Paul Terry wrote:

But the real hassle is crossing London during a Thursday morning rush
hour.

Zipping out via the A2 is against the flow.

I certainly wouldn't drive to Gatwick - and I live on the south
side of the Thames. The train is a much better bet and is what I shall
be taking to and from Gatwick in a few weeks time.

I've been doing a fair amount fo business travel recently to Europe and always
take the car when I can especially when I get back in the late evening. I did fly
out of Heathrow and back to Gatwick recently and got an unspeakably slow and
dirty Thameslink back to town - not good. I do like the Heathrow Express though.

My next trip is to Slovenia and i think this means Stansted - this is easy by car
from Hackney and they have a mid-priced car park fairly near the terminal.

E.