York

IMHO the best way is to go into London, spend the nite, and the next day take the train to York. Planes can be delayed; our flight to Heathrow last month was over an hour late because of a mechanical issue. And if you've been following the news Heathrow has been swamped causing big delays. True most of those delays are for departing passengers but since they are short-staffed you may face delays getting thru the passport lines.

England has very expensive walk-up fares, the way to save is to buy in advance. There is no direct train, you'll need to go into London and make your way to Kings Cross station. I wouldn't want to venture a guess on how long this all takes from touchdown, and your cheap advance-purchase ticket is no good if you miss that train. Cooling your heels in a train station for several hours if you book a train with a lot of time padding before you go isn't a pleasant way to start a trip. By contrast if you stay in London upon arrival you get to the hotel, drop your bags, and go out sightseeing. Then you easily take the train of your choice the next day (if it isn't on strike).

I agree with the previous poster. Trains to York go from Kings Cross. Best to buy your ticket for a specific train in advance.

From Heathrow, the Piccadilly line goes direct to Kings Cross. Would recommend looking at the Premier Inn for a hotel close to Kings Cross.

Can you fly into Edinburgh instead? I think that’s what I’m going to do for my trip next May. I got a great deal at the Grand by booking early. I was also looking at Dean Court as it is recommended by several. But they were purchased last year by a chain hotel and the prices are now super high. The Grand was several hundred dollars cheaper.

The last thing I would want after a long flight with jet lag is to spend hours getting across London to Kings Cross to catch a train to York. I would want to spend the first night in London.

The idea to fly into Edinburgh would still involve a transfer from the airport into the city to then catch a train, but it would be less stressful than having to negotiate London.

The Judge’s Lodging is well located and charming.

I’m confused about the advice to stay in London for a night. Are you saying a hotel in London is cheaper than the train ticket to York? Don’t you just need to take the tube from the airport to kings cross and then train from there to York? Is it really that difficult that you need to waste a day in London and take the train in the morning? I haven’t been to London, so I don’t know .But, if it’s really that horrible it seems the best advice is to avoid London and pick another airport. Which is why I suggested Edinburgh above.

We are getting to York in late August and staying at the Guy Fawkes Inn.
Appreciate the guidance to book train tickets in advance. We will take train from Edinburgh to York, then York to London. Hard to plan with train disruptions.

Gladys if you haven't already booked your tickets from Heathrow you might consider looking into arriving at Edinburgh instead. I've been reading up about that for my trip to Edinburgh & York next year. From Edinburgh airport it's about a 20 minute cab ride to Waverly station to take the train to York. There's also buses and trams to Waverly if luggage isn't an issue. From what I've read it sounds less stressful than London.

Another option if you don’t already have your plane tickets booked would be to fly to Manchester instead of Heathrow and take the direct train from the train station in the airport to York.
It works for me because living in Florida, there are 2 direct flights daily from Orlando to Manchester.

Take a taxi to Kings Cross, another 2 hours from there by train to York (it's possible to take a train to Kings Cross but that involves a change at Paddington). You will save quite a bit by purchasing tickets in advance, and allow some time for possible delays.

Hi Gladys -

Piccadilly line tube from Heathrow goes direct to King’s Cross, takes about an hour, or a fraction over. Mainline railway station at King’s Cross is above the underground/tube station and trains to York go direct from there. It’s also on the north side of London and Heathrow is way out west, so while the tube will take you direct to King’s Cross you will traverse the city even if you see precious little of it!

A couple of things to note. Yes, definitely book an ‘Advance’ ticket (see LNER website and or National Rail - if you purchase tickets the latter will redirect you to the former) and definitely reserve your seats (costs nothing). and there’s also nothing to stop you booking from Heathrow to York via ‘all London stations’, but you’ll still be heading for King’s Cross.

The trains to York are invariably the Edinburgh train which calls at York, so on the large illuminated destination boards, look for Edinburgh as final destination with York in the ‘calling at’ list. Your platform will only be revealed between five and ten minutes before departure, so there’s a bit of ‘hurry up’ to actually get on the train. This is because the trains have about a half hour turn round so for twenty minutes the train is locked while it’s cleaned and the buffet car restocked etc.,etc.

Also take note of if and when the railway strikes might impact your journey! Sorry about that! Have a great trip.

Ian

We heading to York after flying into London. We booked via advanced tickets (much less expensive) and also bought a Railcard (travelling together), which also saved money on the tickets.

Because we wanted to ensure making the train, we booked it 4 hours after planned arrival. We're carrying on to avoid the issues with baggage claim at LHR. The 1 hour Tube ride with a cushion of the extra hour for possible flight delay and an hour to hour & half for Immigration means the four hour cushion may be eaten up.

That said, a four hour cushion should be enough time from planned arrival to train departing out of Kings Cross. Also, if early, we'll catch a meal in or around the station.

If you truly want the "best" way, I'd suggest chartering a helicopter. It will pick you up at Heathrow and drop you off in York.

Since you didn't define by what you meant by "best," I threw that out there.

You could also hire a driver to take you there. Cheaper than a helicopter.

But if you want to take the train, you've been given some good advice.

It's really very simple. If you don't have a lot of luggage, and don't mind dragging what you have, the tube is simple as it goes directly from Heathrow to King Cross without any changes. If you don't want to take the tube, you could look into a pre-arranged car service. Much cheaper than a taxi.

The train from London to York is two hours. The train from Edinburgh to York is 2.5 hours.......but if you could fly into Manchester, you could get a train directly from the airport to York, with no changes, and the whole trip would take 2 hours.

I like Frank’s idea. Frank, can we check those helicopter prices on the national rail website? 😊

The flight time is about one hour and 15 minutes. That means the rate would be somewhere between 2250-3000 GBP depending on time of day, number of people and type of helicopter.

I was in York using the train from London Kings Cross in May. If you have an early arrival, it wouldn't be too bad to take the train to York in the early morning. Just take a taxi from Heathrow to Kings Cross Train Station. Be sure to include the Jorvik Viking Center in York and, of course, the Shambles for your son.

Only take a taxi from Heathrow to King’s Cross if a) you have time to burn as traffic can be murderous, and slow and b) you have a ton of money you want to get rid of!

I think I’m trying to say that, unless you are four or more to split the sizeable fare, there’s a reason why London’s public transport is so good. Londoners may moan about it, but from my perspective they don’t know how well off they are!

You pays your money……

Ian

For deep information about trains in Britain (and many other places) consult www.seat61.com