Going from Heathrow to Bath, Bath to Southampton, which car company to hire? Hotel Info?

[gam888]

We will be flying into the Heathrow airport a day before our cruise starts. Would like to visit Bath. Thinking of hiring a car transfer for the 2 of us. We are flying to Heathrow airport from an overnight flight from Canada, so would not consider taking the train or coach after that. Could anyone suggest a reasonable car transfer company that we can hire to take us from Heathrow airport to a hotel in Bath. And the next day from Bath to Southampton to start our cruise.

Any reasonable clean hotels in Bath that is within walking distance to visit the major sites in Bath you can recommend? 

What are the must see in Bath?

Thank you.

[Essiesmom]

Suggest you ask on the UK cruisers board here.  EM

[Lady Arwen]

Try London Heathrow Cars.  We’ve used them to transfer from LHR to Southampton and return.  Very nice Mercedes sedans in two sizes, depending on how many in your party and how many bags.   Very reliable and professional.

[phabric]

Go to Cruise Critic - Port of Call - Britain

[matamanoa]

We took K. Hill Chauffeur Hire back in 2017 when we went to Bath before our cruise from Southampton.  Their e-mail at the time was bathtaxis@gmail.com.  We were met at Heathrow, driven to Bath and it was a comfortable ride with a professional driver.  We appreciated the transportation after an overnight flight from Toronto.  In Bath, we stayed at The Henry Guest House, a small but quaint place within walking distance of all Bath attractions and only one block from the train station.  We used the train to get to Southampton for our cruise and it was an easy ride.

 

Hope this helps.  

[Bob++]

Using a Bath based taxi for both legs makes good sense.

 

There is a vast number of hotels and guest houses in the city and you might do well to visit  Bath Tourist Information https://visitbath.co.uk/ for information about where to stay and what to do.

 

Expect to pay between £150 and £200 for bed and breakfast in a city centre guest house.

 

I have no idea about which taxi firm to use, but a search for "Taxis in Bath uk" will get you a list

[Crown Vic]

On 9/18/2022 at 7:31 AM, gam888 said:

…Could anyone suggest a reasonable car transfer company that we can hire to take us from Heathrow airport to a hotel in Bath. And the next day from Bath to Southampton to start our cruise…

Try acquacars.co.uk. Worth a try.  Cheers…

Edited September 23, 2022 by Crown Vic

[gam888]

Thank you everyone for answering my post. Much appreciated.

[Mary loves to travel]

On 9/18/2022 at 6:43 AM, matamanoa said:

We took K. Hill Chauffeur Hire back in 2017 when we went to Bath before our cruise from Southampton.  Their e-mail at the time was bathtaxis@gmail.com.  We were met at Heathrow, driven to Bath and it was a comfortable ride with a professional driver.  We appreciated the transportation after an overnight flight from Toronto.  In Bath, we stayed at The Henry Guest House, a small but quaint place within walking distance of all Bath attractions and only one block from the train station.  We used the train to get to Southampton for our cruise and it was an easy ride.

 

Hope this helps.  

We plan to go to Bath after our cruise.  How easy is it to take the train from Southampton to Bath?

 

thanks, 

Mary

 

 

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, Mary loves to travel said:

We plan to go to Bath after our cruise.  How easy is it to take the train from Southampton to Bath?

 

thanks, 

Mary

 

 

 

Very simple & reasonably inexpensive, Mary.

Hourly direct service, journey time about 90 minutes.

One-way fare about £32 pp

"Advance" tickets are only good for the train time that you select - miss that train & your ticket is trash, you have to buy again. Usually Advance tickets get you a big discount, often less than half-price. But on this route the saving is only about £1, so keep your train times options open by buying "off-peak" tickets. (Return tickets are the same price, such are the vagaries of train tickets 🙄)

Your departure station is Southampton Central (no more than a £10 taxi fare from any cruise terminal) and your destination is Bath Spa (station is in the centre of Bath).

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

JB 🙂

 

[Mary loves to travel]

Thanks so much, @John Bull!

I think we'll do as you recommend.

 

our overall plan is to spend about a week in the Bath/Cotswolds/Stratford-upon-Avon area:   a few days in Bath, then I'm thinking hire a car to take us up to S-u-Avon, making that our base to also explore the Cotswolds.

 

I think trains from Stratford-upon-Avon back to either central London or LHR are pretty straightforward, I hope.  🙂

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, Mary loves to travel said:

I think trains from Stratford-upon-Avon back to either central London or LHR are pretty straightforward, I hope

Pretty simple to London (Marylebone Station), but I think only one (early morning) direct train from Stratford-upon-Avon these days. Most services require a change at Leamington Spa and take just over 2 to 2-and-a-half hours. 

 

To LHR considerably more fiddly - a short tube ride to Paddington from Marylebone, and a train to LHR from there is probably best off the top of my head. 

[wowzz]

22 hours ago, Mary loves to travel said:

Thanks so much, @John Bull!

I think we'll do as you recommend.

 

our overall plan is to spend about a week in the Bath/Cotswolds/Stratford-upon-Avon area:   a few days in Bath, then I'm thinking hire a car to take us up to S-u-Avon, making that our base to also explore the Cotswolds.

 

I think trains from Stratford-upon-Avon back to either central London or LHR are pretty straightforward, I hope.  🙂

Personally, I would pick up and drop off the car in Bath. Likely to be far cheaper than a oneway  rental, and would give you a bigger chouce of rental companies.

[twostepmomma]

We are flying into Heathrow early and want to hire a car from the airport to Bury St. Edmunds.  We want to visit Rotham Field where my dad flew from during WWII.  Any information would be appreciated.

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, twostepmomma said:

We are flying into Heathrow early and want to hire a car from the airport to Bury St. Edmunds.  We want to visit Rotham Field where my dad flew from during WWII.  Any information would be appreciated.

I can't actually help you specifically, other than to say that Bury St Edmonds and the surrounding area is a quintessentially English experience,  and relatively unspoilt by mass tourism. 

Hiring a car is the tight decision. Please do give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the "wool" villages as well as the WW2 airfields. 

My only advice is that whereas in Texas you can travel 30 miles in 30 minutes, in Suffolk, allow twice the time!  

Have you looked at this book?

https://countrysidebooks.co.uk/products/suffolk-airfields-in-the-second-world-war?variant=36846664013

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by wowzz

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, twostepmomma said:

We are flying into Heathrow early and want to hire a car from the airport to Bury St. Edmunds.  We want to visit Rotham Field where my dad flew from during WWII.  Any information would be appreciated.

 

All of the major players have depots at Heathrow. 

Which agency is best value will depend on circumstances such as whether you'll be returning it to the same depot, whether you want to fix up your own excess cover (cars rented n the UK are inclusive of full third part insurance but damage to the vehicle is usually subject to a high excess - anywhere between £1,000 and £2,000), whether you have any loyalty points etc

Whilst most of your driving will be on motorways, best to choose a car that's no bigger than is able to carry yourselves and your luggage (luggage out of sight if touring). Gas is very expensive, currently about £1.60 per litre.

 

Rougham Airfield is on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds, and about 110 miles from Heathrow - 2 to 2.5 hours plus any delays.

The M25 London orbital is busy, but far better than the complications of cutting the corner thro north-west London.

I think the only surviving traces of the USAF Rougham are the control tower, (now a museum) and some huts.

https://rctam94th.co.uk/

Note that it's volunteer-run, and the website says open sundays - best check before travelling.

There's a flight training school and glider club at the airfield

 

In the same area north of London are

The university city of Cambridge https://www.visitcambridge.org/

The Imperial War Museum's aircraft section https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford

The Shuttleworth Collection (mainly early aircraft) https://www.shuttleworth.org/

Bletchley Park home of the WW2 Enigma code-breakers https://bletchleypark.org.uk/plan-a-visit/

https://goo.gl/maps/GNA1dhfXG6jThTh4A

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[twostepmomma]

On 10/26/2022 at 5:33 PM, wowzz said:

I can't actually help you specifically, other than to say that Bury St Edmonds and the surrounding area is a quintessentially English experience,  and relatively unspoilt by mass tourism. 

Hiring a car is the tight decision. Please do give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the "wool" villages as well as the WW2 airfields. 

My only advice is that whereas in Texas you can travel 30 miles in 30 minutes, in Suffolk, allow twice the time!  

Have you looked at this book?

https://countrysidebooks.co.uk/products/suffolk-airfields-in-the-second-world-war?variant=36846664013

 

 

thank

[twostepmomma]

On 10/26/2022 at 6:52 PM, John Bull said:

 

All of the major players have depots at Heathrow. 

Which agency is best value will depend on circumstances such as whether you'll be returning it to the same depot, whether you want to fix up your own excess cover (cars rented n the UK are inclusive of full third part insurance but damage to the vehicle is usually subject to a high excess - anywhere between £1,000 and £2,000), whether you have any loyalty points etc

Whilst most of your driving will be on motorways, best to choose a car that's no bigger than is able to carry yourselves and your luggage (luggage out of sight if touring). Gas is very expensive, currently about £1.60 per litre.

 

Rougham Airfield is on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds, and about 110 miles from Heathrow - 2 to 2.5 hours plus any delays.

The M25 London orbital is busy, but far better than the complications of cutting the corner thro north-west London.

I think the only surviving traces of the USAF Rougham are the control tower, (now a museum) and some huts.

https://rctam94th.co.uk/

Note that it's volunteer-run, and the website says open sundays - best check before travelling.

There's a flight training school and glider club at the airfield

 

In the same area north of London are

The university city of Cambridge https://www.visitcambridge.org/

The Imperial War Museum's aircraft section https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford

The Shuttleworth Collection (mainly early aircraft) https://www.shuttleworth.org/

Bletchley Park home of the WW2 Enigma code-breakers https://bletchleypark.org.uk/plan-a-visit/

https://goo.gl/maps/GNA1dhfXG6jThTh4A

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Thank you so much for the info.  We will just hire someone to drive us.  We already have a quote.  Maybe ride the train back to London.  It goes through Cambridge, I know.  

[6burghcruiser]

John Bull 

You are a wealth of knowledge. So I ask, any ideas on car service for central London tours that pick up and return to Heathrow hotel.  Thank you so much for all your valuable information

[Boston Accent]

I'm too late with this information and maybe it will help someone else. We were four couple with 2 large suitcases each and backpacks arriving 4 days before the start of our cruise. The Bath Airport Transfer had a large comfortable vehicle, handled major traffic and was top of the line service both to Bath and days later to Southampton. The Abbey Hotel was perfectly positioned to see all the major sites in Bath or a stop on the Hop On Hop Off.

 

 

www.bathairporttransfer.co.uk is a website

info@bathairporttransfer.co.uk

Abbey Hotel Bath, A tribute portfolio hotel

[BertieRulesOK]

Driving in the UK, if you are not used to right-hand drive and windy, traffic-full roads could be a bad decision for visitors.  Most of the locations mentioned on here are, however, very well served by the train network.  UK trains are excellent (unlike America) as long as there is not a strike.  So I'd recommend having a look at getting trains as a first option most places in the UK.  And especially to Bath and Southampton.

[DesertRat46]

Any recommendations for a car service from Southampton to Dorset and/or LHR. Arriving early May.