loriandrews3447

To avoid congestion of driving in busy traffic we were originally thinking of taking an express train from Heathrow Airport to Bath which ends up costing £85 pp then renting car hire in Bath. Wondering if anyone has ever ventured from Heathrow to Bath via car to give me an idea if it's congested driving around Heathrow airport? If it's not too crazy busy we are considering renting car hire from Heathrow and driving to Bath. Appreciate the feedback.

PatrickLondon

Heathrow Express goes into London Paddington, from where you would get the train to Bath. Instead you can get the RailAir coach to Reading to pick up the same train there. That will probably be cheaper:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-informati...ctions/railair
Or you can get a National Express coach from Heathrow to Bath, which might take longer but should be cheaper still.

The one thing a lot of people may say is PLEASE don't drive straight off a longhaul flight. The other options are much less stressful for you - and possibly other drivers.

janisj

As Patrick saya -- do NOT drive to Bath. And there is no express train to Bath --first a train in to London Paddington then train to Bath or a bus to Reading and a train to Bath.

Neither is as good or as easy as just taking the direct coach from LHR to Bath. Get on the bus at LHR and get off i central Bath

loriandrews3447

Patrick and Janis, Thank you for your reply. This helps! On paper it looks doable to drive, but as you stated these other options are going to be less stressful on tired drivers. Appreciate the quick response. Lori

janisj

Only do this IF you plan on a night or two in Bath -- traveling to Bath and then picking up a car there to drive elsewhere the same day isn't a good idea. (The driving out of LHR is usually easier than driving in Bath city but don't do either on your arrival day)

loriandrews3447

Thank you Janis. We will be in Bath 2 nights.

janisj

Great. I’d take the coach to Bath and pick up the rental on your way out of town on day 3

ChgoGal

Hi, loriandrews3447 . Smart decision NOT to drive upon landing. I did this once on my 2nd trip to England, and never, ever again in the dozen trips after. And you'll have freed the designated driver from the stress and hours of anxiety over driving in a new country right after a tiring flight. It's a much nicer and, more importantly, safer way to begin your hard-earned vacation.

Just a tip: the border control into England can sometimes be slow. It usually is for my arrivals from Chicago between 7:30-9:00 a.m. So I recommend after disembarking from the plane, take the time to freshen up in the washroom BEFORE getting in line. Brush your teeth, put contacts in, refresh makeup, etc. I resist the urge to make a mad dash for the border control line, because you'll likely be waiting. Then get your cash from the airport atm, grab a coffee, and then do the longish walk to the LHR rail station, or the closer Heathrow Central Bus Station. I also mention it so you don't book a non-flexible ticket, or a ticket that is too ambition after your posted arrival time. If you land at 9 am, I wouldn't want to book a ticket before 11:15. Ex: the plane may land at 9:15, walk a long terminal to a bathroom (+10 min), freshen up (+10), get in line for border control (+15-45), baggage claim (+5-15), locate ATM (+5), get b'fast/coffee (+10), locate LHR bus/rail station (+10-20), add even more time if you need to buy an Oyster card/tickets.

Envious of your trip! Have fun planning! (And if you can use public transportation, do it. You can use https://www.traveline.info/ as a trip planner. Often, it's not as complete as you expect, but you'll find which rail/coach companies operate in between the destinations, and you go there to flesh out the details and check timetables.)

loriandrews3447

Thank you again for the feedback. We took Patrick & JanisJ advice and booked 11:50am National Express Bus from Heathrow to Bath for our trip in May. Our plane was originally landing at 8:35am now it's been changed to 9am at Terminal 2. That may be tight to catch the 11:50 bus. We were given the tip to go through the e-Passport line to speed up getting through the customs lines. If we do miss our bus we will have to take the train with the info I read here I'm sure we can figure it out. Thank you for the links Patrick and ChgoGal!

PatrickLondon

There's an option with National Express to pay a bit extra and have the flexibility of taking a later coach if necessary.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/flexible-travel

balthy

There’s no way that’s tight. You have loads of time to get an 1150 bus from Heathrow Central bus station if your flight gets in at 0900. That’s a lot of time. Many transatlantic flights get in earlier than scheduled time. Terminal 2 is an easy but longish walk to the central bus station. If you’re too early, there is a waiting room and Costa Coffee. There’d have to be a serious delay (which can happen of course) to miss that bus.

There are no customs lines. Customs is customs ie checking what you’ve brought into the country. You just pass through nothing to declare channel (assuming you’ve nothing to declare), rarely does anyone get stopped.

E gates are for checking your passport ie immigration. Those lines can get very long esp during early morning but even so, it’s nothing like anything I’ve experienced at immigration and customs lines in the US. It’s possible you might need an hour to get through immigration at peak time but your suitcases will/should be waiting for you by that time.

janisj

I agree with both Patrick and Balthy -- I'd pay the supplement to get flexible coach times, AND many TATL flights land early (I think the airlines build in 'wiggle room' to polish their on-time performance stats). I fly Trans Atlantic at least 2 or 3 times a year and more often than not land at LHR 15-30 minutes early. Plus the covid requirements for entering the UK have loosened up (disappeared really) and hopefully that will still be the case in May. Unless your flight is late or your luggage is delayed you 'should' be able to make the original coach time.

janisj

ps: It would help a lot if you travel carry-on-only. One snag at LHR is inadequate ground staffing which can delay bags being delivered to the carousels.

loriandrews3447

All good information here! Thank you for the tips! I think I've read too many blogs that mentioned giving yourself at least 3 hours before catching a train or bus. But now after reading your responses I can breath easier knowing we should be just fine. I really need to think about doing a carry on! Have tried that in the past and failed miserably but maybe I should try harder and pack less! LOL

janisj

" . . . maybe I should try harder and pack less! LOL"

You can do it!

I've read horror stories on FlyerTalk about luggage delays -- and sometimes even arriving passengers being told to go home because all luggage can't be deplaned timely and it will be delivered to one's home or hotel within 2 or 3 days. This has mostly been at Terminal 5 which is primarily BA and some AA long haul. Hasn't happened every day but seems once or twice a week at least

loriandrews3447

Janisj: You've convinced me! I don't need checked luggage issues! Thank you for the encouragement as I'm definitely going to do a carry-on now! Appreciate the kind words!

Southam

Also, do not drive IN Bath. The tight streets are congested and parking is a challenge. Visitors from the region park in designated lots on the periphery and take a shuttle coach into the centre.

loriandrews3447

Thank you! We are not renting a car until we leave Bath. From everything I read it seems to be a walkable city. Good advice on the shuttle too!