England in October 2021
May 17th, 2021, 09:20 AM
#23
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Not really! When I lived that way my PA used to sort it all out for me! Now in London I tend to use https://www.heathrow.com/arrivals for most things like parking and transfers. They have a link to their approved approved cab company there. it may not be the cheapest but will be reliable.
May 17th, 2021, 09:52 AM
#24
Currently the going rate seems to run between £120 and £130-ish for all the regular car services between LHR and Birmingham. Though you might be able to find one around £100-ish
The National Express Coach costs between £25 and £60 pp. Most are in the £50 to £60 range. The cheaper coaches go into central London and you change at Victoria Coach Station. The more expensive schedules are direct from LHR to B'ham.
So as you can see a car service doesn't really cost much if any more than a coach. Big advantage is the driver meets you at Arrivals and it is door-to-door w/o having to schelpp from Birmingham coach station to your final destination.
The National Express Coach costs between £25 and £60 pp. Most are in the £50 to £60 range. The cheaper coaches go into central London and you change at Victoria Coach Station. The more expensive schedules are direct from LHR to B'ham.
So as you can see a car service doesn't really cost much if any more than a coach. Big advantage is the driver meets you at Arrivals and it is door-to-door w/o having to schelpp from Birmingham coach station to your final destination.
May 18th, 2021, 10:14 AM
#26
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The bus/coach is simply a non-starter. Direct services fro LHR will cost about the same as a car but with none of the convenience. Add on the time spent hanging around for a bus to leave and the taxi from Digbeth Bus Station to your hotel and you can easily add a hour onto your travel time for no cost benefit.
IMO the car transfer is the least painful option but, if you are not fixed on your proposed itinerary, others could be;
1. On arrival get the tube or car into London, spend the night in a hotel near Euston, get over jet lag and get the train to Birmningham next morning. Continue with your original itinerary.
2. Move London to the start, spend your five days there and then train from Waterloo to Salisbury to Bristol to Birmingham. At the end I would be inclined to either get a car to LHR and spend the night in a hotel there or train and spend a further night in central London before heading to the airport (depending upon your flight timings etc.
IMO the car transfer is the least painful option but, if you are not fixed on your proposed itinerary, others could be;
1. On arrival get the tube or car into London, spend the night in a hotel near Euston, get over jet lag and get the train to Birmningham next morning. Continue with your original itinerary.
2. Move London to the start, spend your five days there and then train from Waterloo to Salisbury to Bristol to Birmingham. At the end I would be inclined to either get a car to LHR and spend the night in a hotel there or train and spend a further night in central London before heading to the airport (depending upon your flight timings etc.
May 19th, 2021, 04:56 AM
#27
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I'd not been thinking that there were two of you. I'm so used to solo travel, that I don't consider car service as that's always more expensive for me, but crellston is right. So long as you book a reputable car service at a "safe" time, there shouldn't be an issue. Flights from Chicago on AA/BA have generally been on time for me (arrival within 1 hr of scheduled time), but once it was 6 hours late. You'll just want to be patient/flexible if things go sideways. The other thing about car service is the time it might take you to go through border control. You might fly through in 20 minutes or crawl through the queue for more than an hour depending on number of flights arriving. But hopefully the car service can advise on that.
As for moving London to the front, I did that twice and didn't like that as much. I prefer to keep the comforts/ease/wonders of London at the end of my vacation, and the more mentally taxing/less interesting/fewer conveniences at the front.
As for moving London to the front, I did that twice and didn't like that as much. I prefer to keep the comforts/ease/wonders of London at the end of my vacation, and the more mentally taxing/less interesting/fewer conveniences at the front.
Jul 25th, 2021, 12:02 AM
#29
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If your flight arrival time allows, you might be able to take a coach bus right from Heathrow's CEntral Bus terminal to Watford Junction railway station, then it's a Virgin train to Birmingham New Street Station. (That seems to be the main station in the city center. I stayed at the Premier Inn New Street, and it was fantastic for convenience. Don't be fooled by Birmingham Int'l. station which is out by the airport.) There's also a direct Megabus from Heathrow Bus Station to Birmingham city center. I think it's the Brunel station/Hill St. stop.
If you want to test/plan your public transportation, you can use Traveline (website below). But you just have to be careful to ensure you're allowing for flexible tickets, in case your flight is late. I like to get off my flight, freshen up in the airport bathroom a bit (put in contacts, brush teeth, etc.), have b'fast, get cash from the Heathrow ATMs, and have a nice cup of coffee before getting on a bus/train to the next destination. I like to try as much travel on that first jet lag day as I can.
https://www.traveline.info/
have fun planning!
If you want to test/plan your public transportation, you can use Traveline (website below). But you just have to be careful to ensure you're allowing for flexible tickets, in case your flight is late. I like to get off my flight, freshen up in the airport bathroom a bit (put in contacts, brush teeth, etc.), have b'fast, get cash from the Heathrow ATMs, and have a nice cup of coffee before getting on a bus/train to the next destination. I like to try as much travel on that first jet lag day as I can.
https://www.traveline.info/
have fun planning!
Another transfer option I think of is
Transport for London rail to Paddington; a short cab ride to Marylebone to catch the Chilterns train to Birmingham. Chiltern trains are slower but also cheaper to reach Birmingham. The ride should be scenic is the Chilterns.
Or, take a coach from Heathrow to High Wycombe rail station , where you can catch the same Chiltern train to Birmingham.
If the above is too much a hassle, flying into Birmingham might be easier, too. I imagine KLM or Air France should still offer viable transit options to Birmingham.
Jul 26th, 2021, 12:02 AM
#30
Hi, EYWandBTV - nice to see that you're going to be visiting the UK again. You've had so much good advice about flights etc I can't add to that, but having spent 3 years in Bristol, if it's going to be your first time there can I put in a plea to you to add another night there? Really too much for only one full day, particularly bearing in mind your interest in Victoriana, as you will doubtless want to see Brunel's SS Great Britain, Temple Meads Station, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the rest of Clifton, as well as the centre of Bristol, the cathedral, take in a performance at the Bristol Old Vic and much more.
I found this slightly dated guide to Victorian Bristol but it should give you a flavour of what awaits you:
As for where to stay I have always preferred to stay up in Clifton at the Avon Gorge Hotel in which case there is a very useful bus goes down into the centre but you might prefer to stay down there - plenty of choice of the standard hotels convenient for the harbour and theatre.
My other tip, this time for Salisbury, is that if you haven't read William Golding's The Spire, you might like to do so. It's allegedly based on the building of Salisbury Cathedral.
Looks like a great trip.
I found this slightly dated guide to Victorian Bristol but it should give you a flavour of what awaits you:
A TRAIL THROUGH VICTORIAN BRISTOL - Brunel 200
http://www.brunel200.com › walking_guides › vi... and https://www.ssgreatbritain.orgAs for where to stay I have always preferred to stay up in Clifton at the Avon Gorge Hotel in which case there is a very useful bus goes down into the centre but you might prefer to stay down there - plenty of choice of the standard hotels convenient for the harbour and theatre.
My other tip, this time for Salisbury, is that if you haven't read William Golding's The Spire, you might like to do so. It's allegedly based on the building of Salisbury Cathedral.
Looks like a great trip.
Last edited by annhig; Jul 26th, 2021 at 12:10 AM.
Jul 26th, 2021, 01:43 AM
#31
Just saw this in the Guardian today. Even if you've already been to Severs' house, this looks fascinating.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/...CMP=GTUK_email
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/...CMP=GTUK_email
Jul 26th, 2021, 09:14 AM
#32
Jul 26th, 2021, 10:54 AM
#33
Thanks, Thursdaysd - what a fascinating article. When I was just starting to appear in the magistrates' courts of London, I often used to frequent shops like that, trying to resist the temptation to spend the fees I had just learnt before I received them. My collection of blue and white china and other such fripperies is testament to how often my resistance failed. How sad that such places barely exist any more.
Jul 26th, 2021, 11:39 PM
#36
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love that area -it gives me a thrill when i walk the streets to think my family lived there in the 1700's.
LOved the articles annhig and ThursdayD
LOved the articles annhig and ThursdayD
Last edited by northie; Jul 26th, 2021 at 11:41 PM.
Jul 27th, 2021, 02:14 AM
#37
<< love that area -it gives me a thrill when i walk the streets to think my family lived there in the 1700's.
LOved the articles annhig and ThursdayD >>
Northie, when I first started working in London, about 45 years ago, I wouldn't have dreamt of going anywhere near Spitalfields unless I had to. When I was occasionally sent to Whitechapel Magistrates' Court I would get in and out of the area as quickly as possible. I suspect that it was a lot more like the Spitalfields that your ancestors knew than the one that people see now or even the one that you explored.
LOved the articles annhig and ThursdayD >>
Northie, when I first started working in London, about 45 years ago, I wouldn't have dreamt of going anywhere near Spitalfields unless I had to. When I was occasionally sent to Whitechapel Magistrates' Court I would get in and out of the area as quickly as possible. I suspect that it was a lot more like the Spitalfields that your ancestors knew than the one that people see now or even the one that you explored.
Jul 27th, 2021, 02:17 AM
#38
ann, about 20 years ago I walked across Leeds from east to west, just as an experiment. The most interesting part was the burning car in the middle of the housing estate and no one was reporting it, no fire engine etc, just part of life. Now a bit more Yuppie in the same area.
Jul 27th, 2021, 04:07 AM
#39
<<ann, about 20 years ago I walked across Leeds from east to west, just as an experiment. The most interesting part was the burning car in the middle of the housing estate and no one was reporting it, no fire engine etc, just part of life. Now a bit more Yuppie in the same area.>>
There were huge changes in London in the 20 or so years I was working there, especially in Camden, Notting Hill and Islington, but East London was distinctly sketchy even in the late 1990s when we left the South East for the South West. Ironically many of the poorest areas of Cornwall are still just as poor now as they were when we moved here whereas many parts of London, even those I would avoided like the plague, have come up in the world quite considerably.
There were huge changes in London in the 20 or so years I was working there, especially in Camden, Notting Hill and Islington, but East London was distinctly sketchy even in the late 1990s when we left the South East for the South West. Ironically many of the poorest areas of Cornwall are still just as poor now as they were when we moved here whereas many parts of London, even those I would avoided like the plague, have come up in the world quite considerably.
Jul 27th, 2021, 07:16 AM
#40
45 years ago I walked through some interesting parts of London with my father who wanted to invest in property. We passed what would become the Mandelson palace https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/...a-6887390.html of historic note and could have bought the whole street for £300k.
Amazing what Maggie and joining the EU did for us.
Amazing what Maggie and joining the EU did for us.
