I am beginning my trip to Wales by going first to a relative in Chester by train.
I will arrive at Heathrow terminal 5.
Do I then take the Heathrow train to Paddington Station or can I go direct to Euston where I’m sure I change trains for Chester ?
How can I book these trains ?
Thanks to any responders familiar with this !
( I think there is also a bus direct to Chester from Heathrow , seemed very long with no toilet on board ?)
The Heathrow to Chester bus (like all National Express buses) has an on board toilet.
It also stops at Birmingham Digbeth Coach Station for 10 minutes- long enough to use the facilities there.
If it's not a driver change point the driver will probably also use the facilities!
To Euston there are various ways- Paddington then bus #205 is the easiest IMO, or Paddington, tube to Euston Square then 5 minute walk down the street to Euston, or Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road then Northern line tube to Euston for the main line train.
Or tube all the way, with various possible change points in central London.
No direct train, everything is a change somewhere.
I just did this last week although things didn’t go to plan.
My flight arrived at 11am. I had picked up my luggage and was through customs by 11:35am. I took the Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road. I then switched to the Northern line to Euston. I arrived at Euston at 12:45. I did not buy a ticket in advance because I could not predict whether my flight would arrive on time. I had planned to buy my ticket either at a machine inside the station or via the National Rail app. You can check the train times on https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Unfortunately, just as I got into the Euston railway station, there was an announcement that all services out of Euston were suspended so emergency personnel could respond to an incident. The time for services to resume kept getting pushed back and ultimately at 4pm I gave up and booked a hotel in London overnight. I ended up taking a train at 7:30 the following morning. I later learned that a person had been hit by a train and services out of Euston were disrupted for most of the day of my arrival
If the trains had been running and on-time I would have arrived in Chester between 3pm and 4pm.
In retrospect, I wish that I had just planned to spend my first night in London and not tried to continue on after a sleepless night on a plane. Lesson learned for the future.
I have the benefit of knowing the rail system inside out. It is much harder for those without such background knowledge.
My own reaction, if I had been at Euston when that happened would have been to read, on my tablet, the red Do Not Travel Notice which was issued. That authorised travellers to go to Marylebone and take a Chiltern train to Birmingham Moor Street for connections out of New Street for points in the North West or Wales, or to go to Kings Cross for points further north.
That is also the live advice I would have offered, if asked. Essentially to keep heading as far north as I could get on other routes. The train tracking apps would have told me while on the Chiltern train what routes were open beyond Birmingham as that coincided with flooding on the route to Chester via Shrewsbury.
From what I saw that night I would have been able to battle my way as far north as Lancaster/Morecambe before options ran out. I thought that night watching things unfold that I would probably have recessed overnight in Blackpool.
Thanks isn31c and Laura for the replies.
I’m sorry that you ran into such difficulty Laura.
Based on the complicated train changes at least to me, I want to take the bus from Heathrow to Chester. Where would I purchase a ticket in advance ? Or is it the same price to purchase on the day of at the airport ?
You would buy ahead of time at National Express.
Looking now (at 2315) the fare for the overnight bus (there is no way you will want to catch that) is £49.20, and for tomorrow afternoon's bus is £54.10
Looking ahead for the next 3 Thursdays it is the same fare, so seems to be consistent. You are paying a £21 airport premium. The bus starts from London Victoria. From Victoria the fare for tomorrow afternoon is £28.20.
If you buy from the machines at Heathrow Bus Station you will pay £2 more than each of the above fares.
The bus leaves from the Central Bus Station at Terminals 2 and 3. It is possible to book from Terminal 5 and catch a coach from T5 to CBS at 1600, but honestly just take a free train between the terminals every few minutes.
You know that I am jittery about you booking the bus in advance then your flight being late and missing the bus.
My own preference would be to catch the bus if the flight is on time, booking there and then. If the flight is late then go into London for a train up to the last at 2110.
If your flight landed after about 1930 (so 4 hours or so late) you aren't going to get the last train from Euston. Even I wouldn't be daft enough to catch the overnight bus after a TA flight. In that case just find a hotel at the airport and travel north next day.
Tonight there is a Premier Inn at the airport for as low as £63. For next Thursday £56.
The Holiday Inn Express at T5, which many people here like, if you walked up there now for tonight is £87.
So neither would break the bank if it came to that. The HIE includes breakfast which is £10 at the PI.
Just examples.
Thanks so much isn31c ! I’ll manage just fine with all of your information! The plan is to purchase a bis ticket at the airport ( if the plane is on time “ ish” ) If not, I’ll do the train ( but not late as you said) and yes those airport hotel rates are good .
