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Rental Car Logistics

Posted by on

This whole subject will be the death of me.

I have adjusted our trip twice, moving the date of our arrival in the UK from the Saturday to Thursday, all to accommodate being able to get a car in Bath. Our plan is to drive Bath to Glastonbury/Salisbury/Cotswolds/North Wales/Keswick. We want to drop the car off in Penrith a week later, taking a train to Edinburgh. But now all of a sudden when I look at the rental offices, the one in Penrith is only open Mon-Thurs. (This was not the case when I looked before)
I really didn't want to have to drive to Edinburgh, not to mention the extra charge for returning it there.

What options do you suggest? Our plan for the final day part of the road trip is driving from Conwy, through Ambleside, and up to Keswick for the night before catching the train the next day. This would be Fri/Sat.
Does anyone know if these operating hours are the norm, or are they possibly temporary due to staffing?

Edit to Add: We are looking at Enterprise Rental

Posted by
9263 posts

When is this trip? Yes might be staff shortage. You might also be able to drop keys off in a mail slot.

Covid has changed travel and flexibilty is the key.

Have you emailed the office in Penrith?

Posted by
318 posts

It's not until next year, just doing preliminary searching at this point. It looks like Carlisle is open on Saturdays, and I imagine we can get the train there, correct? I haven't gotten to that part of my research yet.

Posted by
34 posts

Have you looked at Arnold Clark rental? We had a good experience with them at the Edinburgh airport, and they have other UK locations.

Posted by
457 posts

This whole subject will be the death of me

Welcome to the world of trip planning ... maybe look into renting and returning the car at LHR? ... pros: no dropoff fee, lots of companies and cars to choose, open every day and all hours (?), might be cheaper ... cons: driving to Bath, higher total fuel costs, more time getting from LHR to London to Edinburgh ... then after returning the car, tube to either Euston or Kings Cross then train to Edinburgh.

I have changed my plan countless times due to several factors, one being car rental (costs, availability, etc...) ... finally have it nailed down (I think?) ... once the planning is done and the execution starts, it will all be worth it (but just in case, be ready to improvise).

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