If minicabs are going to be difficult because of the tube strike, I'm
coming round to the idea of getting buses to Paddington as early as
possible. (Then HEx).

I agree - with the possible gloss that I'd possible make that "as late
as possible" - ie if possible

a. cancel the room in King William for the night of the 29th;
b. spend the money saved on the room in the bar, staying until as
late as possible (which may be very late if there are others in the
party still resident?);
c. stroll out to the 55 when the rest of the party insist in calling
it a night;
d. reckon on getting to Heathrow absurdly early - but also in good
time to drink lots of coffee to counter the effects of (b).

Of course it may not be easy to judge how much beer at (b) is enough to
cater for the trip at (c) but not excessive (bearing in mind there are
no toilets on London buses!) Perhaps a rehearsal or two of stage (b) at
least would be advisable in the days running up to 29 June?

PS
Thanks to the OP for pointing me to the King William. It is more than a
stroll away but it comes recommended by neighbours too so I'm looking
forward to trying it over coming weeks.
--
Robin
PM may be sent to rbw0{at}hotmail{dot}com

On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:29:01 +0100, Robin wrote:

Perhaps a rehearsal or two of stage (b) at
least would be advisable in the days running up to 29 June?

Not to worry. There will be plenty of rehearsing.

PS
Thanks to the OP for pointing me to the King William. It is more than a
stroll away but it comes recommended by neighbours too so I'm looking
forward to trying it over coming weeks.

Say hello if you spot two Norwegians between 21. and 30. June

--
jhk

On 2011\06\12 19:11, Jarle H Knudsen wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:55:13 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:
Although the alternative suggestion of booking a cab to Paddington (for
Heathrow Express) has some merit as well.

What is the cheapest alternative, cab + HEx or cab all the way?

Since Central London is where all the tubes go when they're not on
strike, there will be extraordinary traffic jams in Central London and
on all routes into it. You would be much better off getting a taxi or
minicab to Heathrow or to Ealing (for the Heathrow Connect) and avoiding
Central London completely. Note that a minicab to Heathrow might be
cheaper than a minicab to Ealing or Paddington, despite being further,
because minicabs try to be competitive on journeys to and from airports
but make no attempt to be competitive on suburb to suburb, and are often
the same as or dearer than taxis on those runs.

On Sun, 12 Jun 2011, Robin wrote:

If minicabs are going to be difficult because of the tube strike, I'm
coming round to the idea of getting buses to Paddington as early as
possible. (Then HEx).

I agree - with the possible gloss that I'd possible make that "as late
as possible" - ie if possible

a. cancel the room in King William for the night of the 29th;
b. spend the money saved on the room in the bar, staying until as
late as possible (which may be very late if there are others in the
party still resident?);
c. stroll out to the 55 when the rest of the party insist in calling
it a night;
d. reckon on getting to Heathrow absurdly early - but also in good
time to drink lots of coffee to counter the effects of (b).

Splendid!

tom

--
shouting drunkenly about 6502 assembler at parties

On Jun 9, 9:38*pm, Jarle H Knudsen wrote:
This year¢s London vacation is coming up, and what do you know? The RMT is
threatening to strike when one of us is flying home from Heathrow.

We are staying in Walthamstow, near Bakers Arms (Lea Bridge Road/Hoe
Street/High Road Leyton intersection)[1]. The flight is scheduled for
0950am on Thursday, June 30.

If there is no tube, how do we best get to Heathrow? I assume other
services are not affected.

Depends if London Overground services are affected. Otherwise you
could go Leyton Midland Road (not far from the Baker's Arms) ---
Gospel Oak, across the platform and over the other side to the
Richmond platforms, Gospel Oak to Richmond, then bus 490 to Heathrow

Agreed. Public transport is a dead loss for getting to airports - it'll
always let you down just when you don't want it to. I never use it to get
to heathrow or gatwick anymore after too many close calls in the past.

Actually, I've had more traumas with taxis stuck on approach roads and
traffic jams than I've ever had with public transport.

In message
, Ric
Euteneuer writes

Depends if London Overground services are affected. Otherwise you
could go Leyton Midland Road (not far from the Baker's Arms) ---
Gospel Oak, across the platform and over the other side to the
Richmond platforms, Gospel Oak to Richmond, then bus 490 to Heathrow

He'd arrive far too late for a 7.40am check-in.
--
Paul Terry

If you are really stuck getting to Heathrow, I live near Heathrow on
the 285 bus route, which goes to T3 and is a 24 hour bus service.
If you find no other solution you are welcome to stay in spare room
overnight and get the 285 bus in the morning if it helps you out.
It's about 20-25 minutes on the bus from my location to T3.
Send me a PM if you want to take up the offer.

Of the other suggestions made so far I think a minicab to Ealing and
then train from there sounds quite good.

John