Hi... I'm arriving at Paddington about 0800/0830 this Friday, heading
for St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar. I know I can take the tube,
but that's not the most appealing option with 2 of us humping
luggage. So, could anyone give me an idea of the likely time and cost
(I know it's only 2.5 miles but am also aware what traffic might be
like!) to get from Paddington to St. Pancras that morning?

Thanks in advance

In message
<8b180ab2-75d1-4b8a-9429-fd00fdc5a729@z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, at
05:09:28 on Wed, 28 May 2008, Traveller googlemail.com>
remarked:

It's not that bad in that direction, actually.

Go into the "lawn" area at Paddington and there's a (glass) lift on the
mid-righthand side, down to the Circle/District booking office level.
From there it's on the level to the clockwise platform. At KxStP there
are lifts about 2/3 of the way to the rear of the train up to that
booking office level, then another lift in the far left corner up to the
E* departure concourse level.

The bigger problem is that Circle Line trains (changing at Edgware Rd
can involve stairs) aren't very frequent.

Traveller googlemail.com> wrote in news:8b180ab2-75d1-4b8a-9429-
fd00fdc5a729@z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

I'd allow 20 min and it will cost about

In message
<8b180ab2-75d1-4b8a-9429-fd00fdc5a729@z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
Traveller googlemail.com> writes

Time will of course be dependent upon traffic conditions, but there is a
bus lane the taxis can also use which goes along the major part of the
route you will take. If traffic is light is should take about 220-25
minutes. Allow another 15 if traffic is very bad (not...

Thanks to all who replied - your estimates were pretty close. We
arrived Paddington at 0830, had no wait at all for a taxi, it took
about 20 minutes and the fare was £12.50 including tip. Much, much
less hassle than the tube.

I did take the tube for the return trip, and can recommend it to/from
St. Pancras - close to Eurostar exit, well signed, lifts, and no real
problems.