Direct buses from Paddington to Luton/Stansted/Ikea
Posted: November 5th, 2018, 12:07 pm
I was travelling via Paddington yesterday and used a short-cut down a flight of steps* to access the station from 'behind' on Bishop's Bridge Road. With the ongoing major Crossrail works the access to the west side (Eastbourne Terrace) is closed, and the only other way in, to the south at Praed Street, is a long walk, especially if you have luggage.
Emerging onto this fly-over yesterday I noticed a set of bus stops I hadn't paid much attention to previously. The A2 and A6 are National Express routes.
46 - a local route
A2 - to Luton airport
A6 - to Stantsted airport
332 - to Brent Park. IKEA and a Tesco mega-store.
Given how these bus routes could simplify the journeys from west London to those airports (and IKEA) I thought I'd mention them here. If you happened to be travelling into Paddington and heading for either of them they could be a God-send! Why they are so under-signed in the immediate vicinity is most odd. I saw the airport buses waiting there and people boarding with luggage, so the stops are definitely operating. The top of the steps is right next to the access road for taxis in/out of the north-side of the station but it's highly obscure until you're right in front of them! A few days earlier I'd looked for these steps, got to this taxi access road, and seen zero trace. So I walked allllll the way down to the Praed Street entrance and asked on the station concourse whether the access route at the rear still existed, and then following the route explained back out to the north.
Previously I usually would prefer to travel via LHR, and then LGW. But these A2/A6 coaches really open up my options for simple, economic, reliable, transfers to/from these other airports, which can otherwise be a time-consuming and stressful multi-leg journey from the west.
I'll x-post a link to this on the Airport Lounge board.
* From the station concourse follow the signs for the taxi rank which is on the east side. When at the taxi rank walk north with the canal on your right say 60-70M. You'll see a low 'fly-over' bridge, and as you near it the steps up/down will become apparent. It can be a VERY handy short-cut.
Emerging onto this fly-over yesterday I noticed a set of bus stops I hadn't paid much attention to previously. The A2 and A6 are National Express routes.
46 - a local route
A2 - to Luton airport
A6 - to Stantsted airport
332 - to Brent Park. IKEA and a Tesco mega-store.
Given how these bus routes could simplify the journeys from west London to those airports (and IKEA) I thought I'd mention them here. If you happened to be travelling into Paddington and heading for either of them they could be a God-send! Why they are so under-signed in the immediate vicinity is most odd. I saw the airport buses waiting there and people boarding with luggage, so the stops are definitely operating. The top of the steps is right next to the access road for taxis in/out of the north-side of the station but it's highly obscure until you're right in front of them! A few days earlier I'd looked for these steps, got to this taxi access road, and seen zero trace. So I walked allllll the way down to the Praed Street entrance and asked on the station concourse whether the access route at the rear still existed, and then following the route explained back out to the north.
Previously I usually would prefer to travel via LHR, and then LGW. But these A2/A6 coaches really open up my options for simple, economic, reliable, transfers to/from these other airports, which can otherwise be a time-consuming and stressful multi-leg journey from the west.
I'll x-post a link to this on the Airport Lounge board.
* From the station concourse follow the signs for the taxi rank which is on the east side. When at the taxi rank walk north with the canal on your right say 60-70M. You'll see a low 'fly-over' bridge, and as you near it the steps up/down will become apparent. It can be a VERY handy short-cut.