I'm going to London this weekend & have just read on the British airways site that the tube station at terminal 4 is closed until September 2006 & that's where I'm arriving & leaving from. I believe there's a free bus that runs to Hatton Cross station does anyone know if this is the best solution, or would it be better to take the shuttle bus to another terminal & get the tube from there.

The shuttle bus to Hatton Cross is the best solution if using the tube into central London and your baggage is manageable.

Thanks xyz123, I always stay in Piccadilly mainly bcoz I like the fact that I get on the tube at Heathrow & in 50 minutes be in my hotel room, so I was quite disappointed to see that the terminal 4 station was closed. I only have a trolley so getting the shuttle bus won't be a problem. I suppose there will be info at the terminal about where I have to go for the shuttle bus.

There is a train between Heathrow and Paddington called the Heathrow Express that makes stops at both terminals (1-2-3 and 4), and <b>anyone can use it for FREE between terminals</b> in either direction.

<i>p.s.</i> Some weekends when maintenance on the Piccadilly Line interrupts service to London, a Transport for London Travelcard can be used on the Heathrow Express.

Check <b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/travelinfo/picc-dis-weekend-closure.asp</b> for information.

Taking the shuttle bus to the tube station is no problem. The station has been closed for some time and every day hundreds of people manage the transfer to Hatton Cross w/o any problems. (And taking the HEX to Paddington doesn't make much sense since you'd still have to get to Picadilly)

Oops - ignore that last. I was thinking Robes was recommending taking the HEX all the way into town.

I recommend using the HX to travel between terminals if the Piccadilly is in operation, or the HX to Paddington if the Piccadilly is down.

Clark55: I was just in London 2 weeks ago. What you read on the British Airways site is a new tube line that will service only Heathrow Terminal 4 and isn't opening until September 2006. In the meantime, I took the exiting tube line (blue) that stopped in Terminals 1-2-3, with access to 4 and that worked just fine. My fare from central London (Earls Court) was just 2,10 L (pounds) for the one-way trip to the airport.

Likewise, coming into Heathrow, there is still the convenient Heathrow Express at 4 L (pounds)and it goes directly into Paddington Station.

The single Underground fare to zone 1 is &pound;3.80, but if you buy a Day Travelcard, you get unlimited travel in all six zones for &pound;6.

Heathrow Express to Paddington is &pound;14.

Huitres, the way you write &pound; is <b>&amp;pound;</b> (note the ending semicolon).

Bcoz the HX is every 15 minutes, &amp; knowing my luck when I get there one will have just left I think I'll go with the Hatton Cross solution. Can I get the tube ticket at Heathrow or do I have to get it at Hatton Cross?

Are you really, really <i>consistently</i> that unlucky? If so, I'll pay your expenses for a trip to Las Vegas with me!

Buy your Tube ticket at LHR - you may be asked for it to board the bus (although I doubt it).

Taking the Heathrow Express between Terminal 4 and Terminals 1,2&amp;3 indeed is free and is an alternative to the shuttle bus...don't think it's necessarily faster as there is a rather long walk from the Heathrow Express station to terminal 1,2,3 underground stop...you get on the bus right in front of the terminal and are deposited right in front of Hatton Cross staton in about 5 minutes; now of course if you make a train just before it is leaving and just miss the shuttle bus one would seem faster than the other....the hex is not any better or worse than the shuttle bus...it's really 6 of one and half a dozen of the other I suppose.

Thanks for the corrections Robespierre in regards to the correct fare and how to make the pound symbol (doesn't seem to work on my computer!), also I didn't have my Heathrow Express receipt in front of me, as I had turned it in for company reimbursement along with my other travel expenses.

All said, I think getting to/from London Heathrow into town is quite efficient and painless. If you miss one HE, there is always another soon after. Clark55, you will have to tell us how you managed this coming weekend in London. Cheers!

To make the &pound; sign on a windows computer, press the alt key and on the numeric keypad while holding down the alt key press 156 and voila &pound;..

If you want the &euro; sign, alt key + 0128 on numeric keypad

Alt 155 gives you the ¢ sign for US cents

Then again alt 157 gives you &yen; if you are heading to Japan

xyz123.

Talk about synchronicity. I've just installed a new wireles keyboard, and CANNOT get the &euro; key to work in Word. So I pop over here to vent my frustration. And up you pop with an answer. Not THE answer, of course: Mr Gates is keeping that very secret.

But you've saved some poor &quot;is Paris worth it?&quot; or &quot;can I wear jeans to a pub?&quot; poster a fully fledged FlannerRant. And helped drop my systolic by a full 20 points.

So there's your good deed for the day.

<b><font color="BLUE">DO NOT</font></b> use keyboard shortcuts to make special symbols (like the Alt-numeric trick), either on a Wintel or Mac machine. They won't work with every browser, so some people will get gobbldygook. The ampersand strings are an HTML convention recognized by all browsers:

&pound; &amp;pound;
&euro; &amp;euro;
&yen; &amp;yen;
&cent; &amp;cent;

..but they work on this message board with windows computers.

And your point is....?

Incidentally back on topic...for the most part the Heathrow Express, while certainly much more comfortable than the tube, doesn't save you as much time as you think unless you are staying in the Paddington area...and the question of course is saving 20 minutes or thereabouts worth a difference that can be as much as 11 quid or thereabouts when you factor in the availability of the 1 day pass for use after arriving in central London....

I take the tube all the time in from Heathrow and since I am getting on the train at the first station, can almost guarantee getting a seat and the cars do have room for luggage.

It's far from the worst way into town for the money and while I know some people have an aversion to urban mass transit, depending on location it can be the most efficient way into town.