London and New Years Eve - Ideas & Warnings

[Pommygranite]

Will be spending New Years Eve in London this year and quite fancy watching the fireworks on the thames and getting quite drunk.

However my brother in Surrey has warned me its a)hell, b)hellishly expensive and c)hell.

So whats the PH view for a great new years eve in london, how easy will it be to get around and get into pubs and is it worth it?

Visiting in from Oz so can stay anywhere really.

[baldy1926]

Lots of pubs will charge to get in,you will see lots of adverts for nights at Secret london venue-that normally means we havent got any where yet but we are still trying.The underground will be packed and be prepared to have to walk a couple of miles and be herded into pens along the thames.
Itsbest not to take anything to expensive with you and avoid any gangs of kids.
If you get surrounded by hostile gangs dont try and fight back.
Its not as bad around leicester sq now as it ones-i dont thing theres been any gang rapes for a couple of years.
All in all its a S### HOLE

[Chilli]

I've been before, but never again. It's a nightmare. 8billion people crammed along the Thames. The fireworks were "ok" but the hours of waiting, then the hours of being dragged wherever the crowd were going afterwards, simply isn't worth it.
Find a nice pub and watch it on the tely!

[sday12]

Trust your brother

[Dupont666]

I can highly recommend going to the church, it is a fantastic day that you will never forget.

http://www.thechurch.co.uk/

Have been many a time and you will fit right in...

[bigTee]

It's kak.

[Muzzer]

I can't understand why you'd go to London on New Year

Go to a pub - it'll be rammed and expensive

Stand by the Thames - it'll be cold, probably pissing it down and the fireworks probably won't be any cop.

You have to get there and then stay somewhere or deal with *shudder* public transport

Bizarre..

[grumbledoak]

Go. Anywhere. Else.

Seriously. I'm within walking distance, now, and I never bother. It's hell.

[Dupont666]

I now hide out in Finland for New years stuff... much more fun and the prices of the dangerous illegal fireworks over there is dirt cheap....

So much fun in minus 30...

[TEKNOPUG]

Pommygranite said:

Will be spending New Years Eve in London this year and quite fancy watching the fireworks on the thames and getting quite drunk.

However my brother in Surrey has warned me its a)hell, b)hellishly expensive and c)hell.

So whats the PH view for a great new years eve in london, how easy will it be to get around and get into pubs and is it worth it?

Visiting in from Oz so can stay anywhere really.

Go to the top of a big hill like Primrose Hill, Highgate, Hampstead etc and then watch London recreate the blitz….

[Beefmeister]

Get yourself on one of the thames boats.

They go up and down the thames while you get pissed, then moor up near the fireworks for the 12:00 shenanigans.

I did it a few years ago and it was a good hoot.

You still have to deal with the absurdly massive NYE crowds and shut tube stations etc though...

[sleep envy]

avoid it at all costs as well as pubs, bars and restaurants

NYE is the biggest rip off

[davido140]

Beefmeister said:

Get yourself on one of the thames boats.

They go up and down the thames while you get pissed, then moor up near the fireworks for the 12:00 shenanigans.

I did it a few years ago and it was a good hoot.

You still have to deal with the absurdly massive NYE crowds and shut tube stations etc though...

+ 1

you can see the fireworks and avoid the crowds, some of the static boats which double as bars/clubs can be good too, I did new years on HMS president a couple of years back, get a half decent hotel locally and you're sorted..


http://www.hmspresident.com/contact.html

New year do was black tie / silver service affair and quite formal, quickly deteriorating to a nice pissup and disco in the bar afterwards. Complete with a mad russian cossack dancing all over the place..

Large deck area for smokes, drinks and watching the fireworks, not the best view but perfectly do-able for the 15-20 mins of fireworks, they're hardly likely to be the highlight of your evening anyway.

For a few extra quids you get a fast-ish blast down the thames in a rib boaty thing, very james bond in your DJ.

Expect to pay a few hundred quid for the night though for you and the other half.


ETA very slim chances of pulling, mostly couples, avoid if you want to cop off with someone.

Edited by davido140 on Thursday 24th September 18:22

Edited by davido140 on Thursday 24th September 18:22

[Piginapoke]

Pommygranite said:

Will be spending New Years Eve in London this year and quite fancy watching the fireworks on the thames and getting quite drunk.

However my brother in Surrey has warned me its a)hell, b)hellishly expensive and c)hell.

So whats the PH view for a great new years eve in london, how easy will it be to get around and get into pubs and is it worth it?

Visiting in from Oz so can stay anywhere really.

Yes, it is indeed hell. With pickpockets.

[Distant]

Another vote here for the boat on the Thames. Went last year and had an excellent time, then back to our hotel in Leicester Square to watch the gang warfare afterwards.

[tim the pool man]

Pommygranite said:

Will be spending New Years Eve in London this year and quite fancy watching the fireworks on the thames and getting quite drunk.

However my brother in Surrey has warned me its a)hell, b)hellishly expensive and c)hell.

So whats the PH view for a great new years eve in london, how easy will it be to get around and get into pubs and is it worth it?

Visiting in from Oz so can stay anywhere really.

I also in Perth as you know also havbe brothel in Slurrey, wjhere is yours? Minew in Churt

[aclivity]

Piginapoke said:

Pommygranite said:

Will be spending New Years Eve in London this year and quite fancy watching the fireworks on the thames and getting quite drunk.

However my brother in Surrey has warned me its a)hell, b)hellishly expensive and c)hell.

So whats the PH view for a great new years eve in london, how easy will it be to get around and get into pubs and is it worth it?

Visiting in from Oz so can stay anywhere really.

Yes, it is indeed hell. With pickpockets.

It's not just hell and hellish, it's not even the good kind of hellish hell.

If you must go, expect to walk a long way as the tubes are rammed.

Find a decent pub, watch it on the TV.

[JimCross]

Beware of the boats...some of them go the wrong way! The one I ended up on went east from Tower Bridge down to the barrier, then back, then back again. At midnight we were back at Tower Bridge, miles from the fireworks. Still a good night though.

I'd recommend going to the Oxo Tower Brasserie. Went last year - £100 for a fantastic 3-course meal (MUCH better than I expected), 1 free glass of champagne, and free wine all night. You can also see the fireworks from the warmth of the inside

[rayny]

It depends on what you want.

About 20 years ago 3 or 4 friends and I went to London for NYE, 1 bottle of scotch for drinking before midnight and another bottle stashed in a left luggage locker at a tube station for after midnight (you were not allowed to take bottles into Trafalgar Square). We found a reasonable restaurant in china town about 9pm and after dinner had a short walk to Trafalgar Square for the midnight chimes. Hellishly crowded and you just had to let yourself be herded along - but a great atmosphere at the time. After midnight it was a walk back to the closed tube station to pick up the 2nd bottle of scotch and a walk/stagger along the river bank.
About 2am we got a train from Victoria station down to Gatwick and slept for a couple of hours in the airport, then got the milk train back home in the morning.

If I were 20 years younger I would do it again just for the atmosphere, but now you would have to pay me a vast sum of money to go near London on NYE.