Hello-my family of 4 with 2 teenage boys are traveling to London in June. We are wondering if anyone has hired a car service to see sites outside of London that are not reachable by train. We are hesitant to drive ourselves.
Posted by
Land of La
8683 posts
Which sites?
Posted by
Sweden
6421 posts
I agree that it would be interesting to know which sites. Sites that can't be reached by train can often be reached by bus, and if it's really not possible to visit them without a car it can often be a better option to take the train out of London and a taxi the last bit, that usually saves both time and money.
Posted by
Singapore
315 posts
Without knowing where it's hard to say. But like others have suggested, train followed by taxi (or Uber, depending on location) is probably going to work out cheaper and faster than driving from London. There are some great sites outside London that are either directly reachable by train, or are a short taxi ride from a station.
I do understand your hesitancy, given it will be the other side of the road for you, and if it's a day trip, train+taxi may be cheaper than train+hiring a car.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32821 posts
yes, please do share where you hope to go.
I'll kick off with one possibility, if you are hoping to go to Harry Potter studios, there is frequent train service from London Euston station (at the underground station with the same name) out to Watford Junction station in just zero, one or two stops, then right outside the station entrance is the stop for the Knightbus right to the studios at Warner Brothers nearby. You do need your tickets well ahead though.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you all!
We plan to go to Stonehenge but want to return through Richmond (my boys are big Ted Lasso Fans). We know we can do the train but we are thinking from a time perspective it may be faster to have a car. We did look into rental for a day but are nervous about driving out of London.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4343 posts
I would expect trains to always be faster than driving.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6405 posts
We know we can do the train but we are thinking from a time perspective it may be faster to have a car.
Trains will be fast and much more interesting to your sons, probably. It's a very easy train ride to Richmond from London. If you want to see Stonehenge, you could take a day tour but it's just as easy to get there by train on your own. And you can fit Salisbury in as well. Here is another thread that has more detail in it. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/stonehenge-tour-02f5cf9d-390f-4c8e-9d21-9a06b344bb04