Storing Luggage in London
 

Have a 6 hour layover in London and would like to go into town. Is it possible to store one's luggage in London itself in order to do some sightseeing?

There is a left-luggage office at Heathrow.

Tell us more about this "layover"? At the airport? At the train station? From what time to what time? If airport, which airport and where are you flying in from and where are you flying out to?

The reason I'm asking, is that 6 hours is not a lot of time IF the layover is at a London airport.

Excess Baggage is the main company in London that offers left luggage service. They have locations at major train stations and airports: http://www.excess-baggage.com/

as yk says we need a LOT more info if you are to get any sort of useful advice . .

Which airport?

What time of day?

Is it 6 hours from touchdown to take off? (if that's the case it is possible you won't have time to go anywhere)

Can you check your bags through?

Even the terminal(s)/airline(s) might make a difference.

For sure 6 hours in London is not much time. You can take the Heathrow Express in to Paddington Station. That's about 15 minutes. Then take the tube to Westminster (I forget which line or if you need to make a connection) to see Big Ben etc. You should have about 2 hours available in the city before going back to the airport.

Check all your luggage so you don't waste time looking for storage and retrieving your bags.

Sorry. Plane arrives at 6:45 a.m. at Heathrow. Plane leaves at 4:45 p.m. from Gatwick.. What I would like to do is bring the bag into London, walk around, maybe hit the National Gallery or the Tate and then get the bag and go back out to Gatwick. Do-able?

Gatwick Express train departs from Victoria Station and takes 30 minutes. There is probably a left luggage depot at Victoria. A fine pub, the Shakespeare, is right outside the station. National Gallery is at Trafalgar Square. You can't miss it - big building with flags behind Admiral Nelson.

Take the Tube from Paddington to Victoria. Buses and taxis will take forever in London traffic jams.

OK - that makes a HUGE difference.

You have 10 hours between flights at two airports on opposites of London.

You will need to be at LGW by 2:45 at the latest.

You will be done w/ Immigration and arrivals at LHR possibly by 07:45 - probably later. Central London is about an hour from LHR no matter which mode of transport you take. LGW is about 30 mins from central London by the fastest train. So now you are talking from approx. 09:00/09:30AM to 1:30/2:00PM in town.

So what to do? You can't leave your bags at LHR. You could go into London on the tube and leave your bags at Victoria Station - you'll have to queue to leave them and queue to pick them up.

from Victoria Station you'll be walking distance to Buckingham Palace or a very short tube ride from Big Ben/the river/Eye. Walk around a bit, have an early lunch and then head back to Victoria, retrieve your bags and take the Gatwick Express train straight to the terminal at LGW.

Do not take the Heathrow Express - yes it is fast. BUT - it only gets you to Paddington station which is not near any sites and you'd have to take the tube or a cab through the morning commute to get anywhere interesting. So the "it only takes 15 mins" is very misleading.

To get to Victoria station you take the tube from LHR, change at Hammersmith to the District line east bound and get off at Victoria. This is by far the easiest transfer and there are no steps.

OR -

If all this sounds too much schlepp -- just take the National Express coach from LHR to LGW. Leave your bags at LGW (it will probably be too early to check them in).

From there you can take the train round trip to/from Victoria. But this will net you less time in London. You will be traveling during the morning commute so it will probably take at least 90 mins for the coach plus how ever long you have to wait for the next coach. So count on 2 hours between boarding the coach and catching the train to London.

Terminal 3 LHR to Paddington Station on the Heathrow Express is 15 minutes, period. Both ways.

Then use the tube. <i>Buses and taxis will take forever in London traffic jams</i> as written. The tube is always jammed but it is fast. I didn't use the tube from LHR but maybe that route to Victoria is better, probably cheaper, but not express.

Blah on Buck Palace. Go to the National Gallery at least. It has truly great art.

"<i>Terminal 3 LHR to Paddington Station on the Heathrow Express is 15 minutes, period. Both ways</i>

Plus 10-15 mins walk to the station at LHR. Plus £16.50 per person fare. Plus a schlepp down into the tube station during the morning commute - or - queueing w/ all those commuters for a cab. The HEX usually isn't the best option for most visitors unless their destination is Paddington, or at least someplace north of the parks.

Actually - the tube straight in from LHR is generally as fast or faster than -- taking the 'fast' but to-the-wrong-part-of-town Heathrow Express plus other transport from Paddington to anyplace interesting.

I didn't mean JUST going to Buckingham Palace - that would just be the starting point for a walk through St James park and then on to Trafalgar Sq and so on. But I really think Westminster/Big Ben/the river would be better.

I didn't mean to imply that the tube all the way in would be less schleppy than the HEX+tube -- but it certainly wouldn't be any worse and for a couple it would save a lot of money.

Heck - a couple could take a car service all the way into central London for less ££ than what 2 fares cost on the HEX plus either a cab or the tube on from Paddington.

Now, a car service doesn't make a lot sense in this case because time of day/traffic. (but normally - a car service is cheaper and much more convenient than the HEX)

Simpler - and less stressful - is to take the National Express coach to Victoria Coach Station. You can leave your luggage there (and it's cheaper than at the train station).

Then you can have a nice walk involving Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Whitehall, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, London Eye, Tate Britain, have lunch, then return to the coach station to collect your luggage and do the short walk to Victoria train station where you take the Southern Trains (NOT Gatwick Express) to Gatwick.

alanRow: You're probably right about the NE coach. My thought was that at that time of morning the coach might take longer than the tube. But I haven't taken it for ages -- not since the old AirBus days so don't remember how long it takes.

It is a bit of a slog up the road from the Coach station to the mainline station but not much worse than the slogs around the various tube/train stations.

The poster needs to get to Victoria railway station, leave bags there, sightsee, then get a Southern train to Gatwick

The most reliable way to do this is by tube to Hammersmith, then cross the platform for a District line.

The absolutely fastest way is the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then the Bakerloo line tube to Oxford Circus, crossing the platform for a southbound Victoria Line tube to Victoria. But it's BLOODY pricey

I'd strongly advise against taking luggage on the National Express bus, since you've then got to walk it up to the railway station. With anything that needs carrying it's NOT a short walk: if the bags all roll, it IS a short walk