If you consider yourself a competant driver in the US you should be fine.

Maybe hire an automatic or get some practice stateside with a stickshift before the trip.

Trains are an option but driving will give you a lot more freedom. You can also keep everything in the trunk when you arrive somewhere which makes touring so much easier.

Some would say this is excessive, but you could always get a driving lesson for an hour when you get to the UK. I am sure a driving instructor would be more than happy to take you out for a quick lesson on UK driving and this might give you added confidence and also make you aware of where you might make mistakes.

Go to aa.com or maybe the British School of Motoring (BSM). A lesson will cost £15-£30 for one hour.

1. Reliability of trains - It depends on what you're comparing to! If you're from Germany or Switzerland, then I think you'll find the British trains not very reliable. But if you're from the US and compare that to AMTRAK, then the British railroads are doing extremely well.

2. Driving - In general, you'll get used to the left/right issue very quickly. However, pay extra attention when:

- driving at night on roads with little traffic
- making turns. You may want to draw a figure and stick it on your steering wheel. You turn WIDE when turning right, and CLOSE TO CURB when turning left. That's usually when people get confused.

Just one small point.

Who is to say which country drives on the wrong side. The British might say the Americans drive on the wrong side, and vice versa.

Also watch out for crossing the road when you are a pedistrian. The traffic is coming from the opposite direction. Look both ways two times and you should be fine.

Bill

joanm, you can go to one of the airline sites to get prices on car rentals. We have rented a few times from BA and found their prices to be competitive and for the car we rent, the rates between the stick and automatic were negligible.

A couple of facts might help your decision. I can't comment on the difficulty of driving on the proper side, as like most Brits, I simply can't get it into my head that people struggle to change sides. We do it all the time, and it's really easy. Especially if you don't think too much. But:

1. It's just nonsense to claim that trains "more often than not don't stick to the timetable". On average, 15% or so of two-hour plus journeys are 15 minutes late or more. If you're running a business (as I do) that depends on your getting to meetings on time, or need to catch a connection, you take an earlier train. If you're on holiday, this poor punctuality rarely matters a train driver's whistle.
2. Your chances of sticking to a car-based timetable are pretty much the same. Our roads are clogged too.
3. But none of that matters much either. The real problem with Britain's (and France's and Italy's) rail system is that it doesn't reach a lot of the places you might want to go to. So you need to check the network map at www.nationalrail.co.uk to see if it can get you where you want to go. If it does, you don't need a car. If it doesn't (and "Cornwall" doesn't cut it: you need to be clear about wherevexactly you want to be) it's time for plan B
4. Plan B might be buses. See www.carlberry.co.uk for a set of rural timetables (though triple check, as the site's getting a bit long in the tooth)
5. If neither the train nor the buses (real buses, not tour buses)work, then you need to decide about cars. Relying on cabs will bankrupt you. Distances are too great to walk. Hitchhiking is eccentric.
6. If it hasn't been made clear already, your friend's a moron. If his/her judgement is as ill-founded on other things, think very hard about believing any advice you might get from him/her on anything. I mean it.

HI!

I was also very reluctant to drive over there as well, but, once I actually got in the car and started off, it didn't take long to adjust! I've done it for the last 4 trips and now enjoy it and wouldn't get around any other way. Though, I have never driven in London itself, I've done Manchester and Edinburgh, but, do prefer the areas outside the hustle and bustle!
Just try to keep in mind when turning onto a road from wherever, that it's a "big right and little left"...always worked for me!

On our last trip to England I drove and absolutely hated it. I eventually got the hang of it, but it took a couple of very stressful days. On the other hand, I very much enjoyed the trains. They were certainly reliable enough for our purposes. Try a rail/drive package. Take the train when you need a break from driving at break-neck speed on narrow twisting roads.

Thanks, FlannerUK. Coming from a native, your advice will be heeded! I will check out the websites you listed. I already have more confidence about taking long distance trains and driving in England! I am also a "leftie" so it might be easier for me to shift on the left! I'm not quite sure on what my friend bases her assertion that the trains are "bad." Ta!

"Who is to say which country drives on the wrong side."

That is easy...everyone! Whatever side you are used to is the "correct" side.

Keith

Found this article in the NY Times on travelling by public transport in Cornwall. Hope it helps all of you reluctant to drive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/travel/22qna.html

You must register for the NY Times but it is free.

My experience two years ago has left me reluctant to drive again, although we had no accidents. I got used to driving on the opposite side of the road easily enough. The biggest problem was finding our way. We got lost time and time again (and we had fine maps). Directional signs on smaller roads always come too late, are obscured by foliage or other vehicles, or worse, there is a pole with 6 or 7 arrows at a roundabout which you can see for at most 1 or 2 seconds before you go by it.

British country roads are very narrow, there are seldom shoulders, just hedges or stone walls, visibility ahead is severely limited by curves, hills and trees and the above mentioned hedges and walls. If you drive, one problem seldom mentioned is being aware of where the left side of the car is; if you are not careful you will scrape it against those stone walls and hedges. All that said, it does give you much more flexibility. Just be aware that distances are very deceptive: 30 miles can take a very long time, unless you are on a motor way.

Have a great trip.

Hundreds of thousands of Brits (myself included) swap to the other side of the road every year when they go over to continental Europe so sure you won't have any problem. At least you're not planning driving in Italy - now that's an experience. You'd miss a huge amount (not least freedom) if you didn't drive - but I wouldn't recommend driving in or around London (where I live). Train out to where you're going and rent a car there.

Don?t worry about driving on the other side of the road its amazing how quickly you will get used to it.
I have driven in many parts of the US and also France Germany Spain and Belgium which are all what you would refer to as the other side of the road from my point of view with no problems.
You will miss out on so much if you decide not to drive.
One tip avoid big cities if you can.