How busy is London right now?

[Flowerpower23]

Me and dd going for her birthday next week to see frozen/do Hyde park etc. How busy is it currently (if you live there or have been in the center recently)? I don’t think it will be locked down or I hope not anyhow!

I'm normally fairly supportive of the strikes or indifferent but this is the wrong time. The unions are not reading the room. London is already struggling with covid and will be less busy anyway. Add to that the massive disruption caused by the strike and people will just stay away. The last weekend before Christmas. Just ridiculous. Soon, the tube drivers won't have to worry about driving anybody because we will be in a full lockdown again.

@Comefromaway

The last lot of strikes she finished work later than usual as there was a delay to the start of the show. So it meant she'd missed the last overground train from Paddington which is her usual back up. She lives on the central line which was affected. The tube that did come was rammed, then some low life grabbed her bottom (she did report it but the train was too crammed to identify anyone on cctv)

Sorry - I missed the groper. God staff won’t do a thing.

From my experience (as a young ‘un with gropers and rubbers) all you can do is quickly grab the offending had and wrench it up whilst asking loudly ‘has anyone lost a hand? Found on my arse...’ Or kick them hard in the shin whilst maintaining eye contact.

She "accidentally" dropped her folding bike on his foot.

The British Transport Police text service only works on services with wifi or where you are overground and he got off before she got overground.

Oopsy...when I first came down to London I was at art school, and as was the fashion of the day (and for practical reasons in the studio) I would wear steel toe-capped DMs, which would have made any accidental connection with a gropers shin rather painful I suspect. And if my DP came home with a bruise like that...

Live central. Today for work I’ve been in Holborn fringes iff cov garden & Clerkenwell. Streets during ‘rush hour’ were almost empty of traffic and very few pedestrians anywhere. Felt like it was Christmas Day it was so quiet. Felt like many have locked down to some extent despite
Boris’s Shilly shallying.

We are planning to go to London on 30th December for 2 days. Hoping the Covid situation may have peaked by then given how high it is now!

Matilda was cancelled earlier for tonight, they say they'll update by 11am if tomorrow is going ahead. I'm not holding my breath ...

My area (z2/3) is dead, everyone has already left for christmas.

It's very quiet - I've just got back. Some of the theatre s have already closed and quite a few pubs and restaurants in the centre are going to close this weekend, apparently. Places like Islington or Camden are OK but not busy like they normally would be in December. I've caught something as well hoping it's just a cold but feeling really crap and took a PCR today...

@Ghostlyglow

It's very quiet - I've just got back. Some of the theatre s have already closed and quite a few pubs and restaurants in the centre are going to close this weekend, apparently. Places like Islington or Camden are OK but not busy like they normally would be in December. I've caught something as well hoping it's just a cold but feeling really crap and took a PCR today...

I think the last few days up and down the country has quietened down a lot. Hospitality missing out on the usually very busy weekend before Christmas as people are either isolating with Covid or to avoid having to isolate over Christmas.

You'd be a bit mad to go out socialising this weekend unless you're just staying at home at Christmas anyway.

Live outside of London but heading in Sunday for lunch (outside) then drinks where the tables are partitioned. I don’t WANT to catch covid but I don’t want to miss out on plans either 🤷🏼‍♀️ I’ll be staying in a hotel overnight alone then going for a nice long walk around Hyde park on Monday before heading back.

Hi guys, thanks for your responses - I’ve rearranged the plans for next year, moved my hotel and train tickets. dd took it well, surprisingly! Didn’t want to risk it, we are staying in Christmas Day and having a quiet one but I still would prefer to not be ill!

Probably sensible @Flowerpower23 central isn't busy at the moment but if I wasn't living in London I wouldn't be visiting right now. Particularly if you are worried about catching covid. Barely any masks on the tube, people literally on top of you. It's grim.
We are going in to central for dinner tomorrow but have sucked up the congestion charge and will be driving. It's such a shame, it's not even pleasantly empty like the first lockdown, it feels sad now.

@Flowerpower23
I'm so glad you've been able to rearrange. It's good that your DDis not too disappointed anf I hope she enjoys her visist in the new year.. I haven't been out today - feeling a bit unwell although LFT is negative - so I don't know how busy it was t but I do think that you've made the best decision.
Hope you all have a Happy Christmas.

We went in Tonight, Covent Garden was heaving, theatre full. But the streets around were ok. Seemed a lot of cars on the road then people walking

This afternoon and this evening, soho /theatre /Covent garden.
Absolutely heaving.
Huge celebrations in trafalgar Square for some people foot ball team win, cheek by jowl etc. Rammed. Lots of people wearing masks though.

Probably the best decision as your in a hotel as well.

The city was heaving today , my local town heaving good

People saying London is heaving haven't experienced or have forgotten what it is normally like at this time of year.

True - but you’d expect it to be a bit quieter in a pandemic!

Yes I even said to my husband last night that it was busy but not 'Xmas Covent Garden' busy but I was so glad for it. Thanks also to the poster who said to book Browns on St Martin's Lane, it took so much stress out of finding somewhere for dinner. The queues for uncooked places was mad 😱 We were fortunate Matilda was on but cancelled for today (equally few masks being worn so maybe not that fortunate 🤷‍♀️).

Uncooked = un booked 😂

@ElftonWednesday

People saying London is heaving haven't experienced or have forgotten what it is normally like at this time of year.

I'd say it was heaving until this week. The fact Covid has gone through the city like a dose of salts in the last week or so will have played a big part in that. Everyone will know someone with it.

Plus - up and down the country - people just don't want to have to isolate over Christmas so as we got to the 10-14 days before Christmas Day people have started to cut back on the socialising.