Great Western Coffee Shop

LHR - PAD - NWP - LUD

Arriving into heathrow on flight at 0845 on sat morning and to save him indoors a six hour round trip volunteered to go home by train (eek!  First time ever off a transatlantic with two 50+lb  bags in tow!)

National rail does not seem to want to load over boingo so am asking the panel......

I want to minimize changes and not have any five minute jobbies!

What time should I prime him to pick me up at ludlow?

09:57 T5
10:19 - 10:45 PAD
12:32 - 13:05 NPT
14:19 LUD

and hourly

Also a 10:12, extra change at Bath (12:25 - 12:35) into LUD at 14:49

I always reckon on an hour from scheduled arrival at LHR to arrival at Paddington, so you might just make the 0945 which with a 3 minute cross platform connection at Newport would get you to Ludlow at 1249. But that would be if everything works in your favour so I wouldn't bank on it, especially with the baggage in tow.

Thanks all - I'm in at T3 - I go Virgin (the only way I can afford to go first class transatlantic cos of the airmiles ........)

I'm aiming for the 1045 then - to get in at 1419!

Have you thought about whether the Rail Air coach to Reading could be quicker/ cheaper.

Well thanks all -through no ones fault but my own I ended up at ludlow station at 12:50 but not home until 14:30  >:(

I did not expect to get the 0945 so I had fixated on 14:19 being my arrival time.  After a rather horrendous flight (I felt for the coach passengers) where we dropped/rose  few hundred feet at a time for about half the journey so no sleep despite the flat bed (even alcohol didnt help and all I ended up with was a killer headache!) I arrived at heathrow.  Breezed through passport control - was very glad I was an EU passport holder since the non EU line was half way through the terminal (note to self, when I bring my friend over early next year I will make sure she gets the first NYC over so she's one of the first to land in T3) anmd ended up t heathrow central at 0900.

Got to PAD at 0935 - Cardiff train was leaving from platform 1 so did not bother to stop at machines - yeah I know I know, I should have willfully missed the 0945 to ensure I bought a ticket and got the 1045 but I didnt, so there. 

Got to Newport and the Holyhead train was five late so I made that three minute cross platform connection - and here is where I had the brain malfunction.  At no point, despite the number of times I did it over the summer, did my brain engage and work out that if you are getting on the train at NWP at 1130 there is no way its going to take 2.5 hours to get to ludlow.  So I phoned home and said instead of 1419 I would be in at 1349 - and had an eiphany at HFD when I came around and realise I would actually be there at 1249.  Of course, him indoors had decided to go out on his bike so there was no way to raise him.

At least I had a good book to read at ludlow station.

Isn't that a bit of a contradiction?  :)