AstraVanMan wrote:

Good idea - just checked and it's £16.60 for the three of them, restricted
to FCC services, or £25.40 going via Victoria. What's Blackfriars like for
getting from the tube up to the mainline station - any escalators etc? It's
not a return journey btw, they're just heading to Gatwick from Heathrow.

Blackfriars isn't too bad, but it is stairs, and there are a fair few.

Unfortunatly I can't think of a step-free train route. An option you
might consider, time permitting, is piccadilly direct to kings cross,
then walk to kingscross thameslink, then thameslink^H^H^H^H^H^H^H FCC
to Gatwick from there. On the whole you'll be better with District to
Blackfriars though.

Also, will it present a problem if they were to get return travelcards
starting from Gatwick and the first time they'd put it through a barrier was
at Heathrow? I'm guessing probably not, as they could well have showed them
to a regular ticket inspector on the barriers at Blackfriars/London Bridge
and only used them on buses, hence not going through any machines anyway.
Any comments on this?

However, outward no such beast. A possible solution (assuming travel is
late enough in the day to be on the return leg) is to buy the Gatwick
travel card in advance. Otherwise a zone 1-6 travelcard and a boundary
zone 6 to Gatwick extension, or the Feltham bus - Clapham Junction
option.

Well, the £16.60 option from Gatwick looks the cheapest option, though it
restricts them to First Capital Connect services, which take around 45
minutes from Blackfriars, plus the extra time on the tube, though the price
is good and they're in no major rush. Providing Blackfriars has some
escalators up to the mainline station.

--
"For want of the price of tea and a slice, the old man died."