Planning a trip to London to see Fulham - need advice

Hello all,

I am planning a trip to London for myself and my girlfriend with the idea of catching 1 (or 2) Fulham matches and exploring London over a 5 day period.

My first decision is when to go. Right now I am looking at Feb 17-21, to catch both the Europa League match vs Shakhtar Donetsk on the 18th and the Birmingham City match on the 20th.

My only concern about these dates is the weather in London. I see it is typically very cold and rainy. My girlfriend and I are both from Georgia in the USA, and freezing cold+rainy are not our favorite heh.

Now I would happily suck it up, but asking her to sit in the freezing Cottage for 2 matches while the worlds best shopping and sightseeing is all around us is not going to be easy.

My other option may be waiting until March 17-21, when I could catch the Man City match, and with a little luck, a round of 16 Europa match (knock on wood). This is gambling on getting in two games, but the weather could be better?

Anyone have suggestions or recommendations? How's the weather at the Cottage in February anyway?

 

Rob, I'd be happy to give you my 2 cents. Just PM me if you are interested.

If you go to either one of those matches you need to pack for the worst and assume it will be cold and rainy or snowing, or all three. If it ends up being nice...Bonus. This is England!

FYI it was freezing at yesterday's game. I was chattering in the first half but the plethora of Fulham goals warmed me up eventually. My bad for not layering up properly.

 

Thanks HatterDon & o_sullyvan,

If this trip looks like it's going to happen I will definitely PM AmericanMike and o_sullyvan.

And yes, I would have loved to have been at yesterday's match. Although watching it on Setanta-i was great too!

 

Hi Rob,

Welcome to the site and hope you enjoy it.

My first bit of advice is not to bother making your decision based on weather as weather in March could be February-like and vice versa! O'sullyvan gives some good advice above on that.

Other than that, regardless of when you go make sure you enjoy a good/full prematch of pub festivities and get talking to the local FFC fans. They are VERY welcoming and always love talking about their beloved team.

If you have any other questions just fire away.

 

My suggestion is to go it alone and let her go her own way.

Oh, yeah, that's what will probably happen with me that weekend, as I've just been given license by my office manager to take the time off and by The Boss to take her to London for a long weekend AND see both matches. I plan on layering and bringing along some thermals, as London may not be freezing at that point, but it will -- almost certainly -- be cold and damp (and miserable). The Boss will probably be in Mr. Al-Fayed's shop, especially if there's a winter sale.

 

I'd agree with the folks that say don't base your decision on the weather. The weather in March isn't likely to be much different than in February (and frankly, the average high temps in London in late February aren't terrible (45-50)). Also, there aren't many opportunities during a season to get to see Fulham twice at the Cottage over a four or five day stretch (note that the Birmingham match has been moved from Sat to Sun), so when those opportunities arise, you need to jump on them. I'm actually currently planning on heading over for the Shakhtar and Birmingham matches.

 

I am going to this match and I am super pumped for this momentous occasion. I wanted to stay for the BCFC match but I have to get back to Uni. If anyone is going let me know. Meet up for a pint! COYW!

 

I am tentatively on board for these two matches as well. Had to cancel my plans for Spurs and Villa this week....

 

One thing is for sure, Rob, CanadianSwede, ClintClintDuece... There will be no shortage of people that will love to lift a pint, hear your story, tell their stories, and make your visit special.

 

Will be back in the Riverside stand for Shaktar so happy to meet up with any and all pre-match.

 

As a life long londoner, I'd have to agree with everyone else about the weather with an extra bit about the wind as because the stadium is next to a very wide Thames, the wind chill factor can make it seem even colder, especially on a cold day.

I don't know if you have ever been to London before, but central London hotels can be horrendously expensive, so I would suggest staying on the outskirts and using the extensive underground sytem to travel in, although it would be best to wait until the end off the rush hour before travelling as it can be very busy.

 

Any of you gents every finalize your plans? Not going to the Birmingham game but will be there tomorrow. Probably hit the Golden Leon before hand.

 

Since we'll be coming from the other direction, I've arranged to meet up with sfm at The Crabtree at 6. I am not sure about Sunday, though.

 

RDG if I get away from work early enough, might go down the H&C line and hit the crabtree instead of the leon. If so, look for a salt & pepper goateed dude with black glasses, black coat, Fulham scarf.

Dead giveaway is if I do get there early enough, I will the guy freezing his ass off outside on the patio smoking a stogie.

 

I've put off this trip until September. Who knows, it may end up being a honeymoon! That would be rich, taking the new wife to see Fulham for our honeymoon.