England Travel
 

HELP! Six long legged people ( my husband,myself and 4 kids) need a vehicle that fits us and 6 suitcases to travel in England for a week. Yikes! Any ideas on a car that would fit us and those tiny roads ?

You will probably need a minivan. We were upgraded to a Ford Galaxy minivan last year (long wait, ran out of cars - long story.) They aren't cheap to rent, but it might be your only option. One benefit - it used diesel fuel, so it got better gas mileage. :)

Basically, I think you're caught between a rock and a hard place. Of course you can rent a van large enough for you all to be comfortable and the luggage to fit, but it will be very tight on some of the roads. You could get two smaller cars, but then you'd both have to drive and it would be a lot more expensive as well. Can't imagine a solution that conforms to the earthly laws of physics.:-(

Don't ask for a minivan.
In the UK, a mini van is a tidy little commercial vehicle for transporting goods.
You need a people carrier. It should be fine on all but very narrow country lanes.
We hired one in Northern Ireland and it was fine.

Actually - two smaller cars usually cost less than a people mover. If you were 5 or 6 adults I definitely recommend renting two small cars. But in your case, that isn't very practical.

So fork over the extra money for a people mover - but do realize you will be on narrow winding roads and take mercy on the poor kids stuck in the back row. Stop frequently, and rotate seating locations every so often. Sitting at the back of a minvan for hours on end on country roads is not fun . . . . . .

And you'll have to pack light - if you fill 6 of the 7 the seats you won't have tons of space for luggage.

..just remember the country round are a bit frightening in a wide care..esp through villages the "shoulder" may be a stone wall of a hedge. Remember with a rented care it is harder to judge exact leeway you have in a narrow area as this is not the "same old car" you have been driving for the last 3 years.

.whoops I didnt proof..should read country roads ..in a wide car..

after traveling and also living in England for a summer I have advise which may be more important than the size of your rented vehicle. Driving on the left side of the road is Very difficult for someone from the western hemisphere. Road configurations like the infamous round-about makes it even worse. Even a simple thing like crossing a busy city street can be dangerous for you and your kids because you may step off the curb and get run over beacause we are programmed to look left. England is a beautiful country but think twice about driving.

Thanks everybody. I'm not sure I know what decision to make because we would all like to be in the same car. My husband and I have driven these roads before so that is one advantage. Surely if a bus can make it through....we can. Ha ha.

laura, you can definitely make it through. But as travelbunny said, going through some villages the road may not only be narrow, but there is little if any sidewalk, and then stone buildings on both sides. It's good that you've driven on the left before, but there will be times when the clearance between you and an oncoming car is going to seem like a cat's whisker. I'm not sure my nerves could stand it, and I've driven in England many times.

How old are these 4 kids with the long legs?

Hi, all.

Same question as above - how old are these kids?

And, how big are the suitcases? Do all four kids really need their own suitcases? If the full trip is a week, I'd guess not, unless the suitcases are pretty small.

If the suitcases are smaller (say, medium duffle size) and squishy, you MIGHT be able to fit six in the "trunk/boot" of the people mover.

I've rented people movers several times in England and it's worked out great - but we travel with a total of four adults. We love the view from the people mover and we really like being able to put the four medium sized suitcases in the "trunk/boot" and then spread out on the third row of seats with our "stuff we need today" = maps and books and snacks and fragile stuff we might have purchased earlier and today's purchases (if any) and jackets and....

We probably could have fit one more regular sized suitcase in the trunk, but I don't think six would fit.

Also, watch the type of people carrier you get - some are larger than others, which will help a lot with luggage and six people.

Gayle

Double-decker buses, and 40-foot lorries, travel on all but the absolutely narrowest of roads. People movers are ten a penny in most tiny villages: I'm practically the only person in my bit of the Cotswolds who doesn't drive one. And I haven't found any roads in Britain that people-movers don't travel down all the time.

Believe me, if the lorries to move country dwellers' property and the buses to get their children to school can navigate our roads, a Ford Galaxy will have absolutely no problem. And I refuse to believe my neighbours have driving skills that have been bred out of their distant American cousins. They show little evidence of superhuman dexterity in anything else.

"And I refuse to believe my neighbours have driving skills that have been bred out of their distant American cousins."

Ah, flanneruk - there's the rub. If you read over many of the "Driving in the UK?" threads, some HAVE lost their driving skills or at least driving confidence, or never had any in the first place.

Some people who have driven in the UK once or twice post about the roundabouts scaring them spitless, driving for a couple of days and giving up in horror, not being able to tell the outside dimensions of the car, etc.

Of course some also post that the driving is a snap (that's where I land in this debate)

In general, in the States the roads are wide, the lanes are wide, most people have never driven a stick, and worst of all - most kids can get their driver's license at 16 w/ very little behind-the-wheel training. From 16 onwards they just gradually learn (or don't) how to "drive". Some never get it right.

Thankfully, it doesn't sound like any of that relates to artsylaura since she says they have driven in the UK before and seem happy about the prospect.

My concern about a people mover would be the comfort at the back of the bus, and relative lack of luggage space. They do have one real advantage - being a bit higher you can see over more obstructions, hedgerows and such.

I agree with all who've mentioned reducing the luggage for more people space.

If you're planning on using your credit card as CDW insurance, double check that mini-van's are covered. They almost certainly are but there are exclusions for some vehicles, typcially luxury cars, trucks and vans over a certain size (usually commercial types). Better to be safe than sorry!

>...worst of all - most kids can get their driver's license at 16 w/ very little behind-the-wheel training. From 16 onwards they just gradually learn (or don't) how to "drive". Some never get it right.<

What does this have to do with anything since the two UK experienced drivers in this post are adults? Please don't generalize about driving requirements which differ greatly from state to state.

Hi artsy!!

Just how old are these kids and what is the exact length of their legs? If they are as tall as you I think you will need two vehicles LOL ~o)

"Driving on the left side of the road is Very difficult for someone from the western hemisphere..."

Very difficult? What happened to that good old American pioneering spirit? Thousands do it for the first time every day, as do thousands of us LH-siders in the opposite direction. We found the switch mildly disconcerting at first (well, it was Boston), but we soon got the hang of it. And believe it or not, we found plenty of narrow roads in the US, too.

About that US vs Other drivers topic: I learned to drive in the UK, where the driving test is pretty rigorous and a good percentage of folks have to take the test more than once to get that cherished licence. (I well remember the challenge of reversing round a corner on an upward slope, stick shift, and being required to end up with the wheels parallel to the curb and not too far out...)

My kids, on the other hand, learned to drive in the US (Connecticut, actually). They took drivers ed. at school, which is required for under-18s. This meant 25 hours of classroom study for the written test, and 8 hours of actual driving (!), behind the wheel (and automatic only, no stick). That just seems backwards to me, and we made sure our kids had extra on-the-road training and learned stick shift. The extra expense was worth it, and they are now good drivers. Good thing, they're driving my precious grandchildren around! :-)My theory is that minimal driver training requirements may account for the um, less than stellar driving habits I observe every day.

Don't flame me -- I know that some folks are just naturals at driving, and some have to work hard at it. But I do think it's easier to get a license in the US than in the UK.

That said, (back on topic!)I was in England driving every day for a month, and came to enjoy the challenge of narrow lanes etc. (we were in Dorset) -- but I was glad to be in a small car. Yes, you see plenty of SUVs and people movers, though I'm not sure how they manage to park in those tiny spaces. For Laura, a lot probably depends on where exactly they will be driving... Motorways good, cities and country lanes bad.