Reply #5: Me too, yet I once gave up a night in London when I didn't have to... [View All]

Here's the story. I had been in London, spent several nights there. Then took the train and boat to Paris for a few days. At the time (this was the 1990s) the French dock workers were on strike in several ports, so I could not take the boat I had intended to. So had to go Dover to Calais, because they were not on strike in Calais. No problem, spent the night on the boat.

Coming back, however, was a problem. The strike was still on so I had to return Dover to Calais...except I had to take a boat and then train that would get me into London about 8:30 at night...I had booked to take an overnight boat back, but suddenly was faced with the idea of finding a place to stay overnight in London...since I was heading to Cornwall the next day.

Yikes! So I sat for a while in Dover waiting for a London-bound train, eyeing the guesthouses nearby. I decided the heck with it, left the train platform and got a nice room in the 2nd guesthouse I found.

The idea of being in London without a place to stay in advance was scary. I did have reservations for when I returned from Cornwall. But that was not until several days after my early arrival.