Transportation from Earls Court to London Gatwick

Only you can judge your fitness/health, but there are good options by public transport. Depending on exactly where you're staying (Earls Court or Kensington) and with your husband having had hip surgery, I'd take the Southern train from Gatwick to Victoria, and a cab from there to your hotel. The train is an easy ride.
It's a long drive, so yes, a car is expensive. Train will be much cheaper and quite possibly faster.

Thanks, Simon. We are staying on Cromwell Road, Kensington and the nearest underground is Earls Court. Would you happen to know if the southern train requires an escalator or stairs? Is it is very difficult to manage our bags these days on escalators. I'm guessing hoping for an elevator would be silly. But I will check the mini cab option from Victoria.

There's a lift at Gatwick, and the platform is ground level at Victoria, so no issues there. It's rail rather than tube so easy - no issues wirh escalators.

Thanks again, Simon! This is sounding better and better!

I've done this route numerous times as my base in London is Earls Court.

I'm going to agree with the above suggestion.

If you will have trouble handling your bags, then skip the Underground. Get a cab or have your hotel arrange a car service to Victoria Station. You could even call for an Uber.

Then take the Southern Rail or the Gatwick Express (same route, same stations but the GE costs more and is a bit faster) to Gatwick.

At Gatwick, the train arrives at the South Terminal. It has step free access into the terminal itself. If you need to get to the North terminal, there is a shuttle tram available that is also step free.

FYI, the Earls Court Underground station is step free if you know where to look. When you enter the station from Earls Court Road, there will be a short set of stairs to go down to get to the ticket hall. However, if you look to the right of the stairs, you will see a ramp to walk down. It's sort of hidden behind a pillar. I use this all the time when lugging my bags.

this https://content.tfl.gov.uk/step-free-tube-guide-map.pdf is the step free guide from the operators of the Tube, Transport for London (TfL). It will help you when you are here.

You will see that stepfree is available at both Earls Court and Victoria, with a mini ramp available at Earls Court and ramp at Victoria on the Circle and District Lines. You may not need those depending on your husband, but if you do you must inform staff in time.

I always get a cab to Victoria Station for ease. Then either of the two trains mentioned above.

In addition to the use of the mini ramps (which bridge the gap between the platform edge and the train) step free access from Earls Court Station to Victoria Coach and Railway stations is also available by using London bus line #C1- low floor single deck buses, every 12 minutes.

I've also taken the C1. If you want to go that route, you can catch it just north of Cromwell Road on Earls Court Road.

You don't need to go down to the stop near Earls Court Station and you don't want to. They are continually tearing up the road at that stop and the bus is forced to stop in the middle of the road to let passengers on and off. Plus traffic is always bad since vehicles are forced to go from two lanes into one.

Not sure which hotel you're in, but from that area to Victoria Station it's about 2.5 miles. A cab won't cost much. (I've taken them as well from Earls Court to Victoria.) And much easier than lugging your stuff if you're worried about your husband.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!
Good thing #1: I just looked up TFL online (thanks Nigel) and printed out a couple of bus maps which include bus #C1. Frank ll: also just found the stop where Earls Court Road intersects with Cromwell Road! Looks very doable.

Good thing #2: mini ramp which I now know the location of (thanks for your detailed directions, Frank) at Earls Court station and ramp at Victoria on the circle and district lines.

Good thing #3: not all that far to Victoria station so maybe a cab. Any idea how much a cab might cost? Should I book a mini cab online? I've only used them to/from LHR and a different part of London. I like the idea of not booking far in advance so we can see how my husband is doing before making a decision.

Again, thank you so very much everyone. What looks like an impossibly difficult task now seems quite straightforward and simple. Life is good.

If you are staying in a hotel, they can arrange a mini-cab for you or they might just suggest a taxi. (They will work with reputable mini cab companies.) It can be booked the day before your departure. A taxi will be called when you need it. No need to pre-book.

A taxi will run between 15 and 20 GBP depending on what time you get it, traffic, etc.

If you use Uber, they might be the cheapest.

If you wish to share where you are staying, I can help you with information about the area.

Thanks, Frank. We're renting an apartment on Cromwell Road. Looks like the nearest cross street is Knaresborough Pl . Pretty much across the street from Cromwell Hospital.
From the map I saw on TFL it looks like the stop you recommended on Earls Court Road is before the Earls Court station (on the way to Victoria station). It also looks like the closer of the two. Never used Uber.
On the subject of airports and transportation, what do you think is the best way for a suitcase-challenged couple to get from LHR to Earls Court or nearby? We really don't want to be getting on/off buses or the underground with all our luggage.
I'd be very interested in any information you'd care to share about the area. Especially places to eat and buy groceries. Thanks again again for all your help.

I know exactly where you will be staying. I'm only a couple of blocks away.

If you don't want to take public transport from Heathrow to your place, I'd suggest pre-booking a car service ahead of time. They will meet you as you exit customs, escort you the car and drop you off in front of your apartment. Blackberry Cars and Just Airports are two popular services mentioned on this forum.

The Earls Court/Cromwell Road stop for the C1 is closest, but honestly, from what your concerns are for getting from Heathrow, just order a cab for your trip to Victoria Station.

As for supermarkets, there is a full size Sainsbury's supermarket just east of you on Cromwell Road. Less than a three minute walk.

There are numerous restaurants and pubs on Earls Court Road south of Cromwell Road. Most are chains or fast food with a few ethnic restaurants thrown in.

Coming from Heathrow, if you don't want to take the tube, you can take the step free Elizabeth Line to Paddington and then a taxi. But tube will be faster given the traffic.

Another option, although probably not ideal in this specific case, is that quite a lot of the National Express buses from Heathrow to Victoria stop at Earls Court station (on Warwick Road).
National Express list it as an accessible stop, which means the buses can "kneel" to allow use of the lift/ramp.
As an accessible stop if there is an issue with kneeling the bus (due to roadworks etc) the driver has to assist you.
The driver looks after your luggage at both ends. You could then hail a cab the short distance to Knaresborough place.
At least it is another thought.

The National Express bus is definitely an option.

From the Earls Court stop it's literally less than a five minute walk to your apartment. I doubt any cab would want to take you a few hundred feet. It's also pretty flat.

The stop is just around the corner from where you get the C1 to Victoria Station

But if that is too much....take the coach to the Victoria Coach Station and get a cab from there.

Thank you Frank and Simon and isn31c. I realize I was not very clear about our limitations with suitcases. We are okay for walking with suitcases. We are also okay with getting on/off regular buses. The only issue is doing so with our luggage. We just don't want to be switching from one bus or tube line to another. We were in Croatia last year and found lugging our luggage (is this what they call luggage?) up and down uneven steep stairs doesn't work well for us. Same thing on an earlier trip to Paris. Several stories below ground on the RER with broken escalators was not a good fit. Before reading the answers on this post I had no idea that London's transportation system offers such good handicapped options.

I was looking at the national express bus but don't want to buy a ticket in advance as who knows what time we will actually arrive at Heathrow and how long it will take us to get through Heathrow. Can one buy tickets for the national express at Heathrow rather than online? Also looking at the Piccadilly line it looks like getting off at Earls Court and using the ramps there should not be a problem. I'm assuming (correctly?) That one can get from landing at Heathrow to the Piccadilly line (all terminals?) using ramps or lifts.
So I've probably overstated the difficulties of us managing the suitcases. Just got a little unnerved by how difficult it was in Croatia. No reflection on the wonderful beauty of Croatia.

Glad to hear about the close proximity of Sainsbury's. Any particular recommendations for ethnic restaurants?
Thanks again to all. I can't tell you how reassuring it is to have access to this forum and the wonderful contributors.

You can buy National Express tickets from machines at Heathrow. However you will be charged a £2 service fee.
What I suggest (if you ultimately choose that option) is creating a free account at home. That avoids the £1.50 on line fee.
Then as soon as you are through immigration booking the next available bus on your phone or other device (logged in to your account) using either data or Heathrow free Wi-Fi.
There are three or more buses an hour.

Also looking at the Piccadilly line it looks like getting off at Earls Court and using the ramps there should not be a problem. I'm assuming (correctly?) That one can get from landing at Heathrow to the Piccadilly line (all terminals?) using ramps or lifts.

Depending on in which terminal you arrive, it will either be an elevator, escalator or ramp to the Underground station or a combination of them. (Tell us which terminal and we can give you walking directions.)

At Earls Court, you take an elevator up from the Piccadilly Line to the ticket hall. (Make sure you take the elevator for "Earls Court Road" and not "Warwick Road.") About 25 feet after you go through the ticket barrier you will come to the ramp up to street level.

It usually takes between 38 and 40 minutes to get from Heathrow to Earls Court depending on where you enter at Heathrow.

If you want walking directions from the station to your apartment, you can give me the address here or send me a Private Message if you'd rather not divulge it publicly.

Great! Excellent advice regarding National Express. Also excellent advice about taking the elevator for Earls Court Road. Looks like we will be arriving at terminal 3. The concierge or manager of the apartment has offered to meet us and walk us to the apartment. So I think were okay with that. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you are arriving at Terminal 3, the Underground station is located between Terminal 2 and 3. It is reached via an underground walkway.

When you exit customs at Terminal 3, look for the ramp to take you down to the underground walkway. There will be a sign for the Underground (Tube) and Terminal 2. (I'm going to refer to the Underground trains as the Tube to not confuse you with the underground walkway. )

Once on the lower level you walk until you come to the entrance to the Tube. There are moving sidewalks for part of the way.

You will first come to the entrance of the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line. You keep walking a short distance to the Tube It shouldn't take more than 5-7 minutes from Terminal 3. At the Tube station you will have a choice of an escalator down to track level or an elevator. My suggestion is to take the escalator as the elevator is so slow I sometimes think it runs once a week. (LOL).

For the National Express bus, you have to go to the Central Bus Station. This is actually closer to Terminal 2.

You would follow the same directions as if you were going to the Tube but would keep walking until you see signs for the Central Bus Station. Figure about a 10 minute walk from Terminal 3. Elevators or escalators get you up to the bus station.

Don't try to walk outside and above ground. You can't. It's easier to use the underground walkway.

As you can tell, I've done this a few times. Perhaps more than a few times.