# London Dope Fest. You know you want to. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2001, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859 "2001-01-07T13:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/21 "2001-01-08T22:10:05Z")
I live up in the cold bitter north (j/k, just bowing to stereo types there) but I would be interested in a meeting. I don’t know London too well so any help would be appreciated. If anyone knows of a good place to stay which is quite cheap that would also be really helpful too. It would be better if I can stay over cause of the distance involved. Any help would be most appreciated. TTFN Rick ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/22 "2001-01-08T22:13:10Z")
Hostels are your best bet. They’re basic but will do the trick (just don’t leave valuables there!). Just look on the web - I don’t really know many by name, although there are a lot around Bloomsbury, which is within walking distance of Euston. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/23 "2001-01-09T03:24:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*Well you could have organized one yourself Duke 😛 \*\* You know that phrase “he couldn’t organize a piss-up in a brewery?” That’s me all over…half a thousand pubs in Oxford and I’d still probably have difficulty deciding which one to go to 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/24 "2001-01-09T03:28:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fierra \* > \*\*Thanks Matt - Euston is right on the northern line so that should be fine. \*\* Euston is where I met Fierra for the first time! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/25 "2001-01-09T17:57:07Z")
The Hogshead in Camden sounds fine to me. I need to be up and useful on Sunday, so I’d be aiming to get the 11:30 train back (leaving the 1:00am train as a backup). I can be up there pretty much any time from noon onwards. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/26 "2001-01-09T18:10:21Z")
Hogshead . Camden. 27th Jan, time how about 5pm ? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/27 "2001-01-09T18:29:47Z")
5pm’s fine for me, although I may have a warm-up drink or two first. Here’s a map to the place: [Very long URL](http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?grid2map?x=528750&y=183750&zoom=1&isp=187&ism=500&arrow=y?108,104) When you come off the tube and up the escalators at Camden Town, take the right-hand exit if you can (they sometimes block them off) and you’ll be on Camden High Street. Look across the road and you should see a Barclays and a Bank of Scotland (or Royal Bank, I can’t remember). You want to be over on that side of the road, at the junction with Parkway. Walk up Parkway for about two blocks (past an Odeon cinema) and the Hogshead is on the left-hand side of Parkway past an organic supermarket. It’s on the corner of Albert Street opposite another pub called the Spread Eagle. Quick note to those heading south from Camden at the end of the night: Northern Lines trains go two ways - via Charing Cross or via Bank. If you’re going to Euston you can get any of them (they all stop there). If you’re going to Waterloo you need to look out for a Charing Cross train. (All trains stop at Camden if you’re heading north!). If anyone is lost email me. ---
**Author:** ![Moonshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Moonshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonshine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/28 "2001-01-09T18:43:02Z")
Excellent stuff, that’s about 15 minutes walk away from me, Sat 27th it is! ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/29 "2001-01-09T18:46:12Z")
It’s about 15 minutes from me too. Where are you, Chalk Farm, Camden Town, Kentish Town, Primrose Hill or Mornington Crescent? (Or not saying - which is fair enough) ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/30 "2001-01-10T18:44:49Z")
Bump! ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/31 "2001-01-10T21:59:14Z")
So, from what I can see **ruadh** has grasped the nettle for Jan 27th in Camden and **Taters** is forming the Trash up in orderly fashion for mid March. Excellent ! – may the Games commence ! As for London, I’m in - I think. Hate committing myself unless I know for certain and, because things are moving apace at the moment, I can’t be absolutely sure. Really, really hoping to be there on the 27th and expect to be there. Providing accommodation is also a problem for me since I’ve recently adopted my new, reduced circumstances ‘lifestyle’ in anticipation of a little re-educatin’ (i.e. I’ve moved to humbler surroundings in borderland suburbia) but fear not…… Recently been doing quite a lot of research on the London accommodation scene and there is a surprising variety available for the ‘conserving money for the pub’ brigade. Thought I’d relate some of what I found in the hope that it may help. **Accommodation in London** This might come in handy for Casdave and, perhaps, others. **For the budget traveller** , I think this place looks particularly good: Centrally located, interesting building, seems professionally run, a wide range of options (from a dorm bed through to family rooms) and the prices are right. I’d probably plump for this one: [The Generator](http://www.The-Generator.co.uk) Another similar option (a bit further out of the centre but not much and offering similar accommodation at similar prices) is [Ashlee House](http://www.ashleehouse.co.uk) Other budget alternatives include [the Youth Hostel Assocciation](http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel_index.htm) (some hostels in London are very centrally located – like in Oxford Street). A range of options from dorm beds to family rooms are available Or even the _YMCA_: [General Home Page](http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel_index.htm).Of particular interest might be [London City](http://www.londoncityymca.free-online.co.uk/) or [London Barbican](http://www.ymca.org.uk/gallery/barbican/) **If Bed and Breakfast is your cup of tea** , there are a lot of options. Most start at just over £20.00 for the night but quality will vary to a truly scary extent. If looking into this yourself I’d suggest cutting through the pap on search engines (the keywords are spammed to death on most engines) and, instead, concentrate on Yahoo or my beloved ODP – at least there is a degree of quality control with Directories and there’s no spam (in theory). If you are planning to deal with B & B owners direct, some degree of external quality control is important in the B & B game. So, here’s [Yahoo](http://uk.dir.yahoo.com) (can’t link so, I suppose, ‘Bed and Breakfast London’ will get you to the categories) and the [Open Directory Project](http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/London/Travel_and_Tourism/Accommodation/Bed_and_Breakfast/) (the top link is the best, I think) categories Other B & B sites to mention may include: [Happy Homes](http://www.happy-homes.com/noframes.htm) and [At Home in London](http://www.athomeinlondon.co.uk) but both of these are agencies who will want a small commission (perhaps a one off payment of a fiver) for arranging the room(s) _An option with a different angle_ is: [Fullers Boozers](http://www.Fullers.co.uk) - hotel style accommodation above a pub at realistic prices. Look for the link to the ‘Mad Hatter’ pub which is very well located just by the South Bank area of central London. Have a pint of the delicious London Pride for me. And then there’s **the (discounted) regular hotel scene** – in the off-season bargains abound, it’s really not as expensive as one might think. Favourite, one resource, web site for this kind of stuff is undoubtably LateRooms – _it now covers all of Europe as well so might be handy as a reference point for many a DopeFest_. The particularly good thing about LateRooms – as opposed to, for example, [LastMinute.com](http://LastMinute.com) – is that you book direct so there is no agent commission involved: [Late Rooms](http://www.LateRooms.com) This is an alternative (although not as comprehensive or cheap as LateRooms: [Mini Breaks](http://www.minibreaks.com) **At the cheap end of the non-discounted hotel market** is : [Travel Lodge](http://www.travellodge.co.uk.) (the URL works so I assume the site itself is temporarily down) - starts at about £60.00. Again, very central (if you go for the Westminster Bridge Lodge). As I mentioned, there is a lot of spam on regular search engines. Thit was long, probably too long, but it might help someone. ---
**Author:** ![tatertot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@tatertot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatertot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/32 "2001-01-10T22:44:57Z")
> [@](#): > > So, from what I can see ruadh has grasped the nettle for Jan 27th in Camden and Taters is forming the Trash up in orderly fashion for mid March Hmmmm, anyone think it’s a little funny that it always seems to be the American girls organizing these EuroDoperFests? \ BTW, I’m glad I snooped, I’m going to have to C&P that list of hotels LC gave in case I ever make it down to London. Thanks Andy! ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/33 "2001-01-12T17:31:31Z")
Three reasons for this post: 1. To confirm that I can make it, and that the map is excellent 2. To bump this thread back up 3. And to (quietly so as not to piss off Eutychus55 with a post count party) celebrate my 100th post ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/34 "2001-01-12T18:09:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kferr \* > I’m in Farnborough, but \*\*can get the train into town no problem. \*\* Are you **sure** you’re in England? 😉 Let me just check my calendar…flippin’ heck, I’m in Italy that weekend. You’ll just have to party on without me. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/35 "2001-01-17T17:14:30Z")
Just bumping this for any late arrivals. If the mods don’t object, I’ll bump it once next week as well. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/36 "2001-01-22T07:54:27Z")
Just giving this another bump. We’re all still going, yeah? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/37 "2001-01-22T10:27:50Z")
Yep. RickQ and I may be there early as he’s arriving at lunchtime. If anyone else is likely to be there early email me and I can arrange something (Camden markets maybe). ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/38 "2001-01-22T11:00:21Z")
yeah, still going…pub, fellow dopers…what’s not to go for? ---
**Author:** ![messiah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@messiah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/messiah)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/39 "2001-01-22T12:33:08Z")
If anybody is interested I have a bedroom spare/separate bath in central London, only too happy to offer as it might get this sub-centenarian an Invite. Just email me if anyone is interested. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859/40 "2001-01-22T21:54:11Z")
We were all sub-centenarians at one point, messiah. I’m not sure what time I’ll be arriving, to be honest. Not having been to London in a couple years there are a number of things I’d like to do there and I don’t expect to be up to much on Sunday 😉 I’m thinking it will probably be around 7 or 8 before I can turn up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-dope-fest-you-know-you-want-to/48859.md?page=3)