Flying into Heathrow-not excited about driving....

Personally I think driving after being up for 20 plus hours is rarely a good plan.

Well you could take the national express coach from Heathrow to Gatwick and hire a car there if you want to avoid the M25

http://www.nationalexpress.com/en/airports/gatwick-airport.aspx

But of course let lag, unfamiliarity and cars aren't a good mix.

Taking the coach to Gatwick is a good idea. You could even join the train at Gatwick for the very short ride to Haywards Heath which is only about 10 minutes ride away and then retrace to Gatwick the next day for a rental. Or taxi straight from Gatwick, and return. More expensive though, but you get to avoid being behind the wheel with no sleep.

Heathrow and the large roundabouts can be a bit of a maze to get out of, but if you are comfortable driving a manual on the left, then a rental is the fastest way to get there.

The National Express to Gatwick is certainly an option, gives you an hour or two to wake up and Gatwick might be a little easier to manage. You may also be able to contunue on to Ardingly on bus from Gatwick, leaving a car to the next day.

Where are you going? Is Gatwick on the way? You can rent cars in many cities. There isn't always a drop off charge as long as you keep it within the UK. I picked up my car in York, for example.

Secondly, are traveling solo or will you have a navigator? Having navigator is a huge help. Another thought, get the directions online and print them out. Get the locals to review it to make sure it is best. Here's what I found for Enterprise Car Hire to Oxford. As I am sure you found when you were driving in Scotland, that if you have good step-by-step instructions that include cities on the way to your destination as well as the route numbers it's a lot easier.

Pam

You wouldn't have to drive through London and the motorways, even the M25, will be quite quiet at that time of a Saturday. I think it's an advantage starting with motorways when you arrive as it gets you used to being on the other side of the car and the road without having to worry about junctions.

We have found that the roads out of Heathrow are easy (with a GPS especially). That said, we used to get our rental car at Heathrow and drive at the most 1 hour before we stopped. Now we sometimes stay in London first. On the trip we just made in May we drove 30 minutes to Windsor and stayed there for the night. Not a good idea to make a long drive after a flight.