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To Heathrow via National Rail?

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Is there a practical route from Greenwich or Lewisham to Heathrow that uses only National Rail (not the Underground)?
 
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RJ

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Is there a practical route from Greenwich or Lewisham to Heathrow that uses only National Rail (not the Underground)?

Hi,

I can only suggest you take the bus 436 direct from Lewisham to Paddington, where you have a choice of taking the Heathrow Express, or slower but cheaper Heathrow Connect National Rail services.

The 436 is a slow bus and feels a bit on the squalid side at the best of times, but it will get you there.
 
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Ivo

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If you wish to avoid the Underground, you alternatively could try the following:

Lewisham or Greenwich to London Waterloo East (changing at London Bridge if necessary)
London Waterloo to Feltham
285 or 490 bus to Heathrow Airport

Far cheaper than Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect, and reduces the time spent on a bus.

But, to answer your question, unless you fancy a long walk, the answer is no. Sorry.
 

island

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No practical one that I'm aware of; to do it all on NR would be via Waterloo East, Staines, Reading, and Hayes & Harlington and take most of the day!
 

Slough

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New cross gate to Richmond on London overground , 490 bus from Richmond to heathrow

Or
New cross gate to west Croydon London overground , x26 bus to heathrow air port
 

34D

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Is there a practical route from Greenwich or Lewisham to Heathrow that uses only National Rail (not the Underground)?

Which aspect of the underground are you trying to avoid?

-is it the claustrophobia of being in a small train in a hole in the ground?

-do you need level access for wheelchairs or prams?

-do you want to avoid something that will be rammed with people?
 

hairyhandedfool

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Not strictly NR only (it does involve walking), but from Lewisham go to New Cross, up the East London Line to Highbury and Islington (or Canonbury), head west on the North London Line to Acton Central, walk to Acton Mainline and then head to Heathrow via Hayes and Harlington. However, I think the walk is of a fair distance and the journey is probably not doable on one ticket.
 

Paul Kelly

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I too would recommend via Waterloo East/Waterloo to Feltham and then bus from there (285 to terminals 1/2/3, 490 to terminals 4/5). I have done this journey (from Hither Green to Heathrow) in the evening peak and found it very satisfactory, although the train from Waterloo to Feltham was pretty packed.
 

island

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Which aspect of the underground are you trying to avoid?

-is it the claustrophobia of being in a small train in a hole in the ground?

-do you need level access for wheelchairs or prams?

-do you want to avoid something that will be rammed with people?

An answer to this might better shape the potential replies we can give. Paging FamilyVacation!
 

phil35

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Slightly off topic I guess, but I need to get back from Heathrow to Kings Cross in a couple of months. Am I right in thinking these are the options I have?

- Underground all the way (cheapest, but slowest)
- Heathrow Connect to Paddington then Underground from Paddington to KX (medium cost, medium speed)
- Heathrow Express to Paddington then Underground from Paddington to KX (most expensive, quickest)

I've took the tube the last time I had to do this, and I didn't really mind the longer journey time. There's no reason for me to take either of the Heathrow Express / Connect services is there?
 

Deerfold

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Slightly off topic I guess, but I need to get back from Heathrow to Kings Cross in a couple of months. Am I right in thinking these are the options I have?

- Underground all the way (cheapest, but slowest)
- Heathrow Connect to Paddington then Underground from Paddington to KX (medium cost, medium speed)
- Heathrow Express to Paddington then Underground from Paddington to KX (most expensive, quickest)

I've took the tube the last time I had to do this, and I didn't really mind the longer journey time. There's no reason for me to take either of the Heathrow Express / Connect services is there?

There's not a huge difference in the journey times of the Piccadlly line and Heathrow Connect if you're heading for Kings X assuming no problems on the tube.

Another option (though not particularly useful for this journey) is NX Coach Heathrow-Victoria Coach Station, walk to Victoria, Victoria Line to KX. Coaches are typically every half hour.
 

DVD

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I don't go to Heathrow very often but always use Heathrow Express. Yes it costs a small fortune - but I get a third off with my Gold Card - and the trains are ever so comfortable. The last time I did the trip (also from SE London) I got a black cab from Charing X to Paddington, hate lugging heavy luggage on buses or trains.
 

bicbasher

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New cross gate to Richmond on London overground , 490 bus from Richmond to heathrow

This would require a change at Clapham Junction on a direct Southern service (Mon-Sat only) or on London Overground at Crystal Palace, then a Southern to CJ before changing for a SWT service.
 
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An answer to this might better shape the potential replies we can give. Paging FamilyVacation!
Sorry for the delay in responding. We will have a lot of luggage, so I'd like to avoid stairs and long walks. This will be on a Sunday morning, so hopefully nothing will be too crowded. Sure, it would be nice to be aboveground, but not if it adds hours to the trip. I have a decent Underground routing (DLR and Circle to Paddington), but there are trains through Lewisham and I thought maybe there would be a train connection to Paddington where we could pick up Heathrow Connect or Express.
 

34D

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Sorry for the delay in responding. We will have a lot of luggage, so I'd like to avoid stairs and long walks. This will be on a Sunday morning, so hopefully nothing will be too crowded. Sure, it would be nice to be aboveground, but not if it adds hours to the trip. I have a decent Underground routing (DLR and Circle to Paddington), but there are trains through Lewisham and I thought maybe there would be a train connection to Paddington where we could pick up Heathrow Connect or Express.

In that case, I recommend SouthEastern to London Bridge, jubilee line to Westminster, and then circle line to Paddington.

The reason I recommend this is that the interchanges are step-free: london bridge is ramps and lifts, westminster is lifts, and paddington is ramps.

For going back, a bit different. Go to the same paddington platform as before (outer rail, platform 2), take the circle line to Edgware Road (NOT the district line), then circle/H&C from edgware road platform 1 to Kings Cross, then northern to London Bridge.

Paddington circle line plat 2 is ramped as before, that circle line train should arrive on Edgware road platform 2, which is the same island platform as edgware road platform 1 (outer rail) to kings cross.
 

MCR247

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You can't tell at Paddington if a trains a district line or circle line can you?
 

RJ

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Sorry for the delay in responding. We will have a lot of luggage, so I'd like to avoid stairs and long walks. This will be on a Sunday morning, so hopefully nothing will be too crowded. Sure, it would be nice to be aboveground, but not if it adds hours to the trip. I have a decent Underground routing (DLR and Circle to Paddington), but there are trains through Lewisham and I thought maybe there would be a train connection to Paddington where we could pick up Heathrow Connect or Express.

Unfortunately not! The only direct way to Paddington is on the bus 436 which would probably take less than an hour from Lewisham on a Sunday morning. There'll be space for your luggage in the wheelchair area.
 

IslandDweller

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If I was starting in Lewisham and want to get to Heathrow, I would not go via Paddington. It's out of your way. Any theoretical time saving by using HEx gets taken away in practise by the (1) infrequent timetable of HEx compared to Piccadily line and (2) the awkwardness of tube/mainline interchange at Paddington. There is also the very large price premium.

I would just take a tube from central London - which will be a lot cheaper, about the same end to end time as HEx.
Using Jubilee then District then Piccadily sounds like a lot of faff but the Jubilee has lifts and the connection from District to Piccadily is level / cross platform.
 

Wolfie

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This would require a change at Clapham Junction on a direct Southern service (Mon-Sat only) or on London Overground at Crystal Palace, then a Southern to CJ before changing for a SWT service.

Not necessarily. New Cross Gate to Canonbury (or Highbury & Islington) on East London line, Canonbury (H&I) to Richmond on North London line (both London Overground). Your way is likely faster though.....
 

bicbasher

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Not necessarily. New Cross Gate to Canonbury (or Highbury & Islington) on East London line, Canonbury (H&I) to Richmond on North London line (both London Overground). Your way is likely faster though.....

Indeed, but not as cheaper as the OP would have to pay a via Zone 1 fare.
 
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If I was starting in Lewisham and want to get to Heathrow, I would not go via Paddington. It's out of your way. Any theoretical time saving by using HEx gets taken away in practise by the (1) infrequent timetable of HEx compared to Piccadily line and (2) the awkwardness of tube/mainline interchange at Paddington. There is also the very large price premium.

I would just take a tube from central London - which will be a lot cheaper, about the same end to end time as HEx.
Using Jubilee then District then Piccadily sounds like a lot of faff but the Jubilee has lifts and the connection from District to Piccadily is level / cross platform.
If taking the tube to Heathrow then, a zone 1-3 Travelcard on an Oyster would need money added to it, correct? Where would I find that amount? Thanks.
 

34D

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If taking the tube to Heathrow then, a zone 1-3 Travelcard on an Oyster would need money added to it, correct? Where would I find that amount? Thanks.

You sound like you have no payg balance on this card. As a forum, we always recommend that people have payg credit on an oyster card, as it removes another risk of something causing problems.
 

Sieni

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This its my daily commmute, so I can speak with some authority on this matter.

At London Bridge you will arrive on one of platforms 1-5. Go down the ramp, down one small escalator and into the tube station. Go through the Jubilee gate line (first gates on left) keep to the far left, and you will find London Bridge's best kept secret - the Jubilee line passenger lift. Take the Jubilee Northbound to Baker Street. Ideally you should be at the front of the train, the opposite end from the lift, but this isn't important. At Baker Street change to the Bakerloo Northbound, the two lines are on the same level and this changeover is just a short passageway. At Paddington it's one long escalator to the tube ticket hall, and then a short one to the mainline station.

If it's possible to start your journey on the London Overground at, say, Brockley, New Cross Gate or Surrey Quays then it's even easier. Change from the Overground to the Jubilee at Canada Water, this is one small escalator - much easier than changing at London Bridge.

Don't take the Circle or District lines unless you enjoy tube travel so much that you want to prolong the experience.
 

34D

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This its my daily commmute, so I can speak with some authority on this matter.

At London Bridge you will arrive on one of platforms 1-5. Go down the ramp, down one small escalator and into the tube station. Go through the Jubilee gate line (first gates on left) keep to the far left, and you will find London Bridge's best kept secret - the Jubilee line passenger lift. Take the Jubilee Northbound to Baker Street. Ideally you should be at the front of the train, the opposite end from the lift, but this isn't important. At Baker Street change to the Bakerloo Northbound, the two lines are on the same level and this changeover is just a short passageway. At Paddington it's one long escalator to the tube ticket hall, and then a short one to the mainline station.

If it's possible to start your journey on the London Overground at, say, Brockley, New Cross Gate or Surrey Quays then it's even easier. Change from the Overground to the Jubilee at Canada Water, this is one small escalator - much easier than changing at London Bridge.

Don't take the Circle or District lines unless you enjoy tube travel so much that you want to prolong the experience.

Good suggestion, though does include escalators
 
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