We purchased an Oyster card and will be using it to get to our hotel in Bayswater - Queensway stop. What is the easiest round using the underground. We will be dealing with schlepping our luggage and are 'seniors!' Thanks, jcg

If you are going to take the tube from Heathrow, the fastest route would be from the airport to Hammersmith, then change to the Central line at Oxford Circus. Problem is, with lots of luggage that may be tough, especially if you are not athletic.

But if you don't want to do too much schlepping and don't want to pay for a mini cab from Heathrow, I would instead get OFF the tube at Oxford Circus, since there's an escalator that will take you from the tube up to near the outside (I think there's only a few steps at the top of the escalator at the exit point), then take a cab from Oxford Circus to your destination.

Forget the Hammersmith part. Picadilly line to Oxford Circus. I screwed up and meant to take that out.

The Picadilly Line doesn't go to Oxford Circus. And it's close to the last place on earth I'd try to get out of with bags to hail a taxi.

Whatever your age, if shlepping bags worries you, the tube in Central London is often iffy because you'll often have to drag them up or down stairs. Personally, I'd ignore your Oyster and get the Heathrow Connect to Paddington. With wheelie cases, it's actually a short, level, walk to Queensway, which few grown ups could possibly find a problem, though some of those couch potato 45 yo's you see these days might struggle.

Otherwise, the ONLY realistic step-free option is tube to Hammersmith: change to an Edgware Rd-bound District Line, and get off at Paddington to take a taxi. DO NOT TAKE THE EASTBOUND CIRCLE OR HAMMERSMITH & CITY LINE. Access to the taxi rank from the eastbound District Line is step-free, though access back to the westbound line, or to the Circle Line, isn't.

The only step-free station on the Picadilly Line in central London is Kings Cross - but a taxi to Queensway is pricier than from Paddington.

Thanks everyone!

I'd just forget your Oyster for that journey. If you were staying someplace along the Piccadilly line or a convenient transfer from the Piccadilly line -- great. But you aren't so any trip involving the tube from LHR to Queensway will be a schlepp and probably a nasty schlepp.

The ONLY two ways I'd consider after an overnight flight w/ luggage would be 1) Heathrow Connect to Paddington and taxi to hotel, or 2) a pre-booked car service from LHR to the front door of your hotel. (Don't take the Heathrow Express - that costs a fortune)

The two options will cost about the same - a car service might be a tad more but would be the easiest w/ the least schlepping by far.

"We purchased an Oyster card"

Pity, as there's at least two of you you could have used the offers on www.daysoutguide.com if you bought a Travelcard from a London train station.

Presumably you bought a London Visitor Oystercard and added money to it. Can anyone confirm if it's possible to get a refund on unused funds on such as they could wander to Paddington to pick up a one day Travelcard for days they want to use the offers - in fact if they do it the day before they could save the cost of the trip

I didn't want to get into the whole "Why did you pre-purchase an Oyster card??" since it is water under the bridge now.

Hopefully you didn't also buy the London Pass . . .

How much luggage and how bad shape are you in? If you have a huge suitcase then go with what the people above said. But why you'd want a huge suitcase is a question you need to ask yourself. Are you going anywhere else besides London on this trip? If so you really should try to do carry on luggage only - a 20 inch wheelie and a smaller day pack or shoulder bag.
And in that case - yes you can do the tube from Heathrow. I'm not a senior but I am a small woman and I carried my fairly heavy 20" wheelie and very large pocketbook up and down plenty of tube station steps and lived to tell.

From Heathrow it's the Picadilly line. If you change at South Kensington you can take either the circle or district lines two stops to Queensway. It's really not that bad and the other options will take longer and cost ten times as much.

"If you change at South Kensington you can take either the circle or district lines two stops to Queensway"

You can't.

The District Line takes you nowhere remotely near (the only District connection from South Ken to Queensway is Mile End which is miles and miles out of the way) - and the Circle Line (accessible at South Ken only via steps) makes you change again at Notting Hill. A change which also requires steps.

"Seniors" can cover anything from Mick&Keith style litheness to bedridden. But the poster doesn't want to shlep: and anything involving the District Line involves shlepping way beyond reasonableness.

From London Heathrow you can catch the Heathrow Connect Service to Ealing Broadway then there is step free access to the Central Line. Special fares apply to Heathrow Connect and One Day Travel Cards cannot be used between Hayes + Harlington and Heathrow Terminals

A cheaper option is the Piccadilly Line to Earls Court which has step free access then catch an Eastbound District Line towards Edgware Road alighting at Bayswater.

The Visitor Oyster cards you will pay a non refundable charge for and YOU CANT load weekly or longer season tickets. The standard oyster card has a £3 refundable deposit which can be returned at any London Underground Ticket Office that is open

Avoid Paper Single Tickets on London Underground/DLR/Buses as you will be paying over the odds.

A Day Travelcard is the same price as the capping rate on Oyster Cards + you avoid being charged upto £6 per journey for not using the Oyster Card properly.

A link has been added for tube maps which clearly shows that the District Line (Green Line) stops at Bayswater.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...t-tube-map.pdf


Map showing National Rail services
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...rvices-map.pdf

Are you sure Queensway station is the closest to your hotel? I stay in that area all the time and for the trip in from LHR, I use the Bayswater stop which is actually closer to my hotel on Inverness Terrace. It's far easier to get to Bayswater from Heathrow than to Queensway....Picadilly line train to Hammersmith, an easyh across the platform change to a District line train to Earl's Court and then an across the platform switch to the District line train bound for Edgeware Road. Bayswater is the third stop.(High Street Kensington, Notting Hill Gate and then Bayswater) Bayswater station does have one flight of stairs to reach the booking hall but it isn't that bad. It's also not really all that crowded a station so you can take your time. OTOH as noted to get to Queensway station, you have to make an addition change at Notting Hill Gate on the Edgesware Road train to the Central line and the Central line is a far deeper line and more walking and then at Queensway you still have a short stairway up and then a lift and that lift gets quite crowded quite frankly and is a real pain (not that it's undoable).

When all is said and done the trip from Picadilly to Bayswater sation takes between 45 minutes and an hour and the two across the platform changes are very easy...you can cut it down to one change namely by taking the Picadilly line to Earls Court itself but then you have a fairly short stairwell up and then an escalator tyo the district line level where yo make the change to the Edgeware Road train.

I don't want to get deeply involved in the whole discussion of the 2 for 1's or whether it was wise to get the oyster card in advance but I do have to bring up one point. Did you get the version of the visitor's oyster card with a set amount (pay as you go) or the seven day zone 1 & 2...if it's the second, you will still need some money tacked on for an extension fare (or worse case you bought a 7 day zone 1-6, ouch far too much but again it's water under the bridge). If it's pay as you go, and you do further research on these 2 for 1 offers, you can still on any day you want to do a 2 for 1 or the day before pop into a main line station and purchase a 1 day travelcard for the day you want to do a 2 for 1. Details on this are scattered throughout the board.

Hope I was helpful. I, unlike others am not a nay sayer about using the tube in from LHR to this area. I do it all the time and it really isn't all that bad as long as you can cope with the luggage and short stairways.

According to the tube map I picked up last week you can change from the Picadilly line to the Central or District lines at South Kensington (also at Gloucester Road). I did not do that this trip as I didn't stay in Bayswater/Queensway area. But I have stayed there on previous trips and done that connection. I did mistake the Queenswater stop, that would require another change. I was thinking of of the Bayswater stop, which is the one I always used when staying in that area. There are steps involved but they are not bad if you have a managable amount of luggage. And the train taxi connections cost ten times what the tube does and are not faster.

isabel: "<i>According to the tube map I picked up last week you can change from the Picadilly line to the Central or District lines at South Kensington</i>"

Yes you can, but not for this journey. You cannot take the District line from S Kens to Notting Hill Gate/Bayswater. Look at that map again. The eastbound District line through S. Kens does not go up to Bayswater.

The <u>Circle</u> line (which is what I assume you meant, not Central) does connect S Kens w/ Notting Hill Gate - but w/ difficult steps at S kens and more steps at Notting Hill Gate. And then another schlepp either to the Central line or or several blocks walk on the surface (depending on exactly where the OP is staying).

All-in-all there is no easy way to get to Bayswater from LHR by tube after an overnight flight.

A car service would be easiest by far. Worth the extra ££ for that journey IMO

isabel...granted you now understand you are describing the trip to Bayswater.....if you do the South Kensington switch. there are stairs at the end of the switch from the level where the lifts are down to the district/circle line tracks. But the district line is a very complicated line and the branch you need for Bayswater, is the branch that runs from Wimbleton to Edgeware Road and does not stop at South Kensington. You would use only the Circle line train there.

Earls Court is the transfer point from Picadilly to District line Edgeware Road. I did the South Kensington thing during a time Earls Court station's connection to Picadilly was under repair.

I still advocate the double switch, both simply across tyhe platform as being easier namely to switch from Picadilly to District line at either Hammersmith or Barons Court then the across the platform switch at Earls Court for the Edgeware Road train (Earls Court is a typical four track station with two island platforms...the district line train from Hammersmith comes in against the wall..the Edgeware Road train is one of several that comes into the station on the middle track there. You have to watch the signs and there usually are announcements. The stairway at Bayswater would be towards the front of the train when you get off. One big complaint I have about London Underground is the signs inside the train are not easy to see telling you the final destination of the ttrain unlike the NYC subway.

As long as you can handle your baggage, time wise it's not all that much longer than Heathrow Express as if you do the Heathrow Express and pay the £14, you first either need a cab (Paddington isn't all that far from Bayswater so the cab won't be too expensive) or the tube anyway with the same situation at Bayswater station except you're coming from the opposite direction and it still remains by far the cheapest way to get from LHR to thiks area.

janisj...not to be argumentative with you....Picadilly to Bayswater is not a difficult trip if, as I noted, yuu're gong to Bayswater station...yes two changes but they're both just across the platform and oftentimes the District line train arrives at Hammersmith simultaneously with the Picadilly line train. I'm very familiar with this particular trip; I've done it countless times and never felt stressed or had any difficulty with luggage at either end. Heathrow's stations all have escalators (although I will admit the walk from Terminal 3 to the Underground station is a tad long but you do have moving platforms) and as I said, there are stairs at Bayswater but only about one flight's worth..I think there are 26 steps or something like that.

Is car service better? Sure but with only 2, you're talking a possible savings of 15 quid...enough for a nice dinner in London.

I would agree that getting to Queensway station is not easy so what it comes down to is just where the hotel is and how far it is from Bayswater or Queensway. If it's the hotel I'm thinking of on Bayswater Road (I thnk it just became a Hilton but don't hold me to that), the hotel is just around the corner from Queensway and 3 blocks from Bayswater. If it's one of the b&b places in the area, it might be between the two, the stations are very close, or even closer to Bayswater station. If I knew the exact location of the hotel, I could give better advice as that is one area of London I know very well since I always stay there.

I can almost guarantee that if it looks like you're struggling with your luggage, some very nice person(s) will step in to assist with carrying a bag to the top of the stairs. That's not to say you shouldnt follow the great advice for the Underground route--just don't panic in advance about lugging stuff up the stairs.

Ah ha...I figured out the confusion some have. Bayswater station is located along a street called Queensway....the station is adjacent to a Barclay's Bank branch with a bunch of ATM's, just across Queensway there (use the zebra crossing; the cars actually stop for you in London) is a Carphone Warehouse to pick up your mobile phone or sim card, a Tesco (a small one) for refreshments, a subway shop for a sandwich, both a Burger King and a Mickey D and resturants of all types.

Queensway station is at the corner of Queensway (where it actually starts) and Bayswater Road...Bayswater Road is the continuation of Oxford Street as it heads out to the west.

jcg--If you are still trying to decide, here's my two cents:

A couple years ago we took the tube from Heathrow very easily, with pretty big rolling suitcases, BUT our B&B was near a Picadilly line station so we had NO line transfers. (We're pretty fit mid-50's folks, but not at our most alert or most spry after the all-night flights!)

This past summer we had a B&B near Queensway/Inverness Terrace in the Bayswater area. Because using the tube would have involved line transfers, we chose to book a car service; we used Justairports and it was worth every penny/pence. And we found the Bayswater stop to be closer and easier to use than Queensway for all our London travel. (The only time we used Queensway we arrived at the end of a long day to find the elevator (? I think) out of service so we had to climb many many spiral staircase steps. Didn't go back through that station any more.)

So IMHO the money saved by traveling the tube from Heathrow to the Bayswater area, whatever way you get there, is not worth the hassle. Book a car and rest a bit.

So...the bottom line..Bayswater station isn't bad (re-reading the OP I think that's the station the OP wants...it's called Bayswater station and is on Queensway)...Queensway as noted can be a real pain in the butt both because of the extra non across the platform change but on the possibility of having to walk up something like 157 steps if the lifts are not working!