I am flying into Terminal 4 on Asiana and then on to Manchester with BA. As Asiana is Star Alliance I can't check my luggage through so I I will have to collect it at T4 (there are no more BD flights to MAN that day!) I will also need to have my boarding pass issued at LHR.

Does anyone have any hints on how to make this conncetion as hassle-free as possible, bearing in mind that I'm not able to just take carry-on luggage so will need to collect and re-check my luggage.

Is the Heathrow Express the best way to make the connection or should I use the interconnecting bus -- I've used the bus before to get to the flight connections centre and it was relatively pain-free

Does anyone also know if I can re-check my luggage at a BA counter at Terminal 4 even if I'm on a domestic flight. If so, would it even be worth it? I have had luggage go astray on a T4-T1 connection in the past.

Sorry for all the questions, any advice you were to have would be welcome.