We are going to be in England for 11 days in April, landing at LHR on a Thursday morning
Night 1-3 London
Night 4-8 or 9 countryside (wish list: Oxford, Bath, Stone Henge, Avebury, Cotswold, Stratford upon Avon, Highclere Castle)
Night 8 & 9 or just 9 at Harlaxton by Grantham to pick up our daughter
Night 10 by STN to fly out the next day (maybe drive to Cambridge during the day on our way)
It will be my hubby and I with our 18-year-old autistic son.
So, my two main questions:
1) Transportation: I am 98% sure I want to rent car after London, should I pick up at airport or outside London? I had thought about train to oxford and picking up there, but with three people trains into and out of London vs parking probably a wash. Of course, I have no idea how scary driving in London might be...lol
2) I am looking at hotel in London, but likely airbnbs in the middle. We will need to do laundry a couple times. I was thinking about staying in relatively central, rural area (maybe north of Swindon) and go out each day. Looks like everything within hour or so drive? or should I look at grabbing places multiple days?
Feel free to also add or subtract places to see.
Posted by
London
40 posts
Personally, I would definitely pick up the car outside of London- getting out of London in a car is a long and frustrating process and the train is so much easier. Not to mention parking in London is always a challenge/confusing/expensive. Collecting the car once you are in e.g. Oxford or Swindon would in my opinion be much easier.
It looks like you mostly want to visit places in Oxfordshire/Wiltshire/Somerset and nearby- in which case I think staying north of Swindon makes sense. There are some nice towns along the Thames like Lechlade and Cricklade where you could stay and even walk a bit of the Thames Path if you wanted to. We had a wonderful stay once at the Trout at Tadpole Bridge which is a bit further east but extremely scenic and very quiet. Personally I would try to stay in the same place the whole time. Good luck with the planning!
Posted by
8453 posts
We stayed at the Volunteer Inn at Chipping Campden for six nights using it as a base to do the Cotswolds (2 nights) as well as Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford Upon Avon.
Don't drive in London, we rented at Heathrow. Had a bit of slowdown on the Orbital (M25), but not too bad. You many be able to rent in Oxford and avoid London traffic.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8350 posts
I had to smile when I saw the part about Harlaxton. :-) My daughter also went to Harlaxton for a semester from the University of Evansville back in 1999. She loved it there and spent as much times as she could on the long weekends traveling all over Europe. I wound up meeting her there at the end of her stay and we did some traveling around the south of England, then went over to France and spent some time there. I'm sure your trip will be wonderful!
With regards to the car rental, I would strongly suggest picking the car up at the airport. It's very difficult to drive in London, and can be stressful. I did it once and NEVER again!
For what it's worth, I highly recommend Arnold Clark rentals. I've used Arnold Clark on my last two trips to the UK. Earlier this year I rented directly with AC (17 day rental) and then in 2023, I rented from them through their broker, Celtic Legend (14 day rental) for my trip to Scotland. Both rental experiences went very well. Arnold Clark is a pleasure to deal with. Their agents explain everything to you and make sure that you understand the fine print. They are good about upgrading sometimes, and very courteous and helpful. I will always use them in the UK for future rentals.
https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/
https://www.celticlegend.co.uk/car-rental/
I hope you have a wonderful trip. Has your son traveled much? My brother and his wife recently took their 22 year old autistic son to Africa on a safari trip. Their son decided before they went that he would not like it, but wound up having a great time. :-)
ETA: I would add Salisbury to your list since you will be in that area. The cathedral there is absolutely gorgeous and has one of the 4 original copies of the Magna Carta there.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34221 posts
that's a great story, Mardee
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Mardee, I'm very excited for my daughter, it looks amazing, this is their first weekend and they took them to London, having a great time. We are going to stay at the manor 1-2 nights, it looks amazing.
Our son is mostly non-verbal, but a travel pro, he is easier to deal with on the road than his sisters...lol
I will take a look at car rental info, I'm thinking taking the train to oxford and then renting?
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8350 posts
andee, I think that’s a good idea. Picking up a car around there will be much easier. I think you will love Oxford. That was one of my favorite cities. Unfortunately I only had one night there but I plan on going back in the near future and spending more time.
I remember my daughter talking about the manor and the school. She loved her time there. They filmed a movie there, The Haunting, during her time at Harlaxton.