Originally Posted by
navylad
The train will indeed be an early start (first train 0612 arrives 0939), £57 for “F”, although railway F is certainly not equivalent to airline J IMHO, and I think I’d rather fly up the night before than spend over 3 hours on the train.
Have you tried InterCity F - ie not the commuter crap around London?
Big seats reminiscent of US domestic F including singles if you pick correctly, full fry up, endless offers of tea, coffee and juice and other extras.
Three hours go by very nicely
I could understand your conclusion if the train were far more expensive or also in Y... but to spend a £ and time on a night in a hotel to avoid the above seems unnecessary! The early start would be required for the flight if it were available too, unless our contributor lives particularly close to LHR.