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Where to pick up our rental car, west of London?

Our trip around the UK starts with 4 days in London (we also have a couple days there at the end before heading home). After our first days in London, we are heading west to Stonehenge and Avebury, then after that we will be working our way north by car for a couple weeks. We won't have (and of course don't want) a car while we're in London. But once we head for Stonehenge, we will want our wheels.

My plan is to take public transportation (preferably a train) out of London early that morning, heading west in the general direction of Salisbury/Stonehenge/Avebury. I would like to hop off the train somewhere, pick up our rental car at a nearby facility, and then drive onward (to Stonehenge or Avebury). I'm looking for suggestions on where to do that train-to-car switch.

I have not reserved our car yet, but I'm assuming there are nearly endless choices. I'm looking for a location that will work, with major car agencies located adjacent (or at least near) to a rail station.

I note that Heathrow is west of central London, more or less on the way towards our destination, and while I'm sure that's probably the place with the most rental car options in all of England (and it's easily accessible by tube), I don't know if that's an ideal place to begin my exercise in driving on the British side. I was hoping for a less stressful initial experience, in a less trafficy location.

I'd like to take that train west for an hour or two, leaving very early morning, so we can be at the rental agency right after they open in the morning. In London, we'll be staying near Westminster Bridge, in case that matters.

Any suggestions for a target destination where we can best do that train-to-car switch? Thanks!

Posted by
1878 posts

If you want an automatic, and I recommend it driving over there, it's best to pick up at a major rental center like Heathrow. We picked up in Bath and they almost did not have the car we ordered, except for someone dropped one off fitting that description after we spent half an hour trying to figure out what we were going to do, lacking a suitable car when our whole trip was planned around that. You could try picking up in Salisbury, but it would probably be as chancy as Bath or more so. Maybe we were just unlucky on that particular day, I don't know.

Posted by
6813 posts

Thanks, but I don't want or need an automatic, I will be fine with a stick (OK, I'll flail and bang the driver's side door a few times in the first few minutes - I'll get over that). Yes, I know the switchover will take a little mental adjustment and re-learning muscle memory. I drove quite a bit in Australia and managed OK after the first five minutes of terror.

I'm thinking somewhere more or less half way between London and Salisbury...

Posted by
977 posts

Have just returned from a driving holiday in the UK. We hired two cars - one in Inverness, the other in Wales. Both vehicles were pre-booked before we left Australia. I would like to pass on our experiences with car rental. Our first rental in Scotland was through Arnold Clark. What a a nice experience. They picked us from our hotel and took us to the rental depot. We were given a Ford Fiesta with 3,000 miles on the clock. It was very well presented. It was a joy to drive.
Our second car was through Europcar. Couldn't have been a more opposite experience. The car had 40,000 miles on clock. It had 7 points of listed damage. It was a heap. Didn't feel comfortable about taking it, but it was the only car available. Sure enough on the afternoon prior to our returning home, it packed up near Swindon. Luckily Europcar had a rental branch in Swindon which we managed to get to. In a word, give Europcar a very wide berth.

Posted by
2805 posts

You could take the train from Paddington Station in London to Slough and pick up a car there. It's a 30 minute train ride. We did this a couple of times.

Posted by
888 posts

Heathrow is quite easy, at least that has been our experience. We had one traffic circle and then were on the motorway. I can't remember which car rental company we used, but there were a bunch of them on an airport perimeter road that was parallel to the motorway.

Posted by
31 posts

I note that Heathrow is west of central London, more or less on the way towards our destination, and while I'm sure that's probably the place with the most rental car options in all of England (and it's easily accessible by tube), I don't know if that's an ideal place to begin my exercise in driving on the British side. I was hoping for a less stressful initial experience, in a less trafficy location.

Heathrow probably Is the best place to pick up a car. Within a couple minutes of picking up your car you should be on the motorway, then it is just being aware of what lanes to be in to pickup the M4 heading west and the motorway is very well marked. Note there is a rest area, I believe just west of Reading. It is a good place to catch you breath and have a break.

If you use a manual transmission at home then using one in the UK is not that bad. The pedals are in the same order and you only have to get used to shifting with your left hand. I found it one of the easier adjustments to make.

Posted by
1869 posts

We have picked up a rental car at LHR several times, since we always head off to the west. It's never been difficult to do this. We navigate with a Michelin map and an AA road atlas, but it makes life easier that first driving day if you print out your google maps (or whichever online mapping site you prefer) travel directions to Salisbury.

Posted by
3696 posts

I also found Heathrow quite easy to navigate out of and onto the motorway. I do drive a manual at home, but opted for the automatic there and was afraid they might not have them at smaller rental agencies. Also, no trouble returning, everything was quite well marked. I did take my own GPS last trip and it was helpful, especially to my travel partner... spent less time looking at maps.

Posted by
1446 posts

Just to agree with some of the comments...we always get our car at Heathrow and find it very easy to navigate out of there, especially if you're heading for the M4. The last few years we've used our GPS which has made it even easier.

Posted by
6813 posts

So after researching and pondering, I think I'm leaning towards taking the train to Salisbury, and picking up the car there - it should simplify things a bit. Train from Waterloo station leaves 7:10 am and gets us to Salisbury 8:39 am (I'm assuming the trains run on time - barring a strike). There are multiple major car rental agencies in Salisbury, they look to be a few blocks from the train but not a miserable long slog - and in a pinch, there's always a cab. I figure the car places should be open at 9 am.

Now I'm looking at getting to Stonehenge and making our time slot - I'm thinking 10:30 am should allow us enough time to get from train to car place, jump through the car pickup hoops (I will book it in advance, but there's always paperwork and some chores before driving away). Then it looks like a short drive out to Stonehenge itself - doesn't look like more than 20 minutes tops.

Does 90 minutes seem like enough time from walking in the car agency door, to arriving at Stonehenge? Seems like it should be to me. This is about a week-and-a-half after the solstice, so I assume that the frenzy should have pretty much subsided by then (around 6/20, I'd assume the roads would be packed with neo-druids...). Hmm....maybe I should book 11:00 and give us more of a cushion...

Thanks for all the input.

Posted by
33994 posts

Good. That train plan sounds good. Waterloo has plenty of platforms and they shut many gates a minute before departure. Don't be late.

Posted by
6813 posts

Train tickets booked - yikes, British trains ain't cheap!
I know, that's what I get for booking less than 3 months ahead. Lesson learned.
Thanks to all for their help with this.