I am going to be in London for a few days. My brother will be visiting with his girlfriend up in Leeds, and I would like to be able to get up there for a day to visit. I am hoping to be able to take a late train Sunday night, spend the night there and take a night train back that following evening, and then stay the night at a hotel near LHR. My flight out is pretty late in teh day, so I could conceivably train up in the morning and come back the following morning. The problem I am finding is that I have to figure out how to get from LHR to Kings Cross to then take a train from there, carrying luggage, on the tube. Is their an easier way to do this? Do they have any better options out of LHR?

You could fly to Leeds/Bradford & back

www.lbia.co.uk

Other options are to leave your luggage at either a train station or LHR for around £6.50 per bag per 24 hours and travel north with an overnight bag

www.excess-baggage.com

You could even get a coach from either LHR or central London

www.nationalexpress.co.uk

BTW there are no night trains to/from Leeds

Check out the LHR-Watford Junction railbus - though not sure if Watford is convenient for train to Leeds - could be

www.nationalrail.co.uk for train schedules and in England you never want to just show up and buy a ticket at a station as you could literally spend $100 more

Like i went London to Manchester recently and the walk up one way 2nd class fare was 133 pounds or $260 - one way! Yet on nationalrail.co.uk you can get tickets for a fraction of that or even by buying your tickets the day before. Check out fares and conditions on that site IMO

Perhaps National Express buses from LHR would be better as you may not have to go into London then

leeds/bradford is a bit out of the way. But you could fly to Manchester then get the train to Leeds. Manchester airport has a train station .

If you have not prebooked your train ticket the cost won't be much different and the time will not be much different either.

sashh

Just as a guide for the OP and others, can you clarify why Leeds/Bradford airport is a bit out of the way for going to Leeds but Manchester airport isn't?

Sorry

yes Leeds Bradford airport is at Yeadon, about 10 miles from Leeds. It doesn't have a station.

Manchester is further away but has a direct rail connection to leeds.

I am making the assumption the OP is using public transport and for Yeadon you really need a car.

SO would it be easier or quicker for me to fly from LHR to Manchester, then take a train to Leeds, or would it be easier to take a train from LHR to Kings Cross, train from Kings cross to Leeds? both look to be simmilar pice wise.

Trains from London to Leeds don't go through Watford.
The trains to Leeds are every half hour and it's one of the best train services in the UK. From Heathrow, it's a simple tube journey to Kings Cross. If you have too much luggage to carry on a tube train, any other route will have complications.

If price is same take the train IMO

end up in Leeds centre and not some remote airport. See the lay of the land, etc.