London - Cornwall question
 

Can you please advise where would be the best place to pick up a rental car just outside London to drive to Cornwall?

Also, thinking of staying around Looe, has anyone the name of an INN to stay for a few days. Would this be a good base to see all the coast of Cornwall in a few days?

Thank you

The best concentration of car rental places just outside London will undoubtedly be Heathrow Airport.
You could take a train to local cities such as Reading.
Looe is fine, although I can't recommend an Inn as I always stay in St Mawes.

Hi

I don't know where you'll be staying, so what's most convenient for you. Are you asking this to avoid driving in Central London? (Not a bad idea, IMHO)

Heathrow is a good bet, since it's on the motorway you'll take to get down to Cornwall (the M4) so it's en route. If not, anywhere around West London - Hammersmith, Chiswick way would have minimal driving before the motorway.

Alternatively, have you considered maybe getting the train down to Bristol/Bath and then picking a car up from there to continue your journey?

Alternatively, if you do pick up your rental car from Heathrow, then it might be an idea to drive south on the A30.

This is the one of the main roads next to the airport and if you head south will eventually take you into Cornwall. This is the 'scenic route'. This might take you 4/5-6/7 hours, depends on the traffic.

At any point if you feel confident enough to drive on the motorway then there will be signposts that will help you find your way to the M4.

You could stay overnight in Bath and travel to Cornwall the next day - have a wonderful time, it's my favorite place in the UK

Take a train then pick up a hire car!

It's a very long journey to Cornwall, and it's usually made longer by lots of traffic. You're much better off taking the train and hiring a car when you're there, if you really want to go there then forget the extra cost.

I think you're living in different times wanting to stay in an "Inn". The days of Dick Turpin are over now. Do you mean you want to stay above a Public House or what? These quaint beamed affairs with open fires, and horsemen and their carriages outside only exist in fiction I'm afraid.

As for seeing "all the coast" there are probably close to a thousand miles of Cornish coast, so it is not possible to see all of it.

What's the attraction of Cornwall? For coastal scenery the Isle of Man (which is diminutive in comparison) cannot be bettered, and its charm is far greater than the commercialised Cornwall.

If you google coaching inn Cornwall, you'll find links to some of the historic inns.

An inn is just the name for a pub with accommodation...I like staying in Inns too as you can get a few drinks before bedtime without having to pay ridiculous hotel bar prices! And the breakfasts are often good. And you can buy a lunch or dinner without breaking the bank.

Well here is an "Inn" that I can recommend, having stayed there a couple of times. It is The Rock Inn, in Haytor Vale, South Devon. It is a 200 year old coaching inn just inside Dartmoor National Park. Near Bovey Tracey. While not on either coast, it is convenient to drive to the coast and the setting is so lovely.

Further into Cornwall, I have also stayed just outside Polperro, which is near Looe. Can't recall the name of the B&B but it was up a steep walk from the harbor. That is Daphane DeMaurer country.

How long do you have for the entire London > Cornwall > London trip? If it is just a few days, I'd probably take the train from London to Exeter and pick up a car there. Yes - you could take the train all the way to Cornwall, but there is a lot of great scenery in Devon on your way there. The drive all the way from London is very loooooong and would take an entire day - take the train and save a lot of time.

If on the other hand you are taking a week or more for the round trip - I'd rent in London and drive - but take a scenic route stopping over once or twice enroute.

You could definitely rent from LHR. But depending on the day/time you start out you can also leave from central London. Marble Arch is near one main westward exit road (A40/M40) and Earls Court is near the other main route (A4/M4). It really doesn't matter which route you take since out near LHR they are only about 5 miles apart and you can jog over from the M40 to the M4 or a bit farther to the M3.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply with your helpful information.
The train might be the right idea. We will only have 3 nights and have to be back at Southampton on the 4th night. So i guess we could drop car off there.

Thanks again.