bardosinoz

Hi! we need some expert advice. We are travelling to the UK in July and first staying in London near Westminster Bridge. We have two children aged 9 & 11 years. We are wanting to pick up a rental car in London and then travel up north to Yorkshire. We were hoping someone could advise us where would be the best location to pick up a car without having much hassle getting on the motorway or in the London traffic. Thanks!!

sofarsogood

To avoid London traffic and the hassle of the motorway why not take a train to York, Leeds, Sheffield, or wherever you're going and hire a car there? Quicker and much less stressful.

bilboburgler

I'd vote for the York train option, but thinking about it the M11 is about the easiest motorway to get used to so maybe take the train to Stanstead airport and grab a car there. Any other thoughts anyone

flanneruk

Small note: it takes more energy to realise you're Australian than you might imagine. The answer to these questions always starts with your nationality, since for most overseas visitors it's essential to start off somewhere driving on the proper side of the road isn't going to be traumatic.

For most Sydneysiders or Melburnians, driving out to the North from a car hire place around Kings Cross (the real one) or Euston is scarcely different from starting off from KX's antipodean oppo. Nor is starting off from an Edgware Rd place. From there, it's surprisingly close to a doddle to get out to the M1. London traffic is better behaved than Sydney's or Melbourne's, signage is just fine and it's honestly going to be more trouble carting bags to a station and messing around with provincial taxis than driving off from a KX or Edgware Rd hire place. Don't start off anywhere else in central London.

The problem for people used to driving on the proper side in real cities is getting the car back at the end - and I'd definitely dump it at Heathrow or Luton airports, and train back into town if necessary.

Generally speaking, traffic discipline is significantly worse in cities outside London (like Leeds), and driving in heritage cities (like York) is a seriously rotten idea even for those of us who live a few miles from one.

If you live in the middle of the Outback and get as hissy-fitty at the thought of urban driving as the American old maids of both sexes (and all ages) we hear so much from on this forum, Stansted's the best idea. The M11 north, followed by the A14 to the A1, keeps you clear of possible challenges for a couple of hundred miles. Though Luton airport looks more direct, the M1 north at that point isn't a good place to be introduced to driving in a developed country.

alanRow

For the cost of reaching Stansted you could buy tickets to York and be in York before you'd collected the car keys

If you are intending staying in York then a car is an expensive millstone about your neck