Do We have Time to Sightsee?

[txbird]

My husband and I are scheduled to arrive on American Airlines at LHR at 6:25am on Sat. Nov. 3rd. We have a scheduled layover of 8 hours. Our question is: Do we have time to take the Tube to see a few sights, and make it back in time to catch our scheduled British Airways flight to Barcelona at 2:25pm? We realize that we would not be able to do any tours, but we thought it might be fun to see some of London: perhaps Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, or London Bridge, etc. Thanks in advance for all opinions and suggestions.

[Post Captain]

My husband and I are scheduled to arrive on American Airlines at LHR at 6:25am on Sat. Nov. 3rd. We have a scheduled layover of 8 hours. Our question is: Do we have time to take the Tube to see a few sights, and make it back in time to catch our scheduled British Airways flight to Barcelona at 2:25pm?

 

In theory, yes, you do--but in practice it may not be as easy as it might seem from this distance. Mind you, it's something I definitely would have done when I was younger:)--and still might attempt if I was travelling on my own. (My wife would be more cautious!)

 

There are several factors to keep in mind. First, you are likely to be suffering jet lag after your overnight flight from the states. (I assume you are taking a direct flight from Dallas or Houston?--an even longer flight than what I am used to when arriving from the New York metro area.) By the time you land, you may not be so eager to go exploring.

 

Second, although your flight is scheduled to land at 6:25, it may be 7:30 or later by the time you have passed through Immigration and collected your luggage.* That assumes you land on time to begin with--not something I'd be willing to guarantee.

 

*(Question: Is your luggage being checked through to Barcelona, or will you have to claim it at Heathrow and then check it in later when you check in for your flight to Barcelona? If the latter, you will need to leave it at a "left luggage" storage facility in the terminal. I know they had luggage storage pre-7/7/05, but I'm not sure if they still do, for security reasons. I'm sure someone else on these boards will have the answer.)

 

Anyway, say you are in the terminal by 7:30 a.m. You'll need to make your way to the Underground station (beneath the terminal) & buy your tickets... The upshot: By the time you reach central London, it likely will be 9-ish. Also bear in mind that the train will become crowded with commuters as it makes its way toward London.

 

Assuming you want to do this, I'd suggest you get off at Green Park station--reasonably close to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, etc. (The stroll through Green Park is quite pleasant.) Again, others may have a different suggestion.

 

However, this still will leave you just a couple of hours to "see" London. You'll have to be back at Heathrow a good two hours before your flight to Barcelona, which means you'd have to be back on the Tube by no later than 11:30 or so.

 

So, is it worth it? IMHO, anything is better than sitting around Heathrow for all those hours! But as to whether you'll really be able to enjoy your whirlwind visit without feeling anxious about having to get back to Heathrow on time--well, it's your call.

 

Sorry I can't be more definitive, but I hope this helps. Bon voyage!

[murphysmum]

Hi...If you look at the amout of time you'll actually have after getting your luggage and getting into London...and then getting back to Heathrow in time for their long security lines, I think you're going to end up with about 5 actual hours in London...perhaps time to take a bus tour to see major sites from afar, but not much else.

 

If you haven't been to Windsor Castle, it's a lot closer to Heathrow..... time for a nice breakfast, touring the castle leisurely and wandering the town.

 

You'd get back to Heathrow in plenty of time. We've found security to be VERY tight at Heathrow lately and the lines long. It's good for our collective security, but tension producing if you're in a hurry.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

 

murphysmum;)

[engineer38]

The problem with LHR is that it runs at or near maximum capacity all the time so, if the smallest thing goes wrong, it goes into chaos mode. This year in the UK we've had more than our share of security alerts, freak weather, industrial action etc. etc. The weather in UK in November is predictably un-predictable. So whatever you plan, see what its like when you get there and be prepared to skip the side-trip to concentrate on getting to your final destination. Good luck!

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

The Heathrow Express passes through each terminal and takes 15 mins to get into Central London (Paddington Station) They are every 15 mins so if you hit lucky you could be in London within 45 mins of clearing immigration. If you are not waiting for your checked luggage, you should be out fairly promptly after landing. It's a fairly expensive way of getting into the centre but it is very efficient as it make no stops and time is not a commodity that you have a lot to waste in this case.

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/index.asp?SID={13A7671D-64C8-41E4-BF56-4E8D93E51B5C}

 

 

You could do a bus tour, there are several but I see that The Big Bus Company goes past Paddington Station (download their map to see the route)

http://www.bigbus.co.uk/uk/html/uk_our_tours.html

The Original Tour Company

http://http//:www.theoriginaltour.com This doesn't show Paddington but it's close to the start of the tour near Baker Steet.

 

Or you could just get a travel card and ride some buses around London for a couple of hours.

London really is a city where you will see familiar sights as you pass around. Your only problem is that you have to be making your way back by lunchtime. I would suggest that you must be back at the airport before one o'clock (assuming that you don't need to check in). The queues to get through security can be horrendous. You should easily have 3 hours to go around London. You won't do anything but you should see lots of things

 

 

 

Alternatively, decide a little route and ask a black cab driver how much it would cost for a tour. Or take a taxi via your little route to something you wish to stop at, then make your way pack to Paddington to return to Heathrow.

[txbird]

Thanks so much everyone. You've all offered ideas, thoughts and tour suggestions that will certainly help us to make our decision. We do realize that a lot will depend on the promptness of our flight, the amount of time that it would take to get through customs, and the amount of jetlag that we will be experiencing. Engineer38 pointed out a couple of things that we had not thought about (freak weather, industrial action, etc.), but we do know that no matter what plans we make, we may have to change them.

 

It's just that we've never been to London and feel that a little taste of it would be so much better than none at all. And like Post Captain, we feel like almost anything is better than sitting around Heathrow, or any airport, for several hours!

 

Until now, we have been assuming that we would not need to collect our luggage before our flight to Barcelona. (And we all know what happens to those that assume! ;) ) So, that is probably the first thing that we need to research before we consider venturing outside of the airport.

 

You've all given us a lot to think about. We're still open to all other suggestions or opinions, so please keep them coming.

 

Thanks again,

txbird