Car rental out of Heathrow?
 

Hi all-

We are planning a family trip to the UK this August. We will spend three days in London followed by a few days in Warwick/Stratford/Cotswolds, a few days in Southern Wales and a few days in Salisbury/Bath. I've already arranged inns in a few areas to serve as a "base" and I had set up a car rental from Heathrow for a week. Now, I'm wondering if we will be prepared enough to drive out of Heathrow having never driven in the UK before. I'd like to switch our car rental to Stratford and take the train out past the more congested city roadways- but unfortunately I can not find a rental company open in Stratford late Saturday afternoon. We were planning to take our children to Warwick Castle on Saturday evening for their special Saturday Jousting at Sunset event. (My son is excited to see the Trebuchet launch fireballs....)

My question:

Do I drive from Heathrow as originally planned on Saturday afternoon?
OR
Take an early train from London to Stratford on Saturday AM in time to rent a car before noon?
OR
Travel to Stratford on train, do without car for weekend, reschedule Warwick (minus Jousting) and rent car on Monday when the car hire opens?

I've looked at Oxford and Warwick for rentals but all seem to close by 12:00 on Saturday. I'm not sure I can rouse my preteen and teen children in time for that journey -- at least not pleasantly! My husband is game to try the drive from Heathrow; I am nervous.

I would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

You should drive out of Heathrow. It is by far the easiest way to get started. It is far enough west so your are not in any central London traffic and is on all the motorways to Warwick/Oxford/Wales/Bath/Salisbury.

You first effort should NOT be in the confines of crowded/congested towns like Stratford.

You'd get an hour or so of driving on limited access divided super highways w/o cross traffic or sheep or pedestrians or all the other "issues" You get used to the car and by the time you are up near Warwick you will be ready to tackle surface driving.

(A Saturday morning in Stratford will be VERY crowded - you don't want to be driving there)

Janis is right as usual. Heathrow would be much easier to start of with. The motorways are less difficult to start with than small, narrow congested town roads.

One of the biggest challenges with driving in the UK isn't being on the other side of the road, it's the whole different look to things - road signs can be hard to locate on the sides of buildings, the traffic lights are different as are road markings, speed limit signs can be a challenge to spot and read (and with all the speed cameras about, you need to be VERY aware of speed limits)... and there are SO MANY road signs it can all be a bit overwhelming until you get used to it.

Just remember to keep the center of the road and opposing traffic on the drivers side.

Will you have a GPS? Automatic or manual?

You could prepare for your trip by looking at the Highway Code online. If nothing else read about roundabouts. You won't find them on motorways but you will on the approaches to towns, as well as in towns. If driving in the countryside read the chapter on horses.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...code/index.htm

We rented a car at Gatwick and went to Windsor the first day. We then drove to Stratford and Warwick Castle etc. the next day. We stayed in a b&b which was easy access for us to get into Stratford and out of town again.

We had driven 12 days in Ireland on another trip and were used to "the wrong side of the road". Be sure to get an automatic as the shift is in the center and you will be using your left hand instead of your right to shift. It would be easier if the cars were made the same as ours but they are made where the driver sits on the "passenger side of the car".

My sister would drive and I would watch the map and the road signs and repeatedly say - stay left!!! We also drove into Northern Wales for 4 days.

"<i>Be sure to get an automatic as the shift is in the center and you will be using your left hand instead of your right to shift.</i>"

Not necessarily - a stick will save you a LOT of money. If one is competent w/ a stick back home the skill transfers easily. Yes - you are shifting w/ your left hand -- but you aren't doing any "power shifting" or pulling a dragster off the line. Simple shifting is not difficult left handed. I am totally hopeless w/ my left hand for most anything. But I have absolutely not problems shifting in the UK.

BUT -- if one is not comfortable w/ a stick back home - yes, definitely spend the extra $$$ for an automatic.

Many folks who warn against renting a stick either have not tried it or don't know how to drive one. They just can't imagine sitting on the "wrong" side of the road, on the "wrong" side of the car, shifting w/ their "wrong" hand - OH MY ! :O There are exceptions of course - some simply can't get the hang of it. But - driving a stick on those wonderful country roads is a KICK in the BUTT :D

First, I would not drive in the U.K. without a detailed road atlas ala' the "AA Road Atlas Britain, scale 3.2 miles to an inch." It saved our bacon more than once on a road trip from Heathrow to Scotland, Wales, and back to Guildford and Kent.Have a good navigator with you-as mentioned it is not the roads, it is more the signage,etc. That is why a detailed map is worth it's weight in gold.

Second, if it makes sense, e.g. you are visiting Kent or Bath from London I would suggest looking at renting a car out of Gatwick, you are positioned in the south of London, yea it costs $15 or so to get from London to Gatwick, but not near the hassle of driving out of Heathrow. Perhaps it was just jet lag but I found getting on to the Motorway from the Hertz lot at Heathrow a real pain. But coming from Dover and Kent we made arrangements to drop the car at Gatwick-great move, I must say!

You can ask for an automatic, but may not get it. Be ready for a stick. No problem, except you are shifting with right hand. Tend to grind gears at times, but it is their choice to give you a stick. We had an Italian, Fiat or Alpha, Diesel, great car once got use to it.

Of course develop your itinerary so as to minimize auto needs. Rail is so great there. At times Rail, taxi cabs, combined may cost a bit more than car, depending on how many people are with you, but the reduced hassle of autos, driving, and parking, is very much worth it.

Have fun, but get a detailed Atlas in a book in London. You will not regret the investment, and it is fun seeing the detail of the countryside.

Correction: to above. Of course you are shifting with Left Hand and that take some getting use to

djsprof: It likely was the jet lag (never <B>EVER</B> a good idea to drive right after an overnight flight).

Getting out of LHR is really easy compared to from most anywhere else. And for the OPs plan, renting from Gatwick makes no sense whatsoever. It would mean driving all the way around greater London and through several unnecessary counties when they could simply jump on the M40 and jump off at Warwick.

Stratford is a bugger to get to by train. Major stations in that area are Leamington Spa and Coventry. I don't think there is a connection to SoA from Cov....there was from L'Spa.
You can hire a car from most major companies in both Leamington and Coventry.
my point being that if you take the train out of London to either place you could then hire a car and drive the distance 10 to 20 miles or so through Warwickshire to SoA. The train to Cov is a high speed affair - the trains to Leamington I'm not so sure. Check which station the trains leave from to go to each respective town...most likely could be Euston, Paddington. This will involve getting from H'row into London and then changing stations - by taxi - most probably.

getting a car in Deathrow is an option well worth considering though. The set-back is that you will launch yourself straight onto the overcrowded motorway system of the UK. - From H'row to Warwick you require M25 followed by M4 - it's a fairly straightforward drive.

many towns where tourists will venture are no easier to drive in as compared to london - e.g. windsor, oxford, perhaps stratford, etc.

and i agree with janis...heathrow is not bad to drive out of...but only you can make judgements about driving. somehow 'game to try' is not reassuring. you need to be confident or you should not do it. you 'try' playing golf but you only drive when you know what you are doing.