transport to Northampton

National Express have direct coach services from Heathrow to Northampton. On weekdays there is one departing at 15.30, arriving 18.00. See www.nationalexpress.com for that and other departures. Trains to Northampton leave from Euston station in London. It would take about an hour to get there on the Underground -Piccadilly Line from Heathrow to Green Park, change there to the Victoria Line for Euston. Trains from Euston to Northampton take just under an hour. See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ for a journey planner for the Underground and other options for getting to Euston, and note that by default it will suggest the Heathrow Express via Paddington, which is quicker but more expensive. Click on 'More Options' if you want to just see Tube routes. If you are going to spend any time in London during your trip then you will need Oyster cards. See the TfL site for details about those. For the train to Euston see www.nationalrail.co.uk. Northampton is about 70 miles from Heathrow by road. It may be worth checking private car services like Just Airports for prices, especially if there are two or more of you.

Coaches from Heathrow to Northampton around 15:00 and 17:00 - can't tell you the exact time as you haven't stated your terminal (stops at T5 and Central). These do take about 3 hours though as they do stops enroute at Luton and MK.

Hello Linda, I'm afraid I need to ask a couple of questions... Are you going to Althorp? If so, it is closed to visitors until next year. There may be a National Express coach from Heathrow. Dunno, I don't do buses. The train is the easy way, but unfortunately most of the trains to Northampton will be standing room only by the time you would get on board as you will be going midweek in the peak of the rush hour. Figure 90 minutes in round figures from the time you touch down (coming from the US, or are you arriving from somewhere else in Europe - maybe a little quicker if coming from Ireland and no luggage for instance) until you pass through the frosted doors. It is about an hour by Underground to Euston Station - Piccadilly Line to Green Park, change to the Victoria Line to Euston. So that's about 4:30pm at Euston. The rush hour, complete with more expensive tickets, starts at 4:45pm. That's the time of departure not when you get the ticket. The 16:50 to Birmingham New Street (usually platform 18) or the 17:13 to Birmingham New Street (usually platform 16) would be the best choices as they do the trip in 58 minutes. The service is provided by London Midland. Will you be in First Class, recommended as a way to get a seat? If so, each section of the train will have a Coach "B" which is where the small (24 seats) First Class section is. You can see the row of green dots over the First Class area on the outside of the train just below the roof. You need to have a ticket or a validated pass prior to boarding the train. ... more ...

... more ... Northampton station is in the process of being rebuilt while open. There is a VERY steep and VERY high set of stairs to the bridge to leave the train, and a small elevator beyond the stairs. The way out is through the construction site. You will need your ticket until you have left the station, and it will be checked as you pass through the barrier. Taxis are in the car park.

Thanks Nigel, Marco and Kevin who answered my inquiry. There will be 3 of us traveling, and we had hopes of going to Althorp, but that is obviously off the table now, if closed until next year. Thanks again.