I'll be in London this August. At first I thought I'd take a cab to my hotel.
then I read this might cost upwards of 50 pounds. The tube for 4 pounds
sounds better. I will probably get to Heathrow 1-2-3 central around 11 p.m.
on a Friday night. Are there likely to be many passengers at that time?
I'm hoping to be able to sit down with a suitcase between my feet and a
small day pack on my lap. Thanks.

Using the Underground sounds sensible. There is a train every 5 minutes up
to 2330, then reducing service up to around midnight. I don't think you will
have a seating problem.

You could then use a combination of buses but I think a taxi would be more
sensible with luggage. Price would depend on how far you go but after
midnight £50 sounds about right.

Try http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/use...T2?language=en for
more information

Regards,
MaxB



"David J Bush" wrote in message
...
I'll be in London this August. At first I thought I'd take a cab to my
hotel.
then I read this might cost upwards of 50 pounds. The tube for 4 pounds
sounds better. I will probably get to Heathrow 1-2-3 central around 11
p.m.
on a Friday night. Are there likely to be many passengers at that time?
I'm hoping to be able to sit down with a suitcase between my feet and a
small day pack on my lap. Thanks.

David J Bush wrote:
I'll be in London this August. At first I thought I'd take a cab to
my hotel. then I read this might cost upwards of 50 pounds. The
tube for 4 pounds sounds better. I will probably get to Heathrow
1-2-3 central around 11 p.m. on a Friday night. Are there likely to
be many passengers at that time?
I'm hoping to be able to sit down with a suitcase between my feet
and a small day pack on my lap. Thanks.

You will have no problem getting a seat at Heathrow. The last through
train to central London from Heathrow T123 departs at 23:49. The
journey time to central London (Piccadilly Circus) is about 45 minutes.

Will you need to change to another line to reach your hotel? If you're
not sure, let us know the hotel's address (the postcode will suffice)
and we'll advise further.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

David J Bush typed


I'll be in London this August. At first I thought I'd take a cab to my
hotel.
then I read this might cost upwards of 50 pounds. The tube for 4 pounds
sounds better. I will probably get to Heathrow 1-2-3 central around 11 p.m.
on a Friday night. Are there likely to be many passengers at that time?
I'm hoping to be able to sit down with a suitcase between my feet and a
small day pack on my lap. Thanks.

You should be fine. There are usually enough people around for you to
feel safe, and few enough so you should be able to sit.

Piccadilly Line Tube trains have more space for luggage beside the doors
than other tube trains, so keeping your case between your feet may not
be a good idea.

Try very hard to get a Pay-As-You-Go Oyster card (which you can always
give to a friend who visits London) before you arrive, as the fares can
be *much* cheaper that way. (Though you can order online, I thing
foreign credit cards may be a problem.)

Where will your hotel be?

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:14:20 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:

|You should be fine. There are usually enough people around for you to
|feel safe, and few enough so you should be able to sit.
|
|Piccadilly Line Tube trains have more space for luggage beside the doors
|than other tube trains, so keeping your case between your feet may not
|be a good idea.
|
|Try very hard to get a Pay-As-You-Go Oyster card (which you can always
|give to a friend who visits London) before you arrive, as the fares can
|be *much* cheaper that way. (Though you can order online, I thing
|foreign credit cards may be a problem.)
|
|Where will your hotel be?

There is an excellent map of the Underground available online. I can
change to the District line at Acton Town, Hammersmith, Baron's Court,
or Earl's Court. I have to be sure to get on a train bound for Edgware
Road. Then I change again at Notting Hill gate to the Central line, and
get off at Queensway, which is closest to the Byron on Queensborough
Terrace. Or, if I'm feeling adventurous, I could just take the Piccadilly
line all the way to Holborn, then back west to Queensway.

Luggage next to the door? Okay if you say so- I was just worried about
leaving my luggage unattended, with all the security concerns these days.

An Oyster card sounds like an excellent idea. But I already bought a
"London Pass" which provides free use throughout zones 1-6 plus access
to a bunch of touristy stuff. I'll probably have to scramble around like
a madman to get my money's worth on that.

Having spent many hours playing the "Aldwych" level in Tomb Raider 3,
I was a little disappointed to not find it on the map. But I hear it still
exists and is being used as a movie set, is that right?

Thanks very much!

David J Bush typed

An Oyster card sounds like an excellent idea. But I already bought a
"London Pass" which provides free use throughout zones 1-6 plus access
to a bunch of touristy stuff. I'll probably have to scramble around like
a madman to get my money's worth on that.

If your pass covers Zones 1-6, you should not need to buy any other
ticket to cover your journey from Heathrow, which is in Zone 6 (so long
as it's valid on your arrival date). You won't need an Oyster, then.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

David J Bush wrote:
There is an excellent map of the Underground available online. I can
change to the District line at Acton Town, Hammersmith, Baron's Court,
or Earl's Court.

Change from the eastbound Piccadilly to the eastbound District at
Barons Court. It has the narrowest platforms, the least amount of
platform furniture to impede your luggage, and is much quieter than
Hammersmith. It is also the last cross-platform interchange between the
District and the Piccadilly; Earl's Court requires the use of an
escalator or the lifts.

I have to be sure to get on a train bound for Edgware Road.

You can't get Edgware Road trains at Barons Court. Take the first
eastbound District Line train that turns up at Barons Court and change
at Earl's Court. Edgware Road trains generally arrive at the station on
platform 2, and usually run every 8 minutes.

Then I change again at Notting Hill gate to the Central line, and
get off at Queensway, which is closest to the Byron on Queensborough
Terrace. Or, if I'm feeling adventurous, I could just take the Piccadilly
line all the way to Holborn, then back west to Queensway.

Notting Hill Gate is a rough interchange for heavy luggage; it has lots
of stairs and long passageways. You might want to consider staying on
the train to Bayswater and disembarking there - Bayswater is literally
down the road from Queensway, and likely to be just as close or only
slightly further from your hotel.

Taking the Piccadilly any further than Earl's Court is a Bad Idea, as
the lack of step-free access along the route would only prolong your
journey as you drag your stuff around.


Luggage next to the door? Okay if you say so- I was just worried about
leaving my luggage unattended, with all the security concerns these days.

Just sit on the other side of the glass - luggage on one side, you on
the other.

snip


Having spent many hours playing the "Aldwych" level in Tomb Raider 3,
I was a little disappointed to not find it on the map. But I hear it still
exists and is being used as a movie set, is that right?

It is still present, but not used very much for filming these days.
Charing Cross Jubilee tends to be used more often these days for
filming.

In message of Thu, 20 Apr
2006 07:43:19 in uk.transport.london, David J Bush
writes
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:14:20 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht
wrote:

|You should be fine. There are usually enough people around for you to
|feel safe, and few enough so you should be able to sit.
|
|Piccadilly Line Tube trains have more space for luggage beside the doors
|than other tube trains, so keeping your case between your feet may not
|be a good idea.
|
|Try very hard to get a Pay-As-You-Go Oyster card (which you can always
|give to a friend who visits London) before you arrive, as the fares can
|be *much* cheaper that way. (Though you can order online, I thing
|foreign credit cards may be a problem.)
|
|Where will your hotel be?

There is an excellent map of the Underground available online. I can
change to the District line at Acton Town, Hammersmith, Baron's Court,
or Earl's Court. I have to be sure to get on a train bound for Edgware
Road. Then I change again at Notting Hill gate to the Central line, and
get off at Queensway, which is closest to the Byron on Queensborough
Terrace. Or, if I'm feeling adventurous, I could just take the Piccadilly
line all the way to Holborn, then back west to Queensway.

I would not advise using the map to choose such a route. The critical
thing with complicated journeys is the interchanges. The journey planner
may be better and can be found at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en
The post code (precise zip code) - W2 3SH - is a better locator for that
software than anything to do with byron.


Luggage next to the door? Okay if you say so- I was just worried about
leaving my luggage unattended, with all the security concerns these days.

If it is within sight and sound, I would argue it is not unattended.
We have had about 30 years of terrorism and rarely bother about it.


An Oyster card sounds like an excellent idea. But I already bought a
"London Pass" which provides free use throughout zones 1-6 plus access
to a bunch of touristy stuff. I'll probably have to scramble around like
a madman to get my money's worth on that.

I found it at http://www.londonpass.com/. The "with transport" options
look expensive at first sight. However, the simplification may make it
worth while.


Having spent many hours playing the "Aldwych" level in Tomb Raider 3,
I was a little disappointed to not find it on the map. But I hear it still
exists and is being used as a movie set, is that right?

It has been so used. You can find the derelict-looking entrance on the
north side of the Strand just east of Waterloo Bridge. Doubtless,
someone else can be more precise about that.


Thanks very much!
London has many sorts of people including friendly, unfriendly and busy.
--
Walter Briscoe

In message , David J Bush
writes

There is an excellent map of the Underground available online. I can
change to the District line at Acton Town, Hammersmith, Baron's Court,
or Earl's Court. I have to be sure to get on a train bound for Edgware
Road.

The only place to change directly to an Edgware Road service is Earls
Court, which involves an escalator (or possibly a lift/elevator).

With luggage you may find it easier to change to the District at
Hammersmith or Barons Court - these are both very simple cross-platform
interchanges. You would then need to change again at Earls Court, but
that is another simple cross-platform interchange between the District
line services.

Then I change again at Notting Hill gate to the Central line, and
get off at Queensway, which is closest to the Byron on Queensborough
Terrace.

You could avoid that by getting off the Edgware Road service at
Bayswater and walking from there - although it doesn't look like it on
the tube diagram, it is actually only about 200 yards from Queensway:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.sr...archp=newsearc
h.srf&mapp=newmap.srf

Bear in mind that you are arriving late - if there is any delay
collecting baggage and you don't get to Edgware Road before midnight,
you are likely to miss the last Edgware Road service. If there is a
danger of that happening, you would probably do best to stay on the
Piccadilly line to either Knightsbridge or Hyde Park Corner and then get
a short taxi ride direct to the hotel.

--
Paul Terry

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 07:43:19 -0400, David J Bush wrote:

An Oyster card sounds like an excellent idea. But I already bought a
"London Pass" which provides free use throughout zones 1-6 plus access
to a bunch of touristy stuff. I'll probably have to scramble around like
a madman to get my money's worth on that.

That's exactly what we thought when we reviewed it. We will instead be
going for paper ODTCs and paying for each attraction. Much more relaxing.
And PAYG is not suited for tourists who don't know the area when travel
might include national rail services.

--
jhk
Kristiansand, Norway