Heathrow Express
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From: Andy Bonwick on 23 Jul 2010 01:48 On Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:17:23 +0100, Catman <catman(a)rustcuore-sportivo.co.uk> wrote: >JB wrote: >> "Catman" <catman(a)rustcuore-sportivo.co.uk> wrote in message >> news:i2acmj$gh9$2(a)news.eternal-september.org... >>> Andy Bonwick wrote: >>>> I've never used this service and I'm wondering whether or not it's a >>>> good idea. >>>> >>>> I've got a 22:30 flight out of Heathrow on Monday night and I arrive >>>> back at about 19:30 on Friday night and I've got the choice between >>>> catching the train from Bedford, hopping over to wherever it is the >>>> Express goes from and toddling off to Heathrow and then reversing the >>>> journey on the Friday evening or driving down and parking at one of >>>> the long stay car parks. Cost doesn't matter because it's a business trip >>> >>> I'd get a taxi, both ways. >>> >> *Ding*. (if it someone else's coin). Saves a lot of fannying around, and you >> can have a beer or several. > >When we did Oz last year, it was the best decision I made. When we >landed at LHR on Friday morning, the thought of hacking our way through >the rush hour was just hideous. Walking out of departures and seeing the >little sign with our name on it was great :) > >It wasn't *that* expensive either. I'd still have the problem of M25 traffic even though someone else was doing the driving and I wouldn't even be able to smoke in the car so it's a non starter really.
From: Andy Bonwick on 23 Jul 2010 01:52 On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:35:45 +0100, totallydeadmailbox(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older Gentleman) wrote: snip> > >I'd have thought all your luggage would fit nicely onto the Tenere. Free >parking under whichever terminal it is, and a quicker trip home. I'd not even thought of taking the Tenere but now you've suggested it the idea isn't so bad. All I'd need to do is bungee my holdall to the seat then when I get there dump my crash helmet in the top box and the rest of my riding kit in the panniers and it's away. That one's on the list of possibilities.
From: Andy Bonwick on 23 Jul 2010 02:01 On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:49:36 +0100, Paul Corfield <aooy65(a)dsl.pipex.com> wrote: >On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:10:57 +0100, Andy Bonwick <nospam(a)bonwick.me.uk> >wrote: > >>I've never used this service and I'm wondering whether or not it's a >>good idea. >> snip> > >Heathrow Express runs from Paddington. It's every 15 minutes and takes >about 15 mins to reach Terminals 1 and 3. The same train carries on to >T5. If you want T4 you change at Heathrow T13 for a connecting train. > >It is expensive but you say cost is not a problem. > >http://www.heathrowexpress.com/ticket-prices > >Depending on how laden down you are then you've got Thameslink to St >Pancras. A bit of a walk to reach the Circle / Hammersmith & City Line >platforms at Kings Cross tube station. There is a part closure of the >H&C line next week so you will have to take a Circle Line for >Paddington. The H&C is not running beyond Edgware Road. The HEX leaves >from platforms 6 and 7 and you can pay on board rather than having to >search out a ticket office or machine. You're a star. I'd never have thought to check for line closures. > >http://www.heathrowexpress.com/Home/Paddington/StationMap > >Interestingly a quick search on the NR website shows the journey routed >via Farringdon which takes slightly longer but the outward interchange >is up a tiny flight of steps from the s/b Thameslink platform to the w/b >Circle / H&C platform. It's not quite so convenient in the reverse >direction. > >You can get a through fare including HEX of �36.40 single from Bedford >and the journey time is about 2 hours. > That's not bad really and I'd be hitting London after the peak travel time so the tube shouldn't be too much of a misery. >It really depends on your tolerance for the interchange distances and >willingness to lug your bags. To be honest neither Kings Cross or >Paddington are ideal - there are steps and quite long walks. Farringdon >is slightly more convenient. It's really up to you to judge whether the >train overall is a less risky proposition that the motorway network. >I've no knowledge of how the M1 and M25 fare early evening time. The motorway will be awful which is what set me off thinking about the Heathrow Express. Add on the cost of the short taxi ride from my house to Bedford station and the cost is still under �45 each way which compares pretty well against fuel and parking at the airport. I like the idea of using the Tenere but I think I'd struggle to get it past my boss because we've supposedly got a ban on using private vehicles for company business.
From: Simon Wilson on 23 Jul 2010 02:10 On 22/07/2010 22:10, Andy Bonwick wrote: > I've never used this service and I'm wondering whether or not it's a > good idea. > > I've got a 22:30 flight out of Heathrow on Monday night and I arrive > back at about 19:30 on Friday night and I've got the choice between > catching the train from Bedford, hopping over to wherever it is the > Express goes from and toddling off to Heathrow and then reversing the > journey on the Friday evening or driving down and parking at one of > the long stay car parks. > > Cost doesn't matter because it's a business trip so all I care about > is the hassle factor. Which way should I do it? I'll be carrying a > rather large hold all with PPE, laptop and clothing for a week and on > the way back I'll have duty free tabs to worry about so I reckon drive > down is better but I'm open to suggestions. The client won't pay for a > business class ticket and a chauffeur driven limo to and from home so > don't suggest that idea. I used to travel to LHR frequently from Milton Keynes. I'd use either a taxi, drive myself, or even the coach sometimes, but never the train. Train IMO is too much hag and shassle, even with the speed of the Express. The downside of course is the potential for hold ups (There was once an accident on the M1, followed by an accident on the M25 - took me about 4 hours IIRC). If you're scheduled to land at 19:30 on a Friday, you'll probably be circling for a fair bit and at the gate at 20:00, on the road by 20:30 if you're lucky. I have recently been using Purple Parking's meet'n'greet service and generally pretty pleased with it. On the way out, park up 5 mins bus ride from the terminals. On the way back they meet you at the terminal with your car. (Use the Quality Airport Parking Premium option). -- /Simon
From: Simon Wilson on 23 Jul 2010 02:15
On 22/07/2010 22:35, The Older Gentleman wrote: > Andy Bonwick<nospam(a)bonwick.me.uk> wrote: > >> I've never used this service and I'm wondering whether or not it's a >> good idea. >> >> I've got a 22:30 flight out of Heathrow on Monday night and I arrive >> back at about 19:30 on Friday night and I've got the choice between >> catching the train from Bedford, hopping over to wherever it is the >> Express goes from and toddling off to Heathrow and then reversing the >> journey on the Friday evening or driving down and parking at one of >> the long stay car parks. >> >> Cost doesn't matter because it's a business trip so all I care about >> is the hassle factor. Which way should I do it? I'll be carrying a >> rather large hold all with PPE, laptop and clothing for a week and on >> the way back I'll have duty free tabs to worry about so I reckon drive >> down is better but I'm open to suggestions. The client won't pay for a >> business class ticket and a chauffeur driven limo to and from home so >> don't suggest that idea. > > I'd have thought all your luggage would fit nicely onto the Tenere. Free > parking under whichever terminal it is, and a quicker trip home. > > The favourite bike parking spot by T2's been demolished now though hasn't it? I've seen where the bike parking is for T5 but not sure about T1/T3/T4 - I assume by your post that they exist. -- /Simon |