I am brand new to THS and I am amazed at the possibilities.
I joined this community for several reasons one of them being feeling more like a local than a tourist. And therfore I am thrilled to find the Meet Ups! I am still familiarizing with the forums here, but it seems you can find lots of useful tips.
As I already booked a housesit in Greater London (Greenwich borough) from Dec 22nd to January 6th, and so far everything worked great, I was thinking of giving a try to the forums and just check if anybody is going to spend Christmas around and like to meet.
I’m open to walks, visits, having a tea, a fish and chips… sharing some knowledge… I’ve already checked lots of activities, payed and free, but the aim is just to meet someone
Hello @Mom and a very warm welcome to the Community Forum
Congratulations on your first upcoming house sit and I am sure there will be other members in London for Christmas and the New Year.
For reference, as a member, you can also add your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile by following the attached link, should you wish. This will then enable others to offer you helpful advice and feedback.
Hi @Mom
Welcome! I’m London based when not sitting. I’ll be around until the 23rd December when I go away with family over Christmas then straight to Gatwick for a sit in Portugal till end of January.
Happy to meet up with anyone.
Hi @kimshady
There’s the main London firework display that goes from London Eye. Used to be free but now paid for event. Limited tickets. It will involve standing outside for a few hours before the display so you’ll need plenty of warm layers or a very thick skin!
There’s also some nice restaurants or bars with great views for these fireworks on the Southbank but they come at a cost -
The other option is to stand on parliament hill, hampstead heath for a great overview and take your own drinks. Primrose Hill, Regents Park is nearer but they have closed it off before due to the number of people that turned out.
@Samox24 thanks for the tip!! I think I got it I see there is a lot to do there! I had only seen the first page and now I see there is a lot more to it!
@kimshady A NYE party is a great suggestion! Any ideas?
After having a look at all the the information you shared I started to realise that London will have crowded parties as well as crowded fireworks.
I don’t drink alcohol. I can drink a bit for a toast, but I’m not drinking several types and several glasses.
With all that in mind and my responsibilites with my fellow pets, I’d be glad to party after dinner if we can enjoy dancing and some talking after dinner up until 1 or 2am.
The party you are suggesting, @kimshady, doesn’t appeal to me that much. Also the price plays a role. I’d be willing to pay up to around 100pounds. If it doesn’t offer something really different I won’t go much higher than that.
I haven’t planned all the activities for that time, I’ll be sharing as soon as I do it.
Hi @Mom
You are absolutely right that central London events including the NYE firework display get very crowded. Maybe a more local area of London event would suit or as previously mentioned hampstead heath or primrose hill to observe the fireworks from a distance that means it’ll not be overcrowded and you can get around more easily.
Hi, just back from London and found prior to going The Sky Garden. It’s free but you need to book it about a month before your date. The views are amazing. Yes, you can go up the Shard but you’ve to pay for that. There’s a bar and if you want to eat there too, you can. We just had a glass of bubbles!
Also, there’s an app Central Tickets. You can ‘buys unsold tickets for shows on the same night or very near the same night. There’s some restrictions but it’s really good value. Probs a website too.
@Mom I totally understand London is very expensive in general. Entertainment can be costly on any given day. For £100 you should be able to find some place outside of Central London to have a nice NYE dinner and maybe watch the fireworks on TV instead of in the cold? Depending on where you’ll be sitting we could grab a coffee. I will be sitting in York England until 12/15, Bethnal Green until 12/28, and Hammersmith until 1/6/24 then I fly to Riyadh.
Thank you @richten1 for all the tips. Where would you spend NYE if you stayed in London? I’m going to be in Eltham, Greenwich borough. I’ve found out that Greenwich park has an interesting hill from which fireworks would be nice to see. And I’ve read that the square to spend the night is Trafalgar Square (similar to our Puerta del Sol in Madrid, which I have never visited).
About tips, I recall a couple of threads also with helpful ones:
And regarding parties and meetings: @kimshady I’ll be happy to share a tee or a visit… would you be interested in the Sky Garden?
I’ve seen a couple of parties that may suit me:
hI @Mom
I’ve done trafalgar square before. It gets very busy around midnight. There’s a great atmosphere but be warned you only see the very top of the fireworks as there are buildings in the way and fences up to stop you getting close to the river.
The other thing to note is because of the number of people (over a million) in that area post fireworks you’ll need to walk maybe 20 minutes to an open tube station as they close the ones around trafalgar square for maybe an hour after midnight for safety reasons. If you are staying in Greenwich just start walking towards Bank station which I don’t think they close. The good news is transport runs free all night after 11.45pm on the 31st.
