Driving in England?

Greetings
The above posters are correct - it really depends on where you want to go. Big cities are best done by public transport, as parking is expensive and driving a nightmare, but for smaller towns or meandering around at your own pace a car can be more convenient.

Your best bet is probably to plan to use public transport where possible - and book well ahead of time for long distance trains to get the best deals - and if you need to rent a car, do so on your way out of London or other large town.

With four people a car might make life easier, but you do need to be aware that UK cars tend to be quite small, and a large car can be problematic because of small parking spaces, narrow roads and high petrol costs (>$4-5 per gallon). So you need to figure out what car will fit you and your luggage, and car seats if any of your children are of the age when they are legally required to be in a car or booster seat. And decide whether it is worth renting.
Kate

I went alone with my two kids ten years ago, and I drove. Personally, it made up my mind for me that I won't drive in Europe again. That said, my husband has driven and was fine. Personally, I've never had any trouble, alone with a 7 and 9 year old, or with my sister and I and all four kids, ages 13,11,2, and newborn.

The first time my husband drove in England, we first spent a week in London without a car and then took the train back out to the airport and rented a car from there t o do the countryside up into the Cotwolds area. I took him awhile to get the knack of it and there are lots of traffic circle (Round-a-bouts) that he had to learn to navigate to. We have since flow another time into Manchester and he rented a car for more countryside driving. Choose what you reallly want to see. The trains are great. You can also pick up short tours for certain areas to avoid renting a car. I took a train tour up to Scotland a few days while my husband did all the war stuff he wanted to see in London on one of our trips.

I personally like driving in England. Yes, it will take you a day to get use to it. You will just have to keep thinking to yourself, left, left. If you decide to rent a car I would suggest picking it up outside of London. You wouldn't want to try to drive in London. When you get to a roundabout (large circle intersection) you can keep going around until you decide where you need to exit. As mentioned above you really should have a car to visit the Cotswolds.

Not sure what part of England Pat was in, but when we drive around England we see so many beautiful things. The scenery is fantistic.

Just back from our 4th trip to the UK. We had a rental car while visiting in Yorkshire, a mainly rural area. Would never try driving in London, or any big city. BTW, gas is closer to $8/gallon: 1 gbp/liter=$2/liter X4 liter/gal! If you do rent, remember that manual trans. are standard; if you want an auto (highly recommended), reserve in advance, and expect to pay 40% more. For me, driving on the left & negotiating roundabouts is enough of a challenge without worrying over operating the shift with the left hand. It helps to have a good navigator.

Although we used the trains, be aware that in second class you will find very limited space for luggage, and often crowded cars with noisy, slobbering drunks, even in the "quiet carriage". We were disappointed more than once on this trip with the trains. Also, watch out for tight connections when changing trains. You can do your research here: http://nationalrail.co.uk/index.html

I have not driven in England, but I have been with my friend who lives there and volunteered to drive us around. I was so dissappointed by the way the roads had the view blocked ,, we were in the countryside all right, but couldn't see much, the roads were lower then many farmers fields etc, and they almost always had hedges or bushes right beside the road. I saw alot of green stuff , thats all.

West Sussex, drove to Warwick, Hampton Court, Brighton, Plymouth, Stratford on Avon, and of course to London.
Perhaps our friends , being local took all the small short cut type roads, but, they explained that many of the roads were narrow and "deep" as they had of course once been carriage/ horse tracks at one time, and have worn lower into the ground , then paved, so many are below the farmers field levels. These roads were VERY narrow, and we often honked when going around corners.

As an added note, Your car will be stickshift. Renting automatic is more expensive.

Have been to the UK more than 40 times. Took our kids when they were 11-18 years old. NEVER DROVE- Didn't need to. The UK is the easiest to get around! We love the trains. We usually stay at station hotels. Makes arriving a departing easy. Our favorite time is Nov/Dec. We go almost every year during the week after Thanksgiving. You will love the Christmas markets. Bath, York, Cardiff and
Edinburgh have WONDERFUL markets at Christmas time. Why waste time worrying about driving on the left, finding parking- a rare and expensive comodity there, and the price of gas (petrol)-- VERY< VERY< VERY expensive.

My wife and I drove in Italy, and Switzerland and France and had no problem. But when we drove in England and Ireland, it was a little more difficult. The main problem is getting used to being on the other side, and the narrow roads. Although it is not difficult or dangerous, it was a little more stressful than driving on the side we're used to. For this reason, I'd rely more on trains when I go back there. Driving on their freeways are better since they're so wide you don't notice you're on the left side.

Just remember, "Stay LEFT!!!"

That's what I heard as I put my rental van into gear and drove away from the airport. Fortunately there wasn't any traffic at that hour.

After a few minutes, I got used to it and everything was fine.