I've been trying to find a way to drop off a rental car and catch a direct train to York on a Saturday. We'll be coming from a stay in the Cotswolds after visiting Bath. It looks to me like we can't drop off a rental car on a Saturday afternoon any place in the region (Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon) other than going to the Birmingham airport. Is this a good plan? Is it difficult to drop off a rental car and then catch a train at the airport or are there logistics I haven't discovered? Are there better options?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
The train from Birminham Airport takes three hours with a connection at Birmingham New Street station. Did you also look into dropping the car in York? Of course, if that's later in the afternoon, then it may add a day to your rental agreement.
Posted by
OP
Portland
19 posts
Driving to York is an option but I was hoping to have a more relaxed trip. We'd like to visit Warwick Castle earlier in the day and take a late afternoon direct train to York. Is the car rental drop off in walking distance to the trains at Birmingham airport or are we looking at a lot of logistics and time? If the hassle factor is too great then perhaps driving to York is the better option.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
Some car hire companies are open Saturday afternoon in Oxford and Sunday for that matter, but you have just indicated you would be to the north in Warwick.
Posted by
OP
Portland
19 posts
thanks, Marco. I would be interested in knowing which car rental agencies are open on Saturday afternoons in Oxford since my first plan was to visit Blenheim that morning, drop off the car in Oxford, and take the direct train to York. (Warwick could be another day). My searching so far hasn't found car agencies open on Saturday afternoons.
Posted by
2599 posts
Check through this site to find car rental companies:>http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/cheap-car-hire/uk/
Don't forget, that if travelling by train, you will get cheaper prices if you advance book. The station by Birmingham Airport is called Birmingham International (BHI). I would not buy a through ticket from BHI to York (YRK) as it should be cheaper to show up on the day and buy a £3.50 ticket to the main station in Birmingham = New Street (BHM) and then use a pre purchased ticket to York. For this leg of the journey, you will be travelling on www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk. However, I would use www.nationalrail.co.uk to find the schedules & fares as I think this is easier to use than the CC site for this purpose.
I have one more trick to hopefully save you money. Having found the desired train at a convenient time, go to this site and put in for the journey BHM > YRK on desired date/time & select "Split MY Ticket". This will show you whether you can buy 2 tickets for this journey and save money - even though you are sitting ON THE SAME TRAIN throughout! http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/split-cheap-train-tickets/
(On arrival in UK, you use the code to get the tickets using the same card on which the booking was made. Use a Fast Ticket Machine or go and see a humanoid. You may be able to print your own ticket - check with CC).
Should you be at Birmingham New Street with plenty of time to spare, you might like to go outside & have a wander around the city centre as it has some fine Victorian Buildings - as well as modern malls.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
Enterprise and Avis are 2 I know that do; however you may need to check that they are late enough for your purpose as they close a bit earlier than in the week.