Could someone give me an estimated time
for arrival at Paddington Station (via
Heathrow Express)from Heathrow if my
flight landed at 7:30am?
Thanks

Possibly erring on the side of caution, I'd say 9:30. But it could also be 8:30. Why do you need to know?

Assuming that you have to clear Customs and Immigration, and that you're not eligible for Fast Track (Business and First Class only) and not an EU passport holder, then count on:

0-15 minutes for your plane to actually find a gate, once it lands, and open the door

+ 5-10 minutes to walk from your gate to the Immigration Hall.

+ 5-60 minutes (worst case - probably more like 5-20 minutes) to get through Immigration.

+ 5-15 minutes for your luggage to arrive and to clear Customs (only 5 minutes if you spent 15 minutes or longer waiting to get through Immigration).

+ 10 minutes to walk to the Paddington departure platform.

+ 5 to 20 minutes for a train to arrive and depart with you on it (usually less)

+ 15-20 minutes to get to Paddington.

Total: Minimum 45 minutes (in a perfect world). Maximum 2.5 hours. Probably, an average of about 75-90 minutes.

PS - I'm almost always exactly on time (or a few minutes early) for everything, and Mr. W says that my estimates of how long it takes to get places are uncannily accurate.

I've arrived at heathrow when it took more than one hour for the luggage to hit the carousel and other times it was much less.

We have never been held up very long at Immigration and have yet to be searched at Customs.

Kate's estimates are probably as canny as any but do be prepared for an unexpected delay.

<i>p.s.</i> While the train is standing in the station at Heathrow, walk to the front of it to board. Traversing this distance at the beginning of the trip will shorten the interval between arriving at Paddington and hitting the street (or get you a better spot in the taxi queue).

Intrepid...

There is no way to tell about immigration...I've breezed through usually much later in the morning and I've been on a queue for 45 minutes even though the actual immigration inspection usually consists of this.

ME' Good morning How ya doing.

INSPECTOR: How long will you be inthe UK.

ME: 5 days (or whatever)

INSPECTOR: What is the purpose of your trip?

ME: Sightseeing and seeing friends.

INSPECTOR (stamping my passport): Off you go.

Elapsed time with inspector 30 to 45 seconds....

The actual getting a gate and getting off the plane part at Heathrow can take a very long time. I've already posted this before, but once it was 85 minutes for me.

My point is that it is a crap shoot and I still say the best preparation is to be ready for significant delays.

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. My reason for asking
is just curiousity and wondering
about how we will fill the rest
of the day. I have ideas and
wanted to know if they were realistic
by the time we got settled at our
hotel. Also, Toronto is our home
airport and they are not noted for
their efficiency in Airport turn
around.

Since you have the rest of the day to program, it sounds as if there is no particular rush.

If you want to save a few bucks, you can ride the Tube to town for a lot less than the Express (and maybe hit town closer to your hotel as a bonus).

Here's the scoop on Oyster cards: http://tinyurl.com/kke22

thanks Robespierre, but we have our
Express tickets already. I am
travelling with my 73 year old mother
and our Tube stop is Knightsbridge,
actually by Harrods and there are
a MILLION steps to go up which is
murder with our suitcases as we are
staying for 2 weeks.
I have followed your advice about
the oysters for the rest of the trip!

For the amount of money you are going to spend for Heathrow express tickets and then a taxi (I assume a taxi with your 73 yr old mom) you are going to send as much as you would for a car service which would be door to door and much more comfortable. I realize it is too late now if you already have express tickets, but for any of you out there planning this sort of thing think twice .. with at least two people a car service is the way to go.

With those constraints, I'd probably ride to Gloucester Road (two lifts) for &pound;1 and either walk, bus, or taxi to the hotel.

For future reference this map tells you which Tube stations are accessible for people with physical restrictions

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/downloads...cess_tube1.pdf

As for the rest of your trip just get the bus around - they are easy to get on, they go everywhere, you see more &amp; they are cheaper

Don't have any fear taking buses !! Except the touristic ones, which are a bit more difficult (they are older models) , all the other bus lines are perfectly adapted and easy to manage , so your mom wouldn't have any problem. But with the suitcases from Paddington Station a taxi is a much better option