Car Rental Oxford

A quick guide to Oxford

You could easily lose yourself amid Oxford’s ancient lanes and streets, gazing in awe at the beautiful college buildings, but hiring a car means you can also explore the wonders of the surrounding countryside, as well as delving even further into what Oxford has to offer.

Wander along ancient streets

Oxford's Bodleian Library is one of the oldest public libraries in the world, as well as being one of the city’s most impressive buildings. This masterpiece of English Gothic architecture opened in 1602 and has been used as a working library ever since.

Opposite the entrance to ‘The Bod’ is one of Oxford’s great photo opportunities, the wonderfully ornate Bridge of Sighs, which spans New College Lane, famous for its similarity to its Venice namesake.

A short walk from here, and part of the Bodleian complex, is the Radcliffe Camera. Built between 1737 and 1749 in grand Palladian style, this beautiful circular, columned library and reading room is one of the city’s great icons.

See amazing museums

Also close by is the Ashmolean Museum, the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology. The Ashmolean is the world’s oldest public museum – founded in 1683 – and one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in the entire country.

The amazing collections range from Egyptian mummies to contemporary art and include the lantern said to have been carried by Guy Fawkes during the infamous gunpowder plot.

Another great Oxford museum is the wonderfully eclectic Pitt Rivers Museum, housed in the same building as the university’s Natural History museum. It’s packed with historical oddities, everything from totem poles and shrunken heads to jewellery, weapons and body armour, but perhaps its best known exhibit is a specimen of the world’s most famous extinct species, the dodo.

Visit Sir Winston Churchill’s family home

Only 30 minutes’ north of the city is splendid Blenheim Palace. Built in the early 18th century and one of England’s largest houses, Blenheim was the birthplace and ancestral home of wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The surrounding park, created by England’s finest landscape gardener, ‘Capability’ Brown, is an absolute delight to explore and perfect for a stroll and a picnic.

Explore the beautiful Cotswold countryside

West of Oxford and easily reached by car are the picture-perfect Cotswolds, a beautiful region of rolling hills and sweeping meadows and the quintessential image of rural England.

You could easily spend several days exploring timeless towns and villages of honey-coloured stone but if time is limited visiting Bourton-on-the-water, Burford, Chedworth and Cirencester would allow you to see the best of the Cotswolds.

Dine in style in the Chilterns

South-east of Oxford is the uncrowded, rolling green English countryside of the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The superb scenery and tucked-away villages and market towns make this a great area to explore.

Amersham, with its half-timbered houses and handsome Market House, boasts an enviable selection of restaurants and pubs and makes a great lunch stop.

Along the southern edge of the Chilterns, on the banks of the River Thames, you’ll find Henley-on-Thames, best known for its famous regatta, and Marlow. Both are renowned gastronomic heavens and boast a number of Michelin-starred restaurants where you can enjoy a culinary experience to remember.

Car hire in Oxford gives you the chance to see the very best of this wonderful city, as well as hit the road to explore some of the gems that lie within easy driving distance.

Driving in and around Oxford

Oxford is one of the most conveniently located cities in the south of England, standing roughly halfway between London and Birmingham. ~Both are less than a two-hour drive away.

For the capital, you’ll head south-east along the M40 motorway and A40, while Birmingham is north-west via the M40. The nearest airport is London Luton, an hour-and-a-half away via the M40, M25 and M1.

We’ll aim to ensure that picking up your hire car from us is a hassle-free experience so you can be on the road in no time. We have a branch in Oxford city centre close to the A420 Botley Road, which leads to the A34/Southern Bypass. This road skirts the western edge of the city and runs south from the M40 to the M4 motorway.

As in New Zealand, you’ll be driving on the left-hand side of the road in the UK. Speed limits vary from 48km/h in built-up areas to 112km/h on motorways and dual carriageways.

On-street parking in the centre of Oxford can be expensive and hard to find, so instead try the multi-storey Oxpens car park on Oxpens Road or the larger Westgate car park on Thames Street next to City of Oxford College.

There are also a number of park and ride sites around the city where you can pay to park up and then take the free bus into the centre.

North of the city the A34 meets the A40 which heads west to the Cotswolds and city of Cheltenham and east to the M40, bypassing Oxford on its northern and eastern fringes.

Blenheim Palace is only a 30-minute drive north on the A34 and A44, while the glorious villages and countryside of the Costwolds lie an hour away along the A40. The lovely riverside towns of Marlow and Henley-on-Thames are less than an hour’s drive down the M40.