If this is too far off topic shoot me or route me (to the right place)
My wife and I are planning on visting UK next summer, starting in Glasgow and wherever we can go from there. What can our UK folks tell me about the area and things we should not miss?
I already warned her, if I ask here I will probably end up looking at transformers and generating stations
We are not much on "get on the tour bus and we are going to the museum" kinda folks. We tend to walk around a lot and just visit.

I spent a couple months over in the UK in the early 90s, and the best advise I can give you is to get a British Rail gold pass. If I recall correctly, it's good on all the trains and even metro lines in most big cities.

My favorite spots were Edinbrough (especially the royal mile), Loch Ness (which is actually Inverness, Scotland), and anywhere in London.

Scotland is more of a casual atmosphere, whereas in London, certain places will or will not let you in based on your clothes(!?).

Avoid tour busses. Very boring, and you might as well sit in your hotel room and look at post cards.

If you like beer, like I do, hit as many pubs as possible and absorb the local color. You will meet some very nice and fun people.

Wherever you decide to go, have fun and good luck!

I like beer but I am afraid my wife won't like the brit version. She is a Mich Ultra person and wants it cold.
Fortunately we both like scotch.

Hit the shops on the royal mile in Edinbrough for aged single malt scotch! You won't be sorry (except maybe the next morning :))

Actually, you can get cold beer there in most pubs, and it's better than the reputation would have you believe.

Have fun Greg! There's nothing like seeing the world...

We have pretty well looked over the Americas, mostly in the wilderness areas so UK will be a bit of a culture shock for us. I understand there are places in Scotland where you can get away from it all but nothing like hiking in the Kachemak Bay State park Alaska where they drop you off from a boat and there may not be another soul for miles.

Well we have plenty of beautiful wild countryside/mountain areas, especially in Scotland, but also in England. Then again they are not going to be that much different to your mountain areas.
What are you aiming to see ? Ancient monuments, Roman remains such as forts, Hadrians wall, (used to keep the Scots away from the English), religious buildings such as cathedrals? More modern industrial archeology, such as canals, railways, etc.?
Be assured you can fill your time.
Of course you will get further advice from ECN, but there is lots of stuff on our internet tourist sites(.uk)
The railways are a good way to get between cities, but if you want to get out into the countryside and smaller towns I would recommend you invest in a hire car.

Thanks Geoff
That is the kind of things we were thinking about. I definately want to see Hadrians wall. It is not often that somebody made the Romans say "this is far enough"

We were thinking about a "hire car". I guess I will practice driving on "the wrong side of the road" this winter. It is tourist season so they might not notice.

When I went a few years ago, I figured that hiring a car would be dangerous to the locals...I'd keep forgetting about the left-handed roads and end up running someone down.
We settled on motorcoaches from town to town and got to look at the scenery instead of worrying about the traffic rules.

Note: For traveling between cities they're called "coaches", in town are "busses". The coach drivers get a bit miffed if you call them 'bus drivers'.

If you do decide to hire a car; arrange it here before you leave. You will get a much better price than if you try to get one after you arrive. Also make sure that your USA driver's license will be honored for driving in the UK.

Enjoy your trip!!!

Maybe I should put an American Flag on the front bumper so they will know I might turn the wrong way.

I am getting a package from the AAA that should help me with the legal stuff

I once visited Ol' Blimey, and let me say, I ran into a real allegator. 'E was always making the most absurd allegations ... twas enough to make one cross.

May I suggest some web browsing start points. Obviously these are biased to my sort of interests, and also to the North of England,- but then you are starting off in Scotland!
www.golakes.co.uk (Cumbrian lake district)
www.nationaltrust.org.uk (Historic buildings)
www.andertonboatlift.co.uk (A specific bit of industrial canal history, with links leading to other canal features)
www.nrm.org.uk (National railway museum)
Driving on the 'wrong' side isn't too bad after a while. I do it on the continent. The fact someone has moved the gear lever is a constant reminder, and its a good idea to tell your passenger it is their job to monitor what you are doing at first. Don't venture into big cities. Most have "Park and Ride" schemes; Car parks with bus services ito the centres.

I'm now in the slightly embarrassing situation of having to admit that I've never been to Scotland! I know, I know, lived and traveled around the U.S., been to France, Spain, and so on, but never set foot in England's next-door neighbor to the north.

Anyway, as you've said, you're not going to find anywhere as deserted and unpopulated as much of the U.S., certainly not once you make it down as far as the Midlands and South of England. Out here in East Anglia we have a lower than average population density, but places will still seem pretty close together coming from America. Once you start getting nearer to London, expect congestion. Every time I go back down there it seems to be worse than the time before. To be honest, I find it a rat-race now.

Anyway, I'll second the suggestions about renting a car. The rail network will take you around to some places, but if you really want to get off the beaten track and explore the countryside, a car is just about essential. Britain has fewer rail branch lines now than in the past, thanks to the (in)famous Dr. Beeching and the government closing and tearing up many of them during the 1960s/70s.

I don't think you should find driving on the "wrong" side that much of a problem after a few miles to get used to it. I guess some people find adapting easier than others, but having driven all four combinations of LHD and RHD cars on both sides of the road, I've never had any problem switching between them. Negotiating roundabouts (traffic circles) -- of which there are many in all shapes and sizes -- will probably be the point where you need the most concentration, watching for approaching traffic and remembering to going clockwise into the circle.

Other important driving rules while we're on the subject:

* At roundabouts you must yield to approaching traffic from the right.

* Speed limits are 30 MPH in town, 60 on the open highway, and 70 on divided highways ("dual carriageways"), unless otherwise posted. Once you reach any main highway these days, speed cameras are everywhere.

* Turns on red are not permitted anywhere (unless a green arrow is displayed simultaneously).

* "No passing" lines follow the same solid/dashed principle as the U.S. but are white, not yellow.

* Yellow lines at the edge of the road indicate parking restrictions. London and some of the other large urban area also have red lines in some places now. Don't even think about parking there.



I have one on the back of my little Bronco II:

Thanks Paul, I learned to drive in DC so I am no stranger to "roundabouts". I am still not sure why other places in the US see them as some kind of traffic panacea, I guess, up to a point they help traffic move but once you overload one you really end up with a mess. In DC they tunneled under the big ones.

That's what I see here over in Norwich where the ring road is full of the things. I try to avoid rush hour there, but the roundabouts are terrible with heavy traffic because anything not already on the ring road barely has a chance to get into the flow. So what's the traffic planners' solution? Put traffic lights on the roundabout! What a mess.....

Fortunately, outside of the rush-hours, Norwich is pretty easy as British cities go, and a few miles out you're back on relatively quiet country roads.

If you really want to get to grips with roundabouts though, try this one:

http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm

Strewth, Paul! Are you trying to put Greg off coming at all? The very look of that Swindon roundabout frightens me and I've driven all over UK and much of Europe!
What's the chances of a stranger to the area exiting it on the correct route?

There was an ad campaign on here in the late 70's, that stated (with a little song) "Don't leave town 'til you've seen the country", it was talking about folks here choosing a holiday in Aussie rather than seeing the countryside here.

That round-about looks like a real nightmare to negotiate, are there what looks like parking spaces in the middle of it?

The circles in DC all ended up with lights on them.

It sure looks intimidating, doesn't it? I've never been around the Swindon junction, but I have negotiated the similar one in Colchester. Mike, there are no parking spaces in there, just the round central island with curb.

On a more encouraging note, here's a plug for this part of the country:

http://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/

Paul, I am not sure my wife is going to let me check out too many of the "Norfolk Broads".

Yes, there are lights alright.......Merely suggestions of course! Washington Circle is my weekly favorite.

Why not visit la belle France while you're in Europe, Greg, it's only 23 miles away by Chunnel and where road markings are for wimps! Note ze Onion Seller casually weaving across the roundabout on a bicycle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lElTtHLdmPw

My wife is actually thinking about going the other way and taking a boat over to the Netherlands.
She is also looking into renting a "holiday house" in Scotland. She found some out in the islands without grid power but that may be a little too rustic for us.