Heathrow or Gatwick?

Background: We will be flying from Boston into and out of London for our extended trip August - September and into October. It will include visits to Devon and Cornwall (family heritage), an escorted tour out of London around the British Isles, Paris, Italy (cousins reunion) and possibly Switzerland and or an eastern Med cruise. Then back to London area for a bit more before westbound to home. We travel relatively light - one roller back and one shoulder tote each.

We fly through Iceland for shorter flights so we can choose LHR or LGW. Would like a train to Devon after our arrival then a rental car for the western visit; then possibly train or ferry to France and into Paris.... probably train to Milan for cousins reunion, eventually fly back to England for time in London.

Transportation questions:

Do trains go west from Gatwick to Devon?

How does one get from Gatwick to London - coach or train?

Considering Ferry from Portsmouth to LeHavre then train into Paris... this seems faster than going from Portsmouth all the way to London for the Eurostar to Paris.

Any thoughts will help me! Thank you all. This is a part of our world I haven't been to in 40+ years and I'm so excited to be planning it but it is a big bite. CCers are the best! m--

Background: We will be flying from Boston into and out of London for our extended trip August - September and into October. It will include visits to Devon and Cornwall (family heritage), an escorted tour out of London around the British Isles, Paris, Italy (cousins reunion) and possibly Switzerland and or an eastern Med cruise. Then back to London area for a bit more before westbound to home. We travel relatively light - one roller back and one shoulder tote each.

 

We fly through Iceland for shorter flights so we can choose LHR or LGW. Would like a train to Devon after our arrival then a rental car for the western visit; then possibly train or ferry to France and into Paris.... probably train to Milan for cousins reunion, eventually fly back to England for time in London.

 

Transportation questions:

Do trains go west from Gatwick to Devon?

How does one get from Gatwick to London - coach or train?

Considering Ferry from Portsmouth to LeHavre then train into Paris... this seems faster than going from Portsmouth all the way to London for the Eurostar to Paris.

 

Any thoughts will help me! Thank you all. This is a part of our world I haven't been to in 40+ years and I'm so excited to be planning it but it is a big bite. CCers are the best! m--

1) No, They do to Devon on an extension of the Great Western line; so Heathrow is the better option. From LHR take the RailAir bus to "Reading", and catch the train from there. If you wanted to go from Gatwick to Devon via train, you'd have to backtrack into central London

2) Train. There's the "Gatwick Express" to London Victoria, plus various local services to London Bridge, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, St Pancras. Really depends where you're staying, but train is the easiest. Elevator down from the South Terminal to get to the platform

3) Fly, Check FlyBE and Easyjet for flights from Exeter, Bristol, Bournemouth or Southampton for a flight into France; no need to go all the way back into London. Caution baggage allowances on the discount carriers, but as you said you travel light...

Definitely fly into Heathrow, much easier and quicker access to Devon & Cornwall.

You may find this website useful for UK travel both trains & buses:

http://www.traveline.info/

As the previous poster said perhaps Easyjet or one of the other low-cost airlines to either France or Italy.

Great feedback, thank you! I think this is the most difficult stage of planning... we have the concept down but so many options. You've helped greatly. Now to the next stages. m--

This map will give you a better idea of which London stations serve which bit of the country.

The only thing that is wrong, is that Eurostar services now run from St Pancras International. The only reason for the lines in red is that this map was produced by GNER who ran the East Coast services at the time of printing.

Simon

Background: We will be flying from Boston into and out of London for our extended trip August - September and into October. It will include visits to Devon and Cornwall (family heritage), an escorted tour out of London around the British Isles, Paris, Italy (cousins reunion) and possibly Switzerland and or an eastern Med cruise. Then back to London area for a bit more before westbound to home. We travel relatively light - one roller back and one shoulder tote each.

 

We fly through Iceland for shorter flights so we can choose LHR or LGW. Would like a train to Devon after our arrival then a rental car for the western visit; then possibly train or ferry to France and into Paris.... probably train to Milan for cousins reunion, eventually fly back to England for time in London.

 

Transportation questions:

Do trains go west from Gatwick to Devon?

How does one get from Gatwick to London - coach or train?

Considering Ferry from Portsmouth to LeHavre then train into Paris... this seems faster than going from Portsmouth all the way to London for the Eurostar to Paris.

 

Any thoughts will help me! Thank you all. This is a part of our world I haven't been to in 40+ years and I'm so excited to be planning it but it is a big bite. CCers are the best! m--

We did a similar trip last year. Flew to Heathrow, underground to Paddington for Great Western Train. Found Easyjet great to get to Paris and Venice. Enjoy

There is an hourly train from Gatwick to Reading where you can catch the Exeter/Penzance Train. Some trains are direct and others involve changes so you need to choose the right one.

If Gatwick is a significantly cheaper flight then I would go for that.

You might also look into flights to Bristol which would be a much better airport if there is a connection.

We did a similar trip last year. Flew to Heathrow, underground to Paddington for Great Western Train. Found Easyjet great to get to Paris and Venice. Enjoy

There's a bus (takes 40-45 mins, every 20 mins) from Heathrow to Reading station to join up with the main lines leaving London heading west. No need to go into London and back out.

There is an hourly train from Gatwick to Reading where you can catch the Exeter/Penzance Train. Some trains are direct and others involve changes so you need to choose the right one.

 

If Gatwick is a significantly cheaper flight then I would go for that.

 

You might also look into flights to Bristol which would be a much better airport if there is a connection.

There's a bus (takes 40-45 mins, every 20 mins) from Heathrow to Reading station to join up with the main lines leaving London heading west. No need to go into London and back out.

Great ideas! I think the flight into Gatwick would save us about $100-$200 depending on the day, so not a great amount but worth looking at options, plus I think the timing was better than the Heathrow flight. But if we need to pick Heathrow it's good to know there is a coach option to help us get to the west!

The Reading train sounds very interesting if the timing would work out. I will look at Bristol for flights to Paris or Milan. And then we'd want to make time for a few days in London on our return in October before we leave westbound for Iceland and the States. That leg may have a flight from southern Europe into Heathrow.

I know there's always a way. Thanks you for helping me sort it out. m--

Use this link for trains to Reading and Devon:

https://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Train-times-and-tickets