Well, almost! This weekend sees potentially the busiest time at London’s airports during the festive period as many people start their travels to join families and friends for Christmas and New Year festivities. It is expected that 4 million people will depart the UK for their Christmas holidays, and that’s just through our airports!
National Express announced this week that demand for coach travel is at a record level; Inrix, the traffic information company, believe that roads could see as many as 20 million cars travelling across the country. With this in mind, the Highways Agency has taken the step of suspending some of their roadworks over the festive period; shame National Rail aren’t following their example, although they do advise that just small areas of the rail network will be affected works.
Airport staff up and down the country will be getting into the Christmas spirit, too, with many decking airport lounges and terminals with Christmas trees and decorations. Taking Christmas cheer one step further this year is Thistle London who are commemorating the achievement of their 25,000th guest travelling via the driverless pod to the T5 terminal; Santa swapped his traditional sleigh and reindeer for Heathrow’s space-age pod on a flying visit to the airport. In a partnership with the airport, Thistle Hotels are offering guests exclusive access to this amazing innovative, driverless pod – the age of technology!
Got your New Year’s Eve celebrations sorted? If you’re planning on travelling to London to watch the amazing firework display, note that for the first time you will need to get a ticket if you want to view the display that takes place around the London Eye from the official viewing platforms at Victoria Embankment and the surrounding area. But if you haven’t got a ticket, don’t worry, you can still view the fireworks from other London locations – Tower bridge, Millennium Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Cannon Street to the east of Monument, Vauxhall Bridge, Parliament Hill and Primrose Hill. Alternatively, you could visit roof top bars and hotels with roof terraces; ok, they will also charge but you will get the opportunity to have a drink and sample delicious food!
So, get those presents all wrapped up and decked with bows; gather all your friends and family together and get ready to enjoy Christmas!
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!