Clocktower Cars runs licensed Heathrow airport transfers from eleven offices across Surrey and south London. Whether you call it a Heathrow taxi, a Heathrow minicab, an airport cab or a chauffeur, it is the same licensed driver in the same licensed car — saloons, estates, MPVs, eight-seaters, executive cars and wheelchair accessible vehicles, twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. Ring your nearest branch or book online and you will have a fixed quote before you travel.
Heathrow lies fourteen miles west of central London and handled 83,859,729 passengers in 2024. It has four open terminals — 2, 3, 4 and 5 — and getting dropped at the wrong one costs you between nine and twelve minutes plus a walk with your bags. The sections below tell you which terminal your airline uses, how long the drive takes from each of our offices, and what actually sets the price.
Book a Heathrow transfer online or ring the branch nearest you — every number is on the find us page.
This is the question we are asked most, and the honest answer is that it depends enormously on which side of the county you start from. We measured every branch to Terminal 5 on 30 September 2026.
| From our office at | Route | Distance | Drive | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weybridge | M25 | 12.2 miles | ~19 min | ~39 mph |
| Guildford | A3 and M25 | 21.9 miles | ~27 min | ~49 mph |
| Kingston | A308 | 13.1 miles | ~30 min | ~26 mph |
| Epsom (head office) | M25 | 24.3 miles | ~32 min | ~46 mph |
| Reigate | M25 | 28.5 miles | ~33 min | ~52 mph |
| Carshalton | A3 and M25 | 30.4 miles | ~45 min | ~41 mph |
| Godalming | A3 and M25 | 30.2 miles | ~47 min | ~39 mph |
Weybridge to Heathrow is 19 minutes. Carshalton is 45. Same airport, same company, a twenty-six-minute spread across the branch network. Which office your job comes from changes the journey more than anything you control, which is the single biggest reason we quote each job rather than publishing a rate per mile.
Heathrow sits on the far side of the M25 from most of Surrey, and the direct-looking routes across town are all slower than going round.
A firm charging strictly by the mile would send you the short way, bill you less and get you to the terminal later. We take whichever road is moving on the morning and hold the price we quoted.
Tell us the terminal when you book. If you only know the airline, tell us that and we will work it out. Terminal 1 closed at the end of June 2015 and has been demolished — if a booking form or an old itinerary still says Terminal 1, something is out of date.
| Terminal | Opened | Who flies from it |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal 2 | June 2014 | Star Alliance, SkyTeam and several non-aligned airlines |
| Terminal 3 | 1961 | Oneworld (except Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc), Virgin Atlantic and several non-aligned airlines |
| Terminal 4 | 1986 | SkyTeam (except Aeroméxico, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Middle East Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic) and most non-aligned airlines |
| Terminal 5 | March 2008 | British Airways (most destinations) and Iberia |
We measured it on 30 September 2026: Terminal 5 to Terminal 2 is 3.8 miles and about twelve minutes by road on the Western Perimeter Road, or about nine minutes on the Piccadilly line. That is twelve minutes plus a walk, plus the anxiety, at the exact moment you can least afford any of it.
Terminals 2 and 3 sit together in the Central Terminal Area, laid out by Sir Frederick Gibberd. Terminals 4 and 5 are separate satellites on opposite sides of the airport. If you are transferring airside between terminals, there are free dedicated transfer buses; if you are landside with luggage, you want the car to come to the right door.
Our meet and greet service puts a driver inside the terminal holding a board with your name on it. This is the part of an airport transfer that is worth paying attention to, because it is where most of what goes wrong, goes wrong.
Give us the flight number and we track it. If you land ninety minutes late, the pickup moves ninety minutes later and you are not charged for the delay or left without a car. If you land early, we know. This is the single most useful thing you can give us at the point of booking, and it costs nothing.
Work backwards from the airline’s check-in advice, not from the drive time. A rough rule that has served our customers well:
Tell us your flight time rather than a pickup time and we will suggest when the car should arrive. We would far rather have that conversation at the point of booking than at six in the morning on the driveway.
We quote each job rather than publishing a rate per mile, and the figures at the top of this page are the reason stated plainly.
Give us the postcode, the terminal, the flight number and the number of bags, and you will have a fixed price before you travel. No meter, no surprise at the far end, and no surcharge because the M25 was slow. Book online or ring your nearest branch.
People use all three words for an airport car and here they mean the same thing. A hackney carriage — the black cab — can be hailed in the street or taken from a rank. A private hire vehicle, which is what a minicab is, must be booked in advance through a licensed operator. Every Heathrow transfer we run is a pre-booked private hire journey, so a Heathrow taxi, a Heathrow minicab and a Heathrow airport cab all get you the same licensed driver, the same vetted car and the same fixed quote. Our minicab versus black cab page has the fuller explanation.
One thing worth knowing at the airport itself: the taxi rank outside a Heathrow terminal is metered black-cab work, and on a long run out into Surrey a meter plus heavy traffic is a bad combination. A pre-booked minicab is quoted before you set off, so the M25 being slow is our problem rather than yours.
Luggage is what catches people out on an airport run, so book by bags as much as by people.
Child seats are fitted to order — tell us the child’s age when you book, not when the driver arrives.
We would rather tell you when the train wins than pretend it never does.
None of those start in Surrey. From Godalming, Guildford, Reigate or Epsom, reaching Heathrow by public transport means a train to Woking or London and then a change with your luggage — typically an hour and a half to two hours, against 27 to 47 minutes in a car from your door. For a 06:00 departure it is not a real choice.
A corporate account replaces expense claims with one monthly invoice and gives you a booking line that already knows your addresses, your usual vehicle and who is authorised to book. For client collections, our drivers meet inside the terminal with a name board as standard.
Guildford and Weybridge are the two quickest offices to Heathrow — 27 and 19 minutes — which makes them the practical base for anything time-critical out of the airport.
Worth knowing: from some of the towns we cover, Heathrow is not the nearest airport but is the quickest one, and from others the reverse is true. From Godalming, Heathrow is 30.2 miles and 47 minutes while Gatwick is 41.5 miles and 50 — Heathrow wins on both counts. From Oxshott, Gatwick is nearly two miles further and fourteen minutes quicker. Ask us when you book and we will tell you which is the better journey.
A Heathrow chauffeur service and a Heathrow minicab are the same licensed private hire journey with different vehicles and different handling. The chauffeur booking means an executive car, one named driver held for your journey or for a block of hours, a meet in arrivals rather than a message from a car park, and an account rather than a card reader. Everything else on this page applies to both; this section is about when the chauffeur booking is the right one.
A good share of searches for Heathrow chauffeur hire and Heathrow car hire are looking for a rental desk. Clocktower Cars does not rent cars out. Every booking we take includes a professional driver, so if you want to drive yourself from the terminal we are not the right firm; if you want to be driven, that is the whole business.
There is no direct train from Heathrow to anywhere in our area, so the public-transport answer is always at least one change and usually two, with luggage. The chauffeur booking earns its cost in five specific cases: an arrival after the last useful connection; two or more passengers, where one car undercuts separate fares; genuine luggage, which is a different journey from a cabin bag; a client or a relative who should not be navigating Paddington; and any arrival at all, because we watch the flight and a timetable does not.
For the practical detail of the run itself — terminals, waiting, what a delayed arrival costs — see what a Heathrow taxi costs and what sets the price. For the executive fleet across Surrey and south London see first class executive cabs; for the other airports, Gatwick chauffeur service and the airport transfers hub.
Yes. Chauffeur-driven executive cars run to and from all Heathrow terminals, 24 hours a day, from Epsom and every town we cover across Surrey and south-west London. Call 01372 747 747 or book online.
Yes. Hourly chauffeur bookings suit a day of meetings that starts or ends at the airport, a group arriving on separate flights, and any itinerary where the car needs to wait rather than be re-booked. Tell us the hours when you book and the driver and vehicle are held for you.
Between 19 and 47 minutes depending on which of our offices is nearest, measured 30 September 2026. Weybridge is 12.2 miles and about 19 minutes; Guildford 21.9 miles and about 27; Epsom 24.3 miles and about 32; Reigate 28.5 miles and about 33; Carshalton 30.4 miles and about 45; Godalming 30.2 miles and about 47. Add 20–30 minutes in the morning or evening peak.
Terminal 5 for British Airways (most destinations) and Iberia. Terminal 2 for Star Alliance and SkyTeam carriers. Terminal 3 for Oneworld and Virgin Atlantic. Terminal 4 for most remaining SkyTeam and non-aligned airlines. Terminal 1 closed in June 2015 and no longer exists. Tell us the airline if you are not sure and we will work it out.
Nothing, provided you gave us the flight number. We track the flight and move the pickup to match the actual landing time. You are not charged for the delay and you are not left without a car. Without a flight number we are working from a clock, which is how people end up paying waiting time.
Yes, if you book meet and greet — the driver waits in arrivals with a board showing your name. The alternative is a kerbside pickup at the designated point, which is cheaper and works well if you travel light and know the airport.
It depends on which office is nearest, the hour, the terminal, the size of car and whether you want meeting in arrivals — which is why we quote each job rather than publish a mileage rate. On these roads mileage genuinely misleads: from Epsom the shorter route is five and a half miles less and eight minutes slower. Ask for a quote and you will have a fixed price before you travel.
Be at the terminal two hours before a short-haul departure with hand luggage, two and a half with bags to check, three for long-haul. Then add your drive time from the table above, plus 20–30 minutes if you are travelling in the peak. Tell us the flight time rather than a pickup time and we will do that arithmetic for you.
Yes — an eight-seater is usually cheaper and considerably simpler than two saloons on an airport run. Tell us the number of bags as well as the number of people, because eight passengers with eight cases is a different vehicle again.
Yes — ramp-loading vehicles where the passenger stays in their own chair, with drivers trained on the restraints. Book ahead where you can, as there are fewer accessible vehicles than saloons. Full detail on our wheelchair accessible taxis page.
To Paddington, yes — it is non-stop and runs every fifteen minutes. But it starts at Heathrow, not in Surrey. From our patch, reaching Heathrow by public transport means a train plus a change with your luggage, typically an hour and a half to two hours against 19 to 47 minutes door to terminal by car.
Yes — we run twenty-four hours, every day of the year including Christmas. Early airport runs are our commonest night work. Book the night before at the latest, and earlier than that over Christmas and New Year.
No. The quote is fixed when you book. If the M25 is slow that is our problem, not yours — which is precisely why we look at the road rather than the mileage when we work the price out.
Weybridge — 12.2 miles and about 19 minutes via the M25. Guildford is next at 21.9 miles and about 27 minutes. Every office covers Heathrow; it is simply quicker from some than others, and the quote reflects that honestly.
Licensed drivers, fixed quotes, flight tracking, meet and greet, twenty-four hours a day, from eleven offices across Surrey and south London. Book online or ring your nearest branch — all the numbers are on our find us page.
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