We land in Heathrow on a Thursday about 9 a.m. and will spend the night at the airport hotel -- already booked. Have tickets in hand for Windsor Castle and searched forum and web for transportation advice. Many postings are years old. Looks to me like the bus No. 77 runs from Heathrow to Windsor no later than 9:30 a.m. and then picks up again for evening rush hour. Therefore perhaps our best alternative is to order a cab. Advice seems to be to order it in advance because it will be cheaper than picking up any taxi at the airport. Can you suggest current car company favorite and have I missed anything? We will walk over to Eton as everyone suggests. Thank you.

Have you considered staying the night in Windsor itself? Much more interesting than an airport hotel, and that would give you more time in Windsor.

Even if you're going back to Heathrow the next day to fly out, I would consider a night in Windsor.

Thanks. Normally would sound good but we depart again from Heathrow at 7 a.m. and have booked room in hotel in Terminal Five. Also get to drop bags off as soon as we land and not haul them to Windsor. We're looking forward to Windsor but its main purpose is to keep us on our feet adjusting to time until we fall into bed about 8 p.m.
Any restaurant suggestions also appreciated.

Where are you getting this "bus No. 77 runs from Heathrow to Windsor no later than 9:30 a.m. and then picks up again for evening rush hour. " nonsense from?

Buses run all day, every 30 mins, from 0700 till around 1700, then hourly till 2200. Timetables are all over the web, including www.londonbusroutes.net/times/077Heathrow.htm

Cars are a total waste of money, unless you've got some very particular time constraint.

Hi flanneruk, Would be delighted if you are correct and I've mis-read this site:
http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/077Heathrow.htm, which seems to list 77 as only running during rush hours.

We have no time constraint and would like to do this as economically as possible, as long as the busses do run.

Thanks!

Flanneruk, You sounded so certain that I went back to the site and tried to figure out what I had missed. The last listing seemed to be 9:37 a.m. I missed "then 07 37" and skipped right over to the afternoon. Got it finally. You have saved us money! Thank you.

And, I just learned two weeks ago from a young aussie couple I met on the free train from Heathrow T3 to T5 that the buses to Windsor now leave from T5, not the central bus terminal which services terminals 1,2, and 3. This is only anecdotal but if correct, ties in with your plans nicely.

There is nothing "anecdotal" about the departure point of the bus. The number 77 bus timetable clearly shows that the bus to Windsor goes from Heathrow Terminal 5.

I use that term when I haven't looked it up myself.