Train from Heathrow to Bath

There is no Terminal 1. There is Terminal 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Your flight will arrive at Terminal 5.

There are no train stations at Heathrow. The Heathrow Express goes to Paddington where you can get a train to Bath. The Elizabeth line goes to Paddington as well.

Or

You can take a bus to Reading and then switch to a train to Bath

Or

You can take a National Express coach direct to Bath from Heathrow.

No one can predict how long it will take to get through immigration and customs.

There are two types of train tickets: Advanced and Anytime. Advanced are only good on a specific train. Anytime are good anytime that day. Miss your train with an Advanced ticket and you have to buy another.

My sister chose the bus to Reading where she stayed the night at a Premier Inn. Next day she took the morning train to Bath. I worked out well and she was glad she got near Bath for an early arrival the next day, but only had to deal with a fairly short bus ride when she was so tired from the overnight flight.

Don't confuse the railroad system with the Underground (tube, subway in US-speak) You can connect between them but they are not the same system.

Buy your tickets to Bath after you land at Heathrow. We traveled to England this May/June and our flight from Denver to London was delayed by 3 hours. If we had pre-purchased tickets for a specific train to Bath we would have been out that money.

We did buy advance tickets for the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station because they could be used at any time on the day our flight arrived and they were about half the cost when purchased in advance.

It took us about an hour from landing to get on the Heathrow Express. There was a very short line at passport control - we were there maybe 10-15 minutes. Most of the time was spent walking as Heathrow is quite large. Two days after we arrived the passport control machines at Heathrow stopped functioning and people waited hours to get out. You just never know what situation you are going to encounter with airline travel!

I’ve taken the aforementioned National Express bus from Heathrow to Bath, and it’s nice to have a direct journey to Bath after a long plane ride.

We just booked the same thing you are asking about. I booked through the LNER app, we chose the rail option: Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Hayes>Hayes to Reading>Reading to Bath. You do NOT need to go all the way east to Paddington before heading west again to Bath. We chose the Off Peak option which allows us to book a particular train but also allows us to travel on a later train if delayed.

Thank you so much! So 2 different tube stops past Elizabeth;(Elizabeth, Hayes, Reading) to the railway train station at Reading, train to Bath...just to confirm.

Yes, except they are not tube trains. The Elizabeth Line is a main line train, not tube.
Just go to the bathroom before taking the train as there are no bathrooms on the Elizabeth line trains.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/elizabeth-line-map.pdf

Perhaps a map of the Elizabeth line will help you visualize the route. Get on at the Heathrow terminal. Presumably T5, heading towards London. Get off at Hayes and Harlington and take the train headed toward Reading which is the final stop.

You want to take the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Hayes and Harlington.

From there transfer to a different Elizabeth Line "train" to Reading.

The Elizabeth Line is what you get if you cross a regular line train with an underground "train."

When you exit customs, turn to your right and follow signs to the Elizabeth Line.

So, so helpful, all of you, thank you!
Tube is underground train (subway); train is above ground tube trains and railway are trains such as Great Western Railway? Reading station has trains and railway both there, correct? So you can take the train to the same station (Reading) where you will get on the Railway Train to Bath?

I feel like I'm working this to death, I just want to be sure I understand what to do...

Not really.

Only this forum regards Elizabeth line trains as anything other than regular trains. There are tube and main line trains. That is how the UK rail industry regards them- the people who actually own and operate the trains.

In Germany the Elizabeth line would be an S-Bahn train or in France it would be an RER train.

Technically, apart from their length, Elizabeth Line trains are capable of going to anywhere on the UK rail network that an electric train could go to. They run on the same tracks between London and Reading that the Great Western uses.

At Reading, in normal circumstances, Elizabeth Line trains have their own dedicated platforms- 13 and 14. But they can use any other through platform if they have to, at times of service disruption.

This is a plan of Reading Station which you may find useful- https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Reading-Station-Map.pdf

A simple journey is being quite distinctly over thought.

I've just always driven in Europe... no trains or subways at all, after many trips.. so I am feeling a little unsure, but thank you for saying that... take transit at home quite a bit and can't really believe it's that different.
I appreciate all the help.

I want to suggest taking the National Express Bus to Bath. Here is why. You can catch it from the central bus station between terminals 2 and 3 and this makes the transition quite easy. You follow signs at terminal 5 to either Heathrow express or the tube. Look for the ticket machine by the entrance gate that gives free tickets for terminal transfers. At the coach station, The driver will load your bags underneath the coach and you will not be schelping luggage across London. The trip is a little over 2 hours and leaves frequently. You will arrive at Bath Coach station which is next to the train station, but with far less hassle.

A US analogy is to think of New York Penn Station/Moynihan Train Hall.

The Elizabeth Line is the equivalent of the Long Island Railroad. Great Western is Amtrak.
A LIRR train technically could run to Boston, Seattle or Florida if it wanted to. Passengers wouldn't like the lack of comfort but it could.
At Penn/MTH you would just switch from LIRR to Amtrak in minutes and without thinking about it if you had to.
The big difference is that we call 'Tracks' ' Platforms'.
So at Penn you would change from Track 1 to Track 10 or whatever. Here it is platform x to y, and the trains run on the tracks.

Or Los Angeles- both Amtrak and the Commuter lines call at the same tracks at Burbank Station, and both run into LA Union Station.
Again the Commuter lines could if they wanted extend to Chicago or New Orleans or Seattle, but it wouldn't be very comfortable for the passengers. At LA Union Station you would just switch platforms/tracks between the 2 railroad systems in a minute or two.
Unlike Amtrak we don't check baggage on long distance routes.
Great Western to Bath is more like Amtrak North East Corridor from DC and New York to Boston, than Amtrak from NY to Chicago.

Tube is underground train (subway); train is above ground tube trains and railway are trains such as Great Western Railway? Reading station has trains and railway both there, correct? So you can take the train to the same station (Reading) where you will get on the Railway Train to Bath?

Let's make this simpler for you. Don't worry so much about what type of "train" it is. Most Americans in the US have never taken a train in the US so it doesn't matter. Think in terms of the name of the operator.

So, from Heathrow to Hayes to Reading, you take the Elizabeth Line. From Reading to Bath, you take the GWR. At each station there will be information as to which track/platform you need to get to for your train. Very easy. (At Heathrow and Reading there will be people there to help you. )

By the way, in British venacular, a "subway" is either an underground passageway for pedestrians or a chain of sandwich shops.

One last thing...After a long overnight flight, do you want to start dealing wih numerous changes? As others have said, why not look into the direct coach to Bath or the coach to Reading and then the train to Bath. (These are not like city buses but comfortable coaches.)

For the coach to Reading:

RailAir

For the coach to Bath:

National Express

There are two types of train tickets: Advanced and Anytime.

or, in fact, broadly three. Off-Peak tickets are valid on all trains not at peak (rush hour) times, less expensive but more than Advance. Off-Peak are walk up tickets, the price does not change.

I'm with Carol now retired on this one.

Taking the National Express Coach to Bath is way easier than all the monkey motion of other options -- especially jet-lagged from an overseas flight. You go on surface streets, roads and highways and through the occasional small town. I found seeing the countryside along the way very enjoyable.

I got my one-way ticket after arrival, used the bathroom facilities at the bus terminal and had coffee and a bite there while waiting for the time to board my coach to Bath. The bus station in Bath is right next to the train station. The trip took about 2.5 hours.

Here's a link to how National Express Heathrow Airport works from the Heathrow Airport Guide: https://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/national-express-coach-heathrow.html

Click on the link to National Express to do a little research for itineraries and prices for when you hope to go, but just use that for your planning. Pay particular attention to the Direct options which are often the cheapest price. Considering all the ways your arrival could be delayed, buying your ticket upon arrival is the best way to get it. Knowing about potential Direct coaches will help when you buy that ticket.

Tube is underground train (subway); train is above ground tube trains and railway are trains such as Great Western Railway?

umm not quite.

before anybody started burrowing under London there were trains. Trains run on rails formed into tracks. At stations in the UK trains stop on the tracks and people stand on platforms.

As London grew in Victorian days a plan was devised to run some trains under the ground to avoid congestion on the surface, and eventually that coalesced into London Underground, a network of commuter trains under the streets which complements normal trains.

Don't get function and appearance confused with adopted names. The London Underground initially was only in the centre of the city and nearly entirely under ground - hence the trade name chosen. Only a small part of the Underground is now in tunnels - the system grew by leaps and bounds all over the urban area and most of the expansion is above ground. But it is still called the Underground no matter where it is. The deep tunnels for the lines deeper than the sub-surface ones are bored as a round tube, and the train roofs are steeply bent round to fit in the tunnels. People saw this and slang arose calling them tubes and tube trains, hence calling the Underground the Tube. No tubes on above surface parts of the network but still called Tube by the locals.

London still has many normal train lines on the surface, they just don't go into the centre, so they all terminate (except 2) at the mainline stations such as Paddington, Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross, Waterloo and several more. All those stations also have tube stations so interchange is possible and easy with the Underground.

Elizabeth Line does most of its running in deep tunnels under London, yet it is a mainline train, not a tube line. It is on the surface between the extremities of the branches until central london where it dives underground (and around Heathrow, entirely underground.

The other mainline railways are generally referred to by their London terminus names or by the names of the different operators of the trains - like is done with airlines.

I hope that helps.

So, to summarise, the underground goes overground on much of it’s routes, the overground often goes underground, and the Elizabeth line, which sounds like it should be an underground train, is a train and goes both over and underground as well.

The National Express coach is a sensible option to get from LHR to Bath, except that it is not that frequent and if you miss one, you can get the train and be in Bath before the next one leaves Heathrow.

Thank you so much all of you... so appreciate your help... I feel less unsure for it!!

Here's a link to how National Express Heathrow Airport works from the Heathrow Airport Guide: https://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/national-express-coach-heathrow.html

That page is way out of date and very misleading. It talks about Terminal 1 (which closed in 2015), doesn't make it clear that not all coaches don't stop at all terminals, states (incorrectly) that there is no direct service to Bath (that is a very old statement), and that the cost of coachcards is £12.50 when it is now £18 (or £15 if purchased at a coach station- neither Heathrow or Bath has a coach station enquiry office- the closest to Bath is at Bristol, and the closest to Heathrow is at London Victoria).
If you look closely that is actually a 3rd party website which is not updated- Heathrow Airport should NOT have that on their website.

For the avoidance of doubt the next direct coaches to Bath on a Monday after 1350 are at 1520 and then at 1825.

You might make the 1520 on a reasonably good day.

Now Heathrow coach ticket office is closed coach tickets are purchased from machines in the coach waiting room.

Don't worry with the ones that go past to Bristol, then make you backtrack on what is an ordinary city bus between Bristol and Bath.

The previous direct one was at 1305 so unless you had a hurricane on your tail across the Atlantic you would never make that coach.

FYI...Heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk is NOT an official website for Heathrow Airport. It is a private website.

I think Isn31c has confirmed my point. You should normally make the 15.20 coach, but if you don’t, and it is quite possible you won’t, the last thing I would want to do is hang around Heathrow Bus Station for over 3 hours after a long red-eye flight. In that 3 hours you could be in Bath on the train, albeit with a couple of changes.

I am traveling from Heathrow to Bath next Thursday. I dismissed taking the National Express bus because of the 3-hour wait in between direct buses. Even though the train sounds messy with 2 changes, it should be fairly easy to navigate. Just follow the signs or ask if you need help. Better to be in Bath than to waste 3 hours in the small cramped coach waiting area at Heathrow.

Thank you, all of you, so much! You were invaluable to me! I learned so much!

Oops! Sorry about the bad link, folks. The most important thing is the actual link to National Express to search for the bus schedules: https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/airports/heathrow

There are many options for getting to Bath from LHR and which one is most attractive will depend on the circumstance of your arrival.

My test search for Monday, 18 September came up with a direct bus at 15:20 which would be great if your arrival at LHR is on time and all goes well upon arrival. The next direct bus would be at 18:25. That would be a long time to wait -- depending on when the plane actually arrives. If you experiment with that and click on the little i for information you can see the "calling points" along the way.

The 2 buses between those 2 go via Bristol and have a bus change there. When I clicked on the i for them, I was surprised to see that both the coach from LHR to Bristol and the one from Bristol to Bath are nonstop. There's also a generous layover between them.

Direct sounds best, but to me one bus-to-bus change is better than having to switch between different and likely more crowded modes of transportation while jet-lagged. And I must admit that I like riding on buses where I can be closer to the other vehicles on the road and see the countryside along the way, especially the sheep.

BTW, I found the short time I had to wait at the LHR Central Bus Station fun. I enjoyed the people watching as well as the coffee and snacks I had there. It wasn't very crowded, but maybe I was there in the right year, at the right time of year, on the right day and at the right time of day.

National Express may show the Bristol to Bath X39 bus as non stop, in a sense it is as the only NE stop for the bus is Bath, so it isn't a lie per se.
The reality is that it has 44 stops in between the two cities, as it is a local bus. It may have an X Prefix, which means express, but is express in name only.
Also if you burrow into the National Express website and find the X39 timetable listed there it shows the last bus from Bristol as around 7pm. It isn't. After 7 pm it loses the 'X' to become the 39, and runs until close to midnight, with an all night service at the weekend. Whether through coach tickets are valid on the evening 39 is unclear.
At least Bristol bus station has bathrooms (open 6am to 9pm, at the time of writing they are free) and a cafe and is a proper covered modern clean bus station. If you have time to kill then the city centre is a short walk away.
This is the problem with on line research, not actual on the ground knowledge.
Also only a total fool would pay a through fare to Bath via Bristol on NE. If your heart was set on going that way then buy NE to Bristol then pay a £2 single fare to the driver on the X39 to Bath.
You may actually get an earlier X39 as it is a frequent service.
Way cheaper.
Most of the daytime National Express journeys from London to Bristol are on double deck coaches- their only double deck route. So you could strike lucky that way.

By the way I am with the National Express brigade of the forum on the debate. I do think it is the best way to do the journey.
I may be first choice train normally, but on certain routes like this NE to me are the obvious choice.
I don't mind hanging round. Get a bite to eat, if you want somewhere quiet go to the garden at the Heathrow Chapel- an unknown place to most, signposted just round the corner from Central Bus Station.
One of the issues with the 2 change train route which everyone chooses to gloss over is that the first change at Hayes and Harlington is between 4 and 6 minutes, or is 34 to 36 minutes. Yes make that connection and you are at Bath in under two hours.
But if travelling on a buy on the day ticket you are not certain of a seat on the train from Reading.
4 to 6 minutes at an unknown ( small) station with luggage is certainly possible, but a bit rushed.

The two-stop Hayes & Harlington route has become somewhat less good since May, when the semi-fast service to Reading ceased to stop there. Halved the number of trains through much of the day leaving only the slower Elizabeth line ones.

The Railair coach route to Reading is a bit cheaper again but still somewhat of a premium.

The National Express would be the clear winner but for its frequency.

Still at least there is plenty of choice to pick from on the day.

By the way for anyone who does pass through Bristol Bus Station there is a large plaque there commemorating a piece of social history- the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963 when Caribbean immigrants were refused employment with the then Bristol Omnibus Company. The subsequent campaign was inspired by Rosa Parks- the US civil rights campaigner.
Ultimately the first Race Relations Act in the UK was enacted in 1965 as a direct result.

I figured the train looked easy enough, but must admit I didn't pay much attention to connection times. It is a little tight. I arrive this coming Thursday morning at 7:50 a.m. at LHR. I am also getting sticker shock on the train tickets if I travel before 9:00 a.m. I just thought the train looked relatively easy on paper. Now I am confused. I may just book a private driver. It might be a splurge but doable divided by the three of us.

exactly what I decided.