I’ve got a beard, although lacking in the other areas. I’m big into coffee, so I’ve got that going for me 
My brother got onto the tube at Heathrow, and, like thousands of young Australians before him, just got off at Earls Court (zone 1, between Chelsea and Kensington). Because he recognized the name, and knew that thousands of young Australians before him had stayed there.
In contrast, I see that Shoreditch is on the other side of the “central congestion zone”, or will (probably?) require a transfer in a busy city station onto a busy city train.
Shoreditch is also central in the “old” sense of being easy walking distance from the City of London. It’s not only West London that’s Central London.
Thank you! I’ve only been to London for two days, and was going to post the same thing, but thought it presumptuous coming from me.
I’ve lived here for 30 years and am pretty happy about where ‘central London’ is.
You do realise how far that is 
?
Yeah, a bit less than 15 miles on the A4. Although crossing the Thames to take advantage of the larger concentration of parkland would add a few miles as well.
Which is another reason I didn’t chime in with my Google-Maps-based opinion that Shoreditch was in easy walking distance to the City, because other people might not agree with my opinion on easy walking distance 
Sure, 15 miles isn’t an especially mammoth walk, but after a flight and with whatever luggage you have, there won’t be much pleasure in it.
Also, LHR is not an easy airport to walk out of (lived just below the southern perimeter for the first 18 years of my life, so I have some knowledge of this!).
If you’re serious about walking then get yourself out to somewhere like Richmond tube station, head North through Kew Gardens, then pick up the Thames Path into town. That should give your legs a stretch and it would be both pleasant and interesting, unlike the A4
you’d be better advised to walk along the tow path of the Grand Union Canal - pick it up just north of Heathrow, and make sure you walk east 
Beautiful way to ease into the city.
When I was in London in 2000, I stayed at the Rotherhithe Youth Hostel. It was 24.95 pounds a night. They have family accommodations.
You could get the tube as far as Hatton Cross and still claim to have walked from Heathrow.
From Kew the Thames path only goes as far as Putney
Wrong.
I know Charing Cross is often used as a marker for the centre of Greater London, but to take that literally would mean that the City of London isn’t central London, which would be ridiculous. Also, Shoreditch is zone 1, which I think is a reasonable definition of central.
Depends on your definition of a path. Upstream of Putney Bridge there is a continuous waterside path on at least one side of the river which extends many miles out of London - perhaps all the way to Oxford though that is beyond my knowledge. Quite abruptly at said bridge it turns into sections of waterside path interspersed with many deviations away from the river at least until you get past Chelsea to the north and Wandsworth to the south. A somewhat artificial ‘Thames Path’ route has been mapped through these areas but it is not a physical continuous pathway and a bit naff IMHO.
Of course: Charing Cross is in Westminster.
Does anybody else remember those Maureen Lipman BT ads from the time when the London 01 dialling code was split into 0181 and 0171? It centred on whether the 0171 was for ‘central London’ (sophisticated) or ‘inner city’ (poverty stricken).
So after a hiatus, I am getting ready to book an AirBnB in London. It looks like my MIL is not joining us, so it is my wife and two pre-teen girls.
I found this one in Shoreditch, near Old St Station. It looks great but I am always wary of new listings even though the host has 50+ reviews for other places.
Any thoughts on this one: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/16201504
Thanks!
I stayed near Old Street Station 2 years ago and enjoyed the area.
Here’s an excellent pub nearby
Are the 2 teens willing to share a bed? Because that flat only has 2 beds.