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Car from London to Cotswolds

Posted by on

Does anyone have a car service they recommend taking from London Heathrow up to the Cotswolds (Ellenborough Park Hotel in Cheltenham, specifically)? I'm a terrible driver so I don't want to rent a car, and I'm a bit worried about navigating trains with luggage, etc. I'll be staying at the same hotel for a week, then will need a driver to take me back to Heathrow for my return flight. I'm coming across lots of posts on travel forums saying certain car companies end up cancelling trips at the last second, or only wait an hour after flight arrival time (even if that is before your scheduled arrival time), and do not allow time to get through customs, etc. I'm really worried about making sure I have a car to take me back to London so early in the morning.

Does anyone have any recommendations or tips?

Thank you!!

Posted by
7049 posts

There’s always the bus, then take a taxi to the hotel that is outside of town.

Not sure what’s taking you to Cheltenham, but there are no must see sites in town and the popular Cotswold villages are 30-40 minutes or so from it. Nearby, Tewkesbury is nice to walk around. The abbey is worth visiting.

Posted by
1054 posts

I'm really worried about making sure I have a car to take me back to London so early in the morning.

Frequent advice is given here that there is risk in planning on traveling a relatively long distance to make an early morning flight. The preference for many is that you make your way back to Heathrow the afternoon or evening before and spend the night at a hotel connected to or a short distance from the airport.

Here are the results from the past year of a search on the forum regarding hotels at Heathrow:

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Heathrow+hotel&utf8=%E2%9C%93

And one thing you might consider is to take a frequent bus from the airport to Oxford [if not farther], and then look for a private transfer from there.

Posted by
33513 posts

I'm really worried about making sure I have a car to take me back to London so early in the morning.

How early is the flight?

Posted by
33513 posts

Kate,

Your hotel is not in Cheltenham, it is beyond Prestbury (where I used to live) in Southam (where my cousin had her wedding reception) on the way up to Cleeve Hill. I would expect that a local driver will know the local roads better than a London or international one.

I don't have a particular recommendation unfortunately. You ay be able to find a Cheltenham taxi who has a booked fare to Heathrow who could have you as a return fare.

I'm also of the worrying classes of your early flight the same day as checking out. You may also run into the rush hour going into London.

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