Which stores around London to visit?

[Cy-Gor]

I will be traveling to London in a few weeks and wondered which store or stores i should visit?

Mainly looking for a good pick a brick wall, though good displays are nice too.

We are staying close to central London and are planing to visit most of the tourist stuff and some not so tourist stuff.

We will not have a car during the London part of our trip so we dont want to go too far off the path.

Thanks in advanced.

[Xcod119]

Hi, I am unsure about places in london that have a pick a brick wall, there is a lego store in a shopping centre called Westfield near London but it's a little bit out of town. You should visit Harrods which is a big department store and I think that lego is on either the fourth or fifth floor, they have quite a good lego section with some displays although it takes a bit of time to find your way through the store. Hamleys on Oxford street also stocks a large amount of lego on the highest floor, to find hamleys look for the Apple store (although Hamleys can be a bit pricey). If you are looking for things like Star Wars then you could try Forbidden Planet which is near Leicester Square, they sell more of the sci-fi themes.

There are probably a lot of other toy shops in London but hope I helped!

Edited May 24, 2014 by Xcod119

[L@go]

There are two Westfields in London, and they're both in town, although not dead center. One is in Stratford and one in Shepherd's Bush, and they've both got LEGO stores. I've been to both, the Shepherd's Bush one several times, and I have only positive things to say about the staff (and the selection) in the store. Shepherd's Bush is on the Central line, so easy to get to - easier than Stratford. So that's what I'd recommend. Never been to Harrod's, but Hamley's does have a good selection on the top floor, like Xcod199 says.

Have a nice trip - it's a great city, possibly my favourite one. I try to visit once or twice every year, although this year it'll probably be three or four... :)

[jonwil]

The good thing about London is that if its walking distance from the tube it automatically counts as "easy to get to" regardless of how far it actually is :)

[Robianco]

By all means visit Hamleys but don't buy any Lego there. It's massively overpriced. Way over RRP for no reason other than it's in Hamleys.

[Xcod119]

Thanks L@go , I didn't know about the other Westfield and forgot about the fact that you can get the train to the Stratford one. I will have to investigate!

[Cy-Gor]

I am mostly looking for pick a brick type stuff. i have a lego store here in Austin that i go to regularly, so getting sets is not an issue. That and i dont want to take anything too huge back through customs if i dont have to.

[RednWhite]

If you are most interested in PAB then I would suggest going to either (or both) of the Westfield Stores - they are both on the central (red) underground line and probably 15 minutes from the centre of London with frequent trains. You may also want to check out John Lewis on Oxford Street - a big department store near Bond Street tube station - again on central line. They have a wall of PAB but last time i was there the selection wasn't great. They also have some huge models - Darth Vader made from Duplo last time i visited. You could probably plan to go to all three stores in a morning if you are not keen to see anything else in those shopping centres.

[lifeinplastic]

Your other option of course is Legoland Windsor if you fancy making a day of it - only a relatively short distance from London and accessible by train. However, if you are going on a day trip, especially with non-Lego aficionados, a trip down to Brighton on the coast is fun and only takes an hour by train (but there is a Lego Brand Store there!)

I think Hamleys is in Regent Street (just off Oxford Street), which is very central but don't recall them having a Pick a Brick wall. Harrods is an interesting experience but like a lot of London, it is very expensive. You'd be better off visiting High Street chains for reduced-priced sets like WH Smiths, Argos, The Entertainer, etc.

I would suggest the Westfield in Shepherd's Bush as already suggested - my Mum was born there - but it's also probably the most accessible from Central London. I remember when the Kingston Lego Shop near me closed and I had to travel to Bluewater in Kent each time. It was a mission getting my Café Corner and other sets back on the train!

Enjoy your trip Cy-Gor!

Edited May 27, 2014 by lifeinplastic

[Xcod119]

I agree with lifeinplastic about legoland Windsor, however you have to pay the fee to get in and I wouldn't recommend trying WHSmiths as they usually inflate the prices rather then decrease them.

[rriggs]

Hamleys don't have PAB and as has been said already is massively overpriced. 10-20% over RRP on most items. They have a good range and Hamleys is worth a visit anyway but save your LEGO purchasing for elsewhere.

If you want PAB you need either of the LEGO stores at the two Westfield centres. For LEGO in general your best bets are TRU of which there are several in London or Argos which are on every high street.

Cheers

Rog

[Legoaholic]

I was at Legoland Windsor a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't go there for its PAB wall, its really tiny. The Stratford Westfield shopping centre is right beside the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The main venue for the Olympics, so might be of interest to other members of your party.