Twenty five minutes up the line: a night out in Hammersmith

Why Hammersmith rather than the West End

Most guests who want a night out from the airport think of the West End, and most of them spend the evening on trains. Hammersmith is the better answer for a short night. It is a proper town on the river, with theatres, a concert hall and some of the best placed pubs in London, and it sits on the same line as the airport, about twenty five minutes from Hatton Cross with no change.

The reason it is so quick is that the Piccadilly line runs fast through this part of west London. For most of the day, after Acton Town it passes the District line stations without stopping and runs straight into Hammersmith, so the stretch that looks longest on the map is the one the train covers fastest. By the time the view from the window has become interesting, you have arrived.

Hatton Cross, the station at the edge

Hatton Cross is the station on the southern side of the airport, just outside the perimeter among the maintenance hangars and the approach lights. It is one stop from Terminal 4, so guests at TW6 3AF on the Terminal 4 walkway can begin the evening from there, and it is where a car from the southern side will drop you for the train.

Starting here rather than at the central terminals saves a few minutes on each leg and, more usefully, puts you straight onto a platform instead of through a terminal's crowds. Between here and Hammersmith the train runs through Hounslow, which is the nearer and perfectly good alternative if the evening turns out shorter than planned.

The river west of the bridge

From the station, walk south through the town centre and under the flyover, and in about ten minutes you reach the river beside Hammersmith Bridge, a Victorian suspension bridge that is one of the handsomest on the Thames. Turn west along the Lower Mall and the pubs begin almost at once, the Blue Anchor and the Rutland Arms side by side near the bridge, then the Dove and the Old Ship further along the Upper Mall.

The Dove is the one people remember, a small old pub with low ceilings and a terrace right above the water. A few doors beyond it stands Kelmscott House, where William Morris lived. On a summer evening the whole stretch fills with people drinking on the river wall while rowing crews go past, and it is as good a first hour as London offers anywhere.

Go early for a seat outside. The terraces along this stretch are small and the good tables go by seven on a warm evening. In winter the pubs come into their own instead, low lit and full, with the river beyond the window rather than beneath the table.

The Lyric, the Apollo and the Riverside

If the evening needs something in the middle of it, Hammersmith has three good places to find it. The Lyric Hammersmith, just off King Street, is a producing theatre with a Victorian auditorium set inside a modern building, and it makes its own shows rather than simply hosting tours. The Eventim Apollo, the big Art Deco hall beside the flyover, takes concerts and the kind of comedy that fills thousands of seats. Riverside Studios, by the bridge, runs theatre, film and talks.

Check what is on before you set off, and look for a finish before ten. A show that lets out at half past ten still leaves time for one drink by the river and an easy train back. One that runs until eleven turns the rest of the night into a sprint for the platform.

The last train, worked out first

Work out the end of the evening before the start. Westbound Piccadilly line trains from Hammersmith do not all go to the airport. The line divides at Acton Town, and some trains run to Uxbridge or finish short of Heathrow altogether, so read the destination on the train, and on the board above the platform, and board only one that says Heathrow.

The last trains to the airport run later than many people assume and earlier than a good night wants, and the exact times differ by day and change with the timetable, so look them up on the night and set the end of the evening half an hour before the last one. The Night Tube keeps the Piccadilly line going through Friday and Saturday nights as far as Terminal 5, calling at Hatton Cross and the central terminals on the way, though not at Terminal 4. The fallback is a taxi along the Great West Road, which is quick at that hour.

How long to book, and who to ask

A night out beyond the perimeter needs more time than a hotel evening, because two journeys now sit inside the booked hours rather than one. Hammersmith and back is close to an hour of travel on its own. Five hours is comfortable, and a longer booking or an overnight lets the train home stop being a deadline. The ladder is on rates.

Three of the six on the early twenties list are the natural company for it. Jasmin knows Hatton Cross and the southern side and is quick, warm and good fun from the first minute. Luna warms up as the evening gets later and is perfectly happy in a crowded pub where nobody is paying attention. Stacy finds the funny side of anything, a missed train included. If the hours are tight, the evening belongs at the hotel instead, and ending on the minute explains how to shape one around a fixed finish.