Vodaphone or Carphone Warehouse for SIM card

Carphone warehouse sells from the Big Four mobile operators,Inc vodaphone.
From memory the Which report gives EE the best national coverage albeit not by much.
They also have a geek desk that will set up your phone even if you bring your own SIM in for a small charge

When we arrived in Bath last summer, we went to a store similar to Cardphone Warehouse (it may have been them, I don’t remember) to get a SIM card. They told me that they could not sell one to me because I was not British—I had to go directly to Vodaphone, or any other direct provider, so you might save yourself some time if you go to Vodaphone directly.

As Richard mentioned Vodafone only sells plans on their network. Carphone Warehouse will have a wider selection of providers. Given your stated need either one should be fine.

I don’t recall having to show ID or a passport to get a sim and plan last year. But I was in a Vodafone shop..

I have an email out to Carphone seeking clarification. There is a question on their FAQ page that the response seems to be that to get a monthly plan you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 months but there is no such requirement for the pay as you go plans. Since we will be in England for 5 weeks the pay as you go appears to be the better option. Looking at Carphone's web site it has plans from other vendors that would be better for us than Vodaphone's plans. We will not be leaving for England until May so there is plenty of time to research this.

The EE pay as you go SIM worked great in rural Scotland, North Wales and the Outer Hebrides...EE's website lets you check coverage by post code.

Speaking of your old phone...have you ever used it in Europe before? If it's really old or locked to a US carrier, there is a possibility it may not work. But no worries, you will be able to purchase an inexpensive phone with pay as you go option on the spot, with minutes included.

If you are rushing from Heathrow to catch a train at Victoria, and coping with jet lag, you might want to deal with the phone up in Leeds...unless you have a very long layover.

Yes, I have used my phone in Europe. I have not found an EE store in or near Victoria Train Station. There is no place in Leeds to get a phone and, more importantly, I want to be able to phone the shuttle service taking us to the Castle. I will not be "rushing" at Heathrow or any place along the line as I have plenty of time built into our schedule. Our plane arrives in Heathrow at 7:10 am and I will get, when available, 2 pm tickets to Bearsted (the closest train station to Leeds Castle). My plan is to get a bus to Victoria Coach Station. We should have enough time to drop our luggage of at the Victoria Train Station left luggage, see the Changing of the Guards, get a SIM card, have lunch and retrieve our luggage before getting on the train at Victoria Train Station. If our plane is late (or something else happens) we can always skip the Changing of the Guards.

Google maps shows an EE store which from the photos appears to be in Victoria Station.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/33a,+EE,+Victoria+St,+London+SW1V+1JT,+UK/@51.4955911,-0.1449264,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x48760521e589c965:0xaa053fc0a22288d

Sorry for the extra long like I’m not sure how to modify/correct.

I checked the EE web site. They show a store in Victoria Station but the Victoria Station website does not list them as there. Will see when I get there.

I just got a reply from Carphone. As a US citizen I can get a pay as you go plan (which is what I want) but any plan requiring a contract (monthly plans) you must be a UK resident. Not sure if this is their policy, phone company policy or law. I plan on going to their store as this gives me a choice of plans offered by many of the phone companies at one place.