10 Days in London, Cambridge & Bath

Let me start by saying, I love travelling with my mom.  She enjoys museums, architecture, food, history, theater, and nature.  This 10 day itinerary of London, Cambridge and Bath was heavily influenced by her and if you enjoy a balance of all of these thank my mother, Charlotte. 

Here is an excellent itinerary for the sites in London with day trips to Cambridge and the UNESCO City of Bath with a few helpful tips.  I have also included links to most of the sites- many of them are offering cool tours, exhibits, podcasts, and theater shows to get your cultural fix. To help you prepare for your trip consider some of these great travel apps to make your trip easier.

We chose a centrally located AirBnB in Notting Hill near Hyde Park. It was a simple studio in a 5^th floor walkup with a small kitchenette allowing us to prep meals, so we weren’t dependent on restaurant food all the time.  We filled our days exploring London and grateful for the fainting couch on the third-floor landing when we would be crawling up the steep flights after a long day.

Day 1: 

Arrived by train from Edinburgh to Kings Cross Station and Accio!  First stop Platform 9 ¾.  Really who does not love Harry Potter?

British Museum– est. 1753 maps the history of the world in history, arts, and culture and the largest collection in the world.  It famous for housing the Rosetta Stone and takes you through all human existence.  Free with suggested £5 donation, with fees for certain exhibits.

Obligatory Tesco grocery run to stock our AirBnB.

Day 2:

Kensington Gardens– part of the Royal Parks of London and a beautiful green space west of Hyde Park with a Peter Pan Statue. Free. 

Harrods– est. 1800’s one of the grandest department stores in the world.  The architecture and display designs are stunning and opulent.  If you are not in the market to drop beaucoup bucks on a shopping spree, you can easily enjoy walking through and take home a sweet treat or some fantastic cheeses from their in-house market. 

V&A Museum– this museum is overwhelmingly filled with decorative and aesthetically designed domestic goods as well as the world’s largest collection of post-classical sculptures.  With a permanent collection of over 2 million pieces to say it is a lot is an understatement.  Free. 

Hyde Park– The largest of the Royal Parks encompassing Princess Diana Memorial and Speakers Corner.  Free.

Marble Arch- The design is based off the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and is only passable by the Royal Family and the like in ceremonial processions.  Free.

Royal Air Force Bomber Memorial- unveiled in 2012 is in Green Park and faces Hyde Park.  A commemorative memorial for the aircrew and civilians who sacrificed their lives in WWII.  Free.

Buckingham Palace- Paying homage to the Queen.  Free on the outside.

Queen Victoria Statue- A young Queen Victoria sits proudly in her coronation robes across from Buckingham Palace.  Free.

Hyde Park

Day 3:

Shopping in Portobello Market.  Amazing shopping for vintage, thrift, and antiquities in the Notting Hill Neighborhood.  Notting Hill Bookstore from the movie is here and Saturdays they have street vendors lining Portobello Road Market.

Kensington Road- Runs along Hyde Park and Kensington Park.  Kensington High Road is an extension and a main shopping area in London.  Kensington.

Big Ben (north end of Westminster Palace)- The Great Bell, Clock Tower, Elisabeth Tower all the same and one of the most accurate clocks on the planet.

Westminster Palace- A UNESCO site and a wonderful example of Gothic Revival architecture used for the two Houses of Parliament.  Free on the outside.

Trafalgar Square- A square of historical significance and conveniently walked through from Westminster Palace to the National Gallery.  Free.

National Gallery– Permanent collections of Seurat, Picasso, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Rousseau, van Eyck, Rembrandt… Free.

Green Park- One of the eight Royal Parks of London.  You may notice there are no formal flower beds in Green Park, as King Charles II picked flowers for another woman, and the Queen ordered the removal of all flowers from that park. Free.

Hyde Park

Day 4: 

Tate Modern– One of my favorite museums.  A modern art gallery in a rehabilitated power station featuring works of Rothko, Dali, and Warhol. Free.

Shakespeare’s Globe– A reconstruction of the Elizabethan Theater that Shakespeare wrote his plays for next to the River Thames.   You can currently stream their plays to help support live theater.

Hawksmoor Steakhouse- An excellent lunch of traditional Sunday Roast paired with Yorkshire pudding and veg.  Paired perfectly with a Bloody Mary.  We had to have something to compare my mom’s roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with (I am partial to hers).

Southwark Cathedral– The oldest Cathedral in London and a charming walk along the river from Shakespeare’s Globe.  Free.

Millennium Bridge- A pedestrian bridge crossing the River Thames from the Tate to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Free.

St. Paul’s Cathedral– One of London’s most iconic sites.  Wedding venue for Prince Charles and Princess Diana. 

Day 5: 

Westminster Abbey–  UNESCO site and has held every Royal Coronation since 1066.  Most recently Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011.

West End Theater–  With so many free museums, splurging a bit on theater tickets seems like a no brainer.  Our first night we saw “American in Paris” Gershwin’s musical with fabulous set design, choreography, and costumes.  What a fabulous way to finish the evening.  You can stream theater productions to help keep the arts alive during the pandemic at here.

Day 6:

Train to Cambridge

Picnic in Regents Park- I was excited to try a jacket potato with beans and a bit disappointed to find it is a baked potato with beans- not an ideal lunch for a hot day in the park.

Tour of Kings College- The tour is roughly 45 minutes and walks you through the history of this prestigious British University. 

Punting on the River Cam- This is a must if you are coming to Cambridge.  A beautiful tour along the river.  A punt is a flat-bottomed boat meant for shallow waters.  The punter is the person with a long pole propelling the boat.  Punting is the verb for boating in the punt. Guided tours or self punting rentals available if you’re keen (watch your head, the pole, and the low-bridges).

Corpus Clock- Also known as the grasshopper clock conceived as the passing of time as the grasshopper chews up the seconds.

Evensong Church service at Kings College- A daily evening church service performed with the boys choir.  They broadcast their Christmas Eve service each year.

Day 7: 

The seventh day called for rest and laundry and perfect cozy day in our AirBnB.

Theater: Agatha Christie’s, “The Mousetrap”–  A murder mystery with a twist (I’m not telling) and I am very proud to say I am the third generation to see it in the West End.  “The Mousetrap” is the longest running theater production in the world and ran continuously from 1952 until March 16, 2020 with over 27,000 shows. 

Day 8: 

London Tower Tour-  UNESCO site, securely stores £20 billion worth of Crown jewels, and keeps 6 ravens (plus a spare) with the superstitious belief that “if the ravens leave the Kingdom will fall.”  

London Bridge Tour– Walk across the bridge as well as tour the inside.  With glass floors you can look down on cars and boats passing underneath.

Theater:  Wicked– The Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie growing up.  I dressed as Dorothy for no less than three Halloweens and Glenda once (even though I wore the gown plenty afterwards).  Wicked gives you the perspective from the witch of the west. 

Day 9: 

Bus to the City of Bath– UNESCO city.

Roman Baths Tour– Built in 75 AD by the Romans as a religious and medicinal spa, the architecture is well preserved and a museum displays artifacts from the site including coins that were offerings to the sacred spring.  The thermal waters have not been used for swimming in 40 years and is said to be toxic. There is a bathhouse next door that sources the same healing waters from the natural springs that can be used.

The Circus, Bath- A ring of townhouses built in the mid 1700’s and an excellent example of Georgian Architecture.  Free.

Bath Museum of Fashion– An impressive collection of historic and contemporary fashion from Georgian Era ball gowns and corsets to Alexander McQueen.   

The Bath Festival- One of the things I loved about travelling Europe in the summer was the myriad of festivals you could inevitably stumble upon.  We had no idea something was happening in town until the streets were filled with Carnival styled performers, live music, debate, poetry, contemporary fiction with Salman Rushdie and Mary Berry as part of the program.  Free-ish.

Bus back to London

Day 10: 

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew– UNESCO site  One of my favorite botanical gardens and the most diverse in the world.  Everything from a palm house, carnivorous plants, bamboo gardens, canopy walk, and some fascinating art installations.  It is a stunning garden to get lost in.   

Helpful Tips:

Get an Oyster Card to make use of London’s excellent public transportation.   

The London Pass covers many of the tourist sites that aren’t free, worth seeing and saves time jumping the queues.  Worth it, when saving time and money.

Take your time.  Don’t try to cover everything.  You can certainly underestimate the time you spend in these grand museums, goliath cathedrals, and the vast space between them.

Find a central place to stay in London.  It’s expensive to eat out all the time especially for 10 days.  We opted for an AirBnB in Notting Hill for its central location and cooked a number of meals and prepped picnics at home.

Take advantage of the amazing free things to do in London.

Pack appropriately.

There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing, so get yourself a sexy little raincoat and live a little.

– Bill Connelly