GPS in Britain

We have driven many times in the British Isles (including Dartmoor). We used the AA road atlases which are widely available in Britain and can also be purchased from Amazon.co.uk. They are four miles to the inch and sufficiently detailed for driving. You don't need to worry too much about getting lost---if you are, just keep going until you get to a larger road--it's never more than five miles. I think you might want the GPS if you are both driving and navigating, but if your passenger is navigating, maps work fine. (Everyone else on this site usually says you need GPS systems, but I think it is fun to read the maps.)

I agree with Cynthia, maps are great. No need for a GPS.

GPS gives you a significant advantage in finding places and finding services. However your GPS will have to have a European map, if it didn't come with one--most sold here don't. So far on this website, out of a couple hundred people who have tried using a GPS in Europe, we're about 199 to 1 in favor of using a GPS in Europe, even if you've never used one there before. About 199 travelers who have tried it said that now that they've tried it, they would not do a driving trip in Europe without one--but we did one have the one person who said it was fine but probably wouldn't use it next time.

As an American living over here I will say a couple of things in regards to GPS/Navigation.

1. British roads are very easy to navigate when you are out on the larger. They are very well signposted from afar. No problem at all to figure out how to take the M62 to the M60 to the M56.

2. The AA maps etc are great when you can say to the driver in a couple of miles we will be coming up on the A58.

However once you get into city centers a GPS can be invaluable to have. This is because roads change names quickly and road names are difficult to find as they are on the side of buildings. It can be hard to pinpoint exactly where you are on map.

Furthermore as stated a lot of times there are no gas stations or fast food places to turn in to a half mile down the road and get your bearings. You miss your turn you can be going a good ways.

If you look into cars most Brits have sat nav's for their cars... Let that be some indication.

The AA maps are great they show all the A and B roads,they show all the roads you possibly would need. As Cynthia said you don't have to worry about getting lost. Out of all the times we have driven the UK roads and using AA maps or Collins Road Atlas we haven't gotten lost. Everything is so well marked. If you happen to get lost is so easy to correct yourself. GPS would probably be good if traveling alone, but I have a friend that still got lost a couple of times when her and her husband was using a GPS. Nothing is fail proof.

Yes, sometimes you might miss a street name in a town/city but generally it's not that difficult to find. When you are in small villages it's a breeze to find where you want to go.

I'm betting that if you give GPS technology a chance to help you enjoy your trip more, you'll be glad you did. As Mike says, a GPS is great for navigating in UK towns/cities, where street names are difficult to see and streets unexpectedly change names, making maps difficult to use.After you've tried it, if you really aren't impressed, then we'll add your name to the one other person on the Helpline that wasn't impressed with how much easier GPS can make it for you to enjoy your vacation.

I really can appreciate the appeal of the GPS and I really wished I'd had one in France. Somehow my navigational mistakes seemed to to be of bigger magnitude than any I ever made in the UK. Part of me is sorry to see the potential for getting lost disappear. I was trying to drive from Gamblesby, just north of Penrith in Cumbria to Melrose in Scotland and headed right through the borders and the debatable lands. I got totally and completely lost. All the time I kept thinking about all the Reivers' ghosts laughing at me as I tried to find Hermitage Castle. I lost maybe and hour, but saw wonderful countryside and i still can get a smile thinking about getting lost in the countryside that was so totally lawless for so many years and hid some many raiders. You miss these unexpected side trips with the GPS. Maybe something else will come along to give us those whimsical moments on our trips.

Pam

Diane,

I've driven in Britain using both Maps and more recently with a GPS. I'd suggest using both (which is my preferred method these days - always a good idea to have a "backup"). One of the big advantages of a GPS unit is that it will tell you where you are at any given moment, which isn't possible with a Map unless you have some landmarks or whatever to use as reference (not always possible out in the country, especially in unfamiliar territory).

However, GPS units are not infallible. I find that it's necessary to "double check" the directions against local road signs and/or the map. On a couple of occasions, the unit led me in the wrong direction (this is more likley if there are two destinations with similar names). The GPS unit that I'm using (Garmin Nuvi 370) IS equipped with European maps, as are all the x70 models. It also "speaks" to provide driving directions (very useful for solo travellers like me), and it's always entertaining to listen to the unit mispronouncing local names. One example that comes to mind is when directing me to "Smith Dr.", the GPS unit instructed me to turn on "Smith Doctor". I suppose I should notify Garmin about that "quirk".

Another big advantage of GPS units is that they allow one to quickly recover from "wrong turns". The unit will simply say "recalculating" and then provide new directions. That function seems to work quite well. Again, one always has to double-check, to make sure that the unit isn't directing you down a one-way street or whatever.

Finally, the smaller units can also be used in "walking" mode, so handy to use when walking around cities. The battery life isn't great, but it's definitely a useful travel accessory!

Good luck!

I will bow to Kents superior knowledge of the GPS map issue, though I thought the operative word here is "Global" and assumed my GPS would operate properly in the UK. Now, further research is required. Diane, GPS is wonderful. Especially when it's dark and you're trying to find the address of your B&B or looking for the nearest gas station. Our rental car came equipped with sat nav and was a great help during our trip through the south west of England, enc. Dartmoor and Cornwall. We nick-named her Diane and we would deliberately take a different turning to see how she would get us back on track. She always managed to even to the point of taking us down a track through a field! I know there are different types. Ours had a voice and we could pick either male or female. Hence Diane..after the old TV series Twin Peaks. We loved hearing her say "you have arrived".

Laurel: Thanks, but I think you meant Ken (of Vernon), he's the GPS guru.But since we're on the subject, there's one thing that's easy to forget: A map only works if you can read the name of the street before you get to the place where you have to turn onto a different street;and in many European towns & cities--unlike driving here--you can't read the street name, they're on the side of a building or just not present. Maps work fine in the US because we're almost compulsive about street signs. Not so in much of Europe, and this can blind-side the person who thought they'd do what they do here and rely on the map they painstakingly brought for navigation in a city or town.Your GPS isn't worried about reading a street name, it will tell you just where to turn whether there's a street sign or not.

Something that people tend to forget, or don't know about GPS units...

You can keep marking locations, or waypoints. On my last trip they were so incredibly helpful, as I'm someone who gets turned around easily. It's especially great if you're staying in one area for a while, i.e. a longer trip to London. Even if your unit doesn't have a detailed map for where you are, you can see that the road you want is somewhere to the south, or...

Mark the hotel. Mark the nearest tube station. Mark that little shop you'd like to come back to before you leave. Mark the restaurant that served the absolute best fish and chips that you found while taking shelter on a rainy day. And as well, you can enter the coordinates for many places even before you leave, ensuring that when you get off the tube you don't walk for 2k in the wrong direction (who, me?).

If nothing else, you can ALWAYS find your way back to the hotel, regardless of where you end up. I feel a lot better about setting my easily lost mother loose on London knowing that she can make her way back even if things go awry.