Archives II - UK National Archives in Kew

Continuing my series of Things to Know when diving into grad-level research in major archives I've visited, let's talk Kew. Kew is basically a small village in the further suburbs of London proper, about 45 minutes away by the underground, and also home to the British National Archives. The UK archives are pretty darned efficient and I appreciate that. There are some quirks, though.

Website
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Getting There
The archives are a 7-10 minute walk from the Kew Gardens tube station, which is near one of the ends of the District line. You'll just have to look at a map, but it's reasonably well marked too. You're on the wrong side of the station if you see the doors to the pub on your right as you exit. You're on the right side if you see a mediocre fish and chips place just to your left.
Basic London transport planning, if you're still in those stages:

Get an Oyster card, load it up, and off you go. Public transit is quite expensive, and like in Paris, the bike rental system requires a pin-and-chip credit card, which means not from the U.S. The Tube is not so quick either, so add 20-40% to the estimated times on the transport authority's website, especially if there's a transfer. Buses are cheaper and give you a view of the city rather than dark tunnels, but sometimes slower.

Where to Stay
There's a great site of local B&Bs here: http://www.kewaccommodation.com/
I stayed with Mrs Sheila Lyddon from there and found it welcoming and perfectly livable for the months I was there (I wasn't looking for anything but that, so that's not damning with faint praise), and the hosts extremely flexible, helpful and reasonable. Staying out in Kew means long trips to London for goings-on or British Library trips (~45 minutes each way and 5 pounds/day roundtrip by the Tube), which is a sacrifice for sure. Still, London mostly shuts down at night anyway, and there are night buses if you get stuck in the city (just be sure you have them planned out or god help you find wifi somewhere at night). I was also paying less for my room with free breakfast and no utilities than some actual Londoners I met were paying for a crappy shared apartments elsewhere, so there's that. It's pretty great walking 10 minutes to the archives in the morning, though.

Your First Visit
You can kind of skip the reception desk if you want, unlike some places. Just walk in to your left and you'll find signs to the lockers. Head up to level 3 for your reader's card, for which you'll need:

• TWO photo IDs, at least one of which has the permanent address you're listing. (Guess they got sick of all the constant fraud when you only check one ID)
• Probably some money, I forget

Back down to level 2, and there's a nice person who will help you straight ahead, the finding aids and archivists to your right, and the reading rooms off to your left. You reserve a seat the first time you request a document for the day, and if you reserve those documents overnight (also done on the computer before you leave), you're stuck with that seat again the next day. That means it's worth considering where you're sitting. Bad lighting makes for bad photos, and nothing is worse than a smelly or noisy neighbor. Remember this seat number you requested.
Once you've requested documents (and you've waited for them to process, go get a coffee downstairs and check the request's status from there), get thee to the reading rooms, where there's a cubby with the number of the seat you just reserved that holds your documents.

Rules for Things:
Computers, cameras, and the usual things are fine. No liquids, food, sharp stuff, pens, or books of your own, per usual. They don't check very closely, so fill your pockets with knives and anti-history if that's your thing. Or just USB mouse, camera stuff, good headphones, and other useful things.

Food
There's a cafeteria in the archive, but it's really expensive, so bring your food or be prepared to spend 10+ pound on a small meal. In Kew, on the village side of the station opposite the path to the archives, there's a butcher shop with decent cheese or ham or chicken baguettes for 2 pounds (also a mini-Tesco for more options). Another sandwich shop (The Bread Loaf or something?) is on the street to your right as you exit the station, and it's a bit pricier but very good filled baguette options - plus if you catch then as you're leaving around 4:30-closing they sell the baguettes for 1.50, which is an amazing deal. The pub right at the station itself is also actually pretty good - I recommend the spicy bean burger even if you're not vegetarian.

For the adventurous or those living in Kew during your trip, I strongly recommend the take-out fish and chips place down Sandycombe Rd. at the intersection with (I think) North Ave. Much better than the one right by Kew station. Speaking of the archives side of Kew station, there's also a breakfast and lunch place there that seemed really Britishly mediocre when I ate there. Give it a pass unless you're really eager for a hot British breakfast, which you'll get, I guess.

Wifi
There's wifi in the archives, but it's terrible. If you're having a hard time connecting, find one of the plastic information sheets they have scattered around the reading room tables. Once you succeed, you can access Gmail and Gchat, but basically nothing else you'd want to because of the incredibly stringent net filtering. Forget ordering your docs at the British Library, that's a little too dangerous for old Kew to let people spend their time there. Still, at least there is what there is, and being able to google things (even if not usually follow the resulting links) is helpful.