Time from LHR to Kings Cross station

The Tube ride itself takes about an hour. I've arrived at 7am a number of times, then arrived in the Kings Cross station by Tube around 9 am. Times thru passport control can vary. I would feel safe with an 11:30 am train to catch. If you have plenty of time once you arrive at KingsX, visit the St Pancras station across the street. You can walk thru a tunnel to get there. It has a shopping mall, restaurants, Boots, convenience stores, etc. I think there is even a Starbucks!

You will want to take the Piccadilly line. As Swan mentioned, it will take an hours. Swan gave you good information.

As the other posters mentioned, the Piccadilly line takes about an hour from LHR to Kings Cross. I just wanted to pass along a suggestion I received from a poster on this board...my plane was also scheduled to land same time as yours (probably same flight!) and she suggested I book a 1.30pm train, just to be on the safe side, and then spend some time in the British Library, which is right down the block from Kings Cross. Which I did, and it was a nice way to pass the time and I wasn't stressing about making it in time for the train.

The British Library no longer allows people in with luggage bigger than budget-airline hand size. Mostly because of tourists using their cloakroom as a left luggage facility and crowding out the actual visitors.

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I think I'll stick with my plan of an 11:30am train. We will be traveling light, just personal carryons, so wandering about to pass the time once we get to the train station should work.

I agree with the advice above. I would figure an hour to get through immigration and customs and an hour to take the tube to Kings Cross, leaving a three hour cushion for any delays. Have you considered flying to Edinburgh? I find fares from Heathrow to Edinburgh on November 8 for $85 on British Airways and $62 on BMI. I like train travel, but in this case flying is cheaper, quicker and less hassle.

Chip: I saw those fares on Travelocity, but if you look at the total cost, it's more like $170/person, so for three tickets it's $510. Three round trip train tickets comes to $238 (all prices in US dollars). I've considered flying, and the decision to ride the train wasn't just based on dollars alone, we like train travel, so we'll give this a try.

The train is also a very scenic trip once you get away from London, and especially when you get up towards Durham and along the shortline closer to Edinburgh. Book seats on the right-hand (East-facing) side of the train, as the best stuff is on that side. Enjoy!

I went with the later train when I did this. What I did was left my luggage in the left luggage office and then went to the library. It was great. Then I explored the station and caught my train. It was going all the way to Inverness which was good for me. It had free wifi which was also helpful. Pam

No argument if you want to take the train. I just rechecked airfare for November 8 and found a 10:45 departure on the British Airways website for £ 53.30 or about $85 all taxes and fees included. BA had 6 other departures for the same price.

We did the same thing that Pam mentioned. The British Library is well worth a visit if you are interested in British literature. And you can get a nice lunch at St. Pancras station in the upstairs part by the other trains, not by the Eurostar part.

Chip: thanks for following up on the airfares. We're arriving on Nov 2nd, the fares are a bit higher on that date, it seems.

Not to push too hard about the British library, but I have to agree that it's one of the most undervisited FREE attractions in London. The amount of history in those rooms is amazing. Of course, I'm a bit of a bibliophile so I was in heaven, but the hubs enjoyed it and he's not a book lover like I am. The Magna Carta is there, you can see the original Alice in Wonderland, Beatles manuscripts as well as other musical artists, some of the first bibles ever printed from the Gutenberg printing presses, hand bound and colored books, shakespeare's writings, etc. There is also an exhibit downstairs that changes from time to time.
Also, St Pancreas station/Kings cross is enormous and easy to get lost in so make sure you leave plenty of time to get to your train. There are plenty of stores and some delicious cafes, as well as a starbucks for those of us who collect the coffee mugs from around the world.