I am flying into Heathrow arriving 10 a.m. From the airport I want to go to Liverpool via train. I make the assumption that I have to get to the Euston train station to do that.
I have no time time schedule getting to Liverpool. I figure if I allow 3 hours from Heathrow to Euston then I'm good to go to catch the train to Liverpool.
Could someone kindly help me with transportation ideas from the airport to Euston?
Piccadilly line from Heathrow to Kings Cross St Pancras. Euston is a 5-10 min walk from there, or you can get the Northern line one stop.
If you just show up at Euston and pay on the day for a ticket to Liverpool - it could be costly. If you pre-book an advance ticket via Virgin Trains for a specific train - you can save money. (The trouble is that you won’t know exactly when you will get to Euston).
Find fares at www.nationalrail.co.uk
If you fly into Manchester instead the connection will be simpler and quicker.
When is the trip?
"If you fly into Manchester instead the connection will be simpler and quicker."
If only this could be emblazoned on every page of every guidebook! For lots of destinations in the central and northern England, it's true, and yet almost no one outside of the UK knows this.
For the OP, you have a common quandary. If you pre-book an Advance ticket from London to Liverpool, it will be inexpensive, but you will then be locked to that train; if your flight is delayed, you lose the ticket. If you buy a last minute ticket upon arrival, you don't have to worry about missing a train, but you will pay a fortune.
Use the http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ website to see your options for your travel date. And make sure before buying any ticket that you understand the restrictions.
I think you need to expect to spend at least two hours - and perhaps longer - just to get through the Border Control (passport check) lines at Heathrow. https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/977533/british-airways-heathrow-airport-passport-control-queues-UK
If you're ready to leave the airport in less than three hours, then that will be a happy surprise. IMO that's better than planning on being at Euston three hours after you land, but still being at Heathrow by that time.
Edited to add: I agree, with the advice above. Take the Tube.
American Airlines has one flight from Chicago to Manchester per day--otherwise you have to go via Heathrow.
If you are travelling before July 29 there are engineering works that have shut down Liverpool Lime St. and some weekends in August and early September Euston is closed for engineering works as well. Details can be found at https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/spanner
Manchester is far better, is there anyway you can change your ticket? Even paying a change fee is probably better than paying a walk up fare for the train from Euston to Liverpool.
The advantage of using Manchester for most places in the centre and north of the UK is that they have a National Rail train station right at the airport, London Heathrow does not and thus you have to travel into London to take a train anyplace in the UK.
If you fly into Manchester, you can buy a walk up ticket to Liverpool for about 15 pounds or so. There are advance tickets available, but it probably isn't worth it just to save a few pounds.
If it isn't possible at all to change your flight, then you have a couple of options. You can stay in London for the first day and then head to Liverpool the next day. If that's not possible, then I'd book an advance ticket to travel to Liverpool in the very late afternoon or early evening. They have left luggage facilities at Euston, so if everything goes right, you can have a little time in London.
If you have any extra time, I'd suggest leaving Euston even if you're just around the surrounding area. Every time I've been to Euston, the station has been crowded and all the stores and restaurants are usually packed.
Gosh, some of these comments make it sound like a walkup fare from Euston Station to Liverpool would cost a king's ransom.
I just went to nationalrail.co.uk and priced a ticket for this Monday afternoon (day after tomorrow; I chose a Monday to avoid anomalies of weekend fares). Those walk-up fares are between £72 and £158 to Liverpool Central; mostly they are under £90. Liverpool Lime Street station seems problematic as a destination because of works going on, but fares to Lime Street station looked a little better than to Liverpool Central.
I don't know when the OP is traveling, but IMO it seems uneconomical to pay for a hotel room in London for a night just to take advantage of a cheaper advance train ticket to Liverpool. The cost of the room would more than consume any savings over the walk-up fare.
The off peak walk up fare is the same for any train it is valid on - £85.90 single, but £86.90 return. The varying fares would be for Advance Singles. Liverpool Central sounds like it should be the main inter city station whereas in reality it is a (very busy) local commuter one.
You're probably correct, and yes, some dates and more detail.
Is this the OP's first trip to the UK? Is the flight to Heathrow an overnight flight from North America? It would be a very busy travel day for a first time UK traveler to have an overnight flight, immigration in a very busy Heathrow airport, using the tube for the first time with a 45-60 minute trip from Heathrow to Euston, then navigating Euston and the UK train system for the first time for a 2 hour plus train ride to Liverpool. So, it's not a horrible idea to stay in London on arrival day and break it up, especially if there's enough time to get a decent rate at a Premier Inn.
Changing the flight to Manchester, if possible, would still be the best option, if it is possible. I've done immigration in Manchester twice and it has been better than Heathrow. Plus, then it's a short ride to Liverpool and that would give the OP more Liverpool time rather than spending time on the tube and a 2 hour train ride.
Dale, I agree - the OP's proposed travel plans are more than I would want to do in a day. Land at Heathrow after a long transatlantic flight, get through border control, take the Tube into London, get to Euston, take a train to Liverpool, etc. No, thanks!
But a a day of travel that would exhaust me might be completely do-able for someone else, and the OP just asked about how to get from Heathrow to Euston Station.
This OP has another post running:>https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/liverpool-and-wales-trip-questions
So, we now know it will be 3 people travelling this autumn. They are also thinking of hiring a car & doing Wales in a day and a half!
Wales is a country - a small one agreed. From Liverpool, it would be best to make for Conwy (Castle) and then head into the Snowdonia National Park. To see Wales properly, you would need at least a week.
Read back post in the Wales forum.
Nigel> I agree that a flight into Manchester would facilitate this segment of my trip. But I left out that we are going to Norway after the UK portion of this "adventure". I could not get a non-stop to MAN so I have already booked one to LHR from my airport - which then gets us easily to Norway from Heathrow on the back-end of our trip.
Harold> I totally agree with you on the Manchester airport thing, but I think that most Americans are more familiar with the Heathrow thing as a short cut to getting the t-shirt for seeing Big Ben, London bridge,etc.
Suz> I have allowed 3 hours to get out of the airport and to Euston for the same reasons that you mentioned. Thanks you so much for the link. I am hoping that we will indeed have a "happy surprise". :)
Dale> First let me say I've got 27 foreign country visits under my belt and one of those is a previous visit to the UK. Transportation, lodging, airport hassles, customs issues, and border crossings are not a surprise to me. I have learned, the hard way, not to try to cram 10 pounds into a 5 pound. I build in extra time on my iteniary so that it is flexible.
James> Yes, I have another post about Wales. I have added Conwy Castle and Snowdonia National Park to our iteniary. We are very excited to tour Wales.
thomas> Thanks for the tip about construction at Lime Station. Our arrival there is Sept 22nd. I will check the construction details for that date.
I have two more questions. Is their some sort of advanced purchase rail pass that I can buy for use as a non-scheduled walk up and get on the train thing? I know convenience cost money, but since I will be using rail several times during this UK visit, I would prefer convenience over cost.
Second question is what's the Tube and do I catch it from Heathrow?
Thanks everyone for this great advise.
What's the tube? I thought you said you had been to the UK before. Are you saying you went all over the UK and skipped London?
It's the Underground. What they call their subway system.
I also suggest you get yourself a good guide book. It will answer a lot of your questions.
You could spend the money for a Britrail Pass. It won't help you on the Underground though.
Spell out station names and place names. There are loads which sound and look similar, you don't want somebody sending you where you don't want to go.
It is Liverpool Lime Street. If you just say Lime Street to most people they won't twig that you mean Liverpool. If you just say Liverpool to most people in London they will send you to the northeast corner of the City and to the Tube/Train station called Liverpool Street, which serves Essex and Cambridgeshire and Norwich.
To catch the Tube at Heathrow go to the Tube Station, possibly signed as Underground with the Roundel (a circle with a horizontal line through it, the logo of the Tube. Buy a ticket or Oyster and get on.
Details are in most guidebooks.
Virgin have several trains from London Euston to Liverpool priced at £17 one way if you pre-booked a ticket now. So, check the price of the Britrail Pass and divide by the number of days it is valid and see if it is worth the convenience.
Is their some sort of advanced purchase rail pass that I can buy for use as a non-scheduled walk up and get on the train thing?
Go to this website, https://www.britrail.net/ and look at the non-consecutive days passes. You need to know the number of days that you want and class of service.
Second question is what's the Tube and do I catch it from Heathrow?
You can get the Underground at Terminal 4 Heathrow; it is the Piccadilly Line. You can take it from Heathrow to Kings Cross St. Pancras. Very close to Euston Station. Or you can take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and the Tube to Euston Station.
I sounds like your group will use at least three days of train travel, in additional to a possible rental car, or you could do a circular daytrip near Conwy by train and bus, which might be another day.
A BritRail Pass eliminates any worries about which train you'll be able to catch after flying into London. You would get the pass activated at Euston (or at the Heathrow Express station, if taking that train into London), then hop on any trains you like for the rest of the day.
If you choose a pass to cover three days of travel within one month (not consecutive) in England only, then the total price for three adults traveling together is $516. If you expanded that to 4 days within a month on the whole island, including Wales and Scotland, then the total price for the group is $792.
Border cities for the England Pass are: Carlisle, Berwick Upon Tweed, Lyndey, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Bucknell, Shrewsbury, Chirk, Crewe , Chester and West Kirby.
As I posted earlier a return ticket from Euston to Liverpool is £86.90, valid on any off-peak train. Your outward journey will qualify but I haven't seen any time you intend to return. If you are coming from North Wales you won't need much of a ticket to get you back on route (you don't need to go all the way back to Liverpool as starting short is permitted).
Folks> I am going to close out this thread. You have given me some SUPER info. Including prices, BritRail passes, how to simply get from point A to B , facilitating close-in lodging, an appreciation for extra time in Wales, and a host of other valuable tips.
As I have mentioned before: this forum has been instrumental in providing great info for those of us who travel. Thank you.
Frank II> Everyone has offered me helpful advise with the exception of you. Your comments: "You do realize Wales is not a little town?" and "I also suggest you get yourself a good guide book" are a bit condescending.
I have traveled 5 contenients and 27 countries - which may or may not be in your league. But I would respectfully suggest that everyone who does world-wide travel can benefit from other traveler's experiences and advise. And Yes, I know what the tube is.
