I am renting a car and driving from Portsmouth to Stonehenge and then to Bath and then on to London. I didn't want to drive into London and experience the feeling of driving in major city. I have done it once in New York and will never do it again.
Does anyone have any sugestions for dropping off a car prior to getting in to London so we can then use either the metro or train system?
Thanks in advance for your help!
I agree with Roe. Heathrow is your best bet. Cost is minimal from Heathrow iito town.
Train/Bus from Bath will be more expensive.
Heathrow Airport is to the west of London, easily accessed off the motorways coming from Bath, heavily signposted and with every car rental company represented. All airports are, of course, crowded and congested, but all airports across the world are much the same and should seem familiar to you. From Heathrow you can easily take the Underground or the Heathrow Express/Connect trains. Of course Ian's suggestion of Bath works quite well also, but your car rental company might not have a branch in Bath.
I would weigh in with Bath, if able. Advance purchase tickets on direct high(ish --125mph) speed trains are only around £17 for two weeks out mid-week. The train only takes about 90 minutes straight into London Paddington.
You'll spend nearly that in fuel alone on the M4. Then you have to get into London for around £6 on the Tube, or well over double that with Heathrow Express; and you get to experience the wonderful and mysterious M4 Heathrow Spur.
YMMV, of course.
We've dropped at Heathrow every time, and it's worked well for the drop off and transportation into London.
We spent two weeks driving around England before our last week in London. We picked up our car at Heathrow as we flew in from California. We dropped the car off at Heathrow as well. Very easy. The car rental company shuttled us to the tube station where we took the Picadilly line to Kings Cross station. Our hotel was one block from the KC tube station. We didn't do this because Heathrow was the closest car agency location coming in to London, it was really convenient. All worked well.
