annhig

'novice - as I lived only 30 minutes drive away from the aforementioned place, i had less excuse than most.

mind you, there are a load of cornish places with funny pronunciations, but that's another thread!

europeannovice

And we Americans typically mispronounce the proper names of English towns and places of interest. Glad to know sometimes locals do the same thing. Typical ones are the Thames--tems not tames. Blenheim is another. Love to see the old thread with more of those.

Here in the states some people pronounce Carnegie as in Carnegie Hall as "car Neg ghee" and others as carnighee.

europeannovice

Meant to stress the CAR neghee on one and carNEGghee on the other.

taconictraveler

vicki: Thanks for a very nice report full of good detail and great reminder of a weekend spent in the area of Sissinghurst.

latedaytraveler

Hi Vickibypass,


Loved your report. I am also a solo traveler of late, but would not venture to drive in the English countryside alone. Happy to read that you enjoyed your accommodations.

Thank you for describing CHARTWELL, a place I would love to visit, particularly after reading THE CHURCHILLS IN LOVE AND WAR by Mary S. Lovell.


Really enjoyed tagging along….

annhig

Loved your report. I am also a solo traveler of late, but would not venture to drive in the English countryside alone.>>

"THere be wolves"

honestly, the natives are mainly friendly, apart from the chap that Vicki met who was grumbling about everything under the sun.

janisj

latedaytraveler: Do consider driving. There can be a bit of a learning curve - I think vickiebypass mentioned it took her a couple of days to get comfortable behind the wheel.

But honestly for some areas -- Kent/East Sussex, most of the Cotswolds, Hampshire and the south coast, Devon/Cornwall, most of Scotland and several other areas -- having a car makes things MUCH easier.

vickiebypass

Latedaytraveler: one suggestion from Sue (the Farmhouse innkeeper) is to take the train to the station nearest where you're staying and then a taxi to the inn/B&B. Typically, if arranged beforehand, a rental car can either be delivered to you at the inn or you can take a taxi from the inn to pick up the rental car. The advantage of this is that it eliminates the whole problem of driving out of the airport on busy roads; also, depending on travel plans, you may be jet lag-free if time has been spent in London or other areas before the driving portion. I'm going to take this approach for my next trip to the country.

This trip reminded me that there are so many great areas to see outside of the cities and that a car is the best way to get around. In addition to Kent, Cornwall is calling my name - it's been 30+ years since I've been there so would be good to see what's new and what's the same. Isle of Scilly also intrigued me - gather there's a snazzy garden there!

annhig

In addition to Kent, Cornwall is calling my name - it's been 30+ years since I've been there so would be good to see what's new and what's the same. Isle of Scilly also intrigued me - gather there's a snazzy garden there!>>

we'd love to see you, Vicki, and there are lots of great gardens here, including the one you are referring to which is on Tresco.

a word of caution though, if you though that the roads in Kent were tricky.....

Iwan2go

Thanks for the info! We have driven in Italy, France, Spain with no problems. Drove in England and Wales in the '80s. But now am thinking, maybe too much stress to remember to stay on the other side of the road. Although we would love to see Cornwall, kent, etc. appreciate the help and thanks for whetting my travel appetite!

latedaytraveler

Ladies, thanks for the encouragement – stranger things have happened….

ParisAmsterdam

Thanks for such an interesting report. When I see people planning to visit London, Paris, Rome, Venice Berlin and Copenhagen in 10 days it makes me laugh... you spent a week and were never even 50 miles from your base... and there were still things left to see! ;^) I have been to many of your stops but your report makes me want to revisit them. My wife loves gardens so maybe that will be the hook... ;^)

I'm glad to read that you pretty well mastered the GPS... the thing people seldom realize it that YOU can go where you want... the GPS is an aide, not a dictator! LOL

europeannovice

We can't wait to go now but we have a long way until then. A great report so I am taking notes in the meantime.

We have a funny GPS story. We were in a rental car on the way to a zoo when the exit ramp the GPS told us to get off of was closed due to construction. We got off at a nearby exit that eventually led us to the zoo from a different route. All the while the GPS kept wanting us to turn around to get off at the previous exit. We were in the parking lot of the zoo and the GPS was still recalculating. It managed to reset on the way back.

annhig

on a trip to Germany recently, our GPS took us up a country road somewhere en route from Berlin to Potsdam. half way along the road, it told us to turn round and go back the way we'd come. then when we turned round, after a few minutes it repeated the instruction.

if we hadn't turned it off, we'd still be there now, going backwards and forwards on this road.

better than that though is the new road near us which feeds off a main road, but you can't get back onto the main road that way. for some reason GPSs don't understand that, and drivers have been going up there only to find that they are facing the wrong way into oncoming traffic. THe local council has had to resort to big signs that say "drivers - ignore your GPS - no through road"!

ParisAmsterdam

I know I know.... GPS is not perfect. And nobody ever made a mistake reading a map or chart! Just ask Sir Cloudesley Shovell if he wished he'd had GPS! LOL

Rhea58

Loved the very detailed & interesting report.

BTW, I love Wheetabix & we can buy it in some major grocery stores on L.I.

Dee_Dee

Just reading this. What a wonderful report with such great detail. I'm a solo traveler too and have driven France, Germany, Italy, Turkey. Driving in the UK has always intimidated me. After reading your delightful report, I'm actually thinking of going next summer! You've inspired me! Many thanks!

rogeliofranklin

bookmarking

janisj

Welcome to Fodors rogeliofrankin. There is no real need to bookmark old threads (this one is five years old)

Check out the FAQ's and see how you can subscribe to a thread and/or save it.


••• I just noticed you topped another old thread - only one year old so not nearly as ancient as this one. Do explore all the helpful hints in the FAQ's.