We are a family of five adults attending a family wedding in Cambridge on January 5. We are planning on arriving in London on December 28 and returning home to Southern California on January 11. It was recommended that we hire a car to take us to Cambridge from Heathrow? Our flight arrives at noon. I�ve rented a house in Cambridge for the first portion of our trip. We�d like to see Stonehenge and I�ve contacted a tour company about a private tour directly from Cambridge. Another option is to take the train to Edinburg for New Year�s and spend at least one night.

After the wedding we�ll head off to Brussels for a couple of nights. Some of the wedding party are going to Paris. I don�t think we can do both. We�ll return to London for our flight home. Any thoughts? Weather we realize will be a huge factor in anything we do.

We moved your thread from Tech Support to the Europe Forum and tagged it for the United Kingdom.

It would be easier, cheaper and less time-consuming to fly home from Brussels. Unless flights are problematic, it depends where you live.

I'd suggest a guided walking tour of Cambridge, including a few of the colleges. I've never visited over the Christmas period so have no idea about closures (if any) at that time of year.

Sorry -- but a tour from Cambridge to Stonehenge makes no sense The drive alone would take between 2.5 and 4.5 hours each way depending on traffic (and traffic on that route is more often awful than not)

It would make much more sense to perhaps return to LHR a day early and stay either at the airport or in Windsor (or even central London). Windsor to Stonehenge would be a 1.25 - 2 hour drive, again depending on traffic. (Central London to Salisbury is a 1:20 train ride)

Going to Edinburgh for one night over Hogmanay is a non starter really. Hotels will have a 2 or 3 night minimum with room rates 3 or more times normal.

Is Brussels a must? Have you been to London and other parts of England previously? I'd be more inclined to stay in the UK . . . but that's me.

I would agree that a car service would make sense from LHR to Cambridge for 5 of you. Think a van would probably do. Stonehenge for a day trip also makes no sense to me.
I would spend my time at that time in the year in cities given the short and probably gloomy days. Why Brussels?

Please don't drive on arrival in January from Heathrow to Cambridge on the wrong side of the road. I have friends and family who live along those roads and I would like them to live.

A shame you have already rented somewhere . You could have gone straight to Edinburgh and spent a few days there before heading to Cambridge for the wedding, or flown into Brussels for a few days before heading through the Tunnel and up to Cambridge.
You will be there when the days are at their shortest, with probably not great weather. A tour from Cambridge to Stonehenge is a long boring drive for an hour or so looking at a damp pile of stones. I love Stonehenge but I wouldn't do that journey. It is your money and your choice of course. If it is a must then either go there on arrival, staying in London or Windsor, or even Salisbury, by train not driving, or go after the wedding and base yourself in London for a few days. Makes more sense than going to Brussels and back. Even trains can be affected by bad weather and you could be stuck in Belgium when your flight is from the UK.

Do not drive to Cambridge on arrival. Driving after a long flight is the same as driving while drunk. You may think you are fine but you are not. Plus the M25 and M11 are pigs of roads at the best of times but when you are tired, and you will be no matter how well you think you slept, on a probably drizzly grey day, on the wrong side of the road for you? Terrible idea.

Have a think about what you really want to see and do,

The OP states ' It was recommended that we hire a car to take us to Cambridge from Heathrow'. I assumed that is in 'American speak' - not 'Brit speak'. If they planned on driving they'd 'rent a car'. 'Hiring a car to take them' -- that's a car service.

(after being on here so long I figured you'd be bilingual by now LOL )

edit: Didn't see heti's post -- you too

Has your family visited London? There is so much to do there with many museums and indoor locations to visit if the weather is poor. I don't think Brussels has as much to offer as London (or Paris.)

I would stay in the UK as well, and skip Brussels. Loads to do in London and lots of easy day trips from there as well. Arriving on 28 Dec should be fine but if you're thinking of arriving a day or two earlier, be aware that public transport in London shuts down for 25, 26 and (I think) should be back to normal by 28 Dec. TFL website, Transport for London.

janisj
Hiring and renting of cars also has a Brit speak translation issue so the chances of me catching US vernacular in that one is just about zero.

In proper Brit you rent a house or very large fixed object (unless you are leasing it), you hire a wheeled or smaller object.
You take a taxi or a car service.

My English is pretty sub-par so all I know is you never "get" or "have" anything. ;-)

OP states it was recommend they hire a car from Heathrow to Cambridge. Hence the request not to do so.

You might save a bit by taking a National Express coach from Heathrow to Cambridge.

Bear in mind it will be dark by 4pm in December, and Stonehenge is 140 miles away, the other side of London. Seeing it winter may well be an atmospheric experience, but not in a good way, I suspect.
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Guys -- context. IMO the operative word in the post is 'take' . . . not 'hire'. Hire a car to take them . . .

To most Americans that means hiring a car and a driver to take them where they want to go. Not hire/rent a car to drive themselves.

But maybe the OP can clarify what they actually meant.

Janisj, you know I love you... But the OP wrote hire.

Sorry janis, definitely hire.

Anyway let's hope OP didn't mean hire and drive themselves but use a car service just in case.

Thanks as always for the input. We’re flying non-stop from San Diego to London (RT) on British Air. Trying to avoid LAX at all costs. Hence the flight arrangements. Definitely will not be driving in the UK. The suggestion was to use a car “service” from the airport to Cambridge rather than taking the train(s). I do like the idea of staying in London a few nights. Then possibly catching a tour from London to Stonehenge. Then we’d travel by train to Cambridge. I can change the dates of the rental in Cambridge in the event we do that. For those who might want to do a couple days in Edinburg they could do that after New Year’s. We are traveling with several other families (about 20 people) so we’ll each have our own itineraries. Just looking at options as we discuss our plans.

One of our sons wants to go to Brussels and visit the breweries/pubs. A couple of us may go with him. I was warned about the weather and the possibility of train delays, so will keep that in mind with the scheduling. Thanks again.

New Year's in Scotland is a serious thing, so they might prefer to go prior to experience it.

Belgium beer is special not just Brussels (in fact only a little bit Brussels)

Weather, as you've said is going to be critical. The UK stops dead if there is any snow, while the short daylight hours and the mainly holiday period you arrive means that trains can be packed or even cancelled.

As a Brit, we try to hunker down from about the 22nd until 2nd. Just because travel is such a nightmare. So you will need restaurants booked, supplies laid in etc.

Just a quick one as I am ducking out - in Brussels the pubs for seasoned beer drinkers are Delirium Caf�, Moeder Lambic (there are two locations), and Beer Circus. All have a wide selection of beers (in Delirium there are over 2000). And a brewery near Brussels is Cantillon - I believe they do tours of their brewery. But there are loads of bars which cater to the average drinker (some of the more atmospheric that would appeal to Mum and Dad are Poechenellekelder, Falstaff, Le Cirio and � la Mort Subite).

Good luck if you make Brussels one of your stops!

Lavandula