Genealogy Chat

Some of you may remeber that last year I tried to visit Westminster Archives. Unfortunatly the day I chose was July 7th...... So I've got myself organised and am trying again...... Fingers crossed I find what I'm looking for ........'cause do you know how dissapointed I'll be if I don't !!

Well, go to a nice Italian restaurant for lunch, so that all is not lost! Good luck

Hi Esta Good luck girl.......let us know how you get on! Suzanne

Italian for lunch sounds like a good idea ! I've not been to London since I was about 12 so I'm a bit worried about getting lost............mother wants to go on the Tube....No Chance...I've got my map and I say it's walkable !! I just hope they are friendly and helpful at the centre... Esta x

There are some good deals on for train tickets from us country peoples' stations including Zone 1 travel - bus and tube. Go on, you cant get lost onthe tube - check the little map thing on the wall of the tube train and if the next stop isnt the way you wanted to go, get off and turn round! Yes, do have a good lunch somewhere, youre mum would love it too and think of all those nice young waiters.

Esta Depends where you are walking from! nell

Hi Esta, Hoping to get to Westminster myself before too long, so will be interested to hear how you get on and how helpful they are. I'm sure you've already armed yourself with a list from their catalogue of goodies at http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/westcat/ Good luck with the searching, and have an enjoyable day in London. Regards, Carol

Nope... I'm not brave enough to do the tube........Maybe next time !! I don't think I'm going far enough to get a tube anyway I've looked at the map thingy and it's only 1 stopalong !! We have to go from Victoria Station to Westminster Archive..........Is it walkable Nell ?....I just think that by the time we've tried to get a tube /bus we could be there........What do you think will it take us long ? Carol - Will let you know how we get on - I'm looking for newspaper stories about a death as the inquest papers were destroyed in the war !....... Esta x

Hi Esta Hope you have a good day. At least it cannot be worse than last summer. Before you go, do check that the Westminster Archives have a complete run of newspapers for the period you want. I think that copies sometimes got lost during the war. I've walked from Victoria and it's fairly flat, but it is a reasonable distance. Have a look at the Transport for London site. It will tell you how long it takes and suggest what buses you could catch. And Heather makes a very sensible suggestion. Have a plan B. If you're coming all that way, you want to enjoy the day, even if you don't find what you're looking for.

Well, Brenda, Im sure you could recommend some watering holes! I used to work at Horseferry Road and just looking on the archives map it looks about same distance - so a fair walk - are you both fit?? I guess it used to take me 15/20 minutes I think but I was a lot younger. Im def with mum on this, 1 stop on a tube, much preferable to beating the road. Or get a bus.

about 20 mins sounds OK to me......Walking's not a problem for either of us so I think we'll be fine ( Lets just hope it's not raining )

........ If we were to go by tube.......any idea how much it might be ?

Try this: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2006/index.shtml The journey planner gives a choice of 4 buses and says you have to pay before you board. I'm a provincial and don't know what this means, but bus fares in Croydon are £1.20 cash but cheaper if you've paid in advance.

Esta, Easily walkable from Victoria, in fact you pass Westminster Cathedral which is well worth a look. Visited Westminster Archives for the first time just before Christmas. It is very easy to match up the fische for the different Churches and I found the staff very helpful. Just a tip they only allow pencil. Enjoy your day. Jean x.

Its a longish walk, but it will be longer if its cold and raining! You can always get a travelcard which you can use on the tube or on buses - lots of them go along Victoria Street. I picked up a lot of leaflets about Westminster Archives' holdings at the Family History Day on sunday and am desperate to go, so PLEASE come back and tell us how you got on! nell

Thats settled then, an easy stroll! Enjoy yourselves and let us know how you got on and what you ate.

Right then........walking it is ( yipeee )and fingers crossed it's not raining......I'm really looking forward to it now and mother hopes we have time for a bit of sightseeing !!...I'm thinking local pub - she's thinking tea with the Queen :) Will let you all know how it goes. Esta x

Esta, if you go to the National Rail site you can download 2 for 1 tickets for London attractions. Ive downloaded lots, a bit optimistically for when I go down on my birthday to see my eldest boy. But I do quite fancy the London Dungeons! Nite nite. Hope you and mum have a lovely time. Hey, what about taking her for a posh cream tea in one of the big hotels? (After the lunch in the Italian though!) God bless

Just Like to add if you do change your mind about the bus, because it's raining.... remember in central London, you HAVE to pay before you board. There are machines by each bus stop. Not sure what the fares are, but here they are £1.50 single. Brenda how you getting on the bus for £1.20... they're charging me £1.50!!! Went up in January

Well I've been and although I did't find what I went for I had a good time. Walking was definatly the better option - it took no more than 25 mins and that was at a quite a slow pace. The worse part was getting a sense of direction once we came out of Victoria ! Mum pointed us in the right direction and we were off. It was a very simple map to follow ( from their website ) and we found the place quite easily. The building itself is a little hidden through some gates but it is sign posted. Strutton Gardens was a lovley little side road ( street market included ) that had very good Coffee / Sandwich bars in. The place itself is lovely. The lockers are free and archives are on the 5th floor. Like most places some people were more helpful then others but overall very friendly. They are quite happy to help you with the machines and show you where things are. We couldn't find the newapaper article we were hoping for but spent time looking at various books which was very interesting . I suppose we were there for about 3 hours. We then spent a few hours looking around London. Big Ben , Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey , London Eye all surprisingly close to each other. Even got caught up the traffic on the way home due to the Brit Awards. Bit dissapointed not to find what I went for but maybe I'll have better luck next time I have to visit and Archive place ! Esta x