Heathrow Airport, London, England
Sunday, September 22 – ahhh, all good things must come to an end, and today was that day for the hiking portion of our trip.
But, what a good thing it was! Beautiful weather and scenery, great exercise, a few mishaps, plenty of laughs, and wonderful company.
Great thanks to Gail and Jeff for inviting us on this adventure. We had a ball. We greatly appreciate their willingness to take a couple of rookies and show them the ropes. They took a leap of faith on folks they met on a tour of Bulgaria last year, and they were exceptional travel partners. Hopefully, we lived up to the faith they placed in us. I am already thinking about who I can recruit on an InnTravel trip next year!
After breakfast, I got in one more quick walk around Grasmere before it was time for the transfer back to the Windermere train station. It was a good thing we got all that exercise, 4 of us in that little car along with our luggage was cozy! I had flashbacks to our elevator caper, but this time, the doors opened when we arrived at our stop.
20-minute train to Oxenholme (the one that was canceled on us last week), then we had to say goodbye to our travel partners as we headed back to London and they are off to tackle new experiences. As the train headed south, we encountered rain–guess we timed our visit just right!
In a miracle of unknown proportions, all our travel connections hit perfectly. We got to London exactly on time, walked to the “tube” station where our subway arrived in 5 minutes, then walked right onto the Heathrow Express, which whisked us to the airport in 15 minutes. A bit of a walk through the terminal, and we were in our hotel room. Guess the travel gods were making up for last week.
Went up to the “Runway Bar” for a pre-dinner drink and to watch the airplanes take off. Got into a conversation with yet another Australian couple who also have an early morning flight tomorrow. Delightful time.
While Dan could have probably chatted and watched planes for hours, I knew we needed to eat early. Dinner at the hotel was okay, not photo worthy, then we made one more stop at the rooftop bar for a final cordial before the short night and long trek tomorrow.
Not a very exciting day, photos consist of mostly Dan and Chris selfies, not a lot of steps, but it went about as well as it possibly could have for which I am grateful.
9,864 steps;4.8 miles
Transfer to Train Station:
Lakeside Travel Services:
https://www.lakesidetravelservices.co.uk/
Provided by InnTravel, but, as noted, could have been a bit larger vehicle. We aren’t large people and only had carry on bags, but Jeff and Dan are tall and it was cozy! But, it got us to the station!
Trains: Avanti West Coast:
https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk
We bought on line in advance “Off Peak” tickets. Note, did get seat reservations which does make boarding a lot simpler.
London Underground:
Euston Tube stop a short walk from Euston station, then only a couple of stops to Paddington for the Heathrow Express, Tap to Pay on and off.
Heathrow Express:
https://www.heathrowexpress.com/
Paddington Station to Heathrow Terminals. Booked online in advance. Hindsight being 20/20, should have done the same for our arrival in London – a bit more expensive, but faster and way more comfortable than taking Tube the whole way!
Hotel:
Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow:
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lhrhegi-hilton-garden-inn-london-heathrow-terminals-2-and-3/
Standard airport Hilton, convenient for early morning departure.
Nothing in the way of sights aside from the views out the train windows and the runway lounge at the hotel.
Breakfast:
Another nice breakfast at the hotel as included in our tour.
Lunch:
We bought some sandwiches and water before we left to eat on the train. Nothing to write home about.
Drinks/Nightcap:
Runway Bar at the Hilton. Overpriced drinks, but a great view of the planes taking off and landing.
Dinner:
Apron Restaurant at the Hilton. Standard Hilton hotel restaurant food.
Heathrow Express – highly recommend, worth the price.
No church for Mass this morning, which left a little bit of a hole in my Sunday. I really enjoy seeing services in a new place, especially in smaller congregation. It seems there is always something new to learn.
As it was basically a travel day, even if only by land, it was tiring, even though it was mostly sitting. Car service–>train–>train–>short walk–>subway–>train. Fortunately, we weren’t really under any time constraints except to catch train back to London, so there wasn’t any stress. Also, our connections ended up working perfectly which was an unexpected bonus.
Sad to say goodbye to Gail & Jeff who were off to more adventures on the Devon Coast and Wales. We had a fabulous time with them and are so grateful they invited us to join them!