Having wrestled the tmobile wireless access to the ground, and located the epicentre of the hotspot, I’m sitting in Heathrow, awaiting the final leg of our epic journey back to Canada. Basically, it’s a 11.5-hour flight from Cape Town to London, a 7-hour lay-over and a 9.5-hour flight from London to Vancouver. Both flights are direct, so I can’t really complain.
Here’s a travel tip we discovered this morning. There’s a Hilton that is about 5 minutes walk from Terminal 4 at Heathrow. While the rates for day rooms there are exorbitant, you can use their gym for a 10 pound fee. This means that you can have a nice shower (towels and beauty products provided), wash the last flight off, and stave off deep-veined thrombosis with a light workout. If you’ve brought your bathing suit, there’s a pool as well. Plus, there’s WiFi in their lobby. I feel almost human.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I’ve stayed at the Heathrow Hilton a couple times, and while not inexpensive, it is money well spent in my opinion.
The last stay was at the end of a two-week family vacation to England. We checked in two days before our departure, returned the rental car and used the Tube for excursions to London.
On departure day, we got up an hour before check-in, packed and walked through the connecting walkway right in to the terminal. Our check-in desk was about 50 feet from the walkway entrance. A very civilized way to travel.
Darren’s idea of paying to use the gym facilities is an excellent way to kill a long layover! I’ll have to remember that next time through…
for a pound the info desk will give you a towel and you can go shower as well. Pool sounds sweet though.