trains from London to Cahors (north of Toulouse)

According to The Man in seat 61, the trip via Lille is indeed possible. See his explanations of the Paris vs Lille routes http://www.seat61.com/France.htm#Toulouse However, note that it is a 12 hour trip from London. Given that, you might want to fly Easyjet to TLS. Even with time getting to the airport and through security added to the flight time, you are still looking at a big time savings EXCEPT that you then have to get from TLS to Cahors. If you are renting a car it's no big deal, just an hour or so by autoroute. By train, I think you will have to get first into Toulouse central....which would add more time still. So in summary, air is quicker, but not as dramatically as it seems by simply comparing flight time to train time. Depending on the specific deal you can line up, Easyjet might well be cheaper, but there are often good deals on trains as well. Why not take Eurostar to Paris and spend the night. Then the next day take the train direct to Cahors? This way, the fact that two different Paris stations are involved doesn't matter, and the trip is not such a long one.

The cross Paris trip you will have to take if you take a direct Paris-Cahors train is from Nord to Austerlitz, which isn't actually too bad - straight down Line 5 with no need to change. Unless you've never used a subway anywhere, it shouldn't be excessively stressful.

What time of day do you need to be in Cahors? The route I would recommend is dependent upon that time.

I would like to be in Cahors in the morning. I am ultimately going to St Cirq de Lapopie sp? (about 30 minutes due east) so need to take a bus from Cahors. I do not have the bus times at this point so morning is best to be in Cahors. Thanks so much for everyone's help. It is wonderful.
Nora

I would like to be in Cahors in the morning. I am ultimately going to St Cirq de Lapopie sp? (about 30 minutes due east) so need to take a bus from Cahors. I do not have the bus times at this point so morning is best to be in Cahors. Thanks so much for everyone's help. It is wonderful.
Nora

If you take the early morning easyJet flight from Gatwick to Toulouse, on weekdays you would arrive at 09:15, on Saturdays you would arrive at 08:50, and on Sundays you would arrive at 09:55. The first train you could catch from Toulouse to Cahors departs at 11:10 and arrives at 12:26. So that wouldn't get you to Cahors in the morning and on Sundays you might miss that train altogether. You could take the Eurostar to Paris, stay overnight, and take the first direct train to Cahors in the morning; but you would depart at 07:40 and arrive at 12:58, so that doesn't get you to Cahors in the morning either. You could take the Eurostar to Paris in time to catch the direct night train which leaves Paris at 22:56 and arrives in Cahors at 05:56. You could take a later easyJet flight from Gatwick to Toulouse, spend the night there, and go on to Cahors in the morning. The first regional train from Toulouse to Cahors departs at 06:30. Or you could take an evening train from Toulouse to Cahors, spend the night there, and go on to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in the morning. The last regional train to Cahors departs at 18:58. Warning: In my search I read that bus service from Cahors to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is quite limited. You may need to rent a car in Cahors or take a taxi.