Driving Right . . . on the Left

Last year, as we began making our England travel plans, we decided that we wanted to drive during our month-long trip.  We made the decision with some seriousness, but without really knowing fully what it would mean.  Well, now we have a much better handle on its benefits and challenges, but they weren't the ones we'd thought of.

The most obvious difference between home and the United Kingdom is that in the UK they drive on the left. The cars are also made with the driver's seat on the "wrong" side.  That proved to be the least of my problems (although, once or twice, I did walk around to the left side of the car and try to drive it from there).  We rented a car with automatic transmission to eliminate the need for me to shift with the left hand.  But after that, everything for the driver is the same as it is in the US--turn signal on the left, wiper control on the right, etc.  


The other concern I had were the traffic circles that are present in far greater numbers than in the US.  This also proved not to be a problem.  Since everyone over here is familiar and quite comfortable with them, traffic flows very nicely.  We just have to remember to look to the right!

But there was one major difference I hadn't even thought of until I got behind the wheel and started driving.  I had no good idea how far away from me the left side of the car was.  This became a significant issue because of the narrowness of the British roads.  Compared to back home, they are very narrow!  Gravel shoulders do not exist in the UK.  Rather than shoulders, they have curbs--even on the major highways.  They also have no rules about how close objects can be to the roadway.  We've been on many roads where a hedge, a stone wall, or even a building were tight to the roadway.  In addition to operating the satellite navigation system (lovingly named "Sophie"), Steph's job has been to watch the left side to make sure I didn't scrape against anything.

I understand why things are that way in many places.  These roads came into being when people drove narrow pony carts or road on horses.  And some of these hedges and walls are a thousand years old or more.  And of course, they can be quite picturesque.  I just wish I didn't have to drive past them.

And rules governing street parking are hard for me to understand.  Not only do they have narrow roads and streets, but they allow street parking without actually providing an extra lane for the purpose.  This means that parked cars are usually filling over half of the driving lane, so the driver has to straddle the center line.  This is a particular challenge when there are cars parked on both sides or if there's oncoming traffic.  Why couldn't they simply restrict parking only to one side and then redraw the lane lines?  I don't get it.

We've discovered too that UK drivers are more courteous than US drivers.  There's much more of a "we're in this together" attitude than the "take no prisoners" one back home.  When encountering a narrow stretch of road, one driver graciously yields to the other.  Then, as they pass, they wave to one another.  Much more cooperative, far less competitive.  I like that.

It took a while to decipher the road signs and figure out how everything in the car worked (after many minutes of searching, it turns out there's no trunk release inside the car).  Now, after more than three weeks, we're quite comfortable in our car.  In a few days, we'll be returning it at the airport in Manchester.  Won't the rental clerks be surprised when we turn it in with no additional scratches!

Our travels continue

Greetings from rainy Plymouth!  After a busy couple of weeks, yesterday was more of a "down day."  With our friend Stuart as our travel guide, we visited some local sites (including the Pilgrim Steps).  Today, we hope to do some hiking in Dartmoor just outside the city, if the rain holds off.

Since my last update, we've seen: cathedrals in York, London, Norwich, Winchester, and Salisbury; a boat cruise on the Thames; the White Cliffs of Dover; the Tower of London; the British Museum; Stonehenge; and so much more.  A comprehensive list would be long, but that would hardly do justice to the trip. I've been impressed with the great age of the places we've visited and all the history they've seen.  Can you imagine regularly worshiping in a church that was nearly 1000 years old?  How about living in a castle that was visited by Henry VIII?  I've always been a history buff, so to stand where some of the greats from the past have stood has been quite meaningful to me.

But it's the present-day people that continue to impress the most.  We've been warmly received by so many people--not only the people we've stayed with but total strangers we've met.  There were the two older women we sat next to at Canterbury Cathedral last Sunday, the woman at the coffee shop in Bere Alston yesterday, the young mother and toddler in the tea room at Penshurst Place, and the man in London who helped us find our way, among many.  They've been cordial, helpful, and excited for us as we've discovered new things.

We have one more week before Steph returns to the US and the second phase of my trip begins.  After our hike today, we head toward Bristol, visiting Glastonbury and the Wells Cathedral along the way.  Next week, we'll go to Bath and Stratford-on-Avon, before returning to Manchester for Steph's flight home on Friday.

In my next post, I'll on some of the differences between the US and the UK I've noticed--particularly driving!

Across the Pond

They say that, when travelling, you should expect the unexpected.  That's certainly been my experience so far on my England trip--both good and bad.

Fortunately, the bad has been fairly minimal.  But one bad thing directly affects my updates to this journal.  About the third day into our trip, the wireless feature on my laptop stopped working.  I've been able to send and receive emails from my phone, but it's next to impossible to send out longer messages like this. 

Because of that, these updates won't be as frequent as I'd hoped.  It'll depend on the availability of alternate delivery methods (right now, I'm at a post office that has computers with internet access).  I'm keeping a separate journal, so as time and circumstance allows, I'll post things from that.

The other bad thing has been the weather.  It's rained almost every day.  Today will be only the third sunny day we've had.  It's rained all the rest--not non-stop, but at least intermittent drizzle.  Some days, it has poured all day.

Still, we haven't let the rain get in the way of our plans.  The rain has been only a minor nuisance amid the series of extraordinary experiences we've had.

We began our trip in the Lake District, a beautiful, mountainous region in northwest England.  It offered quite a baptism of fire for me behind the wheel.  The roads were busy, narrow, and usually lined with stone walls.  I know I missed some glorious scenery because I needed to keep my eyes on the road!

We did have the opportunity to do some hiking, and from the tops of those mountains we had some glorious views.

While in northern England, we saw two of the oldest things we'll see on our trip: Hadrian's Wall and the Castlerigg Stone Circle.  The Wall was build in the early second century and its foundations are still standing in most places.  Steph took a picture of me, standing on the Wall (in the pouring rain).  I'll post it when I can.

The Castlerigg Stone Circle is even older--dated 2500 to 2000 BC.  It's an oval ring of stones erected in one of the most spectacular settings I could imagine--the top of a mountain, surrounded by even taller mountains.  Religious experiences in such a place wouldn't be hard to come by.

We've seen something like eight cathedrals (defining that term fairly loosely) during our visit so far.  Like Castelrigg, they certain inspire religious feelings.  The high, vaulting ceilings, the long naves leading to the high altar, the beautiful stained glass.  My personal favorite is in Durham, but there are plenty of others that would rank high on anyone's list.

One odd cathedral encounter: when we arrived at York Minster, they were laying sod in the nave!  That's right--grass in a church!  There was some sort of funraiser later in the week.  Very strange.

We're in London now.  We worshiped at Westminster Abbey, visited St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.  Today, we're off to the Changing of the Guard. 

Each day has been full of exciting and interesting things.  I'll tell you about them when I can.  Now, if only I can figure out how to get my laptop onto the Internet again . . .

Ready, Set . . .

The day has finally arrived—the day of our departure for the British Isles.  After a year and a half of planning, today’s the day we leave.  At 1:00 pm, we get on a bus that will take us to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, followed by a seven-hour flight to Dublin, then a one-hour one to Manchester, UK.  By Saturday night, we’ll be in the Lake District!

Our three children came over for dinner last night so that we could describe our trip in greater detail and give them final instructions.  As much as we don’t want to think about it, it’s important for them to know where to find our wills and a list of our assets and debts.  Someone needs to know when the plants should be watered and how to get in touch with us if need arises.

One of the problems with a long-anticipated trip such as this is the anticipation itself.  The traveler can be filled with such a sense of expectation that they miss out on the actual thing.  Or, the contrast between their expectations and the reality can lead to real disappointment.  The trick is to truly be “in the moment,” to experience the world as it is, rather than as we’ve imagined it to be.  England, after all, isn’t a museum but a place where real people live—people with jobs and homes, with parents and children, with hopes and dreams, with attitudes and opinions.  There’ll be the cathedrals and castles and sites of ancient battles to see, to be sure.  But there’ll also be the shopkeeper and bartender, the person in the checkout line ahead of us and the family at the next table.  They might truly be the most interesting part of our trip.

Now, “the final breath before the plunge.”   I need to change the furnace filter and clean the rain gutters.  The laptop on which I’m writing these reflections needs to go into my backpack, the power cords into my suitcase.  Passport, credit cards, cash, Sudoku book, magazine, trip itinerary, and a notebook to record my reflections are all packed.  It looks like we’re ready to go!