London on a Budget

The cost of living crisis has hit everyone hard (what kind of world are we living in when McDonald's has put the price of cheeseburgers up by 20p?!), and many people now need to factor that into their travel plans. For me, that means I'm trying to go to all the places I want to visit in my own country of Britain. The most recent city break I had was to the capital London. And although travel costs were reduced for me, it is of course still a very expensive city. However, if you're careful, you can have a great time on a budget. I've tried to break some of this down. And even folks from abroad who have made it to the capital but are still concerned about costs may find some of this advice useful.

Travel and Accommodation

I took the train to London. It's amazing to me, living at the top of England in Newcastle upon Tyne, how direct and quick the train to London is. You can get to the capital in half the time that it takes you to get to places that are much closer. Anyhow, in terms of cost, I've realised that the cheapest time to book train tickets is 3 months before the date you intend to leave. Booking too early is equally as expensive as booking too late, unless your friend's mam's friend works on the trains and can get you there for free (he wasn't available in this instance).

In terms of accommodation, if you're not remotely bothered about sleeping in a room with 8 strangers, then a youth hostel is an absolute bargain deal. If, however, like me, you are bothered about having to share even a bathroom with other people, then, believe it or not, a youth hostel is still an absolute bargain deal. Myself and my girlfriend stayed in The Dictionary in Shoreditch. It's a nice area, with some great late night bars (central London was lacking in that department on weeknights), and the hostel was a double room with a private bathroom, a bar on site and free breakfast. All for £30 a night. If the breakfast doesn't fill you up, spend the money you saved on it at the nearby branch of Crosstown doughnuts - I promise you won't regret it.

Primrose Hill

Due to horrendous management decisions made by her employers who I won't mention but let's just say we met at work, my girlfriend was unable to join me on the early train and I had the day to myself. I decided to make the most of it and headed to Great Portland Street tube station. I went for a pint in the Green Man pub. Yes, it was a London priced pint. But if you catch the happy hour (two-for-one), then it's a normal priced pint. I then ventured into Regent Park and kept walking until I got to Primrose Hill. As you walk up the hill, don't look back until you get to the top. Then, when you do, marvel at the beautiful view of London. And appreciate that you didn't have to pay the price of the London eye or the Shard for a view half as good. I was lucky for the weather, I hope anyone else is too and I was also an extra in a film they were filming at the time, according to a sign (although despite googling extensively I can't seem to find out what the film is).

After this, you can walk down to Camden market and get some reasonably-priced and authentic food and drink.

Covent Garden

That evening, we went to Covent garden. It's a great place to go in the evening thanks to the layout and the street performers, but it's also a great place to get reasonable food. Flat Iron steak house offers a great steak for a little over a tenner, and provides every guest with a free starter and desert. It also has a great selection of craft beer. I've been twice now and would definitely go back again. There's some lovely pubs round this part of the city too. They are pricey, but if you know what to look for, you'll do okay. I always find, when travelling abroad or to other cities, that the local beer is always cheaper. Fuller's is the one in London (there are others - like Camden town - they're nice but not as reasonable) and London Pride is a lovely drop.

Museums

On the second day, we went to the British Museum. I'd been before but there's no reason not to revisit such a vast collection of historical artefacts, whatever your political convictions. And it's totally free! As, in fact, are most of London's museums. And they're brilliant days out. You can choose from the British Museum, the Imperial War Museum (my personal favourite), the National Maritime Museum, National Army Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, plus many more.

After that, we went to Pizza Pilgrims. Another cheaper London chain, the owners travelled around Italy to figure out the recipe for the best pizza. It was nice but I will admit that nothing beats real Italian pizza. Still, highly recommend.

West End Theatre

One of the more expensive nights out in London is a trip to the West End. But this doesn't have to be the case. We didn't pay extortionate amounts for the shows we went to see. Despite restricted view (you could still see - and it's nice to not have someone behind you), I really enjoyed Aaron Sorkin's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' with Rafe Spall as Atticus Finch. It's a brilliant and relevant telling of the tale that I think gets the point (please see my article about Harper Lee to see what I mean by "the point"). And I wrote a recent article about how much I enjoyed 'Hamilton.' If you just want to go see a West End show, you can get absolute bargains by buying tickets last minute on the day.

Aside from this, all I can say is jsut walking around London is free. You don't have to pay to get in to marvel at the Houses of Parliament, or the Tower of London. Why not have a picnic in Kengsington Gardens and go see Buckingham Palace? We did it was lovely. On the off chance you know your local MP, you might even be able to blag a free tour of the Houses of Parliament. Just a tip.

Oh and one more tip. If you need to leave your bags at left luggage, put one inside the other. No matter how ludicrous it looks, they will accept it as one bag. I have the staff in King's cross station to thank for that one!