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Have you put off a visit to Wimbledon and  London, thinking that Londoners are unfriendly?

A survey released by visitlondon.com truly dispels the myth of unfriendly Londoners. The annual London Overseas Visitor Survey tells us exactly what visitors really think of London and its inhabitants. It turns out that 81% of those surveyed said their first impression of London was Excellent or Good, whilst an overwhelming 98% of visitors would be happy to recommend London to their friends.  84% of those surveyed regard us Londoners as Very Friendly or Friendly. 

The results of the London Overseas Visitor Survey clearly reveal that our overseas visitors have a huge regard for London and the survey findings also show that:

• 28% surveyed expect to return to London within the next 12 months
• 48% said that London was the top British attraction, up from 31% in 2004
• 93% of visitors rated London as Very Safe of Fairly Safe

Wimbledon to Central London in less than 30 Minutes

A friend of mine from Poland recently arrived at London’s Luton Airport and had just one day to see London, since she was in transit to the USA the very next day.  Her experience appears to be typical of many of our overseas visitors.

Since this was her first visit to the UK, she was apprehensive as a fairly long journey to Wimbledon by public transport awaited her.  From the moment she stepped off the plane, information was willingly given by airport and railway staff, to speed her in about 1½ hours by direct train to Wimbledon.  After a quick breakfast at my home in Merton, my friend was eager to become a London tourist, if only for one day.

We travelled by direct train from Wimbledon to Waterloo Station with a journey time of just 15 minutes.  At Waterloo Station we took an 8 minutes walk to Waterloo East Station for a 4 minute train journey to Charing Cross Station, which is right in the heart of central London.  A five minutes walk later we were standing in Trafalgar Square in brilliant sunshine looking at the National Gallery, Nelson’s Column and St. Martin in the Fields Church.  We stood amongst the bubbling fountains of Trafalgar Square, with the great lions on their massive plinths as company.

On our leisurely 20 minute walk down The Mall to Buckingham Palace, I took a photo of my friend and a policeman on duty near St. James’s Palace.  He beamed broadly and willingly obliged.  My friend said to me “This is a really friendly city, I had heard otherwise, but so far I have found only help and friendliness”.  After another willingly obliging photo call with a policeman outside the main gates of Buckingham Palace, we strolled, still in glorious sunshine for 20 minutes to Parliament Square, where my friend gasped as the splendid Westminster Abbey came into sight.  Naturally we visited and experienced the 1000 years of history within this most breathtaking place of worship. An hour and a half later we strolled through Parliament Square, just as Big Ben was striking 4 o’clock.  We made our way up Parliament Street and along Whitehall, going past the Cenotaph war memorial, Downing Street, where the British Prime Minster lives and the splendid tall government buildings which line each side of Whitehall.  We reached Trafalgar Square again and spotted the most welcome sight of a Costa Coffee shop in Waterstones Bookshop, in the square.  After our long walk and breathtaking sights of London, we both agreed that our double espresso coffees were the best we had ever tasted.  Then it was back to Charing Cross Station for our journey home.

Since my friend is an avid tennis fan, our journey to Heathrow the next day, would not have been complete without driving past the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon.  Then it was time to make speed for the airport and my friend said, “London is so friendly.  When I am back in two weeks time, I’d like you to show me more of the beautiful sights of Wimbledon and London”.  Having been born and bred in Merton, London, this was music to my ears.

Article © Webmaster, Wimbledon Visitor with statistical data obtained from Visitlondon.com press releases.

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Section: Friendly London