Hello-
We arrive at 11am into Heathrow and have a flight out, to Aberdeen, at 10pm. I've read that there is time to tour Windsor, but has anyone done this recently? How did you get there? How long do you spend there and how early should we return?
Thanks in advance!
Nicki
The RS guide to England says there are two buses, #71 and #77, running between Terminal 5 and the center of Windsor on Peascod Street, which is very close to the castle. These run one to three times an hour, take 50 minutes, and cost 8 pounds (presumably one way). The guidebook also recommends Windsor Radio Cars, www.windsorcars.com, costing 25 pounds. It says the London black cabs charge whatever they like, presumably too much.
Also, the "England" board on this forum includes a question entitled "Getting from Windsor to Heathrow," last answered on 8/25 with links to Windsor Radio Cars and another car service. I can't vouch for them but you might check them out.
Your layover gives you plenty of time to get to Windsor, tour the castle, and return in time to check in at 8:00 for your 10:00 flight. I spent about three hours in the castle, including the state rooms and St. George's Chapel, and I took my time. (But I wasn't coming or going to/from Heathrow.) You'll need to put your luggage somewhere, hopefully at the airport. Maybe you can check it early with your connecting flight.
I suggest that you post your question on the "England" board where it's likely to attract more useful replies than under "Transportation."
If u plan on visiting Windsor castle espec during peak tourist season get your entry tix ahead. They can be purchased at the airport. It will give u the fast way in otherwise the queue can be very long indeed. We booked this for the day after we arrived when we were there this July. It was easy and pricewise very close to on site purchase at the castle.the company is called WE KNOW LONDON(i). If u decide to not go to the castle, a walk around windsor, a boat trip down the canal or a short walk to Eton nrby to Windsor are great options.
I spent 2 days in Windsor last April at the beginning of my 2 1/2 week European trip. I suggest calling Windsor Cars when you arrive at Heathrow, it's much cheaper than booking it in advance. Should cost about £20-25, ask when you call them. It's about 20 minutes to get into town. Windsor is small. You'll have time to tour the Castle and walk around town and have a meal. Try to take a walk along the river and cross the bridge to Eton. They have Wagamama's and Nando's, 2 of my favorite places to eat when I visit London. They're chains but they have good food. Once it's time to head back to Heathrow, there's taxi stands in town so you can just catch a cab back. A Windsor taxi will cost you less than £20.
The bus number from Heathrow T5 to Windsor is now 8.
"there is time to tour Windsor" - there is time to get to Aberdeen by train!! Did you actually want to visit Windsor or are you just looking to kill time?
Note the route 8 bus leaves from Terminal 5
Not "recently," but we did it in 2014 and I found the details in my travel journal from that trip. Our flight got in to Heathrow at 8 a.m. and we had 9 hours before the next flight. Before leaving the airport, we wanted to find the terminal and gate for our next flight, and get boarding passes , which would allow us to check out what the passport and security areas looked like in that area. This would help us gauge when we should try to be back. So that took awhile. Then we had to take a shuttle to the terminal where we'd to catch the bus. There was an hour-long line to go through immigration control, to be able to leave the airport. We easily found the bus to Windsor. The ride that was supposed to be 30 min. took an hour because the bus made a lot of stops, and one stop was an extended one. I think the bus had gotten off schedule so the driver took a long break. We got to Windsor at 11 a.m., three hours after we'd landed at Heathrow. We only spent about 3 hours in Windsor because we wanted to be back at the airport at least 2 hours before flight time. We didn't tour the castle because it was a Sunday, a day when the line is long, and we hadn't gotten advance entry tickets. However, we had a very nice time wandering around the town of Windsor, eating lunch in a pub. It was far better than sitting in the airport for 9 hours. We thought about taking a cab or car service to get back to the airport, to avoid another hour-long bus ride, but we left in plenty of time so we just took an inexpensive bus ride again. This time, there were few stops and it only took 30 min. You definitely have time to tour the castle with a layover of 11 hours.
