We are planning a trip to England and Wales in September. I am a little worried about my first time "driving on the left experience" being coming out of Heathrow. Is Manchester appreciably easier?

Thanks!
wrenwood

No. In both cases, you'll be going from large airport car hire depots, with ample opportunity for practice in their car parks, onto dual carriageways

If this really concerns you (and do understand that to Britons, who regularly hire cars in countries that drive on the wrong side, speak strange languages and use different methods of measurement all at the same time, this leftophobia smacks of simple wimpishness), follow the practice of another recent poster http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34819889

Check into an airport hotel, and drive off early the following morning when you're less lagged and the roads are relatively clear.

Getting away from either airport is pretty easy. MUCH easier than from most city centre locations. (BTW - just in case, "dual carriageway" = divided highway - meaning you won't have to deal w/ oncoming traffic)

If you are flying in over night, staying the first day/night somewhere very close to LHR such as Windsor, or possibly as far as Marlborough off the M4 (near Avebury) is prudent. Acclimating to RHD and jet lag at the same time is tough.

I think I'm the wimpy recent poster that Scouser speaks of. I just returned from England a couple of days ago. I had been somewhat nervous about my driving experience, to which many here can attest. But all of my fears were for nought.

I can't speak for Heathrow, but Manchester Airport and the drive to the motorway were easy as can be. And anyone with a little sense will adapt to left-side driving with no problem. Be vigilant at first, and you'll quickly get the hang of it. I was convinced by many posters here not to drive immediately upon my arrival, so I spent the first day using public transport and left early the next morning. Also, I picked up my car on the afternoon of my arrival so that I could get a REALLY early start the next day when the roads are empty. If you use a 24 hour car rental place, this is not an issue.

Things to be aware of: When driving and walking across lanes of traffic, I always checked both ways. It's easier to train yourself to do this than take a chance and be wrong about the direction traffic may be coming from.

The roads tend to be narrower in England, often with just one lane in each direction, and the English have no qualms about taking up one of the lanes of traffic with their parked cars. This can come suddenly by surprise, causing you or other cars to veer into lanes of oncoming traffic. Be vigilant.

The hardest part will be that initial backing out of your car rental space and negotiating the narrow turns in the parking garage. Take this slowly, and don't be too discouraged if it feels awkward. This is the worst of it.

And yes, striped "zebra" crossings mean the pedestrians have right of way. Stop immediately when you see one with anyone about.

Scouser, considering that Mrs. Scouser was almost killed by, I'm guessing, a fearless American, wouldn't you rather we be wimpy before coming over and ask a lot of questions?

We've driven out of both (for more than 20 years) and, if it fit into our travel plans, would prefer to leave from Manchester. I think Scouser's advice about staying the night is a good one.

Avoid rush-hour, which is hellish in both cities, and the previous advice for Manchester is excellent. It's not MUCH easier navigating out of the airport vicinity than is the case with Heathrow, but depending on your destiation, you'll almost certainly be onto less busy roads much sooner.

Oh, and it's an infinitely more civilised airport than Heathrow!

Thanks everyone, feedback from experience is so valuable! I have driven twice in Germany and Austria, so I'm not a total novice in a European country. I'm just a little worried that being tired, my instinctive reaction on a turn or roundabout might get me in trouble. Heck, I can't brush my teeth with my left hand!

My husband does the navigating ( he's wonderful!)
but the only problem is that sometimes he gets rather absorbed in the map and forgets to look up and help me in the real world. I'm afraid he'll be studying the map and forget to be reminding me to "stay left!"

Our first overnight would be near Conwy from Manchester or near Westonbirt Arboretum if we flew into Heathrow, so we would drive a little ways as soon as we got in.

Appreciate the driving advice and the idea to make sure we weren't driving at rush hour, good tip!

Speaking of parking garages and getting out of the rental car lot, am I going to have to parallel park on the left?????? That might be harder than brushing my teeth with my left hand!

Wrenwood

To my husband's dismay if I can't pull into a parking space I don't park there. I can't really parallel park in the US so I don't even try in the UK. To begin with I found regular parking hard, but at that time I drove a mini van at home. Now that I drive a Honda Civic I find it easier to drive small cars in England. The problem seems to be that it's hard to tell where the left side of the car is located, but I'm getting better. My DH doesn't complain too much as he won't even try to drive on the left.

I didn't have to parallel park even once. And I really don't think it would have been a problem if I had. Getting in and out of tight spaces would be trickier. Yes, there is something strange about estimating where that left side is in relation to curbs, hedgerows, other cars, etc. But it quickly gets easier.

Wrenwood: Both Westonbirt and Conwy might be too far to drive the first day. Depends on how you feel - but you won't know until you are there and then it's too late.

Westonbirt isn't a bad drive since it is M4 most of the way - but it is will likely take you at least 2 hours to get there from the rental car depot.

And Manchester to Conwy will take even longer.

Wrenwood--Best to just give in to whatever janisj tells you. She has a way with words.

Thanks Janis for the estimates on driving time. I'm leaning towards flying into Heathrow and staying at the Castle Inn at Castle Combe. Sarah who has been responding to my emails said they are about an hour and a half from Heathrow and kindly offered to get our room cleaned first that day so we could crash for a few hours.

Both my husband and I do a lot of driving everyday for work, so if we can get a flight at the right time I think we'll be okay!

On our first trip to England and northern Wales, we flew into Manchester. It offered several advantages--it was a smaller airport to navigate and it was closer to the areas at the beginning of our trip. I think the biggest advantage was in terms of the rental car as this was our first experience with driving on the left. We picked up the rental car immediately upon landing. We only drove as far as Chester. That got us "over the hump," of nervousness and a few miles under our belt. We actually stayed outside of Chester and used a taxi to get to the city center (we weren't ready to tackle that much on the first day and also we were jet lagged). When it was time to leave the next morning, we already had the car and were ready to go. It worked perfectly.

It seems to me that Guy18 has given you particularly good advice and I have to agree that figuring out where the left front fender of the car is "located" can be one of the early challenges.

As to the matter of whether or not one is a "wimp" my only thoughts are that speaking a different language and firguring out measurements aren't nearly as potentially life-threatening as doing something drastic in an automobile. I think I'd rather be an alive wimp than a dead breast-beater but whatever floats your boat and heightens your self-esteem I guess.

Wrenwood, you won't have to worry about your husband getting absorbed in the map and fogetting to help you. I have a husband like that also. But it is the navigator who is the one most interested in making sure you figure out the driving. Most people actually end up hugging the left and the poor navigator has visions of meeting a hedge or stone wall up close and personal! The best advice I heard was for the driver to keep the center line close.

Although it's more expensive, get an automatic.

I found the hardest thing was when I pulled into a car park - for some reason, that is when I most wanted to revert to my normal driving habits and veer right.

There are lots of threads on this forum with driving advice. Here's one that is particularly long:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...mp;tid=1294315

Someone posted very funny "driving tips"
a while back - you could probably find it by putting "driving tips" in the left search box and UK in the right.

I have driven over there eight times and find adapting to the left quite easy.I was just at Manchester Airport in May. It is very easy to drive in/out of the airport. It is much easier than Heathrow. Just make sure you know what road and in what direction you want to go on BEFORE you start driving! Driving on the left is not hard, it just requires a bit more focus. Don't be afraid to take your time. Knowing where you are going will make the first time easier. You will need a passenger to be a navigator and they will always need a map or raod atlas in their lap necause the roads are not marked anything like the US! Reading the signs can be frustrating as the next town/village you are apporaching is not always listed when you approach roundabouts or intersections. The key to manvigating is lnowing what large town/city is in the firection of where you are going, even if it's 50 miles farther than where you want to go. On the maps, those towns/cities are in a green box. They will always be on the signs so you know if you heading in the right direction. Some of the minor roads will actually end at a T-intersection and then begin again 50-100 yards to the left or right of where you are! On the dual carriageways (our four lane highways) and motorways, the traffic always keeps to the left leaving the right lane open for passing. I love driving in England and encourage you to take some of the B roads and unmarked roads to really see the countryside and small villages!