Hello all - I have read through this forum regarding driving in London and want to avoid doing so! For our trip, my partner and I are renting a car in Bath after spending a few days there, then driving around various stops in England for a week, ending at the Lake District with the car. We plan to drive back towards London from Keswick, and would like to then drop off our car somewhere outside of London and take public transportation into London (staying in South Kensington) to avoid driving there. Any ideas on good cities/locations to drop off the car (and what public transport to take into London from that point?) It looked like Oxford might be a good idea after reading some of the forums; any other thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3391 posts
Oxford is a good choice IMHO. You can take the train straight to Paddington and then a short cab ride to your place in nearby Kensington. If you rent from Enterprise and return it to their office in Oxford, they will drive you to the station or just meet you at the station and get the car from you there depending on how busy they are. It's about an hour by train to Paddington.
Posted by
2399 posts
Or you could perhaps turn in the car in the north and take the train all the way back to London (Euston) - should you not have plans to see anything between the Lake District and London. Penrith is the nearest place on the railway to Keswick but you may like to also consider other places in the north that are on the railway to drop off the car. Lancaster maybe? For the long train journey, it is best to pre-book a specific train ideally about 11 weeks ahead to bag the cheapest fares. Do this at www.virgintrains.co.uk but you may find it easier to find the schedules/fares at www.nationalrail.co.uk
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
1005 posts
If you're used to city driving, it's possible to take the A40 (Westway) from the M25 all the way to Paddington Station. It's a limited access highway for most of that route, and there are even petrol (gas) stations along the way so that you have a full tank when you arrive at the rental agencies near the station. I wouldn't do it in rush hour, but I've done it several times in off-peak hours and it was pretty painless.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2775 posts
St. Albany would be a good location to drop off a car.
Posted by
London, UK
451 posts
Just to add to the suggestions above re dropping off in the North. If its possible and convenient, I would drop the car off at Preston. Only because you would pick up the West Coast mainline at Preston - one of the major junctions.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6508 posts
Dropping a car at Heathrow is easy. Then, take the Piccadilly line to Gloucester or S. Kensington tube stop; whichever is closer to your hotel.
Posted by
Land of La
8649 posts
Truly shocked an RS team member would suggest driving into London to return a car. London traffic around Paddington Station is abysmal.
Drop your car at Oxford and train to London. So much more easier.
Posted by
KS, USA
676 posts
We dropped our car in Oxford and it was very easy. We used enterprise and the pickup office in Winchester notified the Oxford office that we would need a ride to the train station when we dropped the car off. They were ready for us and drove us straight there in the same car which had our luggage in it - so easy and painless. Definitely recommend!