Southampton-London Transfers - Airport (LHR/LGW) - NEW THREAD!

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, JBCall said:

... our hotel in Greenwich.

 

Where in Greenwich? That could have a major bearing on routing. The word covers a big area.

 

Is there a particular reason for picking Greenwich, which is a pretty inconvenient area for a one-night stay between Southampton and Heathrow?

 

For tickets, if you're using public transport throughout then the easiest thing to do is just to buy a ticket from Southampton to London Waterloo. Once you get to Waterloo, the journey from there to Greenwich and the journey from Greenwich to Heathrow can all be paid for by a pay-as-you-go method (basically Oyster or contactless bank card). It may not end up being as cheap as theoretically possible, but it's the least hassle way to do it.

[PORT ROYAL]

Apologies for the interruption. A little confused.

Why is a large People Carrier, that will ensure the whole party arrives at the hotel in comfort, without any stress or angst, not part of the discussion?

[JBCall]

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

Is there a particular reason for picking Greenwich, which is a pretty inconvenient area for a one-night stay between Southampton and Heathrow?

 

Yes.  My wife's grandmother (who passed before they could meet) grew up in the area before emigrating to Canada.  So our thinking was to spend a little time there to soak up the vibe of her family history.  If we have time we may try to get to a couple of the more standard tourist highlights.  We are staying at the Novotel Greenwich (off Greenwich High Road).

 

Do you know the likely time difference for the train versus a car service from Southampton to our hotel?

 

Thanks.

[gumshoe958]

7 hours ago, JBCall said:

 

Yes.  My wife's grandmother (who passed before they could meet) grew up in the area before emigrating to Canada.  So our thinking was to spend a little time there to soak up the vibe of her family history.  If we have time we may try to get to a couple of the more standard tourist highlights.  We are staying at the Novotel Greenwich (off Greenwich High Road).

 

Do you know the likely time difference for the train versus a car service from Southampton to our hotel?

 

Thanks.

Thanks for the info.

 

By car, Southampton to Greenwich will take a minimum of 2 hours 15 minutes if there’s no traffic, but probably more.

 

By train, the quickest route would probably be Southampton to London Waterloo, Waterloo East to London Bridge, then London Bridge to Greenwich. Which can be done in about 2 hours 10 minutes (fast trains run every half hour).

 

With four of you plus luggage, I’d be minded to book a car service. I’m guessing it’ll cost around the £200 mark to Greenwich.

[Island2Dweller]

The Novotel is literally at the door of Greenwich railway station.  It's also only a five to ten minute walk to the historic core with the naval college etc. It's also connected to the DLR network.  Using that you can make one change (at West India Quay) to then get the Elizabeth line to Heathrow.

If you book an "advance" rail ticket, (it's a particular ticket type, it is valid on the booked train only) you can get four people from Southampton to Greenwich for about £75.  You can buy "walk up" tickets on the day, but that will cost about £130 for four.

You would change at Waterloo and London Bridge, which sounds daunting but is not as hard as it sounds.  Escalators and lifts available, so you don't need to haul bags up stairs.

A car service is obviously door to door convenient but will cost much more.  Traffic is unpredictable.  About once per month (very rough average) a problem with the Blackwall tunnel will cause Greenwich to go into gridlock.  Never any way to predict. 

[Globaliser]

9 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

By train, the quickest route would probably be Southampton to London Waterloo, Waterloo East to London Bridge, then London Bridge to Greenwich. Which can be done in about 2 hours 10 minutes (fast trains run every half hour).

 

9 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

The Novotel is literally at the door of Greenwich railway station.  It's also only a five to ten minute walk to the historic core with the naval college etc. It's also connected to the DLR network.  Using that you can make one change (at West India Quay) to then get the Elizabeth line to Heathrow.

 

The route described by gumshoe958 is an obvious one to Greenwich station. It does, however, have two disadvantages.

 

The principal one is that London Bridge is a large, busy and potentially confusing place to change trains. In particular, the train from Waterloo East is likely to arrive at either platform 6 or platform 7, and you would have to go down to the main concourse and then up again to (probably) platform 1 or platform 4 (which are not adjacent to each other) to get the train to Greenwich. This is fine if you know the station well and know how it works, or you're comfortable with large and busy stations, but can be a bit daunting if it's novel. And if you don't time it right, you could potentially miss a train or two because you've put yourself on the wrong platform for the next train to Greenwich.

 

Also, at Waterloo East the trains to London Bridge may depart from Platform A or Platform C, which again are not adjacent to each other. Again, you could potentially miss a train or two.

 

So one alternative would be to take the Jubilee Line from Waterloo to Canary Wharf, then the DLR from Heron Quays to Greenwich. The change from Canary Wharf Tube to Heron Quays involves exiting one station and entering the other, but they're actually only 100 yards apart and it is officially an interchange (which I myself use from time to time). No issues with multiple platforms, and the stations are less confusing than London Bridge. Service frequency on each part of this route is generally at least as good as between Waterloo East and London Bridge, and between London Bridge and Greenwich.

 

As Island2Dweller says, DLR --> Elizabeth Line is the obvious (and easy) public transport route to Heathrow. At West India Quay you need to the DLR station and walk about 100 yards to Canary Wharf Elizabeth Line station. Again, this is an official interchange (that I sometimes use myself).

  

9 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

About once per month (very rough average) a problem with the Blackwall tunnel will cause Greenwich to go into gridlock.  Never any way to predict. 

 

At the moment there are quite a number of (entire) weekends of Blackwall Tunnel southbound closure. I don't know whether these closures are causing gridlock in or on the approach to Greenwich from the direction of central London, but they certainly are causing gridlock north of the river.

[JBCall]

Much appreciated @gumshoe958, @Island2Dweller, @Globaliser!

 

You all provided great straight forward advice.  Not quite decided on what we will do but I feel better about understanding the options.

[BodaciousB]

Just booked a quick getaway in September out of Portsmouth on Resilient Lady. Due to my work schedule I'm considering flying into Heathrow (from the U.S.) the morning of embarkation and I'm thinking that a private car transfer would be the safest bet to get from the airport to the cruise terminal, this thread is so long but I'm not sure if the advice herein applies to Portsmouth as well as Southampton as the two cruise ports seem to be about 25 miles away from each other. I know the trains are an option and we won't have much luggage for a 4 night cruise but if I'm reading things correctly it seems we'd need to change trains twice and given that we will be tired from the overnight flight I'm not sure I'd want to deal with it. Is it crazy to fly into Heathrow on the same day we embark? I've got 3 flights to choose from that would get us in between 6:30 and 11:00 am. All aboard time is 4 pm for a 6 pm sail away. Thank you! 

[TouchstoneFeste]

I've searched and gone through this topic, and I'm not finding an answer to the question: best ways to get from Heathrow to our pre-cruise hotel, the Clermont Charing Cross. This would be a Tuesday in early September, wheels down at 12:30pm. We'll have only carry-on luggage.

 

National Express seems to be telling me that I can get from Heathrow to Waterloo Station, but this is done by changing at Victoria (after a 1 hour trip) and that the trip onward to Waterloo takes an additional hour. It seems like you could walk from Victoria to Waterloo in less :) Would that change involve getting on another National Express coach, or changing modes? In either case we'd probably end up taking a cab to the hotel from the station. Would it make sense just to grab a taxi at Victoria?

 

Does National Express not "do" the north bank?

 

In the past we've always taken cabs from LHR to central London, and I'm aware of car service options, and (given the cost of our cruise) don't think those options are unreasonably expensive. But are there other alternatives? 

[Island2Dweller]

National Express coach goes to Victoria coach station.  A couple of miles from Charing Cross, so not particularly handy fo your hotel.

Cheapest (and often fastest) is by underground (tube).  Will take under and hour and cost less than £6 per head (so long as you use a contactless bank card / smartphone / smartwatch).  Piccadilly line from Heathrow (the trains start at the airport so you will always get a seat).  Change at Hammersmith (cross platform, about 2 yards walk) to District line to Embankment.  Five minute walk to hotel.  Perfectly safe, at your time of day it won't be too busy.  Not recomended on a very hot day as not air con.

Convenient option is a pre-booked private hire car.  Many options such as Blackberry and Simply Airports.  The driver will meet you at the arrivals door.  Price is agreed and fixed in advance.  Comfortable but costs much more than the tube.

[gumshoe958]

2 hours ago, BodaciousB said:

Just booked a quick getaway in September out of Portsmouth on Resilient Lady. Due to my work schedule I'm considering flying into Heathrow (from the U.S.) the morning of embarkation and I'm thinking that a private car transfer would be the safest bet to get from the airport to the cruise terminal, this thread is so long but I'm not sure if the advice herein applies to Portsmouth as well as Southampton as the two cruise ports seem to be about 25 miles away from each other. I know the trains are an option and we won't have much luggage for a 4 night cruise but if I'm reading things correctly it seems we'd need to change trains twice and given that we will be tired from the overnight flight I'm not sure I'd want to deal with it. Is it crazy to fly into Heathrow on the same day we embark? I've got 3 flights to choose from that would get us in between 6:30 and 11:00 am. All aboard time is 4 pm for a 6 pm sail away. Thank you! 

I think most people here would advise against flying in on embarkation morning, particularly long-haul. If everything goes to plan you’ll be fine, but if your flight’s cancelled or significantly delayed your options may run out very quickly.

 

Your options for transport between Heathrow and Portsmouth are:

 

National Express coach (every couple of hours, journey time 3.5 hours)

 

Railair bus to Woking then train (every half hour, journey time 2.5 to 3 hours)

 

Pre-booked private car transfer (journey time 75-90 mins but expensive)

 

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, TouchstoneFeste said:

I've searched and gone through this topic, and I'm not finding an answer to the question: best ways to get from Heathrow to our pre-cruise hotel, the Clermont Charing Cross.

Unsurprisingly, as this topic is about transfers between London and Southampton, not journeys into town from Heathrow 😉

National Express is primarily an inter-city bus service, with Victoria as the London terminal. For Victoria to Charing Cross you’d get a cab or move onto London Transport, which would involve a walk to Victoria tube station.
 

You got good advice on other options from Heathrow above from Island2Dweller. Another version (and what I would do) is to get the Heathrow Express (or Elizabeth Line) from Heathrow to Paddington and take the Bakerloo underground line from there to Charing Cross.  

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

Piccadilly line from Heathrow (the trains start at the airport so you will always get a seat).  Change at Hammersmith (cross platform, about 2 yards walk) to District line to Embankment.  Five minute walk to hotel.  Perfectly safe, at your time of day it won't be too busy.  Not recomended on a very hot day as not air con.

 

At risk of further cluttering a thread that's actually about transfers to/from Southampton: District Line trains are air-conditioned. They can be a real haven on a summer's day.

[TouchstoneFeste]

5 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Unsurprisingly, as this topic is about transfers between London and Southampton, not journeys into town from Heathrow 😉

 

Sorry for taking the discussion off topic (but I did my searches on the entire forum; perhaps I should have started an entirely new thread). In any case, I thank you all for your suggestions.

[dstein]

On 6/14/2024 at 1:25 PM, TouchstoneFeste said:

I've searched and gone through this topic, and I'm not finding an answer to the question: best ways to get from Heathrow to our pre-cruise hotel, the Clermont Charing Cross. This would be a Tuesday in early September, wheels down at 12:30pm. We'll have only carry-on luggage.

This is something I did a LOT of research on for a trip for next year - also planning to stay at Clermont Charing Cross.  Received some great help from others here on CC.  Ignoring things like private cars and staying focused on mass transit, the two main options seem to be:

 

1) Underground: Take ELIZABETH LINE from Heathrow and transfer to NORTHERN LINE at Tottenham Court Road.  The transfer involves walking + escalators, but no stairs.  Exit at EMBANKMENT rather than Charing Cross.  (The reason for this is to avoid hauling your luggage up a ton of stairs at Charing Cross station.  Embankment may involve more walking within the underground station plus the walk from station to hotel - but this walk basically involves just escalators and flat ground rather than 50-ish stairs at Charing Cross UG station.)  Navigating from terminal to the UG station at LHR is SIMPLE.  Extremely well-marked and obvious.   For more details re: navigating Embankment station, see my post at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2998845-escalators-at-embankment-tube-station/#comment-67126183

 

 

2) UG+Bus: As above, take ELIZABETH LINE from Heathrow and exit at Tottenham Court Road station.  Take Bus 176 from Stop S to Trafalgar Square/Charing Cross Stop G (on Duncannon St).  Bus will have one low step to navigate and you can store luggage in the wheelchair area (if not in use - otherwise, you may have to wait for another bus, which run every 8-10 minutes).  The final stop on Duncannon is only about 500ft of walking to the hotel on surface streets.  Assuming you don't have to wait for later buses, options 1 and 2 are both about the same estimated time.

[PORT ROYAL]

42 minutes ago, dstein said:

This is something I did a LOT of research on for a trip for next year - also planning to stay at Clermont Charing Cross.  Received some great help from others here on CC.  Ignoring things like private cars and staying focused on mass transit, the two main options seem to be:

 

1) Underground: Take ELIZABETH LINE from Heathrow and transfer to NORTHERN LINE at Tottenham Court Road.  The transfer involves walking + escalators, but no stairs.  Exit at EMBANKMENT rather than Charing Cross.  (The reason for this is to avoid hauling your luggage up a ton of stairs at Charing Cross station.  Embankment may involve more walking within the underground station plus the walk from station to hotel - but this walk basically involves just escalators and flat ground rather than 50-ish stairs at Charing Cross UG station.)  Navigating from terminal to the UG station at LHR is SIMPLE.  Extremely well-marked and obvious.   For more details re: navigating Embankment station, see my post at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2998845-escalators-at-embankment-tube-station/#comment-67126183

 

 

2) UG+Bus: As above, take ELIZABETH LINE from Heathrow and exit at Tottenham Court Road station.  Take Bus 176 from Stop S to Trafalgar Square/Charing Cross Stop G (on Duncannon St).  Bus will have one low step to navigate and you can store luggage in the wheelchair area (if not in use - otherwise, you may have to wait for another bus, which run every 8-10 minutes).  The final stop on Duncannon is only about 500ft of walking to the hotel on surface streets.  Assuming you don't have to wait for later buses, options 1 and 2 are both about the same estimated time.

Has one considered National Express from Heathrow to Southampton.  Cab to overnight hotel. cab to ship.  Just a thought…

[TouchstoneFeste]

33 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Has one considered National Express from Heathrow to Southampton.  Cab to overnight hotel. cab to ship.  Just a thought…

 

And a worthy thought, but it doesn't work for me. I need to land in London briefly for my own nefarious reasons ... my cruise doesn't depart from Southampton.

[Ciadan]

On 6/15/2024 at 11:21 PM, PORT ROYAL said:

Has one considered National Express from Heathrow to Southampton.  Cab to overnight hotel. cab to ship.  Just a thought…

This is what we're doing.  Flying in the day before we embark.  Our only worry now is that Aer Lingus pilots are threating to strike and we're hoping our flight isn't affected!