London Travel

November 21, 2015 4:44 PM

Best way to get from LHR to Homerton/Hackney on late Sunday afternoon?

We arrive around 4pm, have checked bags. Google transit suggests that the fastest way by far is Heathrow Express->Paddington-/ Bakerloo->Oxford Circus/ Victoria-> Highbury & Islington -> Overground. That seems insane unless our timing is scintillating. Any other suggestions? Familiar with London transit.

posted by oneirodynia to Travel & Transportation around London, England (8 answers total)

Best answer: Oxford Circus with bags is not something I would be in a hurry to do. I would be more inclined to prioritise changes over time and take the Piccadilly to King's Cross. You can change there to the Victoria to H&I and the overground from there, or I might even get a cab from King's Cross. Probably wouldn't be much over £20. Spend the cost of the Heathrow Express on that instead.
posted by corvine at 4:59 PM on November 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

It seems deeply fiddly, and I wouldn't want to give specific advice, but may I recommend the TFL Journeyplanner, which does the same thing as Google from the vantage point of being the actual service provider.
posted by Grangousier at 7:03 PM on November 21, 2015

I'm with Corvine - Piccadilly to King's Cross and then a taxi/uber. I live in Hackney and this is pretty much my game plan (I don't find the Heathrow Express worth it).
posted by teststrip at 12:59 AM on November 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

That seems about right, to be honest.... I agree with the others to cut down the changes and just go to King's Cross. There is an option on TFL journey planner for routes with the fewest changes, if you want to see what it suggests.

You'll know to check for engineering work I expect.
posted by Helga-woo at 1:18 AM on November 22, 2015

You don't say if you're looking for the fastest way or the easiest. I'd do the following:
0) make sure I have a good book with me
1) take the Piccadilly line as far as possible (Kings X or even Finsbury Park)
2) change to Victoria line to Highbury and Islington
3) overground from there.

But I might change that plan if I were in a desperate hurry.
posted by altolinguistic at 2:19 AM on November 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

nthing corvine: the Piccadilly gets you into the right general area to take a cab onwards to Hackney, Heathrow Express doesn't. Kings Cross is your best option in that area for cabs, though you might be okay at Caledonian Road, which is less of a labyrinth to navigate (and has lifts to the platform, not escalators or stairs) once you're off the train.
posted by holgate at 2:32 AM on November 22, 2015

Another option (based on minimising difficulties) would be Heathrow-Paddington [ps: get the Connect service and not the Express that's barely faster but 400% of the price], then Bakerloo Line to Baker Street, where you can walk across to the opposite platform (no stairs) to the Jubilee Line, then all the way to Stratford.

At Stratford you can either go out and get a cab for about 3 miles or go the last leg on the Overground for two stops -- no stairs are required for that transfer either.

This too involves four trains, but a *shitload* less irritation. (And I checked that this is doable this Sunday. No planned works will be interfering with any of the options described here or above.)
posted by genghis at 4:03 PM on November 23, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks! These were all informative, and we ended up taking Piccadilly to King's Cross and then a surprisingly cheap Uber from there.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:47 PM on November 24, 2015