Kings Cross Station, North London

 

Kings Cross station boasts a spectacular arched glass roof.

Convertible Morris Minor, Herne Hill, South London

Travelling times from London in 1914

Source: Intelligent Life article

London from Gatwick

The view from a plane on approach to Gatwick - London's skyscrapers shimmer on the horizon, beyond the North Downs and the rolling Sussex countryside

Early evening on Albert Bridge, south west London

The view east from Albert Bridge - Battersea Park is on the right and Chelsea Embankment on the left.

Premier Inn, Gatwick North, Surrey

Just a short walk from Gatwick's North terminal, this new Premier Inn promises a good kip before an early flight. There are scores of rooms in the eight or nine floors rising above Gatwick's car parks. The Premier Inn puts a big emphasis on automation, but the check-in isn't that intuitive and you may need the help of the solitary receptionist. Decorated in Premier Inn's purple hue, the rooms themselves are large and quiet with comfortable beds and flat screen televisions. And there is in-room WiFi, but you have to pay for it. Frustratingly, you can't open the window and it can get stuffy even with the air conditioning chugging along.  The en-suite bathrooms are spacious, but utilitarian. Still, the Premier Inn is good value and you shouldn't miss your flight. 6/10

Albert Bridge at Dusk, Central London

Built in the 1870s, Albert Bridge is one of London's most distinguished and elegant river crossings. It connects upmarket Chelsea with slightly less upmarket Battersea.

Windsor & Eton, Berkshire

Trans-Atlantic flights leaving Heathrow can provide a fine aerial view of Windsor & Eton 

Cloud surfing at St. Pancras, central London

The first in a series of pieces of art to be exhibited above The Grand Terrace, Cloud: Meteoros will be on display until the Autumn 2013. Selected by a panel of judges, including potter Edmund de Waal, Cloud: Meteoros  is the work of sculptors Lucy and Jorge Orta.

EasyJet, Luton to Tel Aviv

EasyJet's flights to Tel Aviv leave from Luton - probably London's grimmest airport. When you check-in online, you should consider paying for an extra legroom seat for this five hour flight. In any case, aim for a window seat as you can get some fine views of the Greek coastline and its islands. But don't bother paying for speedy boarding - seats are allocated anyway. It is best to avoid the lengthy baggage drop queues by only taking hand-luggage, as the security checks at Luton tend to be under-manned and slow. When you finally make it to the gate, you might be approached by EasyJet staff and asked to put your hand baggage in the hold - they sometimes do this if the flight is full. But make sure you take on some food and drink, as the refreshments on board aren't great. In early April, the plane can be packed with families of orthodox Jews who may stand in the aisle mid-flight to pray. There is no in-flight entertainment system, so make sure you bring plenty to read.

London to San Francisco, British Airways Economy Class

Unless you  pay extra to reserve a seat in advance, you need to check-in online bang on 24 hours before your 11 hour British Airways flight departs for San Francisco.  Aim for one of the window seats in the two rows at the back of the airplane. These berths have more elbow rooms than the others, mainly because there is no middle seat.  The screens embedded in the headrests are small, but the in-flight entertainment system has a big selection of films and TV programmes.  In both directions, you get a passable three-course meal, plus a couple of drinks, early in the flight. The hot pasta dishes are not bad and probably a safer choice than the chicken curry.  However, the white wine (Val de los Frailes, Verdjos 2011) is lacklustre and you might be better off with a beer. You also get a snack, such as a sandwich or a cake, as you approach your destination. The seats don't recline very far, so you may want to take a neck cushion for the over-night return leg. The best thing about this flight is the views out of the window. On the way out, you can admire the snowy wastes of the Arctic and, on the way back, you may get some spectacular vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco. 6/10

British Airways, London Gatwick to Barcelona

Seemingly taking on EasyJet on the popular leisure route between London Gatwick and Barcelona, British Airways has some keenly-priced flights to the Catalan capital. With BA, you can carry on hand-baggage of up to 23kg, as long as it will fit in the overhead lockers, plus a laptop bag that can squeeze under the seat in front. On board, space is tight and the middle seat is to be avoided - if you pay in advance, or check in online as soon as it opens 24 hours before departure, you should secure a window or aisle seat. During the 90 minute flight, you are offered a respectable sandwich and drink, plus insightful in-flight magazines covering business and travel, featuring fine writers, such as Deborah Ross. Better still, British Airways uses Barcelona Airport's Terminal 1, which is more convenient for trains and buses into the city than the terminal EasyJet uses.  In any case, a taxi into the heart of Barcelona is pretty reasonable at about 30 euros. 7/10

London to Dubai, Business class with Royal Brunei Airlines

One of the most keenly-priced airlines linking London with Dubai, Royal Brunei Airlines runs civilised morning flights out of Heathrow.  But the return flight might leave the UAE at 3am in the morning. Although Royal Brunei is a dry airline, business class passengers can use the well-stocked, well-equipped and well-run Etihad lounge in Heathrow's terminal 4 before they board the flight.  On board, the crew are attentive, but the catering can be poor, particularly when they run out of certain dishes. Following the canapes, in theory, you should be offered a choice of starters (the salmon with marinated beetroot is surprisingly meaty and fresh) and main courses. Avoid the spinach and cheese cannelloni, which can look and taste like a sloppy microwave meal, even though it is served on plush china and with crisp white napkins. To follow, there is a choice of cheeses, such as brie, and deserts, such as Haagen-Dazs ice cream. The chunk of smoked Austrian cheese may be small, but it is accompanied by plenty of fruit and biscuits. Before you land in Dubai, you'll also be offered a snack and a drink. The entertainment system is passable and the attendants keep the hot towels coming.

CityJet, London City to Amsterdam

By far the most human and accessible of London's airports, City is a good gateway for short hops across Europe, as you can pass through this small airport in 15 minutes. The flight to Amsterdam is short, but CityJet still finds time to serve you a complementary sweet, drink and sandwich in both directions. On board, are comfortable, reclining, blue leather seats, each equipped with its own copy of the Air France (owner of CityJet) in-flight magazine. But this route sees frequent delays and changing your flights isn't easy - you have to ring a call centre and may end up paying a big premium. 7/10

Virgin Atlantic, London Heathrow to Los Angeles

On the 11-hour daytime flight to Los Angeles, you will probably want to stay awake, so Virgin Atlantic's extensive video-on-demand service is very welcome and very useful. If you are travelling economy, check-in online early to secure a window seat, as the middle seat looks pretty cramped. The food is okay and you won't have to pay for a glass of beer or wine. You may even get an ice cream to accompany the in-flight films. For the night flight back, it is worth paying extra for premium economy, which has many of the trappings of business class. Crucially, the seats are quite spacious and they lean back far enough to let you get some sleep. Moreover, you'll be served enough alcohol to make you sleepy. When you board, you are offered a glass of sparkling wine, followed by two glasses of wine with your meal and then a Baileys or a whisky afterwards.  You also get a menu, with a choice of food. Virgin's chicken and rice, served with a smoked salmon salad and bread roll, is not bad for airline food. For desert, you might get a respectable chocolate profiterole and a lump of cheddar, plus some biscuits. In the morning, as you approach Britain, you are served passable coffee and a bagel by Virgin's still glamorous cabin crew in their starched white shirts and red uniforms. All-in-all, Virgin Atlantic remains one of the world's more civilised airlines. 7/10


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Ryanair, London Stansted to Malaga

If you can get away with hand luggage, you'll avoid both Ryanair's hefty luggage surcharges and the stress of dealing with this airline's infamously unhelpful staff, until you reach the departure gate. If you check-in online and print your boarding pass, you can go straight to security. Ryanair insists you get to the gate well before the flight is due to depart, meaning you end up in a succession of queues, as people jostle for the best seats on the plane. Once on board, the seats are cramped, the food and drink are expensive and there is a steady stream of sales pitches for lottery tickets, duty free and the like from the cabin crew. As you would expect, the early morning and the evening flights are the cheapest, but you end up coming and going from Stansted at some ungodly hours. Still, you'll maximise your time in sunny Andalusia. 5/10 

P&O Ferries, Dover to Calais

The cheapest and most entertaining way to reach France, on a sunny day, the ferry crossing can even feel like part of the holiday.  Relaxing on the top deck, admiring the white cliffs of Dover and the extensive beaches of Calais, makes an invigorating change from sitting in the car, even if you might have to inhale a bit of fag smoke. P&O's ferries are a mixed bag. While the aging Pride of Burgundy is grim and knackered,  the refurbished Pride of Canterbury is comfortable and civilised. On the morning crossings, there can be a scramble to be at the front of the lengthy queue for breakfast. In the Pride of Canterbury's battered canteen, the English breakfast, which is charged at one pound per item, can be pretty greasy, but the sausages aren't bad. It may be tricky to get hold of tap water, while the coffee can be strong, nasty and small.  You'd be better off getting a hot drink from the on-board Costa Coffee, but you may have to queue again. 7/10

The Trek District 2010 Single Speed Hybrid

Advertised as a "ninja-quiet ride", the Trek District 2010 Single Speed Hybrid lives up to its billing thanks to its unusual and futuristic carbon-fibre belt drive instead of a conventional metal chain. You cruise along almost in silence, occasionally startling pedestrians and other cyclists accustomed to the clink of metal on metal. As well as being quiet, the belt drive doesn't need any lubrication, so it won't muck up your trousers or your hands, and it is reputed to be durable, lasting twice as long as a conventional chain. While the easyish single speed gear is perfect for a slight incline, the reasonably fit will often find their legs spinning on the flat or going downhill. Still, this bike, with its aluminium frame and carbon forks, is pretty light and it has slick, narrow road tires, so it will shift. And you can get up most hills in London without getting out of the saddle.

United Airlines, Economy Class London to San Francisco

United is one of only a handful of airlines flying direct from London to San Francisco. You depart from Heathrow Terminal 1, which feels old-fashioned, daylight-deprived and crowded compared with more modern airport terminals elsewhere. On the way out, it is a 10 hour daytime flight, so you can probably just about stomach economy class, which is cramped for anyone approaching six foot. For the night-time flight back, it is probably worth shelling out the extra to be in the large economy plus cabin, where the seats are fairly spacious and recline further. If you wait until you check-in online the day before, the upgrade might be quite cheap or there might not be any space left. If you are lucky, you might just get upgraded for nothing. In any case, check-in early, as you really don't want the middle seat in economy.

National Express train, London to Edinburgh

Book well in advance and get a family rail card, if you want to get reasonably-priced train tickets from London to Edinburgh and to be sure of seats on board. Packed to the rafters, the trains leaving London on Friday afternoons carry dozens of people standing in the wells at the end of each carriage. If you have a seat and a laptop, you'll find the WiFi intermittent and the electric sockets don't always work. Moreover, the on-board catering is fairly lame and expensive. Still, from Durham onwards there are great views of the Northumberland countryside and coastline before you arrive slap bang in the middle of Edinburgh less than four-and-a-half hours after you left Kings Cross. Surprisingly, on the timetable, the return journey on a Sunday can be more than five hours. But you might get into London 30 minutes early, as there seems to be a lot of leeway built into the Sunday schedule. 6/10