Heathrow to Nottingham, Lincoln, Hull or York?
 

I've been looking at two Rail websites and cannot figure out how to get from Heathrow to any of these cities: Nottingham, Lincoln, York, Hull.

We are flexibile as to which city (or a nearby city is okay too) but we don't know what day.

Help? Thanks!

The only rail connections to Heathrow are the Express and Connect. Both go to London (Connect makes some stops on the way).

To get to the northeast, you would go in to Paddington Station, cross town by Tube, bus, or taxi, and leave from Kings Cross/St. Pancras.

You can get to KC/SP a lot cheaper (and probably about as fast) on the Tube. The Piccadilly Line is a straight shot.

What Robespierre said. Take the tube to Kings Cross rail station. To Hull, not sure why you would want to go there)takes about 3 hours.

To York, about 2 hours. (my pick)

Lincoln, between 2/3 hours depending on time and train.

And from St. Pancras 2hoirs to Nottingham.

I'm not sure what your difficulty is.

Go to the National Rail website, tell it you want to get from Heathrow to Hull etc and it tells you just what Robespierre told you.

Could it be that you're using some other, quite inadequate, site?

Thanks for your replies. Sorry- I guess I didn't explain myself.

Once landing at LHR, we would like to hop a train to one of those cities to begin our trip. I was confused on the websites because they wanted to know which London station I wanted - that's the part I didn't know.

But I think you all explained it well to me now. I thank you and sorrry for the confusion.

So, what's the reason for the cities mentioned?

What on Gods good Earth makes you want to go to Hull? It is, officially, Britain's crappest town:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3158560.stm

Seriously - it's bloody awful. Nottingham's a hovel too.

I quite like Hull. And as one of the people on the website you mention says Loughborough (where my son had the misfortune to study for a couple years) is a truly crap town.
Hull has the Deep, the Land of Green Ginger, William Wilberforce, a couple of interesting museums and art galleries, Spurn Head, the Bridge and Victoria on a toilet in the middle of the square.
Beverley is not far away and is worth a visit too.

Hull is vile. It's also britain's fattest town.

John Prescott. Say no more.

Isn't Nottingham car crime capital of the UK? Perhaps the OP is looking for a new set of alloys?

It's the gun crime capital of the UK. It's the only place where police officers are routinely armed.

This is a no brainer. Go to York and forget the rest. York is fabulous.

Got some chuckles out of your responses regarding city choices!

Hull: Husband wants to see his mother's grave.

Nottingham: Daughter going to college there.

I mentioned multiple cities because I wasn't sure which was the easiest point to get to.

Thanks all!

Would the Rail Link bus from Heathrow to Watford Junction be of use to some of these destinations? If you have an England railpass it is valid on this air link bus that ties in with a mainline north at Watford Junction.

Thanks, PalenQ. But we only need a ride to one of those cities. We'll be renting a car once we get up there. Good thought, though.

I too have family and memorials in Hull. Sadly, that is the only reason I have to visit the city.

Hull was the most damaged community in Britain during WWII. 97% of its structures were destroyed or damaged. Rebuilding was done with limited regard for history or quality of design.

The entire area underwent explosive growth associated with North Sea oil exploitation. This did not add to the charms of the city.

When I am in Britain and mention to acquaintances that I am going to Hull, the response is always a variation on "Why ever would you do that?"

Cheaper rail fares to York are available at nationalexpresseastcoast.com
If you get off the plane, get to Kings Cross and hop of the train to York you will end up paying a lot of money, unless you have prebooked. Then again, if you have booked and your plane is late, then you run the risk of missing your train and having to pay for a new ticket.
You could investigate flying to Leeds Bradford airport or Manchester and taking a train from there. Or you could book a night in London in a cheap hotel, and get a train the next day having prebooked a long way ahead for the cheapest tickets.
Incidentally, first class tickets are worth it if you can get them for less than £25 or so. There's more space and fewer people, with tea and coffee service.
The website I mentioned above will let you book tickets on the rail network across Britain, not just on the East Coast line, without having to pay lots of extras like credit card charges, insurance (not needed, just a rip off) and postage fees. You can collect the tickets from a machine at the station with a PIN or print them off. Keep a copy of the receipt if you do book ahead.
York is good to visit, as is Lincoln. Nottingham is a large town with a good university. Hull is not that respected over here as a great destination, but it does have a good aquarium and has nearby pretty countryside.

Thanks, nigello, for your very informative response! Some good info me us.

I understand York - but I've been to the UK at least a dozen times - and must admit I'm stumped by your other choices - unless there's some special interest you have that's taking you there.

And I assume you've already spent a lot of time in London - or the others really make little sense.

My, my, aren't we snobby, nytraveler. Or maybe just short sighted and unimaginative.

Maybe if you'd read my posts you'd see my reasons.