Spur of the moment Car Rental-Britain

"I would prefer to travel entirely by train, but since I hope to visit the Cotswolds, and perhaps some of the Scottish Highlands, I realize train travel may not provide the best or easiest (if at all) way around."

That (above from your post) is definitely a correct statement as to the Cotswolds (I offer no opinion re Scottish Highlands).

The Cotswolds cannot be seen by train. Technically, you could take a train to Moreton-in-Marsh (I think the only train station actually located in the Cotswolds), and then use buses--but that will take time and the extra time will significantly reduce how much you can see in one day.

Travelers who absolutely don't want to rent a car also have the option of taking Cotswolds tours from Bath or Stratford.

However, most travelers (reporting in here) choose to rent a car to see the Cotswolds.

This only addresses one of the questions you asked.

A short term rental will have a very steep per day price compared to a long term one.

Due to my odd travel style, I usually reserve a car from a U. S. airport within a few minutes of getting on a plane. Sometimes this isn't possible and I reserve a car on the internet upon arrival and pick it up within an hour or even a few minutes. I have no idea how computers work or where they think you are when you use them. My experience has been, however, that I always get a much better price at the same agency than the guy who got off the plane beside me and walked up to the counter cold.

I would not try to do either the Cotswolds or the Highlands without a car.

Whether you want one for the highlands or not depends on whether or not you day tours. Personally, I prefer to drive and flexibility. I can't speak for the Cotswalds, but from all I've heard you'll see more with a car.

I'll be interested to see what you hear on this question as I've contemplated spur of the moment rentals. I wonder if you deal with local companies as opposed to Hertz etc you get better deals. When we went to Orkney we rented from a local garage. We did ahead of time. I would think that one of the issues might be availability. Fortunately, you can drive stick, so that won't be an issue, but I recently had sticker shock in Pensacola. There were no cars other than full size SUV's at $150 at day available. Yikes! Fortunately, I was able to delay the car a day and got a compact at around $50 / day.

I think that no matter where you are in the world, it can be risky to not the plan the car in advance.

Pam

I've wondered about reserving online once you are in-country. I'd like to hear more from persons who have done that - do they really know if you are in the US or not - especially if you are on your own computer?

Another option for you in the Cotswolds might be taxis. I think Rick refers to them in his section about walking from town to town and taking a taxi back (I read this several years ago, so don't know about current options). I'd love to visit again and do more walking or biking rather than driving.

To elaborate on what I don't know:

1. I do not travel with a computer, so must use whatever is available upon arrival.

2. Because of the odd way I travel and the places I go, I am not a member of any discount or brand loyalty reward organization.

3. I use kayak.com with the carrentals.com box checked. Infrequently I compare results with the individual agency's site.

4. As far as I can tell, I get the same price standing in a hotel lobby around the corner from the rental agency as what I saw from my study at home a couple of days before.

Through ignorance and disinterest, I have no explanation why this is true, or even if it is true -- it is merly an observation.

There is a car rental company in Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds that you could get a car from for a few days. I would suggest taking a train to the Cotswolds. You can get a train from Paddington Station in London to Moreton-in-Marsh. Then you can take a taxi to Bourton-on-the-Water which would be a great village to use as a base while touring the Cotswolds. From Bourton-on-the-Water you can get to some villages by bus but there are a lot of villages that buses do not go to, so a car would be a lot easier for you. If you would like more information you can privata message me.

Yes, there will be big sticker shock once you get close to the time of travel. Especially the 7 day and 3 day mark. You can see perfectly reasonable rates go up.

What to do? Many companies allow car reservations to be canceled with a full refund or no charge at all.

Find a company with no charges f(or minimal ones) for cancellation, and make a reservation just in case.

I would also recommend Bourton on the Water - great place to stay (go someplace else during the day when it's busy). I often reserve cars in advance (and check back closer to time), knowing I may not use it, but I am sure to cancel - not polite to reserve and be a no-show.