Heathrow to Chester ( Train or Bus)

this must be the bit before the bit to Aber,

Off the top of my head I would - I am sure that someone will come along with current state of play since I am retired from the railway now and go there less often than he - say your first step is to get to London Euston station. That can be taxi (expensive) or pseudo taxi (maybe a bit less, or not) direct from the Heathrow Terminal of choice, or Elizabeth Line (significantly less expensive, maybe faster but involves the change onto the Underground) to Tottenham Court Road and change to the Northern Line just 2 stops to Euston then hop the Avanti West Coast 15:02 or 17:02 (17:02 is rush hour and expect crowding) to Holyhead and hop off just over 2 hours later at Chester. Or the 15:33 or 16:33 on the main line, and change at Crewe, takes about half an hour longer but does also involve humping that large suitcase around in Crewe.

Chester is on the railway line whose London terminus is Euston. This is not on any of the direct train routes from Heathrow (also, Euston Square station on the London Underground is a walk from Euston which has its own underground station.)

I guess you’ve got a couple of principal options

1. The hourly Rail-Air bus RA3 from LHR terminal 2 or3 to Watford Junction station which is on the line to Chester but you may have to change trains at Crewe.
   1. Get the Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road and change to the northern line to get to Euston. I’m not familiar with how easy the interchange is with a heavy case but as you will be changing from west-east travel to south-north, I doubt it’ll be easy.

I really wouldn't have guessed this until looking- but National Express have a bus from Heathrow Central Bus Station at 1710, arriving at Chester at 2235.
Tomorrow it is £28.20.
The bus is heading for Liverpool- #551
If the flight was on time and immigration working properly you would make that.
The driver puts your luggage in the hold and you just snooze your way north. Buy a ticket on the machines at the Bus Station or on your phone, if you have data.

All through trains to Chester now should be run with the brand new Evero trains, and many split at Chester- 5 cars going on to Holyhead or Wrexham, and 5 ending at Chester.
The benefits of the train is that there are lots of them if the flight is late (and it is far faster)- the last connection leaves Euston at 2110, change Crewe arrive Chester 2351.
The last through train is at 1902 from Euston, arrives Chester 2113.

You will pay an arm and a leg for an on the day ticket- on the peak trains £155.20, on any train after 7pm £76.30.

If it was me I would wait until I landed, catch the bus if I can, if not head for Euston then the first available train.

There is a clever way to get the peak fare down- catch a semi fast London North Western train to Crewe (walk up fare £44.80) at 46 minutes past each hour, takes 2hrs 10 minutes, then next train Crewe to Chester £15.50 (so around £95 saving). Whether a jetlagged brain can cope with such smoke and mirrors I don't know.

Thanks so much for all of this info everyone .!! isn31c I think that I can cope with trying for the bus but if not then I’ll do a train with the change at Crewe .

What day of the week are you arriving?

I am doing the same thing later this week (arriving at LHR and traveling to Chester). I am planning to take the Elizabeth line/tube to Euston and then train to Chester. My flight lands around 11am, so I should be able to get an off peak fare. You’ll encounter peak fares on weekdays between 4pm and 7pm when departing from London, but not on weekends. I’d suggest that you check the schedule and prices for your day of travel.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Laura - there are no peak fare periods on Fridays as well these days.

Bill - the change at Tottenham Court Road from Elizabeth line to Northern line is easy, just one lift. But there are steps (and escalators) to get from the Northern line to the mainline station at Euston. I know, I did the reverse with a big suitcase this evening.

Lorraine- another way to get the £155 peak fare to Chester on the through fast trains down is to split the fare. The peak through trains to Chester stop at Tamworth Low Level. So at Euston buy an Anytime Single Euston to Tamworth for £96.40 and an Off Peak Single Tamworth to Chester for £25.10- Total £121.50 saving about £34.

That trick also works on the 1902 train which also calls at Tamworth- Off Peak Single London to Tamworth £44.30, Off Peak Single Tamworth to Chester £25.10. Saves you about £7.

That is the last Avanti Tamworth and Crewe stopper so the last train as far as I can see to do that sleight of hand on.

Can we go back to the practice of calling this long distance method of transport, "coaches". Buses tootle around a town or city, coaches do long distance.

Can we go back to the practice of calling this long distance method of transport, "coaches". Buses tootle around a town or city, coaches do long distance.

As this is a forum mainly for North Americans buses have a different meaning over there.

Greyhound officially (from their website) run buses (not coaches) even on the transcontinental multi day routes and at least a few of their more local routes are run by what we in the UK would call buses.

I've experienced such a misunderstanding when I arranged to meet Canadian visitors off a rail replacement 'coach' at Newcastle, to transfer to a train to Haltwhistle. They just assumed I meant to meet them at the train coach (or train car!!) not the bus, and there was comedic running round a hectic Newcastle Central station. To them they had come on a bus from Berwick on Tweed to Newcastle, not a coach.

But even over here, especially in Scotland, the same vehicle can be doing local tootling around one day and long distance express work the next.