Greetings,
First time in London, traveling from London Heathrow airport to Edinburgh Waverley station.
Is there a direct train at Heathrow Airport to Edinburgh?
What is the best, most expeditious, cost effective way to get from London Heathrow Airport to Edinburgh Waverley Station?
Thank you
No, you need to take the tube to King's Cross, where the trains to Edinburgh depart.
First of all there is not a direct train from Heathrow to Edinburgh. There are direct flights and generally flying US to Edinburgh costs no more than US to London.
You will need to go into Central London to Catch your train. If you take the Underground (Tube) you can go directly from Heathrow to London King's Cross Station where you can catch a LNER train to Edinburgh.
I suggest you consider flying between Heathrow and Edinburgh. A short inexpensive flight where the train is 5-6 hours, and as was stated above, you have to go into the London city center to catch the subway to Kings Cross and pick up your train there. If you're already at Heathrow.....
If you do take the train, consider spending one night in York, an old historic town with the incredible Yorkminster, a church that looks like Westminster Abby in London. Walk the medieval wall and go into Betty's for coffee and pastry...but take plenty of money. You can get a reasonable one-night B&B in walking distance to the city center.
If you fly, take the Airlink 100 bus into Edinburgh. There are several Airlink busses, so make sure you get the 100. It cost less than £6 one way and the final stop is a short walk on Princes Street to Waverly. I was just there for three days in July, and because we had golf travel bags and after visiting Edinburgh were renting a car there to go to go to St. Andrews, we stayed in a hotel by the airport, and used the Airlink 100 each day. Round trip was £8. Another option from the airport is the Tram, but both have multiple stops and take about the same time. I recommend the bus because you get to see the outskirts of the city on the way in.
There is only one Airlink bus route- the 100, the other two routes (to the city suburbs) are clearly branded as Skylink- the 200 and the 400.
The Airlink leaves from Stop A- to your left as you exit. The Skylink buses leave from Stops B and C- to your right as you exit.
OP, The Man in Seat 61 is a good website to use to begin to become familiar with trains in Europe -- https://www.seat61.com/
As far as getting from LHR to Edinburgh by train, you can take the Piccadilly line from LHR to Kings Cross Station. Travel time is about an hour to hour & 10 minutes.
Direct trains to Edinburgh depart from Kings Cross Station with service generally provided by LNER -- https://www.lner.co.uk/ -- or Lumo -- https://www.lumo.co.uk/
One thing to note is that UK Train Operating Companies usually make tickets available 8-12 week from date of travel. But LNER make theirs available as much 4 months out.
