Hello,
Please excuse my rather ignorant questions, but I've never rented a car here much less in the UK! We are going to be in London May 14th-24th. My husband is very confident about driving in foreign countries and we don't want to do an organized tour, so we plan on renting a car for a day to go to Bath and Stonehenge. Would it be best to book ahead or should we just kind of wing it when we get there? Is there any cost advantage to booking ahead? Do they run out of cars? Do I sound pathetic or what?
Thanks for any help!

Normally I recommend AutoEurope, but if you are only renting one day, that probably won't do you any good as they have a three day minimum (in cost if not in actual practice). We have rented a car for single days with Hertz, one of the few who wouldn't "gouge" us for doing so, but we have always booked ahead. I'd suggest that you check out now where and when you want to rent. You will probably do better by making advance plans, but the difference in cost will probably not be great. I'd suggest you do a pick up on the western side of London, or even at Heathrow to avoid much in-city driving. Without any luggage, you could easily take the underground to Heathrow and use a shuttle to take you to the rental agency. Routes are well marked leaving Heathrow, just make sure they give you good directions for returning the car as that can be very confusing.

I suggest with one person driving, the other person mainly plan to be the "navigator" and practice now saying "Keep Left" so you can do so every time you enter a roundabout or make a turn.

I would definetly recommend avioding the tour busses and get out and explore on your own.

If you rent from hertz you can get a discounted rate by paying in advance on their web site. I guess that works if you know what day you are renting the car.

You go right to hertz.com and its pretty easy from there. They even offer picks ups in the city if you are not near the airport.

Thank you Patrick and Mattgopc! I had been trying to find a place near Victoria Station but I think I'll do more research on some outlying places and then figure out how to get to and from there.
I appreciate your input.

A number of the companies have pickup places on Warwick Road in the western end of Kensington, including Avis. From there it is a very simple straight shot out a major street to get to the main highways. If you see that address, it is easy and close to get to and easy to drive to and from.

you might want to rent a car for just Stonehenge and take the train to Bath. The station is well located in Bath and it's probably less expensive and far less stressful than driving! And much quicker too! You'd need to book a cheap day return ticket or buy at the station- you won;t have to choose your return time and there are lots of trains.

Thank you Patrick, that has been a major problem for me - trying to figure out where a rental place is located in relation to major roads and easy to get to from the hotel. Now that I have a street and area it should be easier. You are a gem.
Thank you too, Highledge, for your idea. If I could have made it work, I would have preferred to do it that way. I guess I should have mentioned that we have pre-purchased tickets for Private Access to Stonehenge at sunset. We would have to go to Bath first and then get to Stonehenge by 6:30. And wow, try to figure out how to do THAT without a car! I considered a car/train combo but couldn't make it work. My husband assures me that he's comfortable driving in foreign countries since he did so much of it in the military. I'm holding him to that as I have no intention getting behind the wheel! (I'm chicken)