Travel review: A weekend in central London

With 48 hours to spare, where better to spend a blank weekend than London?
London.London.
London.

The self-titled capital of the world certainly ticks all the boxes when it comes to combining entertainment, leisure and history.

We tried to shoehorn as much as possible into our jaunt down South and would like to think we ticked plenty off our list.

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Our base for the stay was the Holiday Inn in Bloomsbury, just a stone's throw away from the British Museum.

London.London.
London.

The hotel food and service was top notch and our executive room hit the spot in terms of peace and comfort.

Upon arrival the hotel's adjoining Irish bar was packed to the rafters owing to it being FA Cup final day.

And in keeping with local tradition we waited until the game had finished before exploring our surrounds, taking in a pint (or two) in the meantime.

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The hotel was situated perfectly, with the relaxing Regent's Park within walking distance and the main heart of the city accessible by either a short tube journey or a 15-minute walk.

London.London.
London.

For those who fancy the hustle and bustle of London life then Oxford Street is certainly the place to be.

Shops line each side of the wide, seemingly never-ending street.

Once we had got our bearings we soon detoured from the retail area and worked our way towards the Mall and on the approach to Buckingham Palace.

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The area is peppered with huge, open spaces such as St James's Park which was full of people basking in the late evening sunshine.

London.London.
London.

On our second day we took in some of the fantastic array of sights that your typical tourist tries to squeeze into a trip.

The London Eye was a personal favourite with some terrific sights of the city available on the tour which took around 30 minutes for one rotation (although we spent roughly twice that time queuing to get on!)

Not far from the spectacular Eye and back across Westminster Bridge is the iconic Big Ben and the House of Parliament.

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Both landmarks are perfect for that long-distance picture that will have adorned many an Instagram account.

London.London.
London.

Given the sheer size of London it can sometimes seem like a chore to squeeze everything in and we certainly could have done with another 48 hours.

But I'd wager that even people who have resided there for their entire lives are always discovering something new about the place - hence why over eight million people call it home!

Our trip gave us a small glimpse of this busy, bustling, cosmopolitan city.

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And it certainly whetted the appetite for a return in the near future.

HOW TO GET THERE

We travelled first class from Sheffield to London St Pancras International.

Ticket prices start from as little as £27.50.

Visit eastmidlandstrains.co.uk

WHERE TO STAY

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury on Coram Street, WC1N 1HT.

Rooms at holidayinn.com.