> a lot of stations just have stairs

Very few, if any. They may not have escalators (Covent garden, for eg., but no-one in their right mind uses that - just use Leicester Square and walk on the street) but there are almost always ways of getting up to the street, and assistance is signposted for people with problems.

> platforms are often at a significant offset from the underground cars

Not sure what you mean here - mind the gap? Typically less on the Piccadilly than some other lines - Bank on the Central is particularly scary.

Based on living 30-odd years in London, most of it using the Piccadilly line on my daily commute and to get to LHR.

Sounding like a TfL groupie here, but it is a pretty good transit system, given geographic and budgetary constraints.

It's not just the gap. The platform can also be a somewhat significant step up from the car. Normally not a big deal but a couple years back I had both real dress clothing and clothes for a long walk in my luggage on a fairly long trip overall.

Agree that the Underground is good in general. I've used it a lot. That particular trip was just a case of having heavier luggage than I usually carry and I should have handled things differently.