Walking in London from Paddington Station
 

We have a 9-hour layover at Heathrow (Dublin-London-Toronto) and would like to use the time by taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington and walking from there. Realistically, we should have 4-5 hours of walking time, and as neither of us have been in London for at least twenty years, we've forgotten the distances involved. Could we walk, for instance, from Paddington along Oxford Street or through Hyde Park and then down to Buckingham Palace, and perhaps further, down to Westminster Abbey, all in time to catch a tube(s) back to Paddington and then to LHR a couple of hours before departure? Anybody have other ideas for walks (not structured walking tours), given our time constraints and arrival location in London? Any ideas very much appreciated indeed.

Hi<BR><BR>if you timed it exactly right, you could do a London Walk which tends to be 2+ hours. You merely pick a walk you like at a given time, and go to the tube stop and then follow the guide. SO much fun. www.walks.com<BR><BR>If you literally have a 9 hour layover, I think you'd have more than 4-5 hours, maybe even 6 hours. <BR><BR>you could of course do the walk you outlined in 5 hours or less, even leaving time for a quick bite somewhere.

Hi, David,<BR><BR>Stayed a month or so ago at the Hilton across from the Edgeware Road station. Paddington Station was about a 5-10 minute walk away, heading towards Hyde Park.<BR><BR>I actually liked this area. Paddington is VERY accessible to Hyde Park and Oxford Street (Marbel Arch end). It's also not too far (maybe 20 minute walk) to Baker Street and Regent's Park. <BR><BR><BR>While you COULD walk to the other places, I think you'd do better grabbing the tube (subway) at some point and heading down to Green Park or Westminster for the other sights. <BR><BR>Get a one-day London Transport pass (around 4.60 pounds, I think) and u can hop on the tube or buses at will.<BR><BR>Have a great trip.<BR><BR>John H

Stayed a block from Paddington last week.<BR>It's about 5 minutes to Hyde Park; butthat takes you to the NW corner where it adjoins Kensington Park on Bayswater; you'd walk about 20-30 minutes from that corner, along the road and then the Serpentine, diagonally to Hyde Park Corner. Another 5 or so to Buckingham front gates, and 10 more to Big Ben/Westminster Abbey.<BR><BR>Buy the transport pass, After 9:30am weekdays, it's good for any time, all day in Zones 1&amp;2 (Central London) and also to hop on and off the regular busses. <BR><BR>Shouldn't be too bad, the Heathrow express leaves every 15 min or so daytimes... so it's not like you might miss your train and be late for your flight.<BR><BR>It's worth a walk!

Why go to Paddington?<BR><BR>Why not just get a zone 1-6 travel pass (it's a lot cheaper than the Express)and hop on the Picadilly line at Heathrow which will take you straight into the centre of London. You could perhaps get off at Green Park station (Buckingham Palace is only a few minutes walk from here). You would infact be saving time by not walking all the way to there from Paddington.

The Picadilly line takes about an hour each way; and I think it was about L3.50 each. The Paddington express leaves every 15 min. is 15 min or so to Paddignton non-stop. L12.00 each.<BR><BR>Ya pays your money and ya takes your pick.