Travel Heathrow to Stratford upon Avon

Negative: 100 miles 100 X £__ = Ouch

Kate, my daughter and I did Heathrow-Stratford u/A by mass transit a few years ago and had no problem. We took the Heathrow Connect, which is half the cost of the Heathrow Express but only takes 10 or 15 minutes longer, then took a train to Stratford. I think we had to take a tube from Paddington, where the Connect left us, to get to the train station, but we may just have walked. It worked well even in our sleep-deprived and jet-lagged state!

A taxi would be round about £130 doing a quick search. By comparison a coach would be £16 each - but the journey would be one change and a minimum of 4.5 hours.

What time does your flight arrive and now many of you are travelling together? If it's 3 people or more then it would be worth comparing the cost per head of a car with the cost of public transport. 1. Heathrow Connect to Paddington Station - £9.50. Takes longer than the Heathrow Express but is cheaper. Much quicker than the Tube 2. Paddington station to Marylebone station - it's three quarters of a mile and could be walked, or it's 2 stops on the Underground (Bakerloo line southbound, no changes, £2.10 if you have an Oyster card or £4.50 if you haven't, so get an Oyster card...) 3. Chiltern Railways service to Stratford-upon-Avon from London Marylebone, either direct or with one change, taking 2 hours (direct or changing at Banbury) or 3 hours (changing at Birmingham Snow Hill). Cheap 'Advance' fares are available on some departures for as little as £6, but they tie you to one particular train and have to be booked in advance, so let's keep it simple and take the Off-peak single price available on the day for £27.40 and valid for any departure between 09.10 and 15.18 (7 trains in total, 3 of them direct) So, if you walk from Paddington to Marylebone your costs are £36.90 each. If you get the Tube and you have an Oyster card then add another £2.10, £4.50 if you pay cash. Say £40 total per person. Heathrow Connect is 30 minutes, allow an hour at most to get to Marylebone and buy your tickets (actually 30 minutes is probably enough), then 2 hours if you get the direct train to Stratford, say 3.5 hours total on a good day with no stopping on route. Heathrow to Stratford by car would be 1.5 hours at best, on a good day with no delays.

Heathrow to Paddington via Heathrow Connect can take as long as one hour after reaching the train platform at LHR. I've arrived at the platform a couple of times just missing a Connect and had to wait half an hour for the next Connect. Meanwhile, at least 2 Heathrow Express trains stopped. For a quicker but more expensive, trip to Paddington, take the Express. Another difference between the Connect and Express: the Connect is a commuter train in the mornings. So if you board at LHR during morning commute times, the train will be filled to overflowing at the next two towns where the train stops. Think Standing Room Only. At the Paddington end, there are turnstiles and large crowds trying to get through during commute hours. This can take another few minutes if you are traveling with luggage.

Thanks for the replies. I have flown to London many times and know that I would be far too grumpy if I took the tube & then rail. So a car service it is and the cost seems to be 110-130 pounds. Now the question is what is a reliable car service. Any experiences?

Did you consider my coach option though - even though there is a change (London or Cheltenham) they do start from Heathrow Central, and less dragging bags around compared with going into London by rail or underground. Regarding taxis in general I would go for a firm based in Stratford rather than around Heathrow, but I have no specific local knowledge to help.