Greetings, husband here posting on behalf of wife currently too frazzled. We will be visiting the UK in June, which is where I hail from so I am fairly familiar with Heathrow and the rail system... but not before with a 1-year-old in tow.
Our destination is in southeast Essex and I am scratching my head pondering the easiest way to get there. Were I by myself I'd take the Picadilly line and transfer through the Underground to Liverpool Street. But we will be towing not just the 1-year-old in stroller but substantial luggage and a hypercritical grandmother. Plus, coming off an 11-hour flight from 8 time zones away. Making transfers at major Tube stations... I don't think so.
There is no bus from Heathrow to our destination. I am leaning toward hiring a minivan but quail at the thought of negotiating the M-25 after that amount of sleep deprivation and total driving experience in the UK that can be measured in days. Plus there is the amount of time driving takes... with the flight arriving in the morning I suspect that trains would be much faster if the connections could be made to work.
Will the porters at Heathrow load baggage onto the Heathrow Express? Is there an option at Paddington (porters, taxi - guessing) for getting to Liverpool Street and onto a train with help with the bags all the way? I need to map this out in advance because going more than a very short distance or trying to negotiate any stairs with that luggage under those circumstances could be extremely trying after a lengthy overnight flight during which we have likely slept little, and I would sooner DW not be stretched beyond the breaking point at the outset of her visit to my home country. I gotta get creative here.