Allow at least four hours between landing at Heathrow and your Gatwick departure. That’s the buffer for delays, queues, and the inevitable "where is my train platform?" panic. It’s better to sit in a coffee shop for an hour than to sprint through a terminal.
Check your terminal. Gatwick has North and South terminals, which are a 10-minute shuttle apart. Heathrow has four terminals (2, 3, 4, 5), and they are not close. Know which one you’re arriving at and departing from.
Digital lifesaver: Download the Citymapper app. It will tell you exactly which train to catch, which carriage to stand in, and which exit to leave from. It’s like having a tiny, benevolent British transport wizard in your pocket.
Fun Little Facts to Chew On
Did you know that Heathrow was once a small village called Heath Row? It was mostly orchards and a few cottages. Now, it’s where 80 million people a year have a mild existential crisis over a delayed flight.
Gatwick, by contrast, started as a racecourse. In the 1930s, they used the old grandstand as a terminal. So you’re basically transferring from an old fruit farm to a former racetrack. Very English.
And the M25 motorway that connects them? It’s famously called the "London Orbital." In peak traffic, it becomes the "world’s longest car park." Legend has it that British comedian Harry Enfield once said, "The M25 is the only place you can see both a sunrise and a sunset in the same journey."
