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Traveling to Nottingham from Heathrow

Hi guys, I'll be arriving on Heathrow Airport on Sept 21 at 1:15pm?
How do I get to the university from there the fastest/cheapest way?

I read that I can either take a coach that travels 3 hours and costs like 20£ or take the tube to King's Cross and board a train that has 1 stop in Grantham for like 30£. The train travels like 2 hours or so.

Which option is better/faster/prettier?
Is it really necessary to book those tickets right now? If so, for what time should I book the coach/the train? I don't know how long I need at Heathrow to pick up baggage and go through customs (I'm an EU student).

Thank you in advance!

Sincerely,
MEng_Student

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The university normally puts on coaches from Heathrow to the university during international week. Have you checked whether your flight will be on one of the days that the university coaches will be doing pick-ups?
Students on campus, Nottingham University
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
Visit website
Reply 2
I am an EU student and thus not eligible for international week / coach pickup service.
For future reference, if you can fly to East Midlands Parkway from where you are, that's far more convenient to the uni - trains direct to Nottingham or a 24 hr bus service to the town, including outside campus
Reply 4
I can't fly there from where I am so I am still looking for a way to get from Heathrow to the Uni :frown:
Looks like it's still the tube for you then, followed by train. St Pancras is not far from "King's Cross St Pancras" tube station served by Piccadilly line, and has direct trains to Nottingham
Reply 6
So from Heathrow I can take the tube directly to St. Pancras and board a train that goes directly to Nottingham?
Sounds good, but do I need to book the train tickets in advance, or can I just arrive and buy them then and there?
What about a coach? I read that there is one directly from Heathrow to Nottingham.
Book the tickets in advance and they'll be cheaper. But you can buy them there too
assuming you are under 25 you may want to get a railcard. http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/online10/?gclid=COGBie7ossACFRMatAodEkEAQQ

Some student bank accounts offer one free (Santander did last year) and an NUS card will probably get a discount. You can't get the online 10% discount without a uk address but if you have a suitable photograph you can buy one on arrival. Tickets are generally cheaper in advance - 6 weeks for megabus and as soon as they go on sale (3 months, I think) for rail advance fares. You can bok at railcard prices without the card with a slight risk that they may discontinue the scheme and require you to pay a full price fare.

If using megabus railcards/NUS cards dont get much discount.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 9
Alright sounds good thank you.

So the tube at Heathrow goes directly to St. Pancras? I don't have to switch trains?
And at St. Pancras do I simply walk out of the tube station or do I need to walk somewhere?

Sorry, never been to the UK/London before :frown:
The walk is not that long:
kxsp.gif
(Piccadilly line is the dark blue one. You'll be taking the East Midlands Trains service from St. Pancras)
(edited 9 years ago)
Oh okay, so St. Pancras is just next to King's cross?

Do you know if the trains to Nottingham leave on a regular basis or is there like 1-2 trains a day?

EDIT:
I can only find trains with 1 transfer online:
http://www.buytickets.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/combinedmatrix.aspx?Command=TimeTable
http://www.thetrainline.com/Train-Times/london-st-pancras-intl-to-nottingham/21-Sep-2014/1420

Where do I find the direct trains?
(edited 9 years ago)
The fastest train to Nottingham departs at 15 mins past the hour (every hour) and the journey takes 1 hour 44 minutes :smile:

Oops, just realized you're travelling on a Sunday. Yeah, the UK has a habit of closing stations for improvement works at the most unfortunate of times
(edited 9 years ago)
Alright so what should I do now?
How do I get to my university? >.<
Take the coach. It is a bit slower, but it's direct and it's cheaper.
According to

http://www.nationalexpress.com/wherewego/airports/heathrow-airport.aspx

there is a coach at 14:15.

However, I land at 13:15, so I don't know if I'll make it in time? (Since I'm coming from the EU, I should, right? Customs doesn't take too long as EU citizen?)
What if I miss that coach?

I would have to take the next one, which is at 15:30 and it arrives at 19:10 which is a bit late for freshers day isn't it?
Fresher's lasts for a week. The first coach would be better, but even if you get that second coach, you won't miss much. Everyone moves in on Sunday and will be busy saying goodbye to family.
Yeah, but I am not sure if I can catch the coach in time? If I miss it I would have to pay an amendment fee
So I don't know which coach I should book :frown:
Original post by MEng_Student
there is a coach at 14:15.

However, I land at 13:15, so I don't know if I'll make it in time? (Since I'm coming from the EU, I should, right? Customs doesn't take too long as EU citizen?)
What if I miss that coach?

I would have to take the next one, which is at 15:30 and it arrives at 19:10 which is a bit late for freshers day isn't it?


You can't rely on catching the 14:15 - the flight could be late, the immigration queue could be very long (it's at this point I want to apologise for the UK not being part of Schengen) and Heathrow is a big place.

There's going to be nothing unmissable happening on the Sunday.
Original post by MEng_Student
Yeah, but I am not sure if I can catch the coach in time? If I miss it I would have to pay an amendment fee
So I don't know which coach I should book :frown:


Will you have hand luggage only, or hold luggage? If your luggage will need to be collected, definitely the later one. Even if you will be hand luggage only, making it from landing to coach in only an hour seems optimistic.

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