London Travel Forum

im planning on making a 3 day driving tour to the cotswolds from london, im going to be in london, regents park area, for 4 days and after the cotswolds 3 days more in the same area, i was thinking of going to heathrow by tube, renting the car there, drive for 3 day in the cotswolds and returning the car again in heathrow, taking the tube to london to regents park,

in th cotswolds my plan is staying at a nice old hotel for three nights and exploring by car bath, avon, etc,

this is my first time in london and a lifelong dream of tourin the coutryside, is my plan logical, would be open to other suggestions.

one last question, are ther nice town by the water worth visiting in the cotswolds?

thanks again from mexico

I think you might find it less hassle to take the train to, say, Cheltenham, and then rent a car from there and returning it to there, going back to London by train.

about how much would be the train for 3 adults and two kids, one 16 year old and one 10 year old kids, from what station in london would i take the train to the cotswolds?

Yes going by train to the Cotswolds is a good idea.

For a town with water and lovely Gardens - Bourton on the Water
http://www.bourtoninfo.com/

For typical villages - Broadway & Chipping Campden
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/broadway.shtml

http://www.chippingcampden.co.uk/
( I am biased as one of our children lives in Chipping Campden)

For a rail connection - Moreton-in-Marsh
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/moreton-in-marsh.shtml

For a larger town with a beautiful church and historic interest- Cirencester
http://www..co.uk/attractions.htm

You can plan a journey and find fares on this page.

http://nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/

Depart London Paddington (PAD)
Arrive Moreton in Marsh (MIM)

I have checked and there is no car hire at the station in Moreton in Marsh.
The Nearest Car Hire seems to be :
V.J. Collett;
Tel: 01451 820366 (Bourton-on-the-water)

I'm sure you know that driving in England is not like driving in Mexico or the U.S. The steering wheel is on the right hand side of the car and many rules are quite different, plus there are many roundabouts (traffic circles). That doesn't mean you can't drive here, but it is tricky. Probably getting to the Cotswolds by train is a very good idea.

It's a beautiful area - enjoy the trip! Dr. Doolittle (the original) was filmed in one of the towns!

i know its deifferent, the thing about traveling by train for us 5, is the cost and the freedom a car gives you, but maybe i dont even need the car, i dont know, im in the process of choosing a hotel, so i still dont know which place im staying at, without a car is it difficult expensive to meve around the cotswols?

I do think you need a car to properly explore the Cotswolds.

It will be cheaper than using the train and/or bus, as there are 5 of you.

As long as you take things carefully at first, you will quickly adapt to driving on the left. You are right to avoid driving in London, but car hire from airports is more expensive then from elsewhere.

You might consider getting the bus to, say, Oxford and hiring from there. Buses are cheaper than trains, and Oxford is easily accessible from central London. www.nationalexpress.com www.megabus.com and www.oxfordtube.com all run this route.

These pages will familiarise you with UK traffic laws, regulations and signs:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm

You should read the parts for drivers carefully before you arrive in the UK, so that you, your family and other drivers remain safe.

And make sure you have the correct documents.

Lots of great advice here I am sure.
For information, there is a Hertz car hire place in Uxbridge (I am sure there are other firms also) just around the corner from Uxbridge tube station which is as far as you can go on the Metropolitan line.
Uxbridge is very near the start of the M40 motorway which takes you North towards Oxford and the Cotswolds.
You could drive up there and then turn off on the A34 towards Oxford.
A short way along THAT road and you can turn-off for Woodstock and then on towards other Cotswold towns - even right through to Stratford-On-Avon if you wished!
Woodstock is a sort of gateway town to other places like Morton-In-The Marsh etc.
Just another suggestion.!
That tube journey may be easier from central London than the Heathrow tube.

That's a good idea.........I'd go for the Uxbridge option.

great advice from all of you thank you very much, you are sure going to make a difference in our trip...

Hope it will be a good trip - and we would love to see your reports and picture on VT when it is all over.
Safe and happy travels!

hawkhead suggests to have the right documents, apart from my mexican driver license, passport, credit card, what other documents would i need?

thks again

In the UK you are not legally required to carry those documents with you whilst driving.....if you are stopped, and do not have them, you have to produce them at a police station within a set time limit. So you can feel happy about leaving them in the hotel safe, if you prefer.

Check whether you need an IDP (international driving permit) to drive in the UK/hire from a particular company....even if you don't, they can make life easier for very little cost. You will have to find out which authorities in Mexico provide IDPs.....it is usually the national motoring organisation/s.

Your hire firm will provide insurance documentation. You should accept all the insurance offered, rather than rely on your own (not sure it is legal to do this in the UK anyway, I think you have no choice about taking the hire firm's insurance).

trying to find the uxbridge option, i cant find the rental car locations under uxbridge to make the reservations, would you know under what rental car company location could i find it?

thks again

You need to google 'car hire uxbridge'.

You'll get a map showing car hire compnay locations.

You may need to take bus or taxi from the Tube station.

The google map shows Enterprise and Hertz have Uxbridge branches, as well as

http://www.practical.co.uk/locations/england/london/uxbridge/

Hertz:
Hertz House, 11 Vine Street, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 1QE‎ - 01895 627000‎

(Tel +44 1895 627000‎ )

But Enterprise and others are in the area also - Hertz is literally just around the corner from the tube station though!

Sorry - formatting went adrift in previous post - telephone 01895 627000‎ - or international - +44 1895 627000.

I hope this doesn't screw-up also!

I googled it here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=uxbridge+car+hire&fb=1&split=1&gl=uk&cid=7053451639654967273&li=lmd

But do check out other firms (good international ones!)

Lots of other people have already offered great ideas. I just wanted to add that I know Uxbridge very well and I agree it's the best option. The car hire place is convenient, and the tube a low(ish) cost way of getting out beyond the worst of the traffic.

The M40 will have you in the Cotswolds in no time. It can get crowded there so consider wandering off the very touristy route to check out villages such as Adlestrop and Kingham - both pretty and much less visited.