My wife wants to go to Hay-on-Wye next year for the book stores. She also wants to see Dorset. Any thoughts on this, you English-types?
Been to H-o-W a couple of times and founf it fascinating. Got a little more commercial now, some of the shops actually dust off the books! Five years ago, the last time I went, the catering for visitors was a bit 2 star, unless you went to the hotels. Pubs didn't open until noon. But, not going flat out for the tourist meant it kept a lot of its traditional atmosphere. Found a great tea house though, local made bread, local butter and home cooked cakes to die for!
This all changes for the festival, of course, they have a car park that is nearly as big as the rest of the town!
Don't know much about Dorset but if you are passing through Gloucester on the way I'll treat you both to lunch at my favourite eatery and give you a guided tour.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 18, 2017, 10:48:42 PM
My wife wants to go to Hay-on-Wye next year for the book stores. She also wants to see Dorset. Any thoughts on this, you English-types?
You'll love it.
Or hate it.
You can tell us after you've been. :)
Thanks for the comments.
On a more serious note. Devon is beautiful. The thing that Americans often find frustrating are the narrow twisty little roads. Whatever you do, do not hire a big car! You're right beside Cornwall and that's a little more wild and rugged and equally as beautiful. What time of year are you thinking of visiting?
Hay isn't all that far from us!
Quote from: Tank on March 20, 2017, 12:43:01 PM
On a more serious note. Devon is beautiful. The thing that Americans often find frustrating are the narrow twisty little roads. Whatever you do, do not hire a big car! You're right beside Cornwall and that's a little more wild and rugged and equally as beautiful. What time of year are you thinking of visiting?
And if you get to Devon and are into green things the Eden Project (http://www.edenproject.com) is a must!
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvGIfawX.jpg&hash=6423548b0d3fab8640e4fa0a9435e23fce94635e)
It was built from the lunar like lanscspe of an old china clay quarry
I would love to do a road trip in southern Wales and around to Cornwall. But, to be honest, driving on the opposite side of the road scares the heck out of me.
Make sure you make time to visit "Anfield", home of the worlds greatest FC!
Quote from: Father Bruno on March 20, 2017, 06:59:59 PM
Make sure you make time to visit "Anfield", home of the worlds greatest FC!
Food court?
Quote from: Arturo on March 20, 2017, 07:01:54 PM
Quote from: Father Bruno on March 20, 2017, 06:59:59 PM
Make sure you make time to visit "Anfield", home of the worlds greatest FC!
Food court?
Tipico Americano...Liverpool Football Club,
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 20, 2017, 04:40:58 PM
I would love to do a road trip in southern Wales and around to Cornwall. But, to be honest, driving on the opposite side of the road scares the heck out of me.
Have you ever done it?
Quote from: Tank on March 21, 2017, 09:53:30 PM
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 20, 2017, 04:40:58 PM
I would love to do a road trip in southern Wales and around to Cornwall. But, to be honest, driving on the opposite side of the road scares the heck out of me.
Have you ever done it?
No, just the idea scares me.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 20, 2017, 04:40:58 PM
I would love to do a road trip in southern Wales and around to Cornwall. But, to be honest, driving on the opposite side of the road scares the heck out of me.
Manual transmissions are much more common in UK (and the rest of Europe for that matter) than in the US, so unless you're prepared to pay considerably more for your hire car to have an automatic transmission, you will be shifting with your left hand. I got used to that quickly, but your mileage may vary. You can acclimatize to driving on the left--you'll need to concentrate at first when you encounter a T intersection. That's when you're most likely to choose the wrong lane to turn into. Another aspect of driving in the UK that American drivers will be unfamiliar with is roundabouts. The video below gives a comprehensive lesson on negotiating roundabouts in the UK.
You will note in the video that sometimes cars are parked along the street, taking up most of the driving lane. This is very common, and you should be aware that cars approaching you in the opposite direction on a street where this situation exists may be partly in your lane, and that you will sometimes find it necessary to drive partly in the lane of approaching traffic.
You can look at the UK government site for more information: The Highway Code, road safety and vehicle rules (https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/highway-code-road-safety) I got the Highway Code book and read it when I began driving in the UK--it's fairly helpful. You also might consider getting yourself a magnetic "provisional plate" (https://www.amazon.com/MTGL-Magnetic-Plates-Pk/dp/B000Y31MDW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1490295914&sr=8-5&keywords=magnetic+p+plate) to attach to your the back of your hire car, which may help with people giving you some leeway on the road when you make mistakes. It's not necessary and I never used one, so I don't know if it would actually be any use. You don't strike me as somebody who would be particularly bothered by people honking at you, yelling at you and making rude gestures, so . . . :shrug:
I also advise getting a GPS ("satnav" in the UK) with a western Europe map installed, which will help you avoid unnecessary driving errors. It will also help navigating through roundabouts because it will tell you which exit to take as you approach.
The learning curve for an American driving in the UK isn't terrible, and though the above may sound intimidating, it's only because I tried to think of the various things I've learned over the years. I didn't have a GPS for the first few years when I drove in the UK, and so I had plenty of adventures with wrong turns. Signs identifying streets and roads are often only a few feet off the ground, so can be blocked by undergrowth, traffic, or parked cars, which doesn't help. :)
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 22, 2017, 01:09:48 AM
Quote from: Tank on March 21, 2017, 09:53:30 PM
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 20, 2017, 04:40:58 PM
I would love to do a road trip in southern Wales and around to Cornwall. But, to be honest, driving on the opposite side of the road scares the heck out of me.
Have you ever done it?
No, just the idea scares me.
It is a little intimidating thinking about it. But you really don't need to worry. Once you're going you just follow the traffic flow. Even if you drive stick I would suggest an automatic as it makes life so much easier as the shift is in the wrong place. I've driven in the USA and on the continent and it's nothing like as bad as you think it will be. Don't let it put you off.