Gardyloo
Member
Hello, and greetings from California. A poster on Quora recommended this site as being very knowledgeable and helpful, so here I am.
Quick Background, In the US I've traveled the Coast Starlight, the California Zephyr, Capitol Corridor Commuters and regularly used Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). I like trains.
Im taking my first solo England trip since losing my DH last summer; and he never wanted to leave London. No London this trip unless I have to end up at St Pancras Station.
Im planning to fly SFO to LHR then some sort of transport to Reading (I think theres a direct bus), and then to a Thames Hotel Boat cruise for 5 days. From Reading, I train to Bath and stay for a few days, then to Moreton-on-Marsh for a few days, then Windsor for a few, and then to my last two stops which is where I need advice.
Im staying at Hever Castle, and then to (probably) Ashford for a night to catch the Eurostar the next day. I have to figure out how to get to these last two places. In addition, I really need to try out UK driving so see if its a viable option for my next trip to the UK. And I need an automatic transmission.
Ideally I could get a car at a train station somewhere away from Windsor/LHR, drive to Hever Castle, stay there with the car, then drive back to a town with a train station with direct access to Eurostar. The day before Eurostar, I need to do some laundry (how unexciting). As mentioned, I booked a room in Ashford, but its cancelable if you folks suggest a better option.
Another option is train to a station near Hever, train to Ashford and try to find a driving school in Ashford that could take me on for a few hours.
Suggestions, ideas?
Quick Background, In the US I've traveled the Coast Starlight, the California Zephyr, Capitol Corridor Commuters and regularly used Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). I like trains.
Im taking my first solo England trip since losing my DH last summer; and he never wanted to leave London. No London this trip unless I have to end up at St Pancras Station.
Im planning to fly SFO to LHR then some sort of transport to Reading (I think theres a direct bus), and then to a Thames Hotel Boat cruise for 5 days. From Reading, I train to Bath and stay for a few days, then to Moreton-on-Marsh for a few days, then Windsor for a few, and then to my last two stops which is where I need advice.
Im staying at Hever Castle, and then to (probably) Ashford for a night to catch the Eurostar the next day. I have to figure out how to get to these last two places. In addition, I really need to try out UK driving so see if its a viable option for my next trip to the UK. And I need an automatic transmission.
Ideally I could get a car at a train station somewhere away from Windsor/LHR, drive to Hever Castle, stay there with the car, then drive back to a town with a train station with direct access to Eurostar. The day before Eurostar, I need to do some laundry (how unexciting). As mentioned, I booked a room in Ashford, but its cancelable if you folks suggest a better option.
Another option is train to a station near Hever, train to Ashford and try to find a driving school in Ashford that could take me on for a few hours.
Suggestions, ideas?