blitzen

Hi,

I'm staying at the Crown Plaza The City - Blackfriars and need to get to Heathrow for a 4:15pm flight.
How long is the car trip Blackfriars - LHR T3 on a Saturday early afternoon late July?

Thanks

UKtravelbear

you could play around with

AA route planner

google maps will also give you an estimate.

Raffles

90 mins for safety so you'd need to leave by 1.15 at latest.

Tube would be an hour.

blitzen

With 3 people a car makes just more sense ( and the 2 female ones will have checked luggage).
googled and drive time is 60m without traffic so 90 sounds to be right ( as sometimes the time can double or triple I wanted to be sure).
i fly Virgin Atlantic UC so hopefully security is quick.

just want to figure out the best time to leave:
- normal check out is noon if the car picks me up we will be in the lounge for lunch etc
- if I push it later the hotel needs to cooperate etc and not sure if a 1h difference (1-1:15 pick up) is worth the hassle

Ldnn1

For a 4.15 flight in UC with Clubhouse access, leave the hotel at 12.

Only worth leaving later if you have something specific you want to do in London beforehand, which it sounds like you don't.

NWIFlyer

Any IHG member is entitled to ask for a late checkout, and I've always found that particular hotel - at least for elites - to be very focussed on customer service, so I wouldn't think that would be an insurmountable problem.

However, as others have said - if all you'll be doing is staring out of the hotel window then you might as well get to the airport because there'll certainly be more to do in the VS lounge and you'll not be clock watching in the car at all.

UKtravelbear

A syou are in VS UC you'll also be able to use te drive through check in

Mizter T

Re the thread title - London traffic is pretty bad quite a lot of the time!

My preference would be to avoid getting potentially stuck in it on a July Saturday afternoon.

However, if it is Saturday 29 July then definitely do not try to get from Blackfriars to Heathrow or indeed anywhere by car - as there are extensive road closures in central London that weekend as part of the annual RideLondon event. These closures include Victoria Embankment, and Upper & Lower Thames Street - right next to the OP's hotel. Other non-closed roads will be busy.

Also of note, though not on a Saturday in July, is the Summer Streets event on Regents Street on four Sundays from the 2nd to 23rd of July, this involves Regents Street being closed to traffic and so other roads will be busier.

And on Sunday 8 July there's the annual London Pride parade in central London too.

blitzen

And by coincidence I depart on Saturday July the 29th ... what is my game plan now?

Mizter T

Take the Tube. Blackfriars station is across the road. (For reference, the Tube Map.)

District line to Hammersmith or Barons Court (so a train with the ultimate destination of Ealing Broadway or Richmond), then a cross-platform transfer to the Piccadilly line for Heathrow.

Or Circle line to Paddington (via Victoria, so heading westbound from Blackfriars), then Heathrow Express.

Or Thameslink train (not part of the Underground network so not on the Tube map) north from Blackfriars station to Farringdon, then easy change onto the Underground (Circle line or Hammersmith & City line) westbound to Paddington, then Heathrow Express.

Or if you really want to take a taxi or minicab then from Blackfriars take the District or Circle line west to somewhere like South Kensington or Gloucester Road then transfer to your cab.

sarahluv

This is definitely the best option. Quick, easy and cheap!

blitzen

Not concerned about "cheap" but about convenience (lucky me) with my wife and my 10 year old niece (aka two check in pieces of luggage) I'm not looking forward of taking the tube and making changes.
I am using the Virgin Chauffeur service so hopefully they can accommodate me somehow .... just called Upper Class and they said they will let me know 3 -4 days before the event what the new procedure is. Keeping my fingers crossed.

UKtravelbear

detailed road closure maps here page 8

looks like your hotel isn't one of the roads to be closed but could be disruption from other traffic trying to avoid the event plus closures further in West London.

blitzen

Thanks... let's see (fingers crossed).

cardsqc

Hmm, those road closings make it look like I'm going to want to take the tube from my hotel to the train station on the morning of the 29th. I'd been wavering before, because I wasn't necessarily looking forward to luggage on the tube myself.

Thanks for posting that road closure info.