jpjax

We are family of 4 (2 adults + 2 children). We are planning to come to London via Eurostar on Friday noon (June). We will be spending couple of hours in British museum and then heading to Heathrow airport late afternoon/early evening.

We are carrying two carry-on bags with us. Does British museum have locker/clock room allowing us to keep the two bags while we walk around museum?

We are thinking of taking cab from Pancras to British museum and taking Piccadilly line to Heathrow in afternoon. What would be closest/convenient tube station near British Museum keeping in mind we are carrying two of the luggage items?

Any other suggestions to make this commute less hectic?

Thank you,

Apres_Londee

http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/facilities.aspx

Large luggage

<i>Items larger than 40x40x50cm are not allowed on the British Museum premises for safety and security reasons. Wheeled cases must be carried or left in the cloakrooms.

Special exhibitions may have additional restrictions.

The Museum reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to vary or alter these conditions without prior notice.</i>

Cloakrooms

<i>The main cloakroom is to the west of the Main entrance. There is another at the North entrance. £1.50 per item, 50 pence for umbrellas, fold-up pushchairs free.

Maximum size: 40x40x50cm
Maximum weight: 8kg (except fold-up pushchairs)</i>

jent103

Holborn is the closest Piccadilly line stop to the museum. It's probably a 10-minute walk with kids and bags. It will take around an hour to get to Heathrow from there *not* during rush hour, so make sure you allow plenty of time. A London local might be able to tell you whether a Friday afternoon trip would be more crowded/take longer.

janisj

Are your 2 carry on bags less than 50 cm/19 inches and 8kg/17 lbs? From your other thread it appears the 2 small bags is for all of you for 8 days so my guess you are actually talking suitcases and not small carry-ons.

If they are too large to check at the British Museum, you could leave them at St Pancras Station in Left Luggage and then pop back to the station to collect them before traveling to LHR.

(note it is <u>St.</u> Pancras)

PatrickLondon

And you can get the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow from St Pancras, for the sake of completeness.

uncjat

The Russell Square tube stop is much closer, maybe a 3 minute walk from the British Museum. Walk out the main back door, go diagonally across the park and then you're there.

Loco2

I think far easier to leave your stuff at St Pancras station, and then go to the British museum and come back collect your luggage and tube it to Heathrow. You can walk from St Pancras to British museum in 20mins, which may be quicker than queuing to buy tickets only to go underground one stop...

http://g.co/maps/q5wyj

It'sll take at least an hr by tube to Heathrow terminals 1-2-3 underground, possibly longer in rush hour.

jamikins

I think the easiest way to do this would be to leave your luggage at St Pancras - the left luggage area is a short walk from the Eurostar in the newly renovated part. Then go to the museum and then head back to St Pancras and take the Picadilly line to Heathrow.

I would ensure you have 1.5 - 2 hours from the time you pick up your luggage to get to Heathrow to account for getting to the Picadilly Line, waiting for the train, any unforeseen issues etc. Depending on the time of day the tubes could be quite busy. You may also want to think about the chance of line-ups while retrieving your bags from left luggage.

Enjoy!

Marija

Left luggage at St. Pancras was eight pounds a bag in 2010. Don't know what it is now.

BigRuss

Thinking it wasn't eight pounds per considering that the British use metric weights. More like 8 kg, which is 17.6 lbs.

PatrickLondon

>>You can walk from St Pancras to British museum in 20mins, which may be quicker than queuing to buy tickets only to go underground one stop...<<

Not to mention the cost, which might make a taxi a better bargain, if you're only making these trips while in London.

>>Thinking it wasn't eight pounds per considering that the British use metric weights<<

Not 8lb, but £8 - now £8.50:
http://www.left-baggage.co.uk/locations.php

janisj

"<i>Left luggage at St. Pancras was eight pounds [ <B><red>£</red></B> ] a bag in 2010. Don't know what it is now.</i>"

I'm guessing that isn't a problem since you already paying to leave several bags at LHR for eight days.

jpjax

How much approx, it would cost for Taxi from St. Pancras to British Museum? I would think it might be comparable to cost of 4 (I think actually 3 as one child is 7 years and I read below 10 is free on tube with adult ticket) tube tickets.

@janisj: Spending money is always issue I guess for everyone!. But in grand scheme of things paying for storage for convenience might be worth the expense.

PatrickLondon

>>How much approx, it would cost for Taxi from St. Pancras to British Museum?<<

Probably less than two single full adult fares on the tube, slightly more than two adult fares on Oyster PAYG, but would you want to queue up for Oyster cards for just the few hours you appear to be in London for?
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx
http://www.worldtaximeter.com/london

jpjax

@PatrickLondon: I am in London for 3 days and then going to Paris. The above commute is on my last day when I return from Paris to London to take my next flight from LHR. So, I will be having Oyster card with me.

Regarding Oyster card: If I have loaded Oyster card and do not use all the funds; can I get the refund before leaving London, probably at LHR tube station?

janisj

"<i>If I have loaded Oyster card and do not use all the funds; can I get the refund before leaving London, probably at LHR tube station?</i>"

yes