Car or no car advice

If you’re planning to stay IN Bath, York and Oxford, then use train to get to those. All three are easy to get around on foot once there. Also none of them is very car-friendly (as they’re all pretty old!) and parking can be expensive and tricky.

However if you’re using them as bases to explore surrounding countryside, that’s a difference matter. Some places (like the Cotswolds from Bath) are easily done in a coach trip like Mad Max. Blenheim Palace is very easy by public bus from Oxford. But some of the Yorkshire countryside (rather than York itself) might be easier by car.

You’ll probably want a car in the Lake District.

You definitely don’t want one in London.

So: a bit more detail about what you’re hoping to see in do in and around those cities would help us give advice.

Golden Girl gave some quality advice. I would definitely say have a vehicle in the Lakes. And by doing so, you would be able to take a wonderful drive through the Dales on your way to York. I don’t know all of their locations, but If you do rent a car, check out Arnold Clark-they only charge £75 for dropping off in a different location.

Have fun!

Golden Girl nailed it.

I suggest heading for Oxford first, then Bath, then north (do the Lake District and York).

You probably will want to rent a car to visit the Lake District. Do the Rick Steves recommend drive around the huge lake for a day.
Pick up your car in Bath and drive to Lake District then turn it in at York.

In Bath, I highly recommend the Brooks Guesthouse for a great B&B also the best fish and chips in England at The Scallop Shell.

Have you priced the cost of a rental car? Crazy expensive, especially if you want an automatic. We will be in England in September and only wanted a car for 4 days in the Cotswolds. After seeing how much the car would be for such a short time I changed our itinerary. Coming from Liverpool by train we will spend a night in Oxford and take the bus to Blenheim the next day. Afterwards we will take the train from Oxford to Bath and spend 4 nights there. The above mentioned Mad Max tours will take you to the Cotswolds, or Stonehenge and other places. They seem to be highly recommended. There are also buses and trains from Bath that can take you places. I haven’t been to the Lake District but it may be more problematic without a car. When we went to York years ago we arrived by car and got rid of it immediately. What are your plans there? Do you really need a car?

Hi all, thanks for your thoughtful follow-up questions and advice! I'm still nailing down most details of my itinerary so these are some really helpful thoughts as I figure out more of what I want to do. The idea of renting a car just for the Lake District is sounding more appealing- I'll have to look up and price out some options of picking up/dropping off at my stops just before and after. While I'm still figuring out my plans, I can imagine myself staying mostly within the city in Oxford/Bath/York and utilizing public transport (or bus tours, etc) to get around outside that if I want.

Thank you @blairjoy for the Arnold Clark recommendation- I will definitely look into them! Anyone else have rental car recommendations for comparison purposes?

I use www.autoeurope.com for most of my European car rentals. They are a consolidator based in Maine.

I also use AutoEurope to book overseas car rentals. For England also check autoeurope.co.uk. For some reason the rates, quoted in pounds, are sometimes lower. I just completed a four week rental in England booked through AutoEurope and had a stellar experience. Rental agency was Alamo/Enterprise.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/england-tours/from-london/2-4-day-tours/the-lake-district-3-day-tour

If you want to save yourself the hassle of renting a car just to go to the Lake District.

If the trains are running (see the thread by Nigel about trains) from London, you can easily take a train then short bus ride to Keswick, our favorite town in the Lake District. There's plenty to do in Keswick--hikes by the lake, hikes up the mountain Cat Bells, restaurants, pubs. There's a stone circle mini-Stonehenge within hiking distance of Keswick. A nice walk.

The Lake District has a system of buses to take you on a variety of routes. Board the bus at the bus station in Keswick beside Booths grocery store. (Tithebarn Street).
For 3 days, you could find plenty to do basing yourself in Keswick without a car.
Personally, I'd love to just hang around Keswick and its beautiful lake for 3 days.

We did the Lake District without a car and it worked out fine. We stayed in Keswick and just saw the northern lakes. Rick describes how to get there in his guidebook. There are hikes you can do right from Keswick and buses to other good hiking spots. Of course you would have more flexibility with a car. You’ll have to evaluate whether that would be worth the expense and driving challenges of renting a car.

Many forum members can give you hotel recommendations for Keswick if you decide to go there.
If you want a link for the bus system, say so.
Since you asked in your original post "car or no car".....My husband and I travel without a car in England. We find we can get around using trains, buses, and taxis or car service. We enjoy riding the trains--excellent system in England, which we don't have here in the USA. We enjoy not having the stress of driving in an unfamiliar area, possibly getting lost, possibly having damage to the car.
Be sure you have adequate insurance if you choose to rent a car.
Others here on the forum really enjoy having a car and driving in England.
Good luck to you, whatever you decide to do.