once you’ve found somewhere that you’d like to eat, then please speak to the staff there about your booking, as it’s most likely that you’ll have to put down a deposit and often choose the food which you would like to be served in advance of Christmas Day.

Happy Christmas !

Residential areas within walking distance of Central London

Most of you who are moving to London will have to rely on the transport system in order to get from A to B. Sometimes our transport system lets us down, for instance if there is a tube or rail strike, bad weather conditions or terrorist threats. On these occasions, London descends into chaos as Londoners do everything they can to get from home to work and back again using as many inventive methods of travel as is humanly possible.

So how can you get around this?

Well many of you will just learn to live with it and not worry yourselves about something that only happens on a few random days of the year. Others will decide that they’d rather live somewhere within walking distance of Central London, so that they can travel to work on foot on either a regular basis (it’s a great way to exercise and to see our great city) or in case of a travel emergency.

Whilst many areas within easy reach of Central London are understandably expensive, there are other more affordable areas that are well worth a look at if you have your heart set on donning a pair of trainers every day.

Here are 10 areas within walking distance of Central London that you might want to consider living in:

Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is situated in East London in the postcode area of E2. Famed for it’s association with the Kray brothers, it’s extremely handy for nearby Shoreditch and of course the City of London. It’s approximately 1.5 miles from Bethnal Green to Liverpool Street making it perfect for those who want to work in the country’s financial capital. If you’re more brave and fancy walking to the West End, then it’s about 4.5 miles away.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate .

Kennington
Kennington is situated in South-East London in the vicinity of the Oval Cricket Ground. It’s a reasonably trendy area to live in with some good local pubs. In terms of walking distances, it’s a brisk 2.5 miles across the river into Victoria where there are plenty of offices located. If you need to get to the West End, then that will take you a further 20 mins.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Islington
Islington needs no introduction. It’s an extremely popular area for graduates and young professionals to live in. The area is centred around Upper Street which is lined from top to toe with trendy shops, bars, restaurants, pubs and cafes.
The distance between Islington and the City is approximately 2 miles.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Bayswater.
Bayswater is situated in West London approximately 2.3 miles from the West End, which is perfect if you happen to work on or near Oxford Street or Soho.
A walk between the two usually involves walking through Hyde Park, so it really is a lovely commute.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Stepney Green
Another area located in the East End of London is Stepney Green. Although it could arguably be described as being historic more than it is glamorous, it is in a perfect location sandwiched between the City and Canary Wharf which are both 2 miles away.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Battersea
Battersea is located in South London. As it’s only a short distance across the river from Sloane Square, parts of the area attract the wealthy, although you can also find some decent, affordable flatshares and property rental here.
The distance from Battersea to Victoria is approximately 2.6 miles, but if you need to go further into the West End, it’s more like 3.5 miles.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Hackney
Hackney is another favourite East End haunt that is probably most famous for the Hackney Empire and it’s market. Hackney is referred to as both a council borough and a town, but in this instance, we’re talking about the town.
Hackney is most appropriately located for those who want to walk to work in the City of London which is approximately 3.2 miles away.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is located in North London. Slightly further out than some of the other residential areas mentioned on this page, it is an area that has recently ‘up-and-come’. Stoke Newington is often described as being great for families and has a young atmosphere to it. The popular road to hang out on is Church Street. A journey into the City of London covers approximately 3.5 miles of road.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate..

Peckham
Most people don’t hear ‘Peckham’ without conjuring up images of the Trotters living in Nelson Mandella House. Well it’s a long time since ‘Only Fools and Horses’ was on our screens and in that time, Peckham has moved slowly up the ranks and is now considered a satisfactory place to live, not least because of the fact that some decent watering holes have opened up and that it’s close proximity to Central London. The distance between Peckham and London Bridge is approximately 3.2 miles.
For current rental prices and rooms to rent, please visit Easyroommate.

Commuterland Book Review

Today we’re reviewing one of our most popular aids for those people who wish to commute into London for work, whilst living in either the countryside or a leafy commuter town.

The Sunday Telegraph Guide to Commuterland – Finding a home within reach of London is brought to you by Caroline McGhie.

The book follows the trainlines out of mainline railway stations such as Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, Kings Cross, St Pancras, Moorgate, Euston, Marylebone, Paddington, Waterloo Victoria, London Bridge, Charing Cross and Cannon Street.

You can expect to find out the following pieces about over 1200 different towns and villages that feature on train routes on the commuter map into London:

• House Prices
• Property Types (e.g cottage or modern apartments)
• Schools
• Local shops
• Local activities and societies
• Ticket prices into London
• Journey times into London
• Frequency of trains running into London
• Area profiles to help readers decide if they would fit in

If you don’t yet work in London, then you can read the book with a completely open mind and choose pretty much anywhere in the home counties or outskirts of London that appeals to you based on your preferences and budget.

If you already have a job in London, then you’ll probably want to choose to live on a commuter rail line that terminates vaguely near where you work, so that you don’t have to trek half way across town on the tube once you arrive. So if you work in the City for instance, then you may simply use the book and read through the different stations all the way along train routes running into Liverpool Street for instance.

The book lists locations from around 30 minutes commuting time to up to 2 hours commuting time into London.

The book is revised and updated regularly to reflect the most recent house prices, commuting times and train routes, which as you can imagine are all changeable factors.

It’s all very well us telling you that this book is great, but if you don’t want to take our word for it then take a quick peek here.

Buy the The Sunday Telegraph Guide to Commuterland for around £10.17 with free postage (price correct at time this article is printed).

If you liked this article, then you might be interested in more of our articles about commuting:

• The Best Places to Commute to London from
• Commuting into London for work

Barclays Cycle Hire in London

Something very exciting is due to happen at the end of the month….
Barclays Cycle Hire is commencing in London on Friday 30th July.

With the huge increase in cycling fans in the capital over the past 5 years, it’s about time that a decent cycle hire scheme was introduced.

For those of you who have travelled to cities such as Paris or Amsterdam, you may already be familiar with the concept.

Basically, it’s a cycle sharing scheme for the public. In short, you pick up a bike at one of 400 docking stations in the capital and return it to another.

The bikes will be available at all times as it’s a self-service system.

The drawback is that this is not a free service, however, it’s an extremely affordable way to get around town.

You’ll be required to pay two costs in order to use the bikes:

• An Access fee, giving you the right to use the cycle hire
• A Usage Fee, which will be based on the duration of your journey

The access fees are:

• GBP1.00 for 24 hour access
• GBP5.00 for access for a full week
• GBP45.00 for annual access (this option is only available to members

The usage fees are:

• Less than 30 minutes for FREE
• Less than 1 hour – GBP1.00
• Max. 90 minutes – GBP4.00
• Max. 2 hours – GBP6.00
• Max. 2 hrs 30 mins – GBP10.00
• Max. 3 hours – GBP 15.00
• Max. 6 hours – GBP 35.00
• Max. 24 hours – GBP 50.00

Additionally, if you see yourself being a regular cycle hire user and fancy taking out a membership, it costs GBP 3.00 as a one-off, which will give you access to a membership key which is chip-enabled and will give you a fast-track access to the bikes.

You will be penalised with some quite strong charges if you return the bike late (GBP 150.00), damage the bike (max.GBP 300.00) or don’t return the bike at all (GBP 300.00) so there’s no room for chancers with this cycle hire scheme. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the 400 docking stations will be fully protected by CCTV footage.

In summary, if you’re looking to take quick, short trips around London and don’t fancy being stuck on a sweaty tube or greenhouse effect bus this summer, then the Barclays cycle scheme could be great for you. It provides you with an additional choice and unlike many other types of London transport, it’s available at any time of day or night.

For more information, please visit Transport for London.

You might also finding another of our cycling articles to be of interest to you:

Ways to blend in as a Londoner

When you first move to London, some of you might take to it like water off a duck’s back, others of you may feel that you stick out like a sore thumb.
We’ve created a list of ways to blend in as Londoner, so you don’t feel out of your depth. Many of them are related to the public transport system and some should be taken as being tongue in cheek, but we’ll let you try and work out which are which!

• Don’t wander around obviously clutching your A-Z. If you need to carry it, then try and be discreet about it. Or if you have an I-phone, you could just use that instead to get about!
• Try and hide the fact that your snot is currently black and sooty – we promise it’ll go away.
• Get an Oyster card – real Londoners don’t buy paper tickets, they’re more expensive.
• Never stand still on the left side of an escalator – always move to the right. In fact, most Londoners are often in a rush, so feel free to charge up and down the left side of the escalator.
• Always avoid eye contact with strangers and don’t even think about exchanging niceties – we don’t do that in London or else people might mistake us for psychopaths.
• Walk quickly everywhere and try and look like you’re extremely angry at all times.
• In a supermarket, use the self-service checkout – remember that you’re in a hurry and don’t have time for queues.
• Don’t scream in alarm at the tiny amount of change you’ll get when you hand over a fiver for a pint of beer
• Stop carrying cash altogether and rely on using cards everywhere
• Scream like billio if you see a mouse in your house, but don’t bat an eyelid if you see 10 of them whilst you’re waiting for a tube
• Roll your eyes and be completely devoid of sympathy if someone commits suicide by jumping on the tube tracks and ruins your journey across town
• Start sniggering (and/or exercise an eye roll) if your train is delayed or cancelled due to leaves on the line or the wrong type of snow
• Always carry Nurofen, Berocca tablets, eyedrops and chewing gum with you on Friday mornings to help you deal with a crazy Thursday night out.
• Learn the names and respective colours of the tube lines. Nothing will make you stand out more than if you say you’re taking the yellow line to work. IT’S CALLED THE CIRCLE LINE!
• Don’t bother going out in Central London unless it’s for work drinks. Instead find the best pub in your new area and claim it as your local.
• Start acting like the rest of the UK doesn’t exist

PS We didn’t mean the last one – we’re not originally from London either!!!

Definitive Guide to Moving to London

As we’ve now written 100 articles on our Moove2London blog since we started writing in October 2009, it seems as good a time as any to recap through some of those articles and use them all as a
‘Definitive Guide on How to Move to London’.

Things to Consider Before You Move to London

Before you move to London, you should think carefully about whether or not it’s for you. Obviously, here at Moove2London, we’re pretty biased and think that everyone should live in London, if only for a short period, so that you have experienced everything our capital city has to offer. But you need to come to that decision by yourself, so read

• Don’t move in with your parents, move to London
• My Favourite Thing About London
• 10 reasons to move to London

If it’s your parents rather than you who have doubts about you making the move, then let them read

• Moving to London – the Parents Guide

which is designed to help put their minds at ease.

If you’re considering moving to London from abroad, then you might want to prepare yourself for some homesickness (don’t worry, everyone gets it and most people get through it!) by reading

• Dealing with the culture shock of living in London

In particular, if you’re an American who is moving to London for the first time, then read our popular articles on

• Americans moving to London
• How to move to London from the U.S

Looking for accommodation in London
Once you’ve decided that moving to London is the right thing to do, then you’re probably going to want to work out where to live and who to live with.
Don’t worry, these are extremely common questions and we have many articles on the subject including:

• Where to live in London
• Where do Young Professionals Live in London
• North or South London
• Property Guardian Schemes in London
• The Importance of Using a Flatmate Finding Service

If you’re considering living on the outskirts of London and commuting into the capital for work, then you’ll need to read:

• The best places to commute into London from…..
• Commuting into London for work

Looking for work in London

Usually at the same time as looking for accommodation in London, you’ll also be considering how you’re going to pay your bills. Our Working in London page has heaps of information on this, but you should also read about:

• WEXO – Work Experience and Internships
• Survival Jobs in London
• CV Writing Tips when applying for jobs in London

Finances in London
Once you’ve actually moved to London, you’ll be concerned (don’t worry – we all are!) about your finances in London. Luckily there are loads of ways of saving money when you live in London and it really is extremely manageable to live an exciting lifestyle on an average salary in London. Let us help you put your mind at ease with our articles on:

• Ways to Save Money in London
• Living in London on a Budget
• How Much Does It Cost to Live in London
• How Much Money Do I Need to Move to London

Getting around London
We have full information about London’s public transport system available on our Transport in London page. However, these articles may also be of interest to you:

• Cycling to Work in London
• Car Sharing in London
• Driving in London
• Tube Etiquette in London
• Free Parking in London
• Oyster Cards
• Re-opening of the East London line

Socialising in London

So, you’ve made it! You’ve moved to London, you’ve find a great job, accommodation and you’re managing your new London budget brilliantly. There’s just one thing left to sort out… your social life!
Never fear, we have some great articles here which will keep you busy for the foreseeable future!

• How to be a great housemate in London
• Finding love in London
• How to meet people in London
• Gay Hotspots in London
• Circle Line Pub Crawl in London
• Throwing a House Party in London
• Come Play Sports

We have many other articles that may be of interest to you, so feel free to look through the category archives. We’ll see you in another 100 articles for our next recap!

Circle Line Pub Crawl in London

The term ‘pub crawl’ has been used in the UK since the late 19th Century, along with variants of the phrase such as ‘beer crawl’ or ‘gin crawl’. It describes a gathering of people (unless going on a rather anti-social pub crawl) moving en masse, from one pub to the next and so on.

Pub crawls are quite common in England and it seems fitting that our nation’s capital has some of the most famous pub crawls in the whole world. One of these is the Monopoly Pub Crawl where drinkers visit a pub in every area featured on the Monopoly board. However, an equally difficult and notorious pub crawl is the Circle Line Pub Crawl.

The Circle Line is the most central of London’s tube lines. The line formed a loop until December 2009, when a non-circular extension was added onto the northwestern side of the loop. For the purposes of the pub crawl though, the Circle Line Pub Crawl includes pubs near stations which are only featured on the loop of the line.

*One thing worth noting is that although there are 27 stations on the loop section of the Circle Line, Blackfriars station is currently closed until late 2011, whilst Mansion House is only open from Monday to Friday, so if you want to include it on your crawl, then you’ll need to make sure you skip the weekends.

Before we mention the stations and suggested pubs on this route, we should provide you with some sensible advice before embarking on this mammoth pub crawl. Everyone has their limitations when it comes to how much drink they can handle. As there are 27 pubs on the route, you’ll need to drinking small measures in each pub (e.g half pints, single shots of spirits rather than whole pints and doubles) and frequently ensure that you switch to soft drinks unless you want an ambulance to pick you up before you cross the finishing line. Take care when crossing the road after you’ve had a few and try and plan your route home well in advance. Under no circumstances should you consider driving home, instead get a cab or take the nightbus.

Ok, now the lecturing is out of the way, let’s list the stations and suggested nearby pubs on the Circle Line. We’re going to start the list at Victoria, but you can start and end up at any of the stations – that’s the beauty of the Circle Line pub crawl.

1. Victoria Station – The Shakespeare - 99 Buckingham Palace Park Road, SW1W 0RP.
2. Sloane Square – The Antelope - 22 Eaton Terrace, SW1W 8EZ.
3. South Kensington – The Anglesea Arms - 15 Selwood Terrace, SW7 3QG.
4. Gloucester Road – The Stanhope Arms - 97 Gloucester Road, SW7 4SS.
5. High Street Kensington – The Prince of Wales - 8 Kensington Church Street, W8 4EP.
6. Notting Hill Gate – The Churchill Arms - 119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN.
7. Bayswater – The Rat & Parrot – 99 Queensway, W2 4QH.
8. Paddington – The Mad Bishop & Bear – The Lawn, Paddington Station, W2 1HB.
9. Edgware Road – The Chapel – 48 Chapel Street, NW1 5DP.
10. Baker Street – The Globe – 43-47 Marylebone Road, NW1 5JY.
11. Great Portland Street – The Green Man – 383 Euston Road, NW1 3AU.
12. Euston Square – The Crown and Anchor – 137 Drummond Street, NW1 2HL.
13. Kings Cross – The Dolphin – 47 Tonbridge Street, WC1H 9DW.
14. Farringdon – Sir John Oldcastle – 29-35 Farringdon Road, EC1M 3JF.
15. Barbican – The Old Red Cow – 71 Long Lane, EC1A 9EJ.
16. Moorgate – John Keats – 85 Moorgate, EC2M 6SA.
17. Liverpool Street – Dirty Dicks – 202 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4NR.
18. Aldgate – The Still and Star – 1 Little Somerset Street, E1 8AH.
19. Tower Hill – The Minories – 64-73 The Minories, EC3N 1JL.
20. Monument – The Ship – 11 Talbot Court, EC3V 0BP.
21. Cannon Street – The Banker – Cousin Lane, EC4R 3TE.
22. Mansion House* – The Hatchet – 28 Garlick Hill, EC4V 2BA.
23. Blackfriars* – The Blackfriar – 174 Queen Victoria Street, EC4V 4EG.
24. Temple – Walkabout – Temple Station, Temple Place, WC2R 2PH.
25. Embankment – The Ship and Shovell – 1-3 Craven Passage, WC2N 5PH.
26. Westminster – St Stephen’s Tavern -10 Bridge Street, SW1A 2JR.
27. St. James’ Park – The Feathers – 18-20 Broadway, SW1H 0BH.

And you’ve made it back to the start…. hopefully in one piece!

Best places to commute to London from….

As much as we’re very passionate about living in London, we realise that it’s not for everyone. Some people prefer to live in a quieter location with more space and then commute into London during the week to take advantage of the wide variety of jobs that London has to offer. People commute into London from far and wide, with the home counties being particularly popular. It’s not only families and middle-aged people that live within a commutable distance of London. Plenty of people in their 20s live on the outskirts as they consider it to be a more affordable and relaxing way of life.

Here are 5 places that we consider to be amongst the best places to commute to London from.

St. Albans – a small city in Hertfordshire with incredible train connections into London. It’s a reasonably expensive town to live in as it’s so popular with commuters. The city has an old cathedral, a bustling market and some great, historic pubs including ‘Ye Olde Fighting Cocks’ which is one of on a handful of pubs claiming to be the oldest in England. Trains from St. Albans go down the Thameslink line into St. Pancras in as little as 19 minutes, before continuing to Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars. An annual season ticket costs £2668 per year.

Colchester – the former capital of Roman Britain is located in Essex, about 60 miles to the north-east of London and is surrounded by lovely villages and countryside. It’s a military garrison town although the army barracks are now located on the outskirts of town, leaving an exceptionally pretty and historic centre of Colchester, packed full of tudor buildings. Some claim that Colchester is the ‘safest town in Britain’. Trains connect Colchester to London Liverpool Street, with services taking as little as 51 minutes. A season ticket costs £3940 per year.

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, through which the River Medway runs. It’s an old town, which is extremely functional in terms of shopping and amenities. There are some really lovely pubs and bars in Maidstone, although travel the short distance to any number of neighbouring countryside villages just outside of Maidstone and that’s where the real treats lie. Trains from Maidstone East go into London Victoria in around 56 minutes. A season ticket costs £3208 per year.

Amersham - a market town located in Buckinghamshire amidst the Chiltern Hills. The town is divided into two parts, Old Amersham and Amersham-on-the-Hill, which is next to the railway station. The high street is filled with medieval buildings and two of the historic pubs featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Amersham is technically part of the London Transport Zone and is situated in Zone 9. Amersham Station is also the final destination on one of the branch lines of the Metropolitan tube line, allowing easy access into London. It’s also possible to get the train from Amersham to Marylebone in as little as 38 minutes. A season ticket from Zones 1-9 costs £2708.

Guildford - the county town of Surrey has it’s roots in Saxon times. It’s constantly named amongst the top 10 places to live in the UK and has also been linked with one of the safest places to go shopping in. It’s a very attractive town that has a monthly farmers market. Guildford isn’t exactly cheap to live in; in fact it’s one of the most expensive places to live in outside of London. However, if this doesn’t both you and you’d like to travel into London Waterloo in around 34 minutes, then it could be the place for you. A season ticket costs £2728 per year.

For further ideas on where to live within a commutable distance of London, take a look at the ‘The Daily Telegraph Guide to Commuterland’ which is extremely popular with many of our Moove2London followers.

Young Person’s Railcard

If you’re moving to London from other parts of the UK, there’s probably going to come a time, when you want to go and visit family and friends from your home towns. Obviously there are various methods of transport you can take – you can drive, or take a coach, but possibly the most popular way of getting home is to take the train.

Now, if you’re new to the UK, you’ll have to learn the unfortunate fact that train travel in this country isn’t cheap. But there are ways around softening the blow and getting more value for money from your rail fare. For a start, many train companies offer really low advance fares, if you book your tickets a few months in advance. However, this isn’t exactly great for spontaneity.

So, if you’re aged between 16 and 25, the answer is to invest in a 16-25 railcard, formerly known as the Young Person’s Railcard.

This railcard, which costs £26 for the year, gives holders 1/3 off rail fares around Britain, however, there is a minimum fare applicable on trains before 10am Monday to Friday, except during July and August. As well as receiving this ticket discount, you can also pick up a free StudentDiscounts card, which offers savings on great brands like Dominos pizzas, Faith (shoes), Peacocks,  Game.co.uk and many more.  With your railcard, you’re also eligible to free YMCA membership for 1 year and 15% off with Contiki holidays for 18-35s!

In order to obtain a railcard, you can either apply online or at a manned ticket office. You’ll need a valid passport or UK driving licence, a digital uploadable passport photo (for online applications, just a normal passport photo is sufficient when applying at a railway station) and to be between the ages of 16 and 25, or to be over 26 and be able to prove that you’re in full-time education as a mature student. Unfortunately NUS (National Union of Students) cards are not accepted as proof of age or of educational status.  Also, Open University or distance learning students do not qualify for the railcard.

For young people who are moving to London for the first time from overseas, investing in a railcard is a great way to see other parts of the UK. A great book to read is Time Out’s ‘Great Days out from London’ which offers an amazing range of things to do within reach of London. From beaches to woodland walks, canal boats to steam trains, the book is packed full of inspiration! Combine it with your railcard and make the most of living in the UK.

Cycling to work in London

Cycling to work in London has become extremely popular in the last few years. Since 2000, cycle journeys on London’s major roads have increased by 107% with a 9% increase in the past year alone. Why the reason for this surge in popularity? One reason is undoubtedly the 7/7 tube bombings. In the latter half of 2005, the BBC reports that there was a sudden decline in tube journeys with an unexpected increase in cyclists on London’s roads. There are many reasons why these cyclists might have continued to travel to work in this way and have attracted friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

First of all, you can save lots of money by cycling to work. Money that you would otherwise be spending on Oyster cards and train tickets can be spent elsewhere. Also, there’s no expensive congestion charge associated with cycling in London.

For the environmentally conscious, cycling reduces carbon emissions, noise pollution, helps to protect green spaces and reduces traffic congestion.

It’s also an excellent way to get fit. Rather than having to wait until lunchtime or after work to pop to the gym, why not use up that hour that you’d be spending crammed into a hot, sweaty train, actually working up a sweat from burning calories?

Of course, there are some disadvantages to cycling to work as well. For a start, you have to deal with the good, old British weather. You can obviously buy appropriate clothing to protect you from the rain, but no-one’s denying that there will be some deeply unpleasant journeys in winter.

Depending on where you live, you might have some steep, unavoidable hills on your cycle route.

Also, not all workplaces have shower facilities. So, you might not be comfortable going into an early morning meeting with scruffy hair, wind-chapped face and reeking of deodorant to try and mask your work out.

Most importantly though, you really need to take into consideration the danger aspects of cycling in London. In 2008, sadly 8 people died and 84 were injured whilst cycling on London’s roads. Lorries are often involved in accidents as they simply can’t see cyclists in their blind spot. The Transport for London website has some essential advice for cycling safely.

So, after you’ve weighed up and pros and cons of cycling to work and have decided that it’s for you, you’ll need to get kitted out.

First up, is getting a bike. You might already have one, but if you don’t, consider a foldable bike, as you can carry it easily on the train if you are only planning to cycle for a section of your journey to work. Also foldable bikes take away the hassle of deciding where to store your bike. Having said this, Transport for London aim to have provided 66,000 new cycle parking spaces across London by 2012. They’ve already installed double-tier cycle racks on platform 10 at Liverpool Street with 189 spaces for bikes.

If you’re an employee paying tax through the PAYE system, you may be able to save money buying a bike through the government’s green transport initiative called CycleScheme which offers tax-free bikes. It’s not possible to state exactly how much you could save, as it varies depending on which tax bracket you’re in, but typical savings are between 30-50%.

Protecting your bike is very important, as this is London and thieves do steal bikes on a regular basis. You should definitely invest in some insurance and also a lock for your bike. Actually it’s recommended that you put two different locks on your bike, so that a potential thief has double the work to do and probably needs to use two different sets of tools to set your bike free, which is hopefully far too much hassle!

Selecting what clothing you’re going to wear for your cycle to work is of the utmost importance. Whether or not you’re going to attempt to wear your work clothes is up to you and probably depends on shower facilities at work (as described above), but at the very least you’ll need some padded cycling shorts that can be worn under trousers or a skirt and some reflective clothing to ensure that everyone can see you.

Once you’ve invested in all this gear though, you will probably find that the benefits outweight the negatives and you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing this before!

For further information on cycling in London, visit Transport for London.