Larkfield Apartments in Richmond-upon-Thames

We are a senior couple who love London. After reading how someone used one location as a hub for sightseeing rather than moving luggage from place to place, we decided to follow that strategy on a visit to London, Sept. 19-Oct. 7, ’03.

We rented a one-bedroom, fully equipped apartment in a London suburb, Richmond-upon-Thames (population, about 172,000), located about 20 minutes by tube from central London. The Larkfield Apartments (Ground Floor, 19 Larkfield Rd., Richmond, Surrey TW9 2PG, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 208 948 6620, e-mail shipplets@ukgateway.net or visit www.shipplets.com) cost £70 ($119) per day.

The second-story apartment, although well worn, was perfect for our needs. On a quiet street about five minutes from the underground/train station, shopping and a range of restaurants, it was fully equipped. We took about half of our meals at the apartment, picking up food and wine from local grocery markets.

We selected this place after viewing online several rentals in the Richmond-upon-Thames River area. The owner/manager, Mr. Shipp, was very easy to deal with. Several of his units can be viewed on his website.

Richmond is a great place to explore, with the wonderful Thames River, lots of restaurants and historical sights. (Go to their public library for free Internet access to information about local sights.) The Thames plays a big part in Richmond. People walk along its promenade, which has restaurants, coffeehouses and parks. Boats ply back and forth. Boat rides, short or long, are a must.

Anyone who has visited London knows it is a busy, vibrant place with wonderful sights and tourist attractions and that it’s very tourist-friendly, with a great transportation system. You could not possibly see everything London has to offer during an 18-day visit.

We took wonderful guided walks in various parts of the city. The British Museum and the new British Library are amazing; we could have spent the whole visit at both places, and they absolutely must be seen if you have an interest in history and antiquities. We kept going back to the museum and also Kew Gardens (a 3-minute underground ride or 20-minute walk from our apartment).

The museum and library, the National Art Gallery and most of the art galleries we entered were free, as were many other attractions. Because entry to so many of the points of interest is either free or at a nominal cost, we recommend that you do not buy a Great British Heritage Pass. We purchased two for $75 each and used it only a few times.

We took guided walks with The Original London Walks (e-mail london@walks.com or visit www. walks.com) and they were outstanding. Each of the 10 to 20 guided walks daily covers a different area or subject and lasts about two hours. The guides invariably were entertaining and informative. The walks are a really good value, costing about $8 ($6 for seniors).

We used Park & Fly at the El Rancho Best Western in Millbrae, California, for our flight out of San Francisco. We used frequent-flyer miles for our American Airlines tickets. Both flights, via Chicago, were long but reasonably comfortable compared to other flights we have taken to Europe/Britain.

In London we missed connections for an airport pickup but simply caught a cab at the airport queue for about $50 to get to our apartment, where we met Mr. Shipp.

Anyone with questions can contact us c/o ITN.

RICH & ROBERTA MCKONE
Lincoln, CA