London Car/ Limo Service or Train from and back to LHR

[vicogirl51]

We are flying into LHR on March 20 th but need to travel to Yorkshire to our friend’s home in Kilham to celebrate my husband's birthday!
We thought about talking a taxi from LHR upon arrival to Kings Cross station then train to York with friends picking us up in York.
The fares seem pretty costly and I can’t find a return LHR trains back to LHR. What am I doing wrong?
Alternative is a car service from LHR to Kilham round trip but not sure which car service is reliable and legit.
Advice please?? Pauline? Any help greatly appreciated !!

 

[Ian Sutton]

There's a fast / frequent shuttle train service to Paddington station, short tube hop to KingsX, then train to York. You could get a taxi from Paddington to KingsX if you want to avoid the tube.

alternatives?
- Local Yorkshire taxi companies will quote for LHR. It won't be cheap, but your friends can advise good ones
- Coach companies (e.g. National Express) do direct journeys to major cities, possibly including York, though it takes a long time, and unlike the train, there's little chance to get up and stretch your legs
- Piccadilly line tube goes direct to KingsX from LHR. It's the slowest of the routes, but avoids additional lugging of luggage, so would be my choice
- The new Elizabeth line stops at Farringdon, which whilst nominally linked to KingsX, I recall it's a very long walk (I last used it not long after it opened)

 

[vicogirl51]

Thanks .
My flight arrives at 7:50 am and now the plan is to take a taxi from LHR ( we know the taxi driver from previous London visit ) to Kings Cross station as we are virgins so don’t want changes just direct to York.
What I don’t know and would like advice is what time should I book the train to York station? How much time should I allow from LHR to taxi to Kings Cross?

 

[Gillaspiewoods]

I would allow at least (I originally typed “about” but I’m a conservative traveler) an hour for the taxi to Kings Cross station (not sure what day of the week you’re traveling on, but 7:50am will be busy; and better safe than sorry). You should download the Trainline and/or Omio apps to figure out your KingsX -> York journey (I just did a spot check on both apps and it seems those trains are frequent and about a two hour ride; so, you have good options). Happy Bday to the hubby (you’ll love York, particularly if you’ve not been there)!

 

[Ian Sutton]

Thanks .
My flight arrives at 7:50 am and now the plan is to take a taxi from LHR ( we know the taxi driver from previous London visit ) to Kings Cross station as we are virgins so don’t want changes just direct to York.
What I don’t know and would like advice is what time should I book the train to York station? How much time should I allow from LHR to taxi to Kings Cross?

I was told by someone this week, that Heathrow processed people quite quickly these days, but I've known anything between 1-3hrs from arrival time to clearing the airport. Then there is potential for flight delays.

Booking in advance usually gets cheaper prices, but it's worth checking the 'open' ticket pricing. If it's not much more, then you've got more flexibility.

For a 7:50am arrival, I'd not feel the need to cut it fine for the train, as say you exit the airport at 9-9:30am, taxi to the station another 30 mins puts you around 10am. The train journey is c. 2 hrs, but most hotels won't allow you into the room before 2pm.

Thus I'd look at booking the noon train (or one after that if you want additional leeway). That leaves 4 hours from arrival at Heathrow, to getting onto the train. That feels plenty. At 'worst' (i.e. the fastest you might clear LHR) that might mean 1.5-2 hours to kill at Kings X, so maybe prep to see if there are any decent cafes nearby, on the off-chance you clear LHR too quickly.

 

[Gillaspiewoods]

FWIW, I flew into LHR on 12/6, and MAYBE spent ten minutes at border control (I think it actually took longer to walk from the gate to border control than to actually get processed there). I like Ian’s plan.