Rental car Nerves - Bath to Glastonbury, Wells, Stonehenge

We took the train from London and rented a car in Salisbury, drove it through Avebury and all the way up to Scotland. I have vivid memories of that initial car rental experience...

We were waiting in line to pick up or car at Salisbury (don't recall the agency, probably Hertz or Avis, does not matter). Another American couple was ahead of us. After they finished with the paperwork, they went out to the lot, hopped in their car, fired it up, and departed. I sat down at the rental desk, started handing over my paperwork. Suddenly there were loud tire-screeches and a very loud CRASH sound. We all jumped up, ran outside. The previous couple had driven out of the rental car lot, turned right, accelerated, and immediately had a head-on collision with an oncoming car coming around the corner, right outside the rental car lot fence. Nobody appeared hurt, but both cars looked totaled.

Of course, the American driving away was driving on the right side of the road, as we are in the habit of doing. He crashed right into the local person, correctly driving on the left side, who had just rounded the corner. Oops. Several (visibly angry) staff members from the rental agency ran out the gate to the accident scene and started dealing with it. The counter person stomped back into the office, I followed, we sat down, the guy shot me quite a look. I burst out, "don't worry, I won't do THAT! I know which side of the road to drive on and I promise I'll drive carefully, really." We concluded our business, I drove away v-e-r-y slowly and carefully (having to drive around the tow-truck that was hooking up the crashed cars in the street).

The driving was mostly uneventful after that.

That said, expect the first few minutes to be high anxiety (this is always the case for me, even though I've driven in many countries before, including more than a few times in wrong-side countries previously). I just always assume the first 15 minutes will be the most challenging. You need to bring your A Game to this driving task. No distractions. Stay focused 100% on just the driving, and nothing else. Your front-seat passenger must be your helper/navigator/co-pilot/support system, they need to be "on task" as much as you (all the time), and they need to take this job seriously (as serious as a head-on collision at a combined velocity of 100 mph or more). If there are back-seat passengers, I read them the Riot Act first, make it very clear that the driver is not to be distracted. Your helper should remind you (frequently) to "drive on the LEFT." I ask my copilot to verbally call that out every single time the car comes to a stop, especially every time you turn on to a new road (my brain tends to automatically "reset" to right-side driving after coming to stop and turning onto a new road). I also ask them to regularly help "spot me" and estimate my distance from the "edge" to ensure I'm centered left/right in my lane, whether on a country road (careful about how close you get to the edge, the edge may be overgrown bushes, a stone wall, or a raised curb), or even on a milti-lane highway.

One car we rented had a sticker on the inside windshield with a helpful reminder to DRIVE ON THE LEFT (the linked photo is from Ireland, but I think it's useful anywhere driving is on the left). That's useful, but my driving habits are so automatic, I like having more difficult-to-ignore reminders.

You will find some narrow roads, but most are great. Be prepared for the roundabouts (your helper will need to help call things for you in them).

Be extra careful every time you begin driving for the day, your brain may reset overnight. Our deeply-ingrained habits and muscle memory you have to overcome and (temporarily) unlearn. The first time you get behind the wheel after you get home, be careful about your habits, too.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Driving to Glastonbury and Wells will be very easy. You’re on roads which are 1 lane in each direction so you just settle in and chug along. No overtaking or anything tricky. The hard part will be what you do with the car in Bath. You’ll need to stay somewhere with parking and preferably a little bit out of the centre to avoid the traffic chaos.

As for driving on the other side of the road - I find it absolutely fine but I know some people don’t like it. In my experience, once people have tried it, they’re ok with it. Friends who say to me they wouldn’t drive abroad (which pretty much always means driving on the other side for us Brits) generally haven’t ever given it a go.

We have never rented a car in this area. I have been to Salisbury by train and had planned to do a similar trip to Wells-in Mar 2020.

I have taken a Mad Max tour to Avebury and the Cotswolds. Maybe some other options for you to consider.

A few comments - Glastonbury is murder when it comes to finding parking , be prepared to spend time looking for a spot . Be aware too , that there is no parking near The Tor if you are going there , there is a shuttle bus from town that gets you there . Wells is not too bad for that . The Cotswolds are peppered with roads lined with hedgerows . While they appear to be innocuous vegetation , they conceal stone walls which will cause major damage to the auto body if you inadvertently brush into one . go slow , and keep your distance ( and wits ) about you . Also , if , on a narrow road you come face to face with another car , the vehicle closest to a passing point must yield the right of way even if it means backing up . This is standard practice in The UK Also , don't get cold feet about this , driving there isn't as bad as most people think . With adequate care you will be fine .

Just adding that I agree with David. Some people adjust easily and seamlessly to driving in the UK. Others don't. I can't emphasize how much it helps to have a navigator sitting next to you who is alert. My teenage daughter did this for me in 2018 and it made driving much easier. I mostly drove in Wales, on country roads, which wasn't hard. Chester was another matter!

We drove from Bath to Glastonbury and Wells, and rented a car just for the day. Arranged it all ahead of time, and the rental company picked us up near where we were staying in Bath and drove us to their location on the edge of town; reversed the process at the end of the day. Been a quite a few years, so I don't remember which company we used--sorry. I navigated and my husband drove, and the trip went just fine. He even drove a car with a manual transmission since he enjoys it; not sure if you still have to make sure to reserve a car with an automatic transmission ahead of time if shifting gears is not your thing, or if most cars are automatic in UK like they are here in the US.

We did a day trip to Wells and Glastonbury from Bath in 2017 and it was great. Also, on the way back to Bath went through scenic Cheddar Gorge.

We rent our car at Heathrow, but I know you can rent in Bath.

Driving the Cotswolds is great, traffic is not too much, of course, we were there in October.

On driving on the left, the key is to focus on where you are going and don't speed.
Also, get an automatic, since you would have to shift gears with your left hand.
Get a navigation system as well.

Compare rental car companies, I rented from Budget the first time driving in Britain and Europcar the second time. Europcar did a bait and switch, don't use them.

I can't emphasize how much it helps to have a navigator sitting next
to you who is alert.

Wise words. The first hour or so is a learning experience and some nervousness is probably a good thing to keep you alert. I didn't find driving on the left to be that challenging, for me it was roads that were considerably narrower and curvier than you're used to at home. But you get used to it.

We didn't get a car until after we were leaving Bath and then rented from Enterprise for a 3 day excursion through the Cotswolds. With 24 hours notice they'll pick you up and bring you to their location. We dropped it off at Gatwick. Drop off fee was £105.

Driving on the left is NOT that difficult.

I’ve done it solo for years. Female.

The entire island of Northern Ireland and Ireland twice. Once with a clutch, once in automatic.

Roundabouts are fun once you get the hang of.

Last drove in England at age 65. Heathrow to Lyme Regis. Year before Heathrow to Winchcombe in the Cotswolds.

Always use a paper map AND streetview on Google Maps. Helps me visualize the route and see where the petrol stations are located.

Intend to rent a car on my next England sojourn. I prefer the freedom it provides. I rent with Hertz.

Another important issue of which to be mindful - Since the driver sits on the right side of the car and you drive on the left , there is a tendency to wander too close to the curb on the left , resulting in bashing the left front wheel into the curb . At a low speed , and an indirect hit you can survive it , but at higher speeds you can wreck the wheel , rendering the car inoperable until it can be replaced . Two things will help you avoid this - as you drive , make a conscious attempt to stay as close to the center dividing line ( on your right ) as possible . Also I bring my own GPS ( called a SATNAV in the UK ) instead of one installed in the rental . The one I use has lane departure alert signaling which is also a big help . I've made several trips to the UK ( going back again this coming Autumn , and renting a car ) and am well accustomed to driving there . When you return the car , the first thing the agent will look at will be the left front wheel , they're used to North American drivers

Also I bring my own GPS ( called a SATNAV in the UK ) instead of one
installed in the rental .

Be mindful if you bring a home GPS. We were advised at the rental counter that we'd have a much easier time navigating by Postal Code than by address. He was right. I had brought along my TomTom for my first attempt in 2018 at driving in England but it didn't give me the option of searching by postal code. After trying to car's SatNav and my TomTom, we eventually determined the car SatNav was more accurate because of the Postal Code search.

Edit to add: Steven is right about the tendency to drift over. In Scotland last June I gave my car's lane departure warning function a workout.

Depends on the unit , my Garmin will do both

When travelling I simply use Google Maps on my phone, just the same as I do at home if I’m going somewhere unfamiliar. It works very well. I take a phone holder in case the rental car doesn’t have an inbuilt screen but most seem to these days. Obviously, you need to have a data plan that you can use in whatever country you are in but I think that’s pretty essential anyway.

We didn't turn on my phones data due to the cost of $15/day while in the UK. We did download a map for the region of England we were in in September (Our car was pretty basic and didn't have SatNav), but the critical difference I found between live Google Maps and a downloaded version is that the downloaded version won't offer you multiple choices of a route, or automatically change your route if a road closes due to accident. This happened to us twice and my wife had to use Google Maps like a regular paper map to navigate us to a new route as we drove.

Another important issue of which to be mindful - Since the driver sits
on the right side of the car and you drive on the left , there is a
tendency to wander too close to the curb on the left , resulting in
bashing the left front wheel into the curb .

Steven is absolutely right about this, it is a very real thing, and one needs to maintain a high degree of situational awareness about this (how close the left edge of the car is to whatever is immediately to the left of the left edge of the pavement). I found this the most challenging part of driving in the UK.

A couple times I drifted ever-so-slightly to the left and felt the tires starting to "rub" against the low curb along the roadside. I was going slow enough that I just kind of "bounced" off that curb a couple times but it was violent enough to scare the @#$* out of me and make me snap to attention. There are a LOT of narrow roads (not just quiet country lanes, but many busy secondary roads) that have something immediately left of the road surface. (These low curbs were everywhere, which seemed quite different from secondary roads at home, which do not tend to have raised curbs, just a flat, paved or gravel shoulder - a lot of UK roads have no shoulder, just a curb...this surprised me) I asked my passenger to give me frequent guidance about how close I was from the left edge of the road, and that helped a lot.

Those roaming charges are really high. My plan charges £1 a day for EU roaming and about £1.50 a day for global. I’ve looked at some of the travel insurance threads and it seems that is very expensive in the US as well. I guess people don’t travel abroad as much so the market is not competitive.

AMann, for some reason I had a heck of a time in parking lots once I got home and had to think which side I was driving on. On the roads I was fine. One big factor that tripped me up a couple of times in the UK was that the centre dividing line is white, while at home it's yellow. If I was the only car on the road, I would have to look around for other telltale signs to ensure it was a two-lane road. I found driving in populated areas on major roads with traffic to follow was significantly easier than small, country roads.

That's interesting about the shoulders vs kerbs on American roads vs UK roads. It's not something I'd realised, even with viewing wsdot cameras most days in the winter.

What David says about the ubiquity of the curbs , in the least likely places . Something else to keep in mind

when my wife moved from the US to the UK and learned how to drive here her worst problem was frequently going too close to the left kerb, and came close to hitting bridges to the left of the car.

I thought it was just her....

Thank you everyone for the advice.