London Layover
 

I am traveling thru London to South Africa and have an 8 hour layover at Heathrow Airport (arrive 11 am and departing at 6 pm)...looking for recommendations and if it is manageable to do a quick trip to downtown London via train or tube in my given timeframe or is it best to find a good pub at Heathrow and make the best of the 8 hours in the airport. Cheers!

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. is only 7 hours.

then you really don't have nearly 7 hours free - realistically only about 4-5 hours "free". No matter what type of transport you use, it will take 45 mins to 1 hour to get anywhere interesting in central London - and 45 mins to 1 hour to get back. Security at LHR can take quite a long time so you'd want to be back by about 4 p.m.

Now, the Heathrow Express does take just 15 mins - but that only gets you to Paddington station which is quite a distance from the sites like Big Ben, or Trafalgar Sq or Covent Garden or the Eye.

You <i>could</i> take a quick jaunt over to Windsor. It os only 7 miles from LHR and you could do it pretty quick by taxi. You have enough time to see the outside of Windsor Castle (or possibly even tour inside) and have a nice lunch.

I had an 8 hour layover in London doing the same trip, US to SA, and I had just enough time to take the Heathrow Express into London, walk past the Tower of London, grab some fish and chips, and then head back to the airport. It's kind of fun if you're into an exciting layover! Be sure NOT to take the Picadilly line into the city though, it takes forever. Spring for the Express tickets. I don't recall there being a decent pub to relax in at the airport, but if you want to get some sleep, I know the new Yotel there is amazing. It's a Japanese-concept hotel that rents by the hour... very reasonable for a quick nap!

Check your math - you actually have 7 hours door to door.

If you want to get to London for a quick visit it's possible but it will be on the expensive side (~15BPs or ~$30 R/T) for the Heathrow Express, the only logical choice during short layover.

If you still decide to do it:

It will probably take you about 1-1.5 hour from the time the doors open to the time you are sitting on the HX.

It takes 15 minutes to get to Paddington Station. Interesting area and a short walk to Hyde Park area.

If everything is working as advertised then you will have about 2.5 hours in London before you should consider getting back to Paddington. The trains run every 15 minutes and take 15 minutes.

You will have to go through security.


Don't forget to have ID and BP.

Have a great trip!

As soon as I posted this I realized it was 7 hours but thanks for the heads up and keeping me honest. Great suggestions and I really appreciate the quick response time!

If you want to get out of the airport for lunch, I can recommend the Ostrich Pub in nearby Colnbrook, minutes away from Heathrow by taxi.

http://www.theostrichcolnbrook.co.uk/index.html