Hi All,
I will be travelling with my family to Paris this summer and I noticed a possible flight itinerary that would give us a 5 hour layover in Heathrow. Is that sufficient time to catch a train into London and grab a pint or quick meal and walk around some?
If so, any specific thoughts for what you might do with the same opportunity?
Thank you for your thoughts!
MP
Nope, sorry.
Figure 90 minutes to 2 hours in many cases to clear getting to the terminal (arrival time is touchdown, not after all the taxiing and any busing), the long long walk to immigration, the queues at immigration, immigration and clearing the Customs lane into the terminal.
An hour each way on the Tube into somewhere in central London, and 2 hour check in for the flight across to Paris, and you are toast even though the Piccadilly Line goes every few minutes.
That's 5:30 in best case and you haven't found anywhere yet to raise that pint.
You could, I suppose, try the Heathrow Express, which takes 15 minutes into Paddington Station on the outskirts of central London, and 15 minutes back. It goes every 15 minutes so if you just miss them (you are so short of time you need to plan for disruption and just missing one or both.
So now we can squeeze an hour out, and you are looking at using 4:30 of your 5:00. I'm sure that a bar at Paddington could serve you a pint.
Is that the sort of stress you want? How much of a risk taker are you? It will also depend on which terminal at Heathrow you arrive at, and the terminal you depart from. Is it the same one?
I do know that there are literally dozens of famous stores at Heathrow and many watering holes which are happy to serve up a pint.
Nigel is right, you have no time to get into town. Even though the last time I went through Heathrow there was NO immigration line, that was a fluke. I have stood there for over an hour just in that line. It depends on how many flights come in at once. There is plenty to do at Heathrow while you wait.
Thanks, folks. Definitely a bit rusty on this international travel thing as to have forgotten the hassle of immigration, even assuming the trains ran perfectly.
Michael
If you find you have time to kill and still fancy that pint you might try The White Horse in West Drayton.
http://oldenglishpub.co.uk/#_=_
It's a remarkably nice pub for somewhere so near the airport and there is a shuttle bus that runs past the door.
Cheers
Alan
