Getting family, luggage, and 2 dogs in crates from London to Northern England

Hello, we are coming to England in June.  We are flying into Heathrow (this is the best bet for us b/c we are bringing our two dogs).  I need to figure out how I am going to get a family of 4 with all our luggage and two dogs in crates from London to Northern England!  I think we could fit everything in a minivan - I'm assuming you can rent minivans from London.  Even if they don't do one way - if we have to return the minivan to London, that's more than okay with me (hey, a  trip to London!).

But I wondered if there's something I haven't thought of - some way of getting us all  up North.  My husband's family's cars are all so small - we wouldn't even be able to get the four of us in them, much less the dogs.  Any ideas?

Donna

Book a taxi.  We did that from Leicester to Heathrow with a X-large dog kennel, a medium kennel with cat, 3 of us and all our luggage.  It was about 120 quid and no issues about returning the van, or the trouble of driving ourselves. 

When I booked, I had the measurements of the kennels to be sure that they would fit in the van. 

You might want to start by calling some of the taxi companies in the area where you'll be living.  Just do a search on google for airport taxi [your town] to heathrow. 

We also split up the journey by spending the night in Heathrow - there are lots of hotels who take animals.  We also had a taxi van come and get us to transport the animals.  And you can book that through the hotel once you've booked. 

Is there a family member who can rent a large car or van for you from near where you are going to live? 

Thanks MrsPink and tmfigy.  I never considered a taxi b/c I didn't know they had vans.  That's a great idea.  And spending the night also a great idea - they don't allow pets in hotels (except icky ones) in US, so that never crossed my mind either.

I also called and we can rent a minivan from heathrow and return it to Robin Hood airport so but I don't yet know how much that will be.

Thanks!

Just do a google search for "pet-friendly hotels Heathrow" and you'll get the goods. 

I can't remember which hotel we stayed in but it was great and had places to walk the dog, which we did frequently.  We were tight all in one hotel room and one of us stayed in the room with the animals at all times but it was basically just for overnight so tolerable. 

I highly recommend the taxi route.  It was so simple and ended up being about the same cost, within about 20 quid of renting a van ourselves but we didn't have to worry about the stress of diving.