Getting to York from Heathrow

4 hours is fine. You may well have time to a look at St Pancras across the road which is magnificent.

The timings seem reasonable to me, barring any major delays to your flight or very unpredictable delays (I once had to wait an hour at baggage claim when there was some issue getting the bags off the plane). Passport control is pretty quick these days if you can use the machines- these are open to people with US passports, EU, and a few others, and you have to be over a certain age (I think 12?)- so if you're travelling with a small child you can't use them. As you probably know Heathrow is huge so a lot of your time will just be spent exiting the airport, even if you don't really have to queue.

I personally would take the Elizabeth Line to Farringdon and then transfer to the tube and go one stop to King's Cross. It's a much nicer journey, particularly if you have luggage, and only a little more expensive.

If you need something to do at Kings Cross, one of my favourite pubs in the area is The Parcel Yard which is inside the station, up the steps at the end. You can watch the trains arriving and departing. The Booking Office in St Pancras next door is also a very nice place to wait. It's in the hotel but open to non guests. If you have lots of time to wait you're also right next to Coal Drops Yard which has restaurants and shops, though if you have a lot of bags you may not want to be walking around. Good luck with everything!

"you have to be over a certain age (I think 12?)"

Currently 10. As of 8th July it will be lowered to 8 years old.

Two days ago (so a Monday, not a Friday) I was on the 1633 and was amazed it was a nearly empty train. There were 3 people in my (admittedly 1st class) train car.

And a week ago I was on the 1433 and that was less than half full. A pattern of the xx33 trains developing there- they are basically slightly slower (by 10 to 15 minutes) relief trains, running 3 minutes behind a fast non stop. The

So the 1533 could be a good train to book on.

Make sure you reserve seats at time of booking. I know there’s every chance that travelling mid afternoon will mean the train won’t be that busy and you may have a choice of seats, but I would always reserve my seat in advance, because you really never can tell.

Hi all,
just circling back...
thank you for your responses. Based upon them I did reserve a 15:33 train to York. Seats confirmed as well.
I followed the same thought process on my subsequent segment, York to Edinburgh.
looking forward to a great trip!
Chris

just small point. The Piccadilly Line sation is called Kings Cross & St Pancras - because it's under the road between them. If you are going direct to Kings Cross make sure you follow a Kings Cross exit sign, and if you have time to see the wonderful St Pancras architecture (and have lunch there) follow St Pancras exit signs - you can walk for miles in those tunnels! The main level, above the shopping mall, is the place to be. And to get over to Kings Cross from there go down to the busy level, and use the exits next to the Southeastern gates.

Departure platform numbers at Kings Cross are shown around 20 minutes before departure, but the 15:33 is planned to use platform 7 so if hanging around waiting stay near to that.

I think the time you are giving yourself should be okay unless you get hit with a major delay. However, alternatively, you may want to consider checking fares/journeys of the LNER trains ahead of your trip but not book until you get to the station. I find the LNER app to work well. On two occasions I went to York, I simply monitored the train journeys ahead of my flight to London and booked the train when I arrived at the station. Short notice booking is a bit more expensive but I get impatient waiting around, especially just after a transatlantic flight. I suppose if some of the trains start to sell out before your flight, I would book ahead but short of that, I book the next train when I arrive to the station.

If you have any time to spare at Kings Cross the British Library is next door and its treasures gallery is amazing but not very large so you don’t need a lot of time to see it. Having luggage could be a complication though.