Relive England’s World Cup victory! The Bobby Moore package at Kensington’s Royal Garden Hotel – including a Wembley tour – is a nostalgic football-themed break
- It has been 50 years since the 1966 England team won the World Cup
- The players stayed at the Royal Garden Hotel in High Street Kensington
- Football fans can now relive the glory with the ‘Bobby Moore’ package
Some of us remember the day (I was 11 at the time) as if it were last week and can’t help getting a little dewy-eyed.
Now, there’s a chance to walk (and sleep) down memory lane as the country celebrates the 50th anniversary of England’s World Cup-winning heroics.
The place to start is the Royal Garden Hotel, in High Street Kensington, London, where Sir Alf Ramsey’s team stayed the night of July 30 after beating West Germany 4-2 at Wembley.
Heroes’ welcome: Crowds gather to see England’s World Cup team arrive at the Royal Garden Hotel in 1966
Top spot: The hotel overlooks Kensington Gardens, home to the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground
A special Bobby Moore package is on offer there. It gets you bed and breakfast, a bulging goodie bag filled with 1966-themed football gifts and a World Cup book with terrific photos of the post-match celebrations.
The following day there’s a tour of Wembley (albeit not the stadium of 50 years ago), which includes access to the Royal Box and the players’ changing rooms.
During July, the hotel’s Bertie’s Bar will become the Bobby Moore Lounge, with themed snacks and screenings of matches from the World Cup.
What’s more, Stephanie Moore (Bobby’s widow) has created a special menu of the skipper’s favourite dishes. Order from it and the hotel will make a donation to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.
Recollection: During July, the hotel’s Bertie’s Bar will become the Bobby Moore Lounge
Looking back: A special Bobby Moore package gets you bed and breakfast, a bulging goodie bag filled with 1966-themed football gifts and a World Cup book with terrific photos of the post-match celebrations
Moore’s huge statue greets you at the main entrance of Wembley, from where the 75-minute tour starts. My son and I enjoyed pretending to be England coach Roy Hodgson as we sat in his press conference chair. We listened in the tunnel to the canned sounds of excited fans and lifted the FA Cup in the Royal Box for an official photograph that cost £10.
Oh, and we learned that Wembley has more toilets than any structure in the western world — 2,618.
In July, Wembley will stage its own 1966 World Cup exhibition. By then we will know how the current side has done at the Euros in France, but nothing will quite match that day 50 years ago — and it’s unlikely Roy’s squad will be checking into the Royal Garden Hotel soon.