|
Heathrow
is about 15 miles to the west of London. Like most large airports
there is little in the immediate vicinity to kill time.
If you are transferring through London it is easy to get away from
the airport and visit somewhere to remember.
The biggest draw is Central London, but there are other alternatives.
|
Stonehenge |
|
|
Windsor
Windsor
is just a few miles from Heathrow and a public bus service runs direct
from Heathrow to outside the Castle. Eton and Runnymede can also be
visited.
Hampton Court
Hampton
Court is an alternative to Windsor, a Tudor palace with grounds rather
than a castle. A 24x7 bus goes from Heathrow to nearby Hampton Court
many times an hour.
Stonehenge & Bath
It is
possible to take a day tour to either Stonehenge/Salisbury or Bath
by train.
Guided Tours
None of
the guided tour buses from London will pick up from Heathrow Hotels.
You can join a tour by taking the Heathrow Express or London Underground
trains to a central pick up point.
If there are 5 or more of you it is cost effective to hire your own
small bus and driver, see foot of page. |
Transferring
From Hotels to Heathrow
The defacto transport from all of Heathrow's main hotels are the Hoppa
Buses. These are expensive, complementary hotel buses were banned
many years ago from Heathrow.
The best place for exploring is to be at one of the hotels along the
Bath Road, the northern perimeter road, hotel numbers 7 to 9 and 11
to 19 on the hotel map below.
Frequent public buses
offer free fares to the central area where the train and bus stations
are. |
 |
The
Jury's Inn Hotel is also right next to Hatton Cross Underground Station.
For detailed information on hotel transfers see our Hotel
Hoppa page.
The public bus to Windsor passes nearby hotels 2,3,7,8 and 9 on the
hotel map below. |
Heathrow
to Central London
The cheapest option by far into Central London is to take the London
Underground. Trains operate about every 5 minutes between about 05:30
and 24:00. Journey time is about 45 minutes from the Heathrow Central
Station below the central bus station.
Heathrow London Underground Service Details |
 |
| Outside
these hours a night bus runs every 20 minutes from Piccadilly Circus
in London and goes along the Bath Road into the central area. |
Guided
Tours To Bath, Stonehenge, Stratford etc..
Tours run starting from London depart daily. Their main departure
hub is at Victoria, about 60 minutes on the London Underground from
Heathrow.
Day Tours
From London |
 |
| If
you have a small or large group it is cost effective to hire your
own small bus and driver, see foot of page. |
Windsor
Windsor is the closest 'main attraction' to Heathrow just a few miles.
For a full overview of what Windsor has to offer see our Windsor pages:
Visiting Windsor |
Heathrow to Windsor Bus |
Heathrow
to Windsor Bus
There
are public local buses that run between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Windsor,
run by the bus company First Bus. You pick up the buses from the bus stand
outside arrivals at Terminal 5, Heathrow.
Route 77 runs every 30 minutes, (hourly early mornings, evenings and Sundays).
35 minutes to Windsor Castle.
Route 71 runs at similar frequencies, but takes a different longer route. |
Route
71 takes 50 minutes but usefully stops 5 minutes walk from Runnymede,
(Magna Carta.) Get off at the Bells of Ouzeley pub in Old Windsor.
Combine the two, and its a great day out visiting Windsor, Runnymede and
Eton.
The 77 bus passes the Marriott Windsor and Quality Hotels.
The 423 bus runs around the perimeter road to Terminal 5 free of charge,
broadly every 20-30 minutes. The 423 passes or stops very near to the Jurys
Inn, Ibis, Holiday Inn Ariel, Holiday Inn Bath Road, Marriott Heathrow,
Sheraton Skyline, Radisson, Renaissance, Park Inn, Sheraton and Thistle
Hotels at Heathrow.
The Heathrow Express train connects Terminals 1,2 and 3 with Terminal 5
every 15 minutes, free of charge.
There are frequent public buses connecting Terminal 4 with Terminal 5, again
free of charge. |
|
Hampton
Court
The 285 public bus runs from Heathrow to Kingston about every 10-15
minutes. Kingston is a major shopping centre. There are boats down
the River Thames from Kingston to Hampton Court during the summer
or you can walk it in about 40 minutes. Buses to Hampton Court run
every few minutes and take only 5 minutes
Visiting
Hampton Court
Stonehenge
The gateway to Stonehenge is Salisbury, a city of major visitor
interest in its own right. From Heathrow Central Bus Station and
Terminal 4 there is a frequent RailAir bus that goes to Woking Station
where you connect to the Salisbury trains. You can buy a single
ticket that covers both bus and train, see train
timetables/fares.
Visiting Salisbury
& Stonehenge
Bath
There are direct National
Express coaches from Heathrow to Bath that take about 2.5 hours.
There are more frequent trains that are about 30 minutes faster
that involve a change of train. See UK
train timetables / fares
Visiting Bath
|
'Private
Tour + Driver/Guide'
For small
groups (or large ones) hiring a vehicle with a knowledgeable driver
is a flexible, convenient and economic option to see a little bit
of England.
We offer flat fee prices inclusive of vehicle, petrol and driver/guide.
The only extras are admission charges and in a minority of locations,
parking charges. |
 |
Sample
Itineraries
There is a wealth of interesting and historical places to visit, well
within a days tour of London. Some of the most popular destinations
include:
Windsor, Hampton Court, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Winchester, Avebury,
Glastonbury, Bath, Cotswolds, Oxford, Bleinheim Palace, Stratford
upon Avon, Warwick.
Some typical itineraries are:
Neolithic/Stonehenge Theme
0:00 - Pick up from Heathrow hotel / terminal
00.00 - 1:30 - Heathrow to Avebury via Marlborough
1:30 - 2:30 - Avebury - dowsing, ley lines, neolithic briefing
2:30 - 3:15 - Avebury to Stonehenge
3:15 - 4:00 - Stonehenge
4:00 - 5:30 - Stonehenge to Heathrow
Bath and English Countryside
0:00 - Pick up from Heathrow hotel / terminal
00.00 - 1:30 - Heathrow to Avebury via Marlborough
1:30 - 2:30 - Avebury Stone Circle / Village - dowsing, ley lines,
neolithic briefing
2:30 - 3:15 - Avebury to Lacock through country lanes
4:15 - 5:00 - Lacock - typical English Village
5:00 - 5:30 - Lacock - Bath
5:30 - 7:30 - Bath
7:30 - 9:30 - Bath to Heathrow |
| Private
Tours - Price Menu & Terms |
Passenger
Capacity |
Part
Day*
Short Range
7-8 Hours |
Full
Day*
Long Range
10 Hours |
Main
Booking Conditions |
| Mini
Van With Driver/Guide |
|
1-3
|
£295 |
£370 |
$US
100 Deposit
Full refund up to 60 days before day.
Price not inclusive of admissions |
| Mini
Bus With Driver/Guide |
|
5-8
|
£350 |
£400 |
No
deposit, credit card secures day.
Pay on day.
Price not inclusive of admissions |
|
16
|
£400+£25
Each Passenger Over 8
(e.g. 12 passengers = £500) |
* A
short day is 7-8 hours, enough time to visit locations like Windsor or Hampton
Court relatively close to London at leisure or a visit to Stonehenge/Salisbury
or Stratford Upon Avon a couple hours travel from London.
A long day, around 10 hours enables you to visit places like Bath or Glastonbury
or combine popular destinations like Stonehenge, Cotswolds & Bath or
Oxford with Stratford Upon Avon and Warwick Castle. (See example tours for
guidance) |
| |
|
