London Car Rental -- pick up near St. Pancras and return at Heathrow

Hello, Linda. Unfortunately this answer is likely to seem negative - sorry. I'm afraid I see this plan as fraught with dangers. I'll explain. My biggest concern is trying to go so far so late at night. What time does your show finish? I'll wager it will be relatively late at night. While trains and tubes run up to around midnight many longer distance ones finish relatively early. The last train to Swindon is at 23:30 (takes 1:17) and the one before is at 22:45 (takes 1:14). Most trains in the middle of the day take a bit under an hour. The cheapest fare for 3 people traveling well off peak (weekend or arriving in London midweek after lunch) is a Groupsave 3 fare. Advance tickets bought well in advance for names trains and unchangeable and non-refundable may be cheaper. For example, midweek next week arriving Paddington at 11:38 and returning on the penultimate train for 3 would cost £71.55 for the three as long as they traveled in the group of 3. If only 2 the discount is not available and the fares would be similar, but for 2. The Tube doesn't end late. Parking at the stations you mentioned is very, very difficult and very expensive. If you want to park on the street in London you must learn the kerb paint colour code and the yellow/red lines meanings. It is complex and I will have to add more in a later message iof you need that help.

Thanks, Keith. We would be driving back into London from the Swindon area (we're staying about 15 min. north of Swindon). So I would like to know where there's a tube stop on the southwest side (near the M4) or northwest side of central London, where we might park. It's not that we want to drive around central London, we have visited there dozens of times before. But we're looking at driving in close (maybe by the Picadilly or Northern line), going to Leicester Square to see about tickets for a West End Show, spending some time walking or using the tube to get around, having dinner, then seeing a show, and driving back towards Swindon. Since there's 2-3 of us traveling, I thought that that would be better. Otherwise, we would have to drive to the Swindon train station, pay for parking there, take the train to Paddington Station, get on the tube and change a couple of times to get to Leicester Square. (I thought about parking at Heathrow, but then it's 1 hr. on the Picadilly line to London and I don't know how much parking costs.) So I'm looking for a cost effective and efficient way to do it.) I've also been looking at my tube map and see stops at Hounslow West, Baron's Court, Earl's Court, etc. and I don't know if that's any better? Do you know what the return trip costs from Swindon to London for 2-3 people? (I figured the locals might know what's best through their experience.) Thanks,
Linda

Thanks, Nigel. I found that there's a car park at the Hounslow East Tube Station and they charge 2GBP for all day, on Saturday. I thought that the tube runs late in London. If we drove from the Swindon area and parked at East Hounslow, providing the show lets out about 10-10:30PM, I thought we would be able to make it back to East Hounslow via the tube. Then we can drive back in our car to the Swindon area. Does the Picadilly line stop running at 11PM on Saturday nights? If anyone else can anwer my question about car rentals from St Pancras or Euston station with drop off at Heathrow, I would appreciate it.

Last trains on a normal night from Leicester Square to Hounslow East are at 0026 and 0031. See the First and Last Trains page of TfL. Expect on a Saturday night those trains to be busy. Some street parking in central London is free all day on a Saturday. Many areas are free after 1330, some not until after 1730. I can help you find areas. For parking zone maps search on each Council website, searching for "Parking" or "CPZ". There is very little street parking in the West End but there is relatively nearby, for example south of Hyde Park. I have to go to work now but will look after I return.

Thanks again Nigel. I will check on that information you already gave me. Sounds like you're quite experienced on London parking!

Sorry my last post was rushed - now I have a few minutes. As you make your way through the websites you will see the acronym PCN. I am lucky to have never seen one up close - they are Penalty Charge Notices, tickets in oldspeak. In Westminster the main page to go down from is http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/transportandstreets/parking/wheretopark/. Drill down to Zones and Prices and then Controlled Parking Zones and you get http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/transportandstreets/parking/zones/controlledparkingzone/. Click on the map and see that Blue is best then yellow. When you are in the zone look for bays marked by white lines. Your car must be completely within the lines. Not the bumper or edge of the tyre hanging over, and unless signed, not with wheels on the pavement (sidewalk). Outside the zone hours of enforcement you can park on a single yellow line if not causing an obstruction or blocking a road or path or driveway. Note that the yellow line may be painted right past these side roads and it is up to you to park safely. You can't say, "Oh there was a single yellow line" if parked causing an obstruction. You can never park on a double yellow line. Be especially careful if parking where there are 2 or 3 yellow vertical lines up a kerb - those are loading rules.

If any of this makes as much sense as trying to fly slowly upside down in a tail wind, shout. I have the thrill of parking in London far too often, and I rarely pay. There is a real knack to it, and the problem is that if it really is a great space then somebody has probably beaten you to it. Other areas which work for me on a Saturday are the Square Mile, some areas around Holland Park, and around Lords Cricket Ground in St Johns Wood. Cheack and recheck the council website just before you travel - rules change frequently. Each Council has a similar page to that of Westminster. It is my experience that Westminster has the most convoluted parking schemes since the dreaded ZTLs of Florence, although if you are very careful everything can be fine, followed closely by Campden. Avoid Campden on Saturday Mornings in the vicinity of Campden Market. There is free parking in Campden in the vicinity of Euston and St Pancras Stations but read carefully. Don't venture into the C-Zone - the Congestion Zone M-F from 0700-1800. Map at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/roadusers/congestioncharge/whereandwhen/. If you don't pay on the day the costs make the Saturn Moon Rocket look small. Do you know where to go to get your Theatre Tickets? I couldn't persuade you to take the train in and spend the night in London could I?

One more little gem for you. If you do rent at St Pancras, the main road east to west outside the station is Euston Road. It skirts the C-Zone but literally 20 feet to the south of Euston Road are the cameras for the C-Zone. If you get the car during the week don't go south of Euston Road, and all the names it changes to, until Park Lane, at Marble Arch. If going to Swindon you will probably use the M4. If you stay straight on Euston Road you will follow the A40 until it changes to the M40 and you can get to the M25 southbound for the M4 westbound. Otherwise you will need to go down Park Lane to Piccadilly and turn west under Hyde Park through the absolute zoo of Knightsbridge, onto Cromwell Road and eventually onto the A4 and M4, straight through to Swindon. Be prepared for it to take a very long time between when you start driving and when you hit the open road of the M4. WATCH YOUR SPEED. There are speed cameras and red light cameras and bus lane cameras every few yards on both those routes, and especially on the M4 eastbound into town after the M25 as it starts to slow down. If you exceed the speed at any of them, even by a little, you will get flashed and suddenly become quite a lot poorer. Really. A word to the wise is sufficiant.

Sounds like you're quite experienced on London parking! Just a little... I can do you Oxford, too, if you need. And then there's the Magic Roundabout in Swindon. If you don't know about it, look it up. There's nothing like going around a roundabout the wrong way!!

Thanks Nigel and Keith. You're both a great help. I'll check out the car rentals near St.Pancras. I still have a lot more checking to do on the other information. We might possibly be in London for a few days, but nothing definite yet. Then I won't need a car. I checked the congestion zone map and know about Euston Rd too. I was in Hemel Hempstead years ago and had fun driving around their Magic Roundabout. Is Swindon's like that one? We've already spent time in Oxford, so I don't if we'll go there this time. Had a busy work day. I'll write more tomorrow.

Linda - I lost a long reply to your question about car rental agencies, so will just say that two years ago I rented from Hertz at Euston Station (also arrived from Paris), their kiosk in the underground parking structure (grim) was closed so I ended up picking up the car at 150 Pentonville Road by St Pancras. (Larger, fully staffed office.) You might check Alamo's prices. I am renting from them next month as they had the best rate I could find. Click on "Deals" on their website and follow the link to "Experience the UK and save up to 20%". You can book a one-way drop-off (extra charge) online; not all companies let you do it online - if at all. Good luck and yes, watch for the speed cameras. I learned the hard way. ;-)

Thanks Andrea. Was the car rental office on Pentonville Rd. a Hertz office? I checked on Hertz and Alamo online and saw that they both have about a $50 drop off charge. I found a company that is called Europcar and they had better prices for picking up at Euston and dropping off at Heathrow. I don't know if they charge a drop off fee, but regardless their total price was about 20% lower than the others. Does anyone have experience with Europcar or Sixt? By the way, I'm really well acquainted with the cameras and driving within the speed limit. We have them in Colorado too and fortunately I haven't had any tickets. I have another question about the the congestion charging to anyone that can answer it. If you do drive in the congestion zone, are there tolls booths anywhere; do you have to pay in advance online, or are there other options?

Thanks Nigel for the website. I took a look at it and it's nice that there are so many ways to pay for the congestion zone, if we need it. I might not have to worry about the rentals at Euston station, we might just fly into Heathrow from the south of France. I checked into prices of different ways to get to the Swindon area and it's more cost-effective to rent a car at Heathrow Airport for 3 people and drop it back off at Heathrow, since we would take a cab from Swindon -- which would be quite a lot. I found Europcar to be the best price car rental.

No toll booths, I'm afraid. All electronic. Everything you ever wanted to know is at the Official Website . Unfortunately there is a current Consultation - finishes this week, I think - to do away with the corner store pay point option. Check before you travel for modifications following the Consultation.

Picking up and ping off a car at Heathrow is much simpler and a good decision, I think. (I believe the Pentonville Rd. car location was a Hertz rental for me but actually may have been Alamo. I see on Google maps street view it is also Europcar and National -- so often they are shared offices or the agencies have some type of partnership apparently.) Also, I have heard very good things about Europcar. They have never been less expensive when I've traveled, but would not hesitate to use them.