UK: Road Trip - UK

[AFV_V200]

1st time going for a road trip in UK (late Aug for a week). Solo driving from Liverpool to lands end, unable to find much interesting places or hidden gem between Liverpool and Bath/Bristol.

 

After Bath/Bristol will visit places like.

 

Lands End

King Arthur birth place –Tintagel castle

Stonehenge (heard there are more than 1)

Westbury White Horse

Red Lion Avebury stone circle

Eden Project.

 

Few questions here hope to get some advice and opinion from experience road tripper.

 

1. Safe to solo drive in UK for the route I am taking?

2. AVIS car rental is good? (got quote online form a small car for total of 140pound??? serious? 7 days for the price of 5 days.)

3. interesting places or hidden gem between Liverpool and Bath/Bristol?

4. is 7 days enough for Liverpool/lands end/Manchester?

5. Is walk in B&B expensive? I dont not want to pre book to limit my time.

6. Any precaution and prevention measure I should take? (This is my virgin road trip).

 

Thank you for sharing! Cheers

 

 

[Acemundo]

1st time going for a road trip in UK (late Aug for a week). Solo driving from Liverpool to lands end, unable to find much interesting places or hidden gem between Liverpool and Bath/Bristol.

 

After Bath/Bristol will visit places like.

 

Lands End

King Arthur birth place –Tintagel castle

Stonehenge (heard there are more than 1)

Westbury White Horse

Red Lion Avebury stone circle

Eden Project.

 

Few questions here hope to get some advice and opinion from experience road tripper.

 

1. Safe to solo drive in UK for the route I am taking?

2. AVIS car rental is good? (got quote online form a small car for total of 140pound??? serious? 7 days for the price of 5 days.)

3. interesting places or hidden gem between Liverpool and Bath/Bristol?

4. is 7 days enough for Liverpool/lands end/Manchester?

5. Is walk in B&B expensive? I dont not want to pre book to limit my time.

6. Any precaution and prevention measure I should take? (This is my virgin road trip).

 

Thank you for sharing! Cheers

UK road trip map.jpg

 

 

I use hertz in London because they got discount for AA member. and choice manual transmission cars because the rental rate was very affordable, about 23 pounds per day. the car allocated to me was very new, few thousand km mileage only and the seats and interior feels new as well.

[Karu]

Interesting route... Agree that 7 days is kinda short.

 

Reminded me of our trip to UK 15+ yrs back. But we did the northern path.

 

Cheong all the way to Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasglow, Ullulapool + highlands) & back (York, Windermere, Cambridge & Oxford).

 

The BnBs & even youth hostels were beautiful!!

[AFV_V200]

if 7 days is too short... Should I look at 9days? or how many days is best?

:)

 

By the way. We don't need to buy a 1 year international driving license in Singapore right? I understand our driving license is good for commonwealth country.

Edited July 10, 2014 by AFV_V200

[Kxbc]

not sure why you are considering Land's End as final destination but since you are arriving at MAnchester, maybe go up north to Lake District? and when you come down south, I heard Wales (South west of your proposed route) is exceptionally beautiful.

[AFV_V200]

not sure why you are considering Land's End as final destination but since you are arriving at MAnchester, maybe go up north to Lake District? and when you come down south, I heard Wales (South west of your proposed route) is exceptionally beautiful.

I start from Manchester to liver pool to down south and end with lands end. then back to Manchester again... but might change my mind to hit London from lands end.

[Quantum]

I start from Manchester to liver pool to down south and end with lands end. then back to Manchester again... but might change my mind to hit London from lands end.

what car did you rent in this trip and what is the cost?

[AFV_V200]

what car did you rent in this trip and what is the cost?

Still not confirm the date.

let's say 26 Aug - 3 Sep for 9 days.

Quote from AVIS is

145 ++ pound. Renault Clio Manual

160++ pound. Ford focus/Hyundai i30

[TameDriver]

 

TS,

To cover such long distance within 7-9 days means you'll be on the road more than sightseeing and relaxing. To fully appreciate the sights in UK, particularly in the Southwest, you have to get off the motorways and take the B roads.

 

I lived in Bristol for a number of years. Believe me, you have to be prepared to do a lot of legwork to see the the attractions. Have comfortable walking shoes and hiking sticks.

 

Besides Lake District which is in the north, there's the Cotswolds, an area of relatively unspoilt rural old Englishscape. You won't have time to take it all in. Just drop by Upper and Lower Slaughter. For tree lover, there's the Westonbirt Aboretum where you might be able to see colors of Autumn.

[Kxbc]

i like York, Bath, Lake District, Edinburgh. Was also in Iona Isle to experience a different Scotland. I should not have given Wales a miss.

 

7 days will be tight. And TameDriver is right. Car is good for going town to town/city to city. within the town/village itself, local transport and walking might be best option depending which area you are in.

 

btw, good b&bs are few. but there are many tired and worn b&bs around. no lack of choice if you are not choosy. i recall their info helpdesk in most areas are pretty helpful.

[TameDriver]

 

There's Woodhenge, a short drive NE of Stonehenge. No worth making the trip; just some wooden stumps sticking out of the ground.

 

Perhaps an hour in Bath, a short drive fr Bristol.

 

Suggest detour a bit to take the coastal drive from Weston Super Mare. Spectacular views of the rocky coast. The drive down to Land's End was boring. I stayed at St Ives, a quaint bustling seaside town.

And don't forget to partake the Cornish Pasty- a sort of fast food there, a big curry puff, a meal by itself!

[AFV_V200]

i like York, Bath, Lake District, Edinburgh. Was also in Iona Isle to experience a different Scotland. I should not have given Wales a miss.

 

7 days will be tight. And TameDriver is right. Car is good for going town to town/city to city. within the town/village itself, local transport and walking might be best option depending which area you are in.

 

btw, good b&bs are few. but there are many tired and worn b&bs around. no lack of choice if you are not choosy. i recall their info helpdesk in most areas are pretty helpful.

Cant do York, that is East of Manchester. I am going down south to Lands end and perhaps back to London instead of Manchester. Will adjust the length of my stay once I firm up how many days I need. :)

[Boringchap]

I agree that your trip looks to be very rushed.

 

It is easy to drive in the UK.

 

However, traffic is heavy. Highways are ok but when you leave the highway to enter the various cities, be prepared for long jams, many round-abouts, single-lane roads etc.

 

I don't suppose you want to spend more time driving than sight-seeing.

[Super7]

Cant do York, that is East of Manchester. I am going down south to Lands end and perhaps back to London instead of Manchester. Will adjust the length of my stay once I firm up how many days I need. :)

Are you also looking up websites / blogs devoted to UK scenic drives or B-road drives. Lots of good information there!

[AFV_V200]

Are you also looking up websites / blogs devoted to UK scenic drives or B-road drives. Lots of good information there!

Yes... Has been search around but not much result. You can recommend some useful website? Thank you.

I agree that your trip looks to be very rushed.

 

It is easy to drive in the UK.

 

However, traffic is heavy. Highways are ok but when you leave the highway to enter the various cities, be prepared for long jams, many round-abouts, single-lane roads etc.

 

I don't suppose you want to spend more time driving than sight-seeing.

That was why I am adding more days. 10 days perhaps. Then drive back to London and just take a flight back here. I will just drive and stop when ever I spot nice places. SO is really like a lucky dip between Manchester and Bath. Bath to Lands end is easy as I had line up places to visit. :)

[Super7]

Yes... Has been search around but not much result. You can recommend some useful website? Thank you.

 

That was why I am adding more days. 10 days perhaps. Then drive back to London and just take a flight back here. I will just drive and stop when ever I spot nice places. SO is really like a lucky dip between Manchester and Bath. Bath to Lands end is easy as I had line up places to visit. :)

Few years back I did a solo trip from Maidstone (south east of London) westward to a bit west of Yeovil in a Focus. It took me about 4 hours at quite a relaxed pace, with two brief stops for food, drinks, pee. Hope this will give you an idea how to allocate your time on the roads. Edited July 13, 2014 by Super7

[TameDriver]

Yes... Has been search around but not much result. You can recommend some useful website? Thank you.

 

That was why I am adding more days. 10 days perhaps. Then drive back to London and just take a flight back here. I will just drive and stop when ever I spot nice places. SO is really like a lucky dip between Manchester and Bath. Bath to Lands end is easy as I had line up places to visit. :)

 

Some suggestions to help you in your 'lucky dip' :

- Strafford Upon Avon- Shakespeare & Anne Hathaway Houses

- Upper & Lower Slaughter

- Gloucester - Cheese rolling festival from Cooper's Hill :()

- Bristol - Clifton Suspension Bridge where the world's first bungee jump was done

- Bath

- Cheddar Gorge

- Glastonbury - Music festival just over but worth a trip just to walk up the hillock.

- Stonehenge

- Shaftesbury - historic market town

- coastal drive between Minehead & Lynton

- Plymouth - where the Mayflower set forth for the New World (USA) in 1620

- Lyme Regis - known for it's prehistoric stone & marine fossils. Also where the filming of 'French Lieutenant's Woman' was done.

 

Above were just some of the places I enjoyed exploring during my stint in UK during long weekends while based in Bristol.

 

Enjoy your planning & drive!

[Razer_Blaze]

Generally UK roads are pretty safe, leave whatever bad driving habits back in Singapore and remember to be patient, keep a safe distance and signal your intentions early. People there are less tolerant about bad driving habits and some of them (eg, the Police) will not hesitate to confront you.

 

One more thing you need to take note is the fuel cost, it can cost between SGD 2.80 to SGD 3.20 for a litre of regular petrol, premium

petrol (like V Power) will cost more. Prepare to pay more as things can be more expensive than Singapore.

 

 

1st time going for a road trip in UK (late Aug for a week). Solo driving from Liverpool to lands end, unable to find much interesting places or hidden gem between Liverpool and Bath/Bristol.

 

After Bath/Bristol will visit places like.

 

Lands End

King Arthur birth place –Tintagel castle

Stonehenge (heard there are more than 1)

Westbury White Horse

Red Lion Avebury stone circle

Eden Project.

 

Few questions here hope to get some advice and opinion from experience road tripper.

 

1. Safe to solo drive in UK for the route I am taking?

2. AVIS car rental is good? (got quote online form a small car for total of 140pound??? serious? 7 days for the price of 5 days.)

3. interesting places or hidden gem between Liverpool and Bath/Bristol?

4. is 7 days enough for Liverpool/lands end/Manchester?

5. Is walk in B&B expensive? I dont not want to pre book to limit my time.

6. Any precaution and prevention measure I should take? (This is my virgin road trip).

 

Thank you for sharing! Cheers

UK road trip map.jpg