Flights & Transfers

LAL Offers a reliable Standard Transfers service every Sunday from major airports in the UK. This service is described in detail below.

Please note that Standard Transfers must be booked, with full flight details for arrival and departure as appropriate, at least three weeks before the student's arrival.

• Flights & Transfers
• Standard Transfers
• How Will Students Be Met On Arrival At The Airport?
• What Will Happen When Students Have Been Met?
• How Long Will The Journey Take?
• What Happens When Students Reach Torbay?
• Are There Any Limits On Luggage?
• Label it or lose it
• Airport Assistance Card
• Students Making Their Own Travel Arrangements
• Travelling to Torbay via Eurostar

We offer our Standard Transfer 'Meet & Greet' for students who arrive and depart on Sundays to our main school in Torbay within the following times

Flights Arriving at   

Heathrow between 0900 and 1600 (Ternimals 1, 2 & 3) or 1500 (Terminals 4 & 5)
Gatwick between 1000 and 1400
Stansted between 1000 and 1400
Luton between 1000 and 1400
Bristol between 0900 and 1800
Exeter between 0900 and 1800

Flights Departing from

Heathrow between 1300 and 1800
Gatwick between 1430 and 1800
Stansted between 1430 and 1800
Luton between 1430 and 1800
Bristol between 0900 and 1800
Exeter between 0900 and 1800

Students at Heathrow will wait for their allotted coach, minibus or National Express departure to Torbay.

When the students are first met, the staff will tell them at what time their coach from the airport will depart, and arrange a meeting point where the students should assemble nearer the transfer time. Our staff will supervise young students if they travelled as unaccompanied minors and at the pre-arranged time the airport representatives escort the students to the coach.

Students arriving at Stansted, Gatwick and Luton will normally be transported by car or coach to Heathrow to join our main transfer service. This will often involve waiting time at the airport of arrival and at Heathrow.

Students arriving at Bristol and Exeter will normally be transferred immediately to their destination, but may be asked to wait for further arrivals.

All coaches carrying children include LAL Torbay staff.

Once an LAL coach has left the London airports, the journey to Torbay will take about 4.5 to 5.5 hours, including a 45-minute break for refreshment. National Express coaches take 4.5-5 hours to Paignton, with no refreshment stop; National Express coaches have WCs on board.

Passengers arriving at Luton, Gatwick or Stansted will usually take time to travel to Heathrow to meet the main transfers; this will be at least 1.5 hours, but may be longer. The journey from Bristol is about 2 hours. The journey from Exeter is about an hour.

On arrival at Torbay, coaches stop at Torquay coach station, Paignton hotels and residences and Clennon Valley car park in Paignton to meet Host Families. A member of LAL Torbay staff, who will introduce each student to their host family or show them to their hotel or residence, will meet students at each point. Most students are collected by their host family but occasionally students may be sent to their host family by taxi.

Yes. Any suitcase or bag cannot exceed 20kg in weight and students should bring no more than two suitcases in addition to hand or cabin baggage. These restrictions are specifically to allow students' luggage to be stowed safely in the limited storage space of our transfer coaches.

All Students must have their name and the school's address clearly marked on all their luggage and written again on a sheet of paper on top of their items within each bag.

Lots of bags look the same, and it is easy to pick up the wrong bag at the airport if it is not clearly labelled. Due to airline regulations, a client who picks up the wrong suitcase will have to go back to the airport to return it personally: this would be at the client's expense. If someone else picks up your baggage, it may never be seen again.

Travelling to Torbay by coach and bus

The nearest coach stop to LAL Torbay is Paignton Bus Station, which is served by National Express coaches.

• National Express run direct coaches between London Heathrow airport (LHR) and Paignton several times every day.  However, you must book these services in advance. The last coach leaves LHR at about 1920 each day, and you must allow at least 90 minutes - preferably longer - between the landing time of your flight and the departure of whichever coach you choose.
• If you are travelling to one of London's other airports, Luton, Stansted or Gatwick, you can get a connecting coach to LHR in order to join a coach to Paignton.
• There is a local bus connection from Bristol Airport to Bristol bus station, from where some National Express services to Paignton are available. However, these are very limited.
• There are local bus connections from Exeter Airport to Exeter bus station, from where National Express coach services and local bus services run to Paignton.

You can find information on National Express coaches and book tickets at www.nationalexpress.com. Students wishing to book coach tickets for their departure can also book tickets at LAL Torbay.

Travelling to Torbay by train

The nearest railway station to LAL Torbay is Paignton. There are some direct services to Paignton from London Paddington, but most journeys need you to change trains at Newton Abbot. There are no direct services from any airport.

• If you fly to London Heathrow you can take the Heathrow Express train to London Paddington or RailAir link to Reading to join a train (or trains) to Paignton.
• If you fly to London Gatwick you can take a train to Reading and then a train (or trains) to Paignton.
• If you fly to London Luton or Stansted, you will need to take a train to London, cross London by Underground to London Paddington and then take a train (or trains) to Paignton. We do not recommend this!
• If you travel by Eurostar to London St Pancras International, you should cross London by Underground to London Paddington for trains to Paignton. See below for information about through ticketing to Newton Abbot.
• If you travel to Bristol airport you can take a coach (the Bristol Flyer) to Bristol Temple Meads and then trains to Paignton.
• If you travel to Exeter airport you can take a local bus to Exeter St Davids station, and then a direct train to Paignton.

You can check train times and book tickets at www.gwt.co.uk  or telephone +44 1752 835705 - but please note that your tickets may have to be sent to you by post, so allow plenty of time.

If you are travelling from Germany, you may be able to buy tickets through Die Bahn and you can check times at www.db.de

Please be aware that trains are very likely to be disrupted at weekends due to engineering work on the line.