So I'm going on a trip for a wedding. I'm planning to spend about a week in London as I have to connect through different airports there anyway. So, having never been, I'm hoping someone can recommend stuff to do/see there. I'd love to rent a car for a day and get out of the city if there were a good place to drive for a day trip. Thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Parliament. Big Ben.
Unfortunately I have great disdain for London, overpriced, overrated city. But there is the London Motor Museum.
I don't think anything related to the royal family is really worth seeing, but there are some pretty good museums for art and history.
Get a time machine, drive 45 minutes and watch Top Gear live.
Rent a car. Drive to Stonehenge and back. That should kill a day and take care of any scenic wrong side of the road driving itches that you have. Its around 100 miles each way. Driving in the UK anymore is just a succession of speed cameras waiting to ticket you. Average speed through construction site is my favourite! You also have to pay the congestion tax for driving in London unless you hire a Prius.
I'd stay in the airport and use the money to get drunk rather than spend time in London itself. Other than your money, the place oozes disdain for tourist.
Appleseed wrote: Parliament. Big Ben.
NOHOME wrote: Rent a car. Drive to Stonehenge and back.
When we went to visit Stonehenge in the late '90s, it was closed because - wait for it - a Swedish metal band was shooting a video there. \m/
So we retaliated by breaking into Old Sarum after hours with another couple, and spending the evening wandering around completely by ourselves.
LEGOland Windsor is a little west of the City and worth a few hours to see the world display. Or you could go down to Brighton and pretend you're Jimmy from Quadrophenia, but with less suicide.
fritzsch wrote: Unfortunately I have great disdain for London, overpriced, overrated city.
+1, drive away and stay outside the city if you can. Worth it for the fat stacks of cash you'll save if nothing else. I'm thinking you could rent something sporty and do some track days.
BTW, there was a years-long waiting list to get an audience spot in Top Gear.
Sounds exactly like something I did many years ago. The wedding I attended was South of London so I flew into Gatwick, caught the train into London, grabbed the circle line and rented a brand new mini (they had just come out) from one of the only places that rented them. I could have rented a car at the airport but I had to have the Mini. Then I dealt with London traffic, Wheeee! Took me forever to get out of town but man was that fun.
I had arrived early so I headed to the South coast and grabbed a night in a B&B and then headed to the wedding. The Sunday after the wedding I went to the Beaulieu National Motor Museum and it happened to be the weekend of their annual Mini meet which was very cool. I toured the museum and the grounds, grabbed a meet shirt and then high tailed it back to London which was a couple hours drive but easy.
London is a big place so being on North or South side can make a huge difference in travel times. Rent something fun and get the hell out of London for an overnight if possible.
minicooper.org events calendar
There are also a ton of small semi-private motoring museums all around UK. Hope you can find something fun. Take a jacket. It will rain.
I really liked the Beaulieu museum when I visited there, plus it's in a really beautiful area, too.
You can also check out the Ace Cafe, which you can get to with public transport.
The Heritage Motor Centre is also worth a visit. I'd definitely recommend renting a car for that trip.
Thanks for the suggestions guys! If I did do a day trip out to Stonehenge or the Beaulieu museum, are there any good driving roads that I should look out for vs. major highways? I don't care if the limit is low as long as there's some nice scenery.
Good call on Beaulieu. The day I visited coincided with the International Autojumble -- too bad I couldn't bring anything back. I can't believe how inexpensive some things are over there. Classic mini with 50k miles in good condition for 3000 pounds? They also had a "World of Top Gear" exhibit going on in a separate space that had 20-30 of their project/challenge cars on display which was sweet.
My rental was an Astra turbodiesel. Pretty decent low end for hauling butt through roundabouts. I did get to drive on some country roads eventually, but they were horribly blind and single lane narrow so fun was not achieved in that sense.
Did you happen to run into these fine folks?
https://classicmotorsports.com/forum/classic-cars/beaulieu-was-amazing/105480/page1/
hobiercr wrote: Did you happen to run into these fine folks? https://classicmotorsports.com/forum/classic-cars/beaulieu-was-amazing/105480/page1/
Hah, too funny. No I didn't. Had no idea they were there :/
+1 Stonehenge. Pretty area. It's in the news with new discoveries.
I agree with the previous recommendations to visit Stonehenge, Beaulieu, and the Ace Cafe. As long as you're going to have a "hire car" and driving around the fantastic roads south of London to the coast, I'd add to that list (if time permits) visiting the Brands Hatch circuit, Goodwood, Brooklands, and Thruxton. Shoot down to Brighton on the coast as well. Visiting those places will definitely get you onto some scenic back roads. My wife and I did that a few years back before moving on to The Cotswolds, and it was fun and entertaining. I stayed a couple nights at the Brands Hatch Hotel and caught a vintage event at the track. And concerning those recommendations to avoid London, I have to disagree. If you're there you have to see the important sites downtown. My wife and I took the train into the city and walked around for a day. It was well worth the experience.
By the way, I would not recommend doing a track day with the rental car as somebody else here suggested. Even if they did allow you to go out on the track in a rental, the financial risk is obviously too great.
Oh, and in addition to what I said above, while you're driving around the country roads, be sure to stop into a local village pub for lunch and meet the locals ... and of course have a pint. Great experience.
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