Pauline
Forums Admin
I always use thetrainline.com to book train tickets in England. If you book in advance you get good prices, but if you purchase tickets on the day of travel it is expensive.
For our May trip, we are taking the train from Stroud in the southern Cotswolds to Heathrow and flying to France. When I looked on thetrainline.com, it said take the train to Reading, then walk 40 mins to the Reading bus station for the bus to Heathrow. What??! I did some googling and found out that you can book a bus from Reading Train Station to Heathrow, but on a different website. The bus and train are run by First Great Western, but have to be booked through different websites (unless you book through the First Great Western site).
railair.com - Book a bus from Reading train station to Heathrow Terminals 1, 3 and 5. Buses run 3 times an hour weekdays, 2 times an hour on weekends. Your ticket is good for the whole day - you don't have to pick your bus time. If you book more than two months ahead, the rate is £15 return.
This works for trains from Cheltenham and Stroud, and also for trains from Moreton-in-Marsh and Oxford. All these trains stop in Reading before going into London.
National Express has buses from Cirencester in the Cotswolds to Heathrow, but these do not run as frequently as the trains.
For Gatwick Airport to the Cotswolds, the train works best. There is a local line between Gatwick airport and Reading. Then change for the train to Stroud and Cheltenham, or to Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh. This can be booked on thetrainline.com.
For our May trip, we are taking the train from Stroud in the southern Cotswolds to Heathrow and flying to France. When I looked on thetrainline.com, it said take the train to Reading, then walk 40 mins to the Reading bus station for the bus to Heathrow. What??! I did some googling and found out that you can book a bus from Reading Train Station to Heathrow, but on a different website. The bus and train are run by First Great Western, but have to be booked through different websites (unless you book through the First Great Western site).
railair.com - Book a bus from Reading train station to Heathrow Terminals 1, 3 and 5. Buses run 3 times an hour weekdays, 2 times an hour on weekends. Your ticket is good for the whole day - you don't have to pick your bus time. If you book more than two months ahead, the rate is £15 return.
This works for trains from Cheltenham and Stroud, and also for trains from Moreton-in-Marsh and Oxford. All these trains stop in Reading before going into London.
National Express has buses from Cirencester in the Cotswolds to Heathrow, but these do not run as frequently as the trains.
For Gatwick Airport to the Cotswolds, the train works best. There is a local line between Gatwick airport and Reading. Then change for the train to Stroud and Cheltenham, or to Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh. This can be booked on thetrainline.com.