Car rental question

Posted by elizabethlc on 06/29/24 08:21 PM

Hi-
We are flying to Edinburgh and spending 3 days there, then will go to various sites in England, starting with the Lake District, ending in London. We are planning to rent a car at the end of our Edinburgh stay to get to the Lake District and then other sites.

My question is:
Is it better to rent a car in Edinburgh proper? (DH who is driving has never driven on the left hand side before and is a little nervous about city driving on the left hand side right off the bat but we don't know what Edinburgh traffic is like).
Or is it better to go outside the city and rent a car? Get to the airport just to rent a car? Even take a train/bus somewhere else outside the city and rent a car?

Any opinions? What makes sense?

Posted by Dick

Olympia, WA, USA

06/29/24 08:38 PM

6713 posts

I would not want to begin my left-side driving career in a city. Edinburgh traffic isn't especially bad but still it's a city. Better to get used to driving on rural roads or highways before tacklling urban driving. The airport would be a good choice.

Consider paying for an automatic shift, to eliminate one of the unfamiliar parts of left-side driving, even if you drive a stick at home. Some people seem to adjust well to left-side driving after a little practice. I'm not one of them. You'll probably have a better chance of getting an automatic at the airport than in some town outside Edinburgh, but others will have better knowledge about this.

Posted by Elizabeth

Tennessee

06/29/24 09:18 PM

442 posts

I've rented a car many times in England and once in Scotland. There's no way I would suggest a first time left hand side driver rent a car in Edinburgh itself. Strongly recommend you hired the car at the Edinburgh airport. Yes, get to the airport just to rent the car.

When I rented at the Edinburgh airport in 2022, I did not find road congestion difficult because were already well out of the city (in my case, I drove north from the airport....and returned to the airport from the west).

Also, if you rent the car at the airport, there's likely to be a decent selection of automatics.

Posted by Mardee

Duluth 🛶

06/30/24 01:09 AM

8157 posts

If you rent from Arnold Clark (via Celtic Legend), you can go outside of Edinburgh to pick up your car and then travel from there. The Arnold Clark office I went to was at the Edinburgh Sighthill location on Bankhill Drive, about 20 minutes on the outskirts of Edinburgh. You can get there quite easily by bus or taxi, and it's cheaper and more convenient than going all the way to the airport. Plus the Sighthill location had a number of automatics when I was there.

From there you would jump on the A720, then head down to the A703 towards the Lake District. You avoid city driving and you can get exact directions from Arnold Clark when you are there. They are an excellent company to rent from and I highly recommend them.

BTW, driving on the left will seem like second nature in about 1-2 minutes—seriously. The hardest part are the roundabouts that have multiple lanes but just keep your eye on CarPlay and you will manage. I spent 3 weeks in Scotland in 2023 and 5 1/2 weeks in England just a few months ago, and believe me, you will catch on quick.