Yes we have done it a few times.Book with Virgin,Birmingham to Watford then there's a Virgin coach service direct to Heathrow.

John

JCBRUM can i be cheeky and ask the cost of the fare please..also how long is the journey..

I don't know how much the train fare is,as i haven't done it for a while.But the trip takes about two and a half hours.

John

Thanx JCBRUM I'll pop into the train station 2 morra and check it out...I can only find fares at the moment upto the end of feb we are going in march..

Sleeps virgin trains have their own website where you can check timetables and book your tickets, virgintrains.co.uk, hope that helps

You could try National Express Coaches, I've used them many times now and provide a good cheap service (especially return), hope this helps

Train companies only show ticket prices for upto 3 months ahead, check either virgins website or thetrainline.co.uk 3 months before your due to travel for the cheapest prices as these go very quickly. Another option is that a lot of train companies have specials between London and other cities so it may be worth looking at a price into London then getting the Heathrow express or a coach from London. It can be a bit of pain traveling between stations though.

A point to remember is if you do get a cheap ticket it may be that it can be used only on the specified train you select at the time of booking, If your delayed and miss your train you will probably have to fork out the full walk up price for that day which is normally quite high.

Ive tried it all ways booking cheap trains, coaches and internal flights and have been caught out many a time missing my connection and I'm afraid the best option is usually the Car or get an open return ticket.

nejulie.Thanx for that info it does sound a bit of a dilemma getting from one point to another to be quiet honest it will put me off going by train and you can never be sure of your exact timing (landing) so the connections could be very difficult.Any way i will endeavour to seek out more info at my local station for the fares/timetables etc..

Poipleshadow i did look up the express coaches but it was early on in the year so will look into them again if i think right i found them to be expensive more so than leaving the car at the airport for 3 weeks..But its another avenue to explore..

Thankyou kindly

A standard open return Birmingham to Heathrow £161, (valid for a month)
A saver return (off peak) £77.50 (valid for a month)....Keith

it all depends on how much luggage your taking with you as its difficult getting to your and from your platform carrying suitcases where if you take the national bus it picks you up then drops you off right at the airport all you have to do when at heathrow is catch the lift then your on the elevator walkways

An alternative rail route from Brum to Heathrow is by using the hourly CrossCountry service to Reading and then the connecting First Great Western Railair coach. It's not quite as quick as Virgin but you may be able to beat the peak hour restrictions this way. The coach is technically part of the rail network (as is the one from Watford) and you can buy direct tickets from any station but you may have to explain very slowly to some of the newer station staff who struggle to get past the top 20 destinations list! Also beware that Virgins timetable will change considerably from December 15th.

Sensible to look at the routes either into Euston with London Midland or from Snow Hill to Marylebone on the Chiltern Line - both CONSIDERABLY cheaper than Virgin trains

Thank's to everyone there's quite a few suggestions for me to consider will certainly look into these...xxxxSleep_r_us.

Good point about London Midland because they also call at Watford for the coach link.

Chiltern (from Snow Hill and Moor Street normally) go to Marylebone which is not as good for Heathrow. One of their stations has a scheduled bus link to Heathrow but their website isn't much use and doesn't mention it. If you're north eastish side of Brum the Wrexham & Shropshire express trains run from Tame Bridge Parkway (Virgin blocked them from serving New St to protect their own profits) to Marylebone but don't call at the local stations at the London end.

quickest routes would be

Nat express coach bradford street direct to heathrow bus depot aprox 21/2 hrs

or

rail new street to reading rail coach from reading rail to T3 aprox 31/4 hrs

wiz