York to London

The transfer by Tube between Kings cross and Paddington is relatively straightforward - Circle line and at least one other (Hammersmith?) run directly between the two. Tube is sonewhat inconvenient with luggage but not insurmountable. You could always try a taxi. train from york to London- most departures do this easily, there are occassional ones where you have to change once, but these can be avoided. just check the timetable

Kris,
"Rail Europe" doesn't operate trains anywhere in Britain or the continent. They are an outside agency that facilitates ticket orders for the train companies of various countries. Though the UK once had a unified "National Rail," it was broken up and smaller regional companies run the different routes now. The term National Rail is still used, I think for marketing purposes, but don't necessarily think of traveling all trains in Britain as dealing with the same company. I don't recall which firm runs the York to London route, and as I most recently traveled on a rail pass, I didn't pay point-to-point and cannot advise on whether there is an advantage to booking online in advance. I doubt it. You'll probably get better answers from others soon. If not, consider posting this question on the Transportation page and you might get more responses.

You should get a better price booking through National Rail in advance. There search results will show prices.

There are several companies that provide service from York to London. All of them go into Kings Cross Station. The various ticket prices can be checked on Nation Rail Enquiries. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ The trains to Windsor leave out of Paddington. You should do your own transfer between Kings Cross and Paddington and not try to buy a ticket from York to Windsor.

Book tickets from York to London Kings Cross. Once you get to Kings Cross you need to go to Paddington Station, you can either take a taxi (if you have a lot of luggage) or the tube (underground)...to take the tube you would want to take the Circle Line (you were give the wrong info in a post above) to Paddington Station which is the 5th stop after leaving Kings Cross. There are several trains every hour leaving Paddington to Windsor, you could book tickets ahead or just get them when you get to Paddington...they aren't that expensive. If you want to book ahead book from Paddington to Windsor. Edit: I notice that the above post has been changed....it did say take the "District Line"...now it is corrected to say the Circle Line. Good job, B

I just booked tickets to/from London and York yesterday! I booked the tickets directly with the train I will be riding - http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/&#59; there are two other train companies that run trains from York to London, but I found Eastcoast to have the cheapest tickets for my dates and times. You can book the very same ticket on the National Rail website, but I noticed that it was about 1 pound more to do so than to book directly. Hope this helps!

As Bonnie suggested, the train you take from York to King's Cross will almost certainly (certainly?) be operated by the EastCoast line, regardless of where you buy the tickets. Cab fare from King's Cross to Paddington will be around 20 pounds and the trip across town will take 30-45 minutes. The Tube will be much cheaper. But, both stations are expansive and involve a lot of walking, steps, etc. If it was me (and it has been) I'd budget for the cab, especially at the end of a long day.

Thanks for all the replies!
The only other option is to keep the rental car for the one night in York and drive it to Windsor, but I'm not sure if that would be cost or time effective.

It is correct to say that the Hammersmith and City, and the Circle Line, both connect Kings Cross - St Pancras and Paddington. EDITED: to reflect change in above post

Kris, the train from York into London will be faster than driving. Nonstop, it's a 2-hour trip by rail. Although you'd miss the joy of driving in London metro traffic.