Can anyone advise me which station is better to change... Hammersmith or Earls Court from Heathrow to High Street Kensington. We will arrive at Term.3.Thx

If you change at Hammersmith, which is an across the platform transfer to a District line train you then have to change again at Earls Court to an Edgeware Road train or a High Street Kensington train which would also be an across the platform or same platform change...

If you stay on the Picadilly line to Earls Court, it's up a short flight of stairs to an escalator off the escalator and another short flight of stairs and then waiting for either the Edgeware Rd. train or the train bound for High Street Kensington.

Which is better is a matter of preference....unless you see the District line train on the next track as the train is approaching Hammersmith in terms of pure time it's probably better to go to Earls Court. But if you have baggage you might find it more convenient to change at Hammersmith.

If you don't have a whole lot of luggage, you can also ride the Piccadilly to Knightsbridge and take the bus back to HSK. No Tube changes.

The #9 and 10 ply that route. Here's a map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/spiders/...ghtsbridge.pdf

I realize Robespierre seems to have a love affair going on with the buses in London as he recommends them frequently , but I would not recomment taking luggage on a crowded bus (and most of the time they are pretty crowded). I also do not recommend dragging luggage up and down stairs but that is just my opinion. If you must ride the tube change at Hammersmith.

We haven't used the Tube for the last three trips and got along fine. The buses are equipped with baggage racks by the front door, and I see locals with luggage going to and fro on almost every bus.

The people who designed the Underground took this fact into consideration also, and many stations have elevators/lifts in addition to escalators. Gloucester Road is the nearest such Piccadilly Line station to HSK, and the #49 bus serves both stops.

You can find out which ones have elevators by clicking on a station name at

http://www.journeyplanner.org/im/SI-T.html

It's going to be a change at Hammersmith AND Earls Court.

Please book a car service, you won't regret it.

m_kingdom:

That may or may not be true....the op didn't mention how many are travelling and what her future plans are..

Example...if I spend 5 or more days in London, I always buy a 7 day zone 1 & 2 travelcard (used to be able to just get a zone 1 but I've run all the math and this is the best way)...with the new oyster card set up the add on for Heathrow is £1 outside the peak hours of 7 AM to I believe 7 PM...£1.80 otherwise...my hotel is usually near Bayswater station...I can handle my one bag on wheels along with an attache case and a fairly small flight bag...I don't find using the tube to be all that bad and it saves me quite a bit of money...no it's not the end of the world to spend the money but with London traffic the trip in on the tube can save much more time than car service (I said can)...if one can handle their baggage reasonably well the tube is not all that bad...after all you are getting on at the first stop so are guaranteed a seat and the cars used on the Picadilly line do have room for baggage.

Now if loaded down with baggage, that might be a different story.

And also a lot of it depends on where you're going and how many changes are involved. I might not feel the same way if I were going to Marble Arch or I might follow Robespierre's advice and take a bus.

Incidentally, Robespierre, if you wish to take a bus to High Street Kensington, perhaps the #70 bus from South Kensington station is a better idea as that bus starts there so you are almost assured of getting a seat and it doesn't seem to be as heavily a used route as are the #9 or the #10. (you can also use this bus to get to Notting Hill Gate and Bayswater stations which lie along its route.

That's true - being first on the #70 practically guarantees a seat. But it's only three stops from Gloucester Road to HSK, so I think I'd opt for the elevator and risk standing for a few minutes.

By the way, the way we do Heathrow to Marble Arch is to use the bus between MA and Hyde Park Corner. There are <i>eleven</i> bus routes that connect the two, three of which stop around the corner from the Thistle, on Portman Street.

&quot;The people who designed the Underground took this fact into consideration also, and many stations have elevators/lifts in addition to escalators&quot;

No they didn't. If there's an elevator it's because they weren't able to put in an escalator. It's only recently that some of the lines (Jubilee, Docklands) were BUILT to be luggage &amp; wheelchair friendly

http://map.tfl.gov.uk/tube/downloads...cess_tube1.pdf

Bottom line: elevators are available in many stations.

Oh my......so much information; tube, train, express, oyster card, travel card, I'm overwhelmed. We are scheduled to landing at Heathrow at 10:30 PM and our hotel is in the South Kensington area. What would be the best way to get there at that time of night. We have 6 days in London and will be seeing all the usual sights. We plan on venturing out of the city one or two days during our stay.

If you are landing at 2230 you won't get to your hotel until well after midnight. I'd just book a car service. At that time of night the traffic won't be an issue and a car service will pick you up at arrivals and drop you right at the hotel. No schlepping luggage on the tube or dragging it down the street (or several blocks) to the hotel.

I take public transport all the time and usually take the tube in from LHR. But at that time of night I'd prefer a car service.

Oh - just to clarify. My recommendation is to book a car service over taking the tube at that time of night.

My 2nd choice would be the HEX and then a cab from Paddington. But actually a car service would be a tad cheaper.

Wow, things are different now. If you land on time at 10:30 PM, it could easily be 11:30 or later after you clear customs, claim luggage, and get to the tube. How many of you are there? How safe do you feel on a &quot;deserted&quot; tube platform around midnight waiting to change trains?
Meanwhile, if not mistaken the last trains from Earl's Court to Kensington High Street during the week end before midnight, so you may get stranded anyway.
Night busses would not be too crowded for luggage and may be your best bet.
I'd rethink a car service considering the time. Just Airports will get you there for around 25 pounds.

My post was interupted by a phone call and I see Janis has pretty well said what I'd suggest.

Justairports.com can be priced and booked online.

If you acquire an Oyster Card at Heathrow and load a 7-day, 2-zone travelcard on it for your week's transportation, your fare to and from Heathrow will be a &pound;1 supplement.

Getting to South Kensington doesn't always require tube changes. The Piccadilly Line goes straight to Gloucester Road station (38 minutes enroutd), a stone's throw from S.Ken.

If your hotel is on this map, you can get there easily - even if you have to hail a cab from the Tube station.

http://www.journeyplanner.org/Downlo...d.pdf#page%3d2

There are also many bus routes from Gloucester Road station:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/spiders/...ester-road.pdf

Before anybody bursts a blood vessel - I am not <u>recommending</u> this method over any other; I merely <u>offer</u> it as an alternative to throwing money at a shuttle or taxi company. If you don't care how much the ride costs, by all means go for the luxury.

From my point of view, any mode of transport rents a moving seat for you to sit in for an hour, more or less. The difference in cost is what happens after you get up from it. I'm a big boy, and I can easily manage anything London presents at the end of a Tube ride.

If you go to the Journey Planner of the London Transport site, and enter Heathrow to Kensington High Street departing at 11:30 PM, you won't get any alternatives strictly by tube -- you'll need to change to a bus. Of course, the time I've provided is only a guess, but a pretty logical one.
Of course you can print out all the options for several time frames and carry it with you using the one which most closely matches your departure time from Heathrow, although I've learned that night bus schedules must be taken with a HUGE grain of salt.