"David Bennetts" wrote:

I'd actually suggest you get a coach, on a Saturday evening the traffic
outbound from London shouldn't be too bad, and you're on the M4 motorway
after leaving Heathrow. They go direct from Heathrow. See
www.nationalexpress.com for details. It seems that the faster services take
around 2 hours 45 minutes for the journey, with no changes enroute.

Thanks for the pointer. The 2:45 coaches make some stops; the few
non-stops take 2:05. So a taxi might cut 40 minutes off the normal
coach ride, and be the same as the train.

wrote:

Walt Bilofsky wrote:

For the cost of two full price tickets, we could take a taxi instead.

Are you sure about that? It's some 160km, so a cab ride isn't going to
be cheap.

It's comparable, but only if all the complications are considered. Two
refundable tickets on the train via Paddington start at 66 pounds. Via
the rail link to the train at Reading it would be 64 pounds for two.
Then add a taxi from Bath station to the hotel.

A Bath visitor's web site
http://www.bath.co.uk/?redir=gor&pag...=1& x=27&y=22
claims a pre-booked cab can start at 85 - 90 pounds (plus tip). They
say a hailed cab could be twice that.

Then there is convenience. We will be at the end of a long vacation,
so if taking public transport we would leave one or two pieces of
luggage at Heathrow. With a cab we would probably take it all along.
This saves time, hassle, and 16 to 32 pounds in left luggage charges.

Then with a cab there would be no hassle about luggage transfer when
changing trains, getting on coaches, etc., and no worry about missing
a train.

Of course there's no guarantee I can find one of those 85 pound cabs,
but I think I have talked myself into trying.

The train would be a lot cheaper if non-refundable tickets were
purchased and we made our train. If we buy late, when the cheaper
train tickets are gone, it could be a lot more than a pre-booked taxi.