I'm flying from Heathrow airport with a bike box, travelling down from North Wales. I've not used Heathrow airport before, so not sure what would be the best way to get here (thinking of the practicalities of a small person with a heavy bike box!).
- Drive down: what are the parking options? Do shuttle buses from the car parks take bike boxes?
- I come back at 10 - 11pm, so am a bit wary of walking round dark carparks on my own late at night - what are the safest parking options?
- I don't really want to drive home through the night, so any advice on nearby hotels for an overnight stay?
- Would train be an option? I usually get in to Euston station, so what would be the best way of getting to Heathrow with a bike box?
Ta for any advice or practical tips 🙂
Quite a few of the airport hotels do a stay and park option which will probably work out cheapest if you were already going to do both of those things. The hotels will have shuttle buses that should take a bike box but be sure to phone and check before booking just to cover yourself.
If you're going by train then from Euston you can either get the Victoria line to Green park and then change to the Piccadilly which will take you into the airport. if you want to avoid changing on the underground then I'd get a cab from Euston to Paddington (its a short distance so will be cheap) and get either the Heathrow Express (quick but more expensive) or the Heathrow connect (cheaper but slower) train into Heathrow.
As above, I'd look for a stay and park deal. They're usually as cheap, or close to, as parking, and often closer, too.
Cross London with a bike box would be pretty horrid, I'd imagine.
You can get "Meet and Greet" parking where you drop your car off at the airport and are met with it on arrival - some hotels offer this as a package too.
Have a look at the Premier Inn park and fly deals. I brought my road bike out to Lanzarote earlier this year - I nearly travelled to the airport by bus because i got a really cheap ticket but couldn't get a definitive answer from National Express as to whether they'd take a bike box (it was at the driver's discretion) so i took a taxi. I'm glad i didn't go for the public transport option as wrangling the bike box was like trying to steer a small horse!
get the Victoria line to Green park and then change to the Piccadilly
This transfer is a nightmare without luggage. With a bike box it could take weeks 🙂
I stayed at the Thistle once because it had the little driverless pods to take you direct to the airport (T5) - maybe a bike would fit in ... ?
Twrminal dependent
Plan A - stay and park (given you are already thinking of staying)
Plan B - long stay parking, bus will take box too and if arriving late driver will make sure you are ok, try and park near a bus stop and don't forget where you'vs parked (phone photo of sign)
Plan C - valet parking, they collect car from drop off and then bring it back, check exact setup (may/may not be cheaper than hotel)
Last time I flew from heathrow we cycled there and preped the bikes in the terminal. The only bad bit was the tunnel by the model concorde theres a taxi only service road running paralel. Virgin then accepted soft bike bags so we carried them, I think I made them with old plastic sheets.
Long stay car parks are safe - they're supposed to be secure so they have decent fences around them and I think they're well lit. The ones I've used at both Gatwick and Heathrow have been anyway. At Gatwick we took the bus from the car park.
At Heathrow we used the drop off point and one of us went off with the car (no good for you if you're travelling alone - though check out the Valet parking)
A bike box from Euston to Heathrow by tube would be an absolute nightmare. I think both Euston and Green Park have lift accessible platforms but it'll still be a long walk and a bike box in a tube carriage would not make you popular.
http://www.citymetric.com/transport/what-does-tube-map-look-if-youre-wheelchair-1811
You could think about a black cab from Euston to Paddington (£12 or so) and getting the Heathrow express from there. That's would be manageable. Not sure how well a bike box will fit in a black cab but a people carrier minicab with the seats down?
A normal bike box (140x80x30) goes in a black cab in the back sort of diagonally.
Echo comments, I once took a bike box across London by public transport, during rush hour. I'd prefer to never speak of it again thanks.
When are you flying out and from which terminal?
If by train, take a cab and get the Heathrow express. Tube would be a mare.
Parking is all safe at the airports when booked though their respective websites, you can get a bike box in the transfer buses or the PODs used for the T5 'Pod Parking'.
My wife and I have done both the drop off and leave and take the bus from the parking. It is not much hassle compared to flying with small kids!
One thing I learned upon landing at Heathrow and assembling my bike in Terminal 2 is that there aren't many (permissable) ways out of there with a bike. Bikes aren't allowed on the tube, and road access is via a tunnel through which bikes are also not allowed. The Heathrow Express might have been an option, or alternatively a coach. But I went through the tunnel regardless, and the police car that saw me do it didn't seem too interested.
We always use meet and greet, you drive to the short stay carpark next to the terminal, unload your gear. Driver picks up your car and takes it offsite for the duration of your hols and returns it when you get back, pick it up in short stay carpark.