Into London and out via Paddington, or through Clapham Junction to Reading and change there?
Check for engineering works - I had to go via Banbury to get from London to Bristol a couple of weeks back.
Gatwick via Guildford to Reading and change there?
Fly into Bristol Airport 🙂
Are you flying into Gatwick? I've just done the reverse and used the National Express Flights coach. Took 3h15 and was fairly painless. Cost £19 including booking fee.
Gatwick to Reading is fairly slow train. Nice place to sit though and watch the countryside if you aren't in a hurry. Then Reading Bristol. It also saves you lugging your luggage across London if you go Gatwick Express.
Depends on luggage and time of day I suppose. If you have loads of bags don't go through London. Likewise if you are just getting off a 9 hour flight at 6am you probably won't want to deal with it. You can get a nice breakfast in London though and some good coffee.
If otoh you fancy a wander around on a nice Sunday morning London can be a fun way to stretch your legs and break a journey.
b r - Member
Fly into Bristol Airport
Would love to be flying into Bristol. Great little airport, but limited options meant I had to go for Gatwick.
I decided to go for the through London route - I'll update you all later if I make it to Devon safely!
Bonus of paying more to go thru London is without a seat booking on the IC, you actually stand a chance of getting a seat when you get on. Hate to think how many times I had to stand from Reading to Swindon (even Paddy-Swindon once or twice). What makes Swindon so popular?