Driving in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland)

Yes, a supportive navigator/keep-left reminding passenger is essential to successfully operating “on the left.”

Getting used to an enormous tractor hurtling towards you on an extremely narrow Irish “R” road, at relatively high speed, just after you’ve come around a blind curve, still takes some effort, even after it’s happened many, many times. I screamed more times than I can say this past spring, but my husband managed to keep our rental Seat economy car from becoming a hood (bonnet) ornament on a huge Ford tractor. I am still impressed by the County Cork farmers who manage to operate their tractor rigs as if they were sports cars.

Even after gaining some level of experience shifting the manual shifter (gear selector) with the left hand (and I’m left handed, BTW), there’s still the occasional grinding of a gear. Left-brain/right-brain, shifter and clutch coordination takes some skill and repetition, but at least it’s a rental.

Then there’s the matter of using the turn signal lever - unexpectedly the windshield (windscreen) wiper swipes across the glass. Oops - guess that wasn’t the proper lever, and that still takes some getting used to.

Missing scenery is a potential downside, but that’s the case in some “right” side of the road countries, too. Having a tailgater in France or Italy, and cars coming at you in your lane on a curve in Greece prevent much gawking at the scenery. Even driving the slower 80 KPH speed limit in Norway makes it tough to enjoy much scenery, when the curvy roads have a deep fjord just off to the side. In any country, pulling off to the side, when possible, will reward a driver with scenic benefits.

Occasionally walking to the wrong side of the car - left if you’re driving, right if you intend to get in on the passenger side - can still happen, even after lots of practice. It sometimes takes a second attempt to reach for the seatbelt on the correct side, since it’s the opposite of what you’re used to.

Parallel parking on the left curb - surprisingly easy. It’s possible to be an ambidextrous parker.

The one thing that took me a little while to get used to was not driving your car on the left side of the road, but being in the driver's seat on the right side of the lane you are in. That is, being the driver from the other side of the car and lane was more disconcerting that just which side of the road the car is in. It just changes your perception of where your car is relative to things like guard rails, other cars, ditches, etc. But as you say, you will get used to this pretty quick.

We have rented a car twice in the UK, the first time for a week, the second for four weeks.

I rented a bit larger car for the four weeks (a diesel) because I wanted a navigation system on the car and the cheaper cars didn't have one. A GPS rental was an absurd $20+ per day.

Glad we rented an automatic, so I could not be distracted by shifting with my left hand.

I generally stuck to the speed limit and was cautious driving.

Driving on the dual carriageways (interstates) was easy, but those narrow country roads with hedges that make them narrower required serious caution, since when an approaching vehicle neared you had to slow down a lot to avoid the hedges.

Once, I almost turned into the right lane (when turning right), but my wife kept reminding me to "stay on the left."

British drivers are generally very polite and save drivers. We have roundabouts were we live, so those were not a problem.

The British countryside is wonderful. Especially love Wales, Yorkshire and the Lake District.

I drove around Wales for just under 3 days and I did not really get used to it. I'm sure I probably would have with more time. But I would definitely say that some people adjust more easily than others. I found it very difficult, at least in the towns (Chester was a nightmare!). Driving around the country roads was fine.

I couldn't agree more about having a navigator. My teenage daughter was a treasure, I couldn't have done it without her.