Adventures in Layover Land: London

From way, way up in The London Eye

It’s an eternal quandary for travelers: What to do on a long layover (especially when it’s unexpected)?

We once turned a missed Heathrow connection into a mini-weekend in London.

Here’s why, how and what we did.

Enroute home to L.A. from Barcelona one Friday in May, we and many other travelers descended upon Heathrow Airport to catch connecting flights. Amidst crushing chaos in a security line that took three astounding hours, no American Airlines rep was present to advocate on behalf of their passengers, and security staff turned deaf ears to the pleas of those about to miss their flights. By the time we made it through the line, onto an intra-airport shuttle and over to our departing gate…we were out of luck.

Our flight was in fact still on the ground, but Heathrow’s rule is that 15 minutes prior to departure, all international flights must close their doors to boarding passengers. We arrived at our gate 3 minutes prior, and found no sympathy. Through no fault of our own, we had missed our connecting flight home.

Presenting us with a voucher for one night’s hotel stay (valued at about $150), American insisted that we get on the very next flight, at 6am the next morning. It was suggested that we stay airport-adjacent so as not to, um, miss our flight again.

We had a better idea: a two-night stay…in the city. Only the Memorial Day holiday weekend awaited us back home in the States, and all London was warm, green and in bloom.

Yes, we had to schlep (with our luggage) into the bowels of Terminal 3 to find an AA customer service rep who would agree to put us on a plane two days later. And yes, we had to pay for an extra night’s stay out of pocket (plus a bit more). But to us, the potential hassle felt completely worthwhile.

By the time we’d booked a hotel with the help of the Heathrow information desk, it was 4pm in the afternoon; the entire process of flight miss-age, luggage retrieval, customs and hotel booking had taken us about 5 hours.

Exhausted, we fell onto the Tube at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 → Piccadilly Line direct  to High Street Kensington → 54 minutes = £4.50 [$8 US] + 3 minute walk to the Copthorne Tara in Kensington. The hotel was big, tucked-away, comfy and set in a former apartment building. Our huge-for-London room boasted a spectacular view of trees and the London Eye. (2010 last-minute rate, standard room = about $300 US).

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Unable to score tickets to the famous Chelsea Flower Show, here’s what we did instead:

Poked along the length of Chelsea to see its shop windows festooned with floral displays, in honor of the CFS
Had a wildly creative Indian dinner in the glass conservatory at Chutney Mary in Chelsea
Strolled through the incomparable gardens of Regent’s Park
Said hello to every creature at the London Zoo
Saw 2/3 of the spectacular Victoria & Albert Museum
Ogled the sumptuous Moorish tiles at the Leighton House Museum
Had our first Turkish meal at Sofra in St. John’s Wood
Sifted through a kaleidoscope of treasures (and characters) at the Portobello Road Antiques Market
Walked through four residential neighborhoods in search of hidden nooks, lanes and mews
Had afternoon tea at the Tate Modern, looking out over the Thames at St. Paul’s Cathedral
Went way, way up in The London Eye to see the city in a whole new light

By mid-morning Sunday, we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.