Cotswold Eagle

Not on the class 444 units used on Waterloo - Southampton (as per the video Globaliser posted). They are ideal for long distance commuting, but SWR use them heavily on holiday routes, and lack of luggage space is a well known issue. Anyone who commutes on these services will be well used to this issue!

Rule 2 of Cruise Critic: NEVER use the Drain! To be fair, it is a lot better after the refurbishment 20-ish (?) years ago. Although I haven't used it post-COVID, I would not recommend it to a tourist at 0830 heading to the City...

It's a good shout generally, but the London Eye pier doesn't start operating until after the OP needs to be at the Tower.

I absolutely agree with your choice of Tube line, but Westminster is significantly closer to the Park Plaza than Embankment, so I'd head there straight over the bridge.

First rule of Cruise Critic: NEVER change at Green Park (particularly with luggage) 😀

Have you sat in one? Both dimensions make a significant difference, particularly on a long haul, in my experience. I’m not sure why you are comparing a premium product to a business one, to be honest!

Specifically on the seat, that’s not quite right. Norse’s Premiun seat is slightly wider and has significantly better pitch (leg room) than is standard on legacy carriers, including BA.

As stated above, that is true of Premier Inns, but not of Premier Inn HUBs.

About 150 miles.

That’s the system showing you the most convenient transfer, assuming on time services. If you search just for Reading to Paddington trains you will see how many there are. Just jump on the first fast one when you get to the platform. .

11 or 10, as it happens, but they are both either side of the same island platform (and therefore down the same lift or escalator 😀) Trains may leave in a different order to arriving, but not worth stressing about, unless you are very late for a meeting in town (ahem). But do ignore any trains to Paddington posted from higher numbered platforms - these will be stoppers and take an extra 20-30 minutes, depending on how many extra places they stop at!

There are lifts at both ends of the upstream Golden Jubilee Bridge (ie the Westminster side) but I agree it’s not an ideal route with luggage!

Mapperton is a rather splendid Jacobean Manor House, garden and estate in private hands (the Earl of Sandwich) in Dorset, which is open to visit during the summer. It would appear that the Viscount Hinchingbrooke, who is the Earl's son, married an American lady who appeared on the show you mention and various other so-called reality shows in the States, none of which I have heard of previously! The Viscount and Viscountess manage the estate. [And this now ranks as the most English answer I have written on CC!] OP - I fear a private tour (or a car there and back) will be your only option, but I am not familiar with operators in that part of the country, I'm afraid.

I am surprised it's an edge case of a TOC not offering tickets available from the operating TOC (and others). It's not offered even if checking for a group of adults. I can hear Mr Bull exploding from here.... Commendably, I think, SWR does market Group Save specifically to families, even though as you say the discount is always off the adult fare. The actual condition applied is that at least one adult travels. For the OP's purposes, it's a walk up fare, like the Off Peaks, so could be bought on the day.

Which booking engine is that? As well as having a rather confusing interface, it’s not showing you the actual cheapest tickets for your journey, which is a Group Save, costing total £42.10 for Off Peak returns.

Yup, that's the only place they'll be able to get jobs out of the airport. It's sequenced too, so pretty much like a cab rank - I think I have read they can turn one job down before going to the back of the queue. https://www.uber.com/global/en/r/airports/lhr/driver-information/

That's not been true for some years. Uber and otters private hire drivers waiting for a fare must wait in the Authorised Vehicle Area (AVA) off the North Peri Road, similar to the black cab staging area. The app is geo-fenced to that location, so they should not be able to pick up airport fares from the villages,

Or, indeed, with three days to play with, literally anywhere else in the U.K. or the rest of Western Europe!

Yes, I’m afraid you’ll mostly find espresso-based drinks, either barista made or from a machine. I think filter coffee is still on the menu at Starbucks, but they may well have “run out” (not bothered). There is not the demand or profit margin to keep a fresh pot running. The ubiquitous Pret A Manger, mostly known for its sandwiches and other food, does have filter coffee on their menu. But again most food stores will sell basically a long americano with or without milk as ‘white’ or ‘black’ coffee.

The RailAir service will appear on rail planners if you put Heathrow Bus or a specific Terminal (avoiding the 'rail' versions...) as the destination, which I accept is not very helpful if you don't know that, which most visitors won't 🤣

I am very much in favour of visitor using the buses, but sadly the number 11 is not what it was - it used to run from Liverpool Street, through the City, past St Paul’s, up the Strand to Westminster through Trafalgar Square and then Victoria. These days it serves Waterloo Station, rather than Liverpool Street, so basically does a straight run down Victoria Street, round Parliament Square and over the bridge to Waterloo. This is a useful route for locals and visitors alike, but anything online more than a year old does not represent the route now.

Yes, this is not really a comment about 'Amsterdam port'....

Try clicking ‘See larger map’ in the box at upper left - that opens Google Maps successfully for me. Alternatively, copy the coordinates and paste into Google Maps. The King’s Gallery is on Google Maps, so if that doesn’t work, just navigate to there and walk a further minute up the road. You really can’t miss the entrance.

It’s on Buckingham Gate, a little way up from the King’s Galleries (near the traffic lights). If you go to the official website, click ‘Map and Directions’, it’s clearly marked. https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace

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.