bluewater

I am planning a three week trip to London in late June.
One itinerary option is to rent a car and drive to Scotland and Ireland.
How easy is it to drive in the U.K.?
Is it worth such a long drive or should I fly from London to Edinburgh and then on to Dublin and rent a car for touring in each city?
Any tips, ideas and routes would be great!

kaudrey

Don't be scared by it. I did it in January and it takes about 5 minutes to get used to it. Just pretend you always want to be in the "fast lane", meaning the left, and you'll be OK. Of course, this is based on the fact that I had another person with me to navigate, read signs, and occasionally say "STAY LEFT!". Also - get an automatic (shifting with your left hand might seem too weird).

We got a little lost leaving Bath, but saw some really cute towns as we tried to get back on track. Driving on roads that are not highways take a lot longer that you might think. They go through little towns and have lots of roundabouts, so the going can be slow (but fun!). Plan accordingly.

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed driving because we saw so much of the English countryside this way.

We didn't go outside of England, so I can't comment on the Scotland/Ireland part, except that it depends what part of England you want to see. If you want to go toward York/Mancester, then drive that way to Scotland, then to Ireland. If you want to see towns west of London, head toward Ireland first and then up to Scotland.

Sorry I can't be more specific,
Karen

jaydreb5

I agree that the driving wasn't too hard to get used to. The first 30 mins were the worst because I was nervous, but once I settled in, I was fine. I actually found the roundabouts to be kinda fun.

xxxx

Like jaydreb5, I also felt it was not too hard to get used to. I also like roundabouts. But...for 3 weeks, I would suggest flying or taking the train between major cities and picking up a car as you leave those cities and head for more rural areas. What I did notice was that driving on the left required constant "thinking" that took a mental toll. It was impossible to relax and use routine habits as I do when driving at home.

Snoopy

xxxx makes a good point about habits. My wife drives by habit and she said it really took a toll on her to drive. Very nerve racking, she said.

I don't drive by habit (no offense intended xxxx). Habit to me means doing something without thinking and that's a pretty dangerous thing to do in a car.

Take your time, look both ways . . . twice. Generally, drivers in the UK are more courteous to the extent that if you sit at an intersection to collect your wits or try to decide which way to go, it is far less likely that someone will sit behind you blaring thier horn.

Be especially careful first thing in the morning, pulling out of the hotel parking lot, pulling out onto the road after getting petrol, pulling out onto the road after a lunch stop or a site seeing stop.

Without knowing your itinerary it's difficult to say whether you should drive or fly from London to Edinburgh. If you are planning to spend time in Lands End and then John O' Groats, you'd probably be better off flying. If you plan to work your way North -- Cotswolds, Wales, Lake District, Dumfries and Galloway . . . it's a beautiful drive.

I'd definitely NOT ferry my rental car between England and Ireland. I'd fly that piece.

Have fun.

Lori

What we found worked best was for one person to be the driver all the time, no switching back and forth. You get used to driving on the left much faster that way.

GreenDragon

Driving in England isn't bad, you get used to it fairly quickly. It's much easier, of course, when you're on a divided highway like the M1!

Driving in the backroads, like in Scotland and Ireland, is a bit trickier, as the roads are much narrower than we are used to. They also tend to grow hedgerows (very tall bushes) right up to the edge of the road... alternatively, they build stone walls up to the edge of the road. This can be somewhat disconcerting as you're winding your way down the road, see a sheep in the middle of it, and then see a lorry (truck) coming down the opposite direction, and nowhere to escape to!!!

However, be aware that there are several 'passby' spots designed for drivers to pull over into to let someone pass, either from behind you (going faster) or coming at you. They are quite handy!

Be careful, and drive warily on the backroads, and you should be fine... it might even be fun!

And I will second the vote for flying over to Ireland, the car ferry is expensive and not worth the effort.

Ann41

You can take your car on the ferry pretty cheaply and easily between Scotland and Northern Ireland. In another post, I had said I did it for about 100 pounds for 2 people and a car. Apparently, I lied. It was actually less than 70 pounds, one way. Almost all of the rental car companies permit you to take the car on the ferry, but you need to ask before you make the reservation. One company indicated that insurance would not cover a "total loss", so if the ferry went down, we'd be responsible for the car. You also need to ask about taking the car between two countries. You'll be ferrying within the UK, but I'm assuming at some point you'll want to cross the border into the Republic of Ireland. It shouldn't be a problem, but it's still something you need to discuss with the rental people.

My advice would be to rent a car outside London, drive up to Scotland, ferry across to Northern Ireland, drive around Ireland aimlessly, and then dump your car in Belfast or Shannon or Dublin and fly back to London. But you really would need to check out whether you can leave the car over there.