Car Rental - Slough

Standing on the south bank of the River Thames, just a few miles south of Slough, is the town of Windsor, famous for its magnificent royal castle. Built originally in the 11^th century by William the Conqueror, Windsor has been the home of reigning English and British monarchs since Henry I and is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Visiting on holiday or business? Car rentals from Hertz in Slough mean you can pique your wanderlust in style.

Although visited most weekends by the King, Windsor Castle is open to visitors. Among the many highlights are the lavishly-furnished State Apartments which feature exquisite artwork from the Royal Collection – with artists like Holbein and Rubens on display. Also of note is the 14^th-century St George’s Chapel, one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England and which contains the tombs of past monarchs, including Henry VIII and Charles I.

Just a few miles drive across the M4 motorway with your rental car from Slough, on the banks of the Thames, is Dorney Court, one of the country’s finest Tudor Manor Houses, surrounded by beautiful gardens and overlooking acres of mature parkland. The house has been lived in by the same family for nearly 500 years and visiting today is a fascinating journey back in time. You might even get to meet Dorney’s infamous ghost.

Another spectacular stately home, set high above the Thames, is Cliveden House. This elegant Italianate masterpiece, built for the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland in the 1850s on the site of two earlier houses which burned down, stands in impressive gardens and woodlands and is the very essence of style and grandeur.

Cliveden had been frequented by dukes, earls and royalty but it was during the first half of the 20^th century that the house became famous for its glamorous guests. The owners of the house, William Waldorf Astor and Nancy Astor entertained the likes of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi and Henry Ford here. You can see around the house on a guided tour and explore its near 400 acres of formal grounds and woodlands.

Slough stands at the epicenter of foodie heaven. Within a five-mile radius of the town are some of the UK’s finest restaurants. Most famous of all is Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, on Bray High Street, serving such mad-scientist creations as snail porridge and salmon poached in licorice. Renting a car makes it easier to visit these Slough restaurants.

A little more down to earth but no less memorable is legendary chef Michel Roux Snr’s triple Michelin-starred Waterside Inn, serving French cuisine in a lovely riverside setting, also in the village of Bray.

For the ultimate in elegant and luxurious fine dining head for Humphry’s, a Michelin-starred restaurant at Stoke Park, a Palladian mansion designed by Humphry Repton (hence the name) in 1795 for William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. Rest assured that the food here matches the opulence and grandeur of the surroundings.