I will be arriving at Heathrow Airport at about 9 PM and need to go to my hotel a couple of blocks from the Earl's Court Underground station. I know I should take the Piccadilly line.
By the time I clear immigration and customs and buy my ticket I'm guessing it will be around 10 PM. My question is whether or not it will be a safe thing to take the train to Earl's Court and then walk to my hotel at that late hour. It is my first trip to England and I'm not sure what to expect.
Hi Buzzy,
My husband and I stayed at the K and K Hotel George in the Earls Court area a couple years ago. We rode the Underground daily to see sights all over London, coming back late afternoon to evening. It's a very nice area, we felt completely safe walking. There are many restaurants, pubs, stores, etc. in the area if you need to grab something before heading back to your hotel. We would stay in the area again.
We stayed in the Earl's Court neighborhood a year ago. At that time (May) it didn't get totally dark until about 9:30 or 10pm. But you won't be getting out of the Earl's Court station onto the street until after dark. We felt comfortable walking around (the two of us) in the evening but were not on the street after it got dark.
You can exit the station in two opposite directions, depending on where your hotel is located:
1) northeast onto Earl's Court Rd, which is well lighted with lots of people even at 8 or 9.
2) southwest which puts you out onto Warwick Rd, which is very different from the well lighted Earl's Court Rd, darked, not so many people on the street.
So it depends on which way you're going to get to your hotel. Better if your hotel can be reached by going out the station to the northeast and come out onto Earl's Court Rd.
An hour at Heathrow may be slightly ambitious.
Since your hotel is relatively close to Heathrow it might be worth a taxi, particularly if the clearing Heathrow is between 90 and 120 minutes.
Yes, it will be safe. Check the tube schedule https://tfl.gov.uk to see when the last tube runs (in case your flight arrives late) and to make sure there are no planned works on your day of travel.
By the way, I've taken a flight that arrives at LHR at 10pm a number of times and have always gotten through immigration and customs in under an hour. I've only missed the last tube one time when my flight was delayed several hours and landed after midnight.
Nigel, it doesn't seem that close. According to a taxi fare website, it's about 28 kms between the two points and would cost me about £70.
Like Laura, I've taken the flight that arrives about 9:30/10pm. I've cleared early enough to grab the Paddington express on a couple occasions. Last time I took Tube and then finished up via taxi. Usually plenty of people still out and about so felt perfectly fine walking to my hotel in the dark, etc.
Buzzy - another option could be the Heathrow connect to Paddington Station and the a cab to your hotel. www.heathrowconnect.com
