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It’s a simple trip from Kensington to Heathrow, with two main stages to your journey. The first is to travel from Kensington to London Paddington station. The next is to hop on the Heathrow Express at Paddington and travel to the airport in just 15 minutes.
Let’s look at both legs in more detail, so you can easily plan your journey.
The first leg of your journey is to travel from Kensington to London Paddington. The quickest and easiest way to get to Paddington is to hop on the Tube and travel on the London Underground.
You have a few options for Tube stations in Kensington, depending on where you’re based. South Kensington and High Street Kensington are both on the District and Circle Lines, offering direct routes to Paddington without the need to change. High Street Kensington is just three stops from Paddington, while South Kensington is five. Your journey on the Tube from High Street Kensington should be around seven minutes, and it’s around 10 from South Kensington.
Both Kensington (Olympia) and West Kensington are on the District Line and are each five stops from Paddington.
If you have time, you can walk from Kensington to Paddington. For example, walking from High Street Kensington should take around half an hour if you cut through Kensington Gardens. You could even stop at Kensington Palace on the way if you have time to spare and not too much luggage.
To travel on the Tube, you can use contactless payment, an Oyster Card or a paper ticket bought from the ticket machine.
To make your journey a little easier, you can book both your Heathrow Express and London Underground tickets online with Heathrow Express. That means there’s no need to queue to buy tickets before you hop on the Tube. You’ll have all your tickets in the same place for seamless travel. It’s just one booking as well.
Heathrow Express trains usually leave from platform six or seven at Paddington.
If you take the Tube from Kensington, make your way up to the station concourse using the lift or escalators. If you decide to walk, you’ll enter the station through the main entrance.
Check the boards to confirm your platform (sometimes our platforms do change) and head through the ticket barriers with your Heathrow Express ticket in hand.
Hop on the Heathrow Express at London Paddington and you’ll benefit from:
Once on the Heathrow Express, you’ll arrive at Heathrow in just 15 minutes. The first stop is Heathrow Central station. You’ll leave the train here if you’re flying from Terminals 2, 3 or 4. For flights from Terminal 5, stay on the train an extra six minutes into Terminal 5 station.
Learn more about Heathrow’s terminals with our helpful terminal maps.
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