private driver from southampton to excursión to London hotel

hello

we will be disembarking from Norwegian breakaway in April in southampton. we would like to stop at a place on The Ridgeway in London and then our hotel near Kings rail station in London. on the way there, possibly stop at Andover to see the town and maybe lunch. does anyone recommend a tour car company for this? thank you so much!!

Sela

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hello

we will be disembarking from Norwegian breakaway in April in southampton. we would like to stop at a place on The Ridgeway in London and then our hotel near Kings rail station in London. on the way there, possibly stop at Andover to see the town and maybe lunch. does anyone recommend a tour car company for this? thank you so much!!

Sela

If I were you, I think I'd go about it the other way around. The Ridgeway is in North London, while travelling from Southampton you'll be coming from the South. I'd make your way first to your hotel near Kings Cross (I assume that's what you mean - it's important not to shorten names in the UK as there are lots of similar names; indeed, one poor poster here instead of booking train tickets to Charing Cross, London, booked to Charing, Kent!) You can go either by private car from Southampton or train and taxi. Even if you can't check in right away, you should be able to leave your luggage. Then, travel from Kings Cross either by underground to Mill Hill East station or by the Thameslink train to Mill Hill Broadway, and connect to the 240 bus (taking it northward if starting from Mill Hill East, or southward from Mill Hill Broadway). We once stayed just off the Ridgeway and were nearly halfway between the two stations, and used both routes often, with a slight preference for the Broadway route as there was a chinese takeaway right beside the station with the best spring rolls ever :D (this was of course 20 years ago).

I just re-read your post and see you mention a possible stop in Andover. Is there a particular reason for stopping there?

hi thank you for the info!! I was hoping to see some country villages like in cotswolds, but since we are going opposite direction I was hoping on our way to London we could see other areas similar. do you have any suggestions? do you think we should hire a private driver to take us to London? or better to take train? there's 4 of us so whichever is best.

Thank you!! :D

I'll reinforce Twickenham's post - there are half a dozen roads called "The Ridgeway" in London alone. And if your "Ridgeway" isn't the same as the one in Twickenham's mind that advice will be all wrong. :eek:

So a little more detail please.

I too am curious about your mention of Andover. :confused:

It's only a small diversion off the Southampton - London route, and it's a pleasant enough little town.

But nothing special.

Do you have a particular reason for going there? I don't know the town itself very well but can suggest a couple of pubs in the area for a lunch-stop.

Best to use a transfer operator based at the Southampton end - you'll get a better price & more personal service than from a London operator, and no risk of the driver being delayed en-route to collect you.

www.smithsforairports.com are frequently used by CC members, also www.westquaycars.com and www.aquacars.co.uk

A simple transfer ship to Kings Cross hotel should cost in the region of £100-120, adding diversions or stops will of course add to that

JB :)

thank you! I think I will take your suggestions and hire a driver to our London hotel near Kings train station and then drop our luggage and take the train to our destination at the Ridgeway. What I was hoping to see on our way to London is some quaint towns for lunch. so if there's not much in Andover, any suggestions?

Thanks!

thank you! I think I will take your suggestions and hire a driver to our London hotel near Kings train station and then drop our luggage and take the train to our destination at the Ridgeway. What I was hoping to see on our way to London is some quaint towns for lunch. so if there's not much in Andover, any suggestions?

Thanks!

Winchester is close to the road between Southampton and London. You could check it out on Tripadvisor and see if it appeals.

You do need to specify which of the many ‘Ridgeways’ in London you wish to visit to get accurate advice.

You could get a private-hire car to take the A31 instead of the boring motorway; this will take you through (or past) some pretty villages. If you have any interest in Jane Austin, the route I suggest would take you past her house which is now a museum and there is a 16th-century village inn that serves food right opposite.

Jane died in Winchester in 1817 and is buried in the north aisle of the Cathedral. Her picture is on our new £10 notes.

https://www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/

http://www.thegreyfriar.co.uk/

thank you! I think I will take your suggestions and hire a driver to our London hotel near Kings train station and then drop our luggage and take the train to our destination at the Ridgeway. What I was hoping to see on our way to London is some quaint towns for lunch. so if there's not much in Andover, any suggestions?

Thanks!

Well, it becomes a timing issue. You probably will be off the ship no later than 9-10 am, and Southampton-London straight is about 2 hours, so any stop on the way would probably be too early for lunch. If you add some touring, then lunch, you're getting into London that much later, and so pushes back the rest of the day's activities.

OTOH, you could aim to get off the ship earlier, go straight to London, and plan on taking a day trip somewhere another day. How much time do you have in London? An easy day trip would be Windsor, very quaint (and quite touristy).

The fast route Southampton to central London is all on fast but very very boring motorway (inter-state / expressway in the US)

90 miles, 1hr 53 according to googlemaps.

The last half of the drive or more is best done on the main roads, it gets pretty built-up the closer you get to London, and local roads crowded & slow.

But there's a stack of alternatives for the first part of the drive, including......

- up the Test Valley. The market town of Romsey & villages like King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hurstbourne Tarrant. And Andover. And past Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey). Total 2hrs 36, 106 miles according to Google.

- up the Meon Valley. Thro' Botley, Bishops Waltham or Wickham, West Meon, past Jane Austen's house at Chawton, Alton, Farnham, the Hog's Back, Guildford. 2hrs 13, 85 miles.

- Petersfield or Chichester & the South Downs and Surrey Hills. Around 3hrs, 115 miles.

Those are just suggestions, but a lot of interesting little towns & villages have fast routes signed past them, rather than what you want - to drive through them.

So it's perhaps best to give the transfer operator a general idea of what you want, and let the driver choose according to how well he/she knows the routes & places.

Drivers of all three operators I've mentioned are local, and likely to know the various towns & villages.

Additionally one of those three, west quay cars, has a "touring" arm http://www.discoverthesouth.co.uk/home.php to which they allocate dedicated customer-friendly, experienced & knowledgeable drivers and specialises in tour-transfers. Browse the various pages of their website, and ask them for suggestions. They're likely to be more expensive but worthwhile.

Marylizcat has suggested Winchester. It's a busy historic city, with a renown cathedral.

And the same can be said of Salisbury.

Winchester is close to the route, Salisbury a little off-route but can be combined with a visit or freebie drive-by of Stonehenge.

Neither fits the image of quaint "Cotswold-like" towns or villages, but either makes a good alternative.

Ditto Twickenham's suggestion of Windsor

Finally, whilst the operators and I can suggest village pubs & restaurants for lunch you're likely to be thrown off the ship by 9.30am at the latest so you'll perhaps be rather too early for lunch en-route. A coffee-stop or a "quick pint" or "swift half" would more likely fit the bill.

Hope this helps rather than confuses :rolleyes:

JB :)

The fast route Southampton to central London is all on fast but very very boring motorway (inter-state / expressway in the US)

90 miles, 1hr 53 according to googlemaps.

 

The last half of the drive or more is best done on the main roads, it gets pretty built-up the closer you get to London, and local roads crowded & slow.

But there's a stack of alternatives for the first part of the drive, including......

 

- up the Test Valley. The market town of Romsey & villages like King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hurstbourne Tarrant. And Andover. And past Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey). Total 2hrs 36, 106 miles according to Google.

 

- up the Meon Valley. Thro' Botley, Bishops Waltham or Wickham, West Meon, past Jane Austen's house at Chawton, Alton, Farnham, the Hog's Back, Guildford. 2hrs 13, 85 miles.

 

- Petersfield or Chichester & the South Downs and Surrey Hills. Around 3hrs, 115 miles.

 

Those are just suggestions, but a lot of interesting little towns & villages have fast routes signed past them, rather than what you want - to drive through them.

So it's perhaps best to give the transfer operator a general idea of what you want, and let the driver choose according to how well he/she knows the routes & places.

 

Drivers of all three operators I've mentioned are local, and likely to know the various towns & villages.

Additionally one of those three, west quay cars, has a "touring" arm http://www.discoverthesouth.co.uk/home.php to which they allocate dedicated customer-friendly, experienced & knowledgeable drivers and specialises in tour-transfers. Browse the various pages of their website, and ask them for suggestions. They're likely to be more expensive but worthwhile.

 

Marylizcat has suggested Winchester. It's a busy historic city, with a renown cathedral.

And the same can be said of Salisbury.

Winchester is close to the route, Salisbury a little off-route but can be combined with a visit or freebie drive-by of Stonehenge.

Neither fits the image of quaint "Cotswold-like" towns or villages, but either makes a good alternative.

Ditto Twickenham's suggestion of Windsor

 

Finally, whilst the operators and I can suggest village pubs & restaurants for lunch you're likely to be thrown off the ship by 9.30am at the latest so you'll perhaps be rather too early for lunch en-route. A coffee-stop or a "quick pint" or "swift half" would more likely fit the bill.

 

Hope this helps rather than confuses :rolleyes:

 

JB :)

wow so helpful!! thank you so much!!