Getting from Heathrow to Royal Holloway

Royal Holloway, University of London is about 7 miles from London Heathrow Airport, in the village of Egham in Surrey. Three sensible ways to get from any Heathrow terminal to campus, with what each one costs and how long it actually takes.

By Hasseeb Hussain, founder of RHUL Mobile.

The short answer

• Cheapest: bus 8 from Heathrow Central Bus Station to Englefield Green, then a short walk into campus. Around £1.75, 45 to 60 minutes door to door.
• Fastest with luggage: Uber or black cab. 20 to 30 minutes, £25 to £80 depending on the cab type and time of day.
• If you are already on the train network: Heathrow Express to Paddington and onward to Egham takes longer than going by bus or cab from the airport itself, so only use it if you are routing via central London.

Option 1: Bus 8 (cheapest)

The 8 bus runs from Heathrow Central Bus Station (under Terminals 1, 2 and 3) to Englefield Green, which is the village immediately next to the Royal Holloway campus. From the Englefield Green High Street stop it is about a 5 to 10 minute walk to Founder's Square, depending on which entrance to campus you use.

If you arrive at Terminal 4 or Terminal 5, you will first need to get to the Central Bus Station. There is a free internal Heathrow bus that runs between terminals, or the Elizabeth line / Heathrow Express between terminal stations runs free if you only travel between Heathrow stations.

• Fare: single bus fare, paid with contactless card or Oyster (no cash). Roughly £1.75 at the time of writing.
• Journey time: 40 to 50 minutes from Heathrow Central to Englefield Green, depending on traffic.
• Frequency: every 30 minutes off-peak, more often during the day.
• Luggage: a backpack and a small case is fine; a full holiday suitcase is workable but cramped.
• Best for: backpackers, students arriving with a single case, and anyone on a budget.

Once you are at the Englefield Green High Street stop, the campus is to the south. Use the campus map in RHUL Mobile to pick the closest entrance to your hall, or just walk down Egham Hill towards Founder's Building, which is the big white French Renaissance building you cannot miss.

Option 2: Uber, black cab or pre-booked taxi (fastest)

The Royal Holloway campus is roughly a 20 minute drive from Heathrow outside rush hour. Every terminal has Uber pick-up zones (signposted) and an official black cab rank.

• Uber: typically £25 to £45 depending on time of day and demand. Pre-book in the app and walk to the designated pick-up zone for your terminal.
• Bolt: similar pricing, sometimes slightly cheaper. Same pick-up pattern as Uber.
• Black cab (metered): typically £50 to £80. Wait at the official rank outside Arrivals.
• Local pre-booked taxi: Egham Cars and similar local firms quote fixed fares from Heathrow to campus, usually £35 to £45. Book ahead and the driver waits in Arrivals with a name board.
• Journey time: 20 to 30 minutes outside rush hour, up to 60 minutes during the morning or evening rush.
• Luggage: any amount. Suitcases, trunks, the lot.

If you're landing with a year's worth of clothes and a guitar, take a cab. It's the only sensible option.

Option 3: Train via Reading or Staines

There is no direct train from Heathrow to Egham station (the nearest station to Royal Holloway). The most common train route is the Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth line into Paddington, then the Bakerloo line and a National Rail train onwards. This is the slowest and most expensive option for getting from the airport directly, and almost no-one takes it unless they are also stopping in central London on the way.

The faster rail option is the Elizabeth line from Heathrow to Hayes & Harlington, then change for the GWR service to Reading, then change again for South Western Railway services to Egham. Total time is around 75 to 90 minutes; total cost depends on how you tap.

If you want a train, the practical option is to get the bus or cab to Egham station and travel onwards by train from there.

Arriving at Royal Holloway: what to do once you land

The campus entrance is on Egham Hill. The main pedestrian entrances are at Founder's Square and at the bottom of the Hub. The Bedford Building and Davison Building are both within a few minutes' walk of Founder's.

If you are moving into halls on arrivals day, the university runs a meet-and-greet service. Check your move-in pack for the designated drop-off point for your hall.

The campus map in RHUL Mobile works offline and uses real walking routes, so once your taxi or bus drops you at any entrance, it will route you door-to-door to your hall reception.

If your flight is late

Bus 8 runs into the evening but the last service from Heathrow Central is well before midnight, so if you land after 22:00 plan on a cab. Uber and Bolt run 24 hours, with surge pricing on busy nights. Pre-booked local firms (Egham Cars and similar) are sometimes cheaper than Uber after midnight; book before you take off and the driver will wait.

If you arrive in the middle of the night and your hall reception is closed, contact campus security at the number on the back of your student card or in your arrival pack. They handle out-of-hours check-in.

Getting around once you are on campus

Once you arrive, the day-to-day transport options are the 441 White Bus to Egham High Street and Staines, the Diamond RHU shuttle between Hox Park, the Founder's Building and Egham Station (£1 flat fare to or from Egham Station, free between Founder's and Hox Park), and the First Bus 8 back to Heathrow. All three are tracked live in RHUL Mobile's bus times feature, so you can see when the next one is leaving rather than reading a printed timetable.

The campus itself takes about 12 to 15 minutes end to end on foot, so most lectures will be within walking distance of your hall. The campus map includes walking routes from every hall to every academic building.