Bus to London

London sits in the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau in Laurel County, on the western edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest and right alongside Interstate 75 about 76 miles south of Lexington. It's a small Appalachian town of roughly 7,500 people, the kind of place travellers pass through on the way to the forest, on the way to Cumberland Falls, or on a longer Appalachian leg between Cincinnati and Knoxville. The bus to London drops you on the north side of town in the parking lot of the Burger King at 380 London Shopping Center, with US Route 25 (the old Wilderness Road corridor) running past the front door. People come to hike or camp in the national forest, to walk the Wilderness Road history at Levi Jackson Park, to see the moonbow at Cumberland Falls a short drive south, or for the World Chicken Festival every September. Pack walking shoes and a layer for the evenings; even in summer the Cumberland foothills cool off after dark.

Greyhound stops in London

The Greyhound stop in London is a flag stop in the parking lot of the Burger King at 380 London Shopping Center, just off US Route 25 on the north side of town. There's no terminal building, no ticket counter and no waiting room. The bus simply pulls into the parking lot, picks up or drops off, and continues on. Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled departure, with your ticket on your phone or printed, and stand somewhere visible so the driver can see you waving the bus down.

If you're being dropped off, the shopping center has space to wait inside the Burger King with a coffee or a soft drink while you watch for your ride. The stop sits alongside the main commercial strip running north out of central London, so a rideshare into downtown is a quick trip rather than a long haul.

For onward travel into the national forest or to Cumberland Falls, a rental car or rideshare is the most practical option. The London-Corbin airport sits a few miles south but doesn't run scheduled passenger service, so road transport is what you'll be relying on once you arrive.

Getting around London after your bus to London arrives

London is a small town and getting around looks more like rural Kentucky than a metro area. There is no city bus network and no rail service inside the town itself. From the Burger King stop, downtown London (Main Street, the courthouse square, the local restaurants) is a short rideshare or a walk of a few blocks south along Main Street. Walking is workable in fair weather along the commercial corridor, though there are stretches without sidewalks, so check your route before you set out.

For trips out to Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park, which sits a few miles south of town, or to the Daniel Boone National Forest trailheads east of the city, you'll want a rideshare or a rental car. The forest is large and the trailheads are scattered along forest roads that don't have public transit. Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is a longer trip, about an hour southwest by road, and is best reached with a vehicle.

For longer regional connections, Lexington is about an hour and a quarter north on Interstate 75 and Knoxville is a similar drive south. Travellers heading deeper into Appalachia often use London as a road stop on a longer trip, picking up a rental car here and continuing on.

Top things to do in London

• Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park, an 896-acre park south of town that preserves a stretch of the Wilderness Road and Boone's Trace, the two main routes settlers used to reach Kentucky from Virginia. The park has 8.5 miles of hiking trails, picnic grounds, a campground and a working watermill.
• McHargue's Mill inside Levi Jackson Park, a working watermill on the Little Laurel River built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It still grinds cornmeal in season and is one of the better preserved CCC mills in this part of Kentucky.
• Defeated Camp Burial Ground in Levi Jackson Park, a memorial to 24 settlers killed in a 1786 attack on a westbound wagon train along the Wilderness Road. The site is quiet, well marked, and tied directly to the trail history the park exists to preserve.
• The Daniel Boone National Forest, the 708,000-acre federal forest that wraps around London on the east. Trailheads close to town give access to ridge walks, river gorges and the long Sheltowee Trace, the national recreation trail that runs nearly 290 miles through the forest from north to south.
• Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, about an hour southwest by road. The 68-foot falls on the Cumberland River are one of the few places in the western hemisphere where you can see a moonbow on a clear night with a full moon, which is worth planning a trip around if your dates line up with the lunar calendar.
• The World Chicken Festival, held in downtown London the last full weekend of September every year, with live music, fair food, the world's largest stainless-steel skillet frying chicken on Main Street, and a parade. The festival celebrates the area's connection to Colonel Sanders, who ran a service-station restaurant up the road in Corbin in the 1930s.
• The historic downtown around Main Street and the Laurel County courthouse, walkable in a single afternoon. The streetscape is small-town Kentucky: local diners, a few antique shops and the kind of square that fills up during the chicken festival.
• Red River Gorge, north of London inside the Daniel Boone National Forest. Famous for sandstone arches, ridge-top hiking and the rock climbing that has put the gorge on the international climbing map. It's a longer day trip from London but a recurring reason travellers stop here.

Food and drink in London

Eating in London is country Kentucky cooking, with a strong tilt towards fried chicken, Southern barbecue and the kind of meat-and-three plates that small towns in this part of the state have been serving for decades. The chicken connection here is genuine: Colonel Harland Sanders ran his service-station restaurant up the road in Corbin in the 1930s, and pressure-fried Kentucky-style chicken is treated as a regional speciality rather than a chain product. Plates of fried chicken with sides of soup beans, cornbread, fried okra and pinto beans turn up on most local menus.

Beyond the chicken, look for pulled-pork barbecue with vinegar-and-tomato Kentucky sauces, country ham, biscuits and gravy at breakfast, and pies (pecan, chess, transparent) at the diners around the courthouse square. The downtown stretch around Main Street is where most of the local restaurants cluster, and during the World Chicken Festival in September the food carts set up across several blocks of pedestrian street and the world's largest stainless-steel skillet does its frying outdoors in the open air.

Best time to visit London

Late spring through early summer and the whole of autumn are the best times to come. From mid-April through May the Cumberland foothills green up, the dogwoods and redbuds bloom along the forest roads, and trail conditions in Levi Jackson Park and the Daniel Boone National Forest are at their easiest. Autumn, from late September through early November, brings the hardwood forests of the plateau into colour, with orange, deep red and yellow running across the ridges, and overlaps with the World Chicken Festival in late September.

Summer is hot and humid, with afternoons in the upper 80s and frequent thunderstorms rolling off the plateau. The campgrounds and the swimming hole at Levi Jackson stay busy, and the forest is at its greenest. Winter is cold, with occasional snow and short days; the trails stay open but the high-elevation overlooks can ice up. If you're coming to see the Cumberland Falls moonbow, check the lunar calendar against your travel dates, since the moonbow only shows on clear nights at or near a full moon.

Picture a late-October afternoon walking the Wilderness Road trail at Levi Jackson Park, the Little Laurel River running low and clear off to your left, McHargue's Mill wheel turning slowly in the shallows, sycamore leaves gone yellow on the bank and oak leaves coming down red on the path ahead, the forest already dropping into shadow at four in the afternoon while a few of the last walkers of the day pass the other way: that's the London a Greyhound bus ticket buys you. A small Appalachian town pressed up against a national forest, with two hundred years of trail history under your feet, and the moonbow at Cumberland Falls waiting an hour down the road if your dates and the lunar calendar agree. Use the search bar on this page to check schedules for the bus to London and book bus tickets to London when your dates are firm.

Searching for Greyhound Bus Tickets to London?

Your search ends here! Find all the information you need to book your bus trip to London! You can find the Greyhound at London (Burger King). The fare for traveling to London starts at just $19.48. If you're on the hunt for a cheap ticket to London, remember to book early. Traveling on weekdays or during non-peak hours can also lead you to some of the most budget-friendly fares available! Greyhound connects London to 10 destinations, providing ample options for your bus trip.

Why travel to London with Greyhound

With Greyhound, enjoy a comfortable seat and complimentary Wi-Fi on your journey. Stay engaged and online as we take you to your destination! Enjoy a comfy trip to London with our onboard facilities like free Wi-Fi and power outlets. Choose your favorite seat while booking and travel with peace of mind rest easy knowing your ticket covers one carry-on and one checked bag.

How to book your bus ticket to London

Booking a ticket with Greyhound is a breeze: on this website or on the free Greyhound App, you can complete your booking in a few clicks. When purchasing your ticket to London online, you can choose between different secured online payment methods, such as credit and debit cards. Alternatively, you can pay in cash at a sales point.