Traveling in the UK without a car. Great Britain-england - a trip by car, interesting routes and subtleties of travel. What to take on a trip

Buy an English car and go to her homeland. The first owners of new models of Jaguar and Land Rover in Russia decided on an adventure.

The journey from Moscow to England (and back) takes two weeks and passes through 14 European countries. I joined the expedition for a few days and came to London with them.

1 Let's start with the presentation: these are the brave souls who decided on an adventure. They are ordinary people, not truckers. Traveling 10 thousand kilometers at a time and spending two weeks on the road is not at all easy. Four cars, four married couples. Car owners are among the first buyers of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport and Jaguar XE. A little later, we will get to know them better.

2 This trip can literally be called a gallop across Europe :) I didn’t even have such a number of different countries in a short time.

3 We met in Edinburgh, where I flew to join the rally. The most important section of the route is the direct route to London.

4 By that time, the guys even got used to the English roads.

5 Driving on the left side of the road in a left-hand drive car is a challenge.

6 Picturesque coast of the North Sea.

7 It is no coincidence that the small Scottish town of Arbroath was chosen as a stopover. Here, a few kilometers from the coast, is the legendary Bell Rock lighthouse, which stands on the tiny cliff of Inchcape: a piece of land appears only for a few hours a day, at low tide. We couldn't get there by boat.

8 Thought to get by swimming, by cars, but prudence prevailed :)

9 This place had a sacred meaning for the expedition. The fact is that it is organized by the official dealer of Jaguar Land Rover in Russia, Inchape, named after a rocky cliff in Scotland.

10 Yes, we also had a Jaguar XE with us, but he was not trained to ride on rocks and beaches.

11 General partner of the expedition - UniCredit Bank: they work with Inchcape in the field of car loans.

12 Each of the participants in the rally received bank card with the PRIME service package. This card is a real boon for travelers: 10% cashback in cafes, travel insurance for the whole family, free cash withdrawals anywhere, and access to airport business lounges.

13 This is the border between Scotland and England. The British sell hot dogs.

14 Scots bristle with thorns. The first time I saw a thistle, the symbol of Scotland, right here: it grows right on the border.

15 An iconic place in northeastern England, and an example of how the condemned contemporary art can change the surrounding reality. This is the Angel of the North: a sculpture erected 15 years ago at the entrance to the depressed industrial city of Gateshead, which was going through hard times. The factories are closed, the population is thumping, there is no light. Now the city is considered almost the British capital of modern art.

Now about the people. Each of the four crews maintains their own travel notes page on the rally website.

16 Kirill and Olga are organizers and inspirers of the trip. They both work at Inchape, they had been hatching the idea of ​​the rally for a long time, and they had been preparing for the trip for several months.

17 Constantine and Mary. Kostya is also an employee of the dealership, on the expedition he monitors technical issues, Maria is his girlfriend, race car driver and blogger.

18 Elena and Evgeniy are one of the first owners of the new Jaguar XE in Russia. Zhenya is from Orenburg, is engaged in insurance, Lena works in the banking business. This is the second car of the Jaguar brand in the family: the last one was the X-type.

19 Vasilina and Arnold. They do everything together: raise children, engage in creativity and run an unusual business: visual 3D projections at events around the world. This is a rare but increasingly popular direction of audiovisual art, which is a 3D projection onto a physical object of the environment, taking into account its geometry and location in space. It's difficult to explain, if you haven't seen it, it's better to look at the guys on the website.

20 All the time on the road, there is almost no time left for food: often participants eat at gas stations, or even on the go. I know all this from myself.

21 I found my Scottish number in the collection last time. Now Kostya, I hope, will start collecting.

22 I really liked Discovery Sport, which is travel friendly. I didn't have a chance to steer: I was offered, but I decided to be a lazy passenger and contemplate the highways from the back seat. Now I want this car for a test.

23 What I managed to pay attention to - a double screen. You turn on a TV or a movie for the front passenger, and the driver, at the same time, does not see the video and is not distracted. Although this thing seems to have been in previous models.

24 But this was not. And almost no one has. There are five USB sockets scattered throughout the cabin. The cigarette lighter is most often used today to charge gadgets.

25 We drove into London in the evening, in a simple way, without fanfare and music.

26 Londoners joyfully welcome the Russian expedition to their city.

27 In the morning, everyone scattered about their business: finally, take a break from cars. Walking in beautiful London, which I will tell you about later. After all, he turned out to be not at all what I imagined him to be!

Now the rally is already approaching Russian borders, and in a few days finishes in Moscow.

YOUR BROWSER DOES NOT SUPPORT JAVASCRIPT

50. Despite the fact that the presence of an emergency stop sign in the car is not mandatory, it is still recommended to take it with you when going on a long trip. Please note that the installation of an emergency stop sign on the autobahns is prohibited.

51. There is no ban on the use of studded tires in the UK, but due to the mild climatic conditions, their use does not seem appropriate. There are no special speed limits for cars with studded tires.

52. The use of radar detectors is not prohibited. Drivers are notified of the presence of radars along the route by appropriate signs, so the use of additional equipment to detect them is meaningless.

53. According to a statistical survey, British drivers consider the M6 ​​the worst highway. It connects Rugby and Carlisle and is the oldest autobahn in the country, with a capacity of about 70 thousand cars per day. At the same time, the load on the track was almost doubled.

54. In the summer, the most "unsuccessful" is the A30 highway, it connects two popular resort cities - Devon and Cornwall. In summer, the 457-kilometer highway is one big traffic jam.

55. Traffic is often difficult on the M1, which connects London and Leeds. This 322-kilometer-long highway can be jammed at any time of the year.

56. The snowfall in winter is a real "national disaster" for the British. The fact is that the snow cover reliably hides the road markings, which are simply impossible to do without on local roads. Fortunately for local motorists, it rarely snows.

When choosing a model for travel in England, be guided by practical considerations: for routes mainly in the city, take a car with a small size, while for long trips (and for the mountains) it is worth taking a more comfortable large car.

When handing over the car, ask the employees of the point of visual inspection of the car for defects and the official signature of the acceptance certificate. Keep the invoice and acceptance certificate with you for a few more months.

Before returning the car, clear the debris from the passenger compartment, and do not forget to collect all your belongings from the passenger compartment.

You can always check our car rental offer in England using the form at the top of the page. We assure you - you will not find cheaper!

58. The real leader in the number of car accidents is the A537 road, which connects Buxton and Macclesfield. There are a lot of sharp turns on it, in addition, a very strong wind constantly blows in this area. Also among the dangerous roads in England are the A5012, A621, A625, A54, A581, A5004, A675, A61 and A285.

59. Some tunnels are charged for tolls. These include the Thames Tunnel (Dartford, M25), the Mersey River Tunnel (Liverpool) and the Tyne River Tunnel (Newcastle). Fares for these tunnels range from £ 1.20 to £ 1.50.

60. You need to pay for the right to travel on the following bridges: Humber Bridge (A15), Tamar (A38), Cleddo (A477), Fort Bridge (A90) and Clifton. Fares vary and can range from £ 0.70 to £ 1.50.

61. Entrance to toll roads, bridges and tunnels is carried out through special payment points. Having approached such a point, you need to pay attention to the pointers located above each lane. Depending on the image on the signs, payment can be made by credit card, cash through a machine, cash through a cashier or a special automatic payment system.

62. One of the most difficult cities for inexperienced drivers is Oxford (after London, of course), the roads here are narrow and winding. Traffic islands and signs are often seen between lanes and pose a threat to drivers unaccustomed to left-hand traffic.

63. When driving on city roads, pay special attention to cyclists and huge buses. Both the first and the second deftly maneuver in the stream of cars, despite their "non-standard" dimensions.

64. On local roads, take your time and worry that being too slow will irritate drivers. If it is difficult to overcome a narrow section of the road at high speed, then you can slow down a little or pull over to the side to let oncoming cars pass.

65. The indigenous people regard the car rather as a luxury item, despite the fact that almost every family has it. It is very expensive to maintain a car in the UK, in addition, it can be difficult to move around in large cities due to traffic jams and lack of parking. Whenever possible, citizens use public transport.

66. In the UK, there are quite a few usual intersections familiar to foreigners, most often roundabouts are organized on them. An inexperienced driver can be knocked down by an unusual left-hand traffic, and he will not immediately understand which road it is necessary to take off the circle. In this case, the navigator will come to the rescue.

67. On local roads, it is quite rare to see police officers; control over the implementation of traffic rules is carried out automatically - using cameras. Having broken the rule, you should expect a receipt in the mail to pay the fine. If some types of fines are paid in the next three weeks, then the amount of the monetary penalty can be significantly reduced.

68. As in many countries, the UK has a penalty point system. For some types of violations, the driver is awarded a certain number of points, and upon reaching a critical number, a temporary deprivation of rights follows.

69. Those who are going to travel in the countryside for the first time should specify the location of the gas stations in advance. If near settlements gas stations are quite common, but in the countryside there are many deserted sections of the routes.

70. Motorcycle riders should not use a helmet on local roads. You should also wear special clothing with fluorescent stripes.

71. Traveling around the UK is best done in a compact vehicle that has low fuel consumption. In this case, it will be easier to navigate narrow roads, and you can also significantly save on fuel, which is not cheap here.

72. London has some of the world's most challenging road junctions. Inexperienced drivers accustomed to right-hand traffic are highly discouraged from driving to the streets of the capital on the very first day.

73. On the deserted coast of Northern Ireland, there is a rather unusual road that local residents received the name "Giant's Road". It is lined with large hexagonal slabs, and 6 meters high basalt columns are installed along the road. The road is a real local landmark; many interesting legends are associated with it.

Travel half of Europe by car on the way from Moscow to London? Nothing complicated! Nadezhda Agonen, together with her boyfriend, made a great auto-journey and now reports on what she saw in nine parts. In the first - a little about preparation and travel outside Russia.

Traveling by car through Europe to London with an unstable currency seemed insane to many - but not to us. Taking into account that we only have two weeks of vacation, and ignoring the growing euro rate, we enlisted the support of loved ones, made a route, filled a full tank of gas and set off on a trip.

In fact, we didn't even really know how to prepare for such a trip, so we took on everything at once. We carefully thought out the route so that the daytime runs were not too tiring, and we still had the strength and desire for at least a cursory survey of the cities. We agreed with our friends and acquaintances abroad about the possibility of staying with them for the night. We studied the sights of several countries and selected the most interesting of them (in our opinion, of course). We also got acquainted with the national cuisines and identified the restaurants we want to visit. And, of course, we read hundreds of pages of forums and thematic magazines to be ready for any surprises.

What to take on a trip

Probably the first and most important question that we were puzzled with was the question of what to take with us on the trip.

1. Firstly, since we wanted to capture this trip in as much detail as possible, we had a lot of equipment with us. A car cigarette lighter couldn't handle that much, so we got two extra batteries that charged phones, a tablet, and small cameras.

2. Speaking of sockets: in the UK they are different from the European ones, so an adapter will come in handy. In Switzerland, you will need an adapter if you have powerful appliances (with a "thick" plug).

3. From a trip to Norway, a navigator with a map of Western Europe was installed on our tablet - quite expensive, but it works without the Internet. We have repeatedly regretted incomplete coverage in Belarus, Poland and the Czech Republic. In addition to building the route you need and calculating the time, the navigator will come in handy in finding campgrounds and gas stations. The latter is very important, because gasoline is significantly more expensive on the highway.

4. To travel abroad by car, you need an international civil liability insurance policy "Green Card". Such insurance is issued not for the driver, but for the car, so it doesn't matter who is driving. You need to make a "Green Card" no earlier than a month before the trip. The standard duration of the insurance is 15 days or a month. You can get the document from any insurance company. However, if you have not thought about insurance in advance, then know that closer to the border with Belarus, "Green Cards" are sold along the highway.

5. Bring some food in the car: fruit, muesli bars, something to drink. Regular stops for about fifteen minutes will help not only to refresh and recuperate, but will also distract you from the rather monotonous landscape outside the car window, which is typical for many countries.

6. We took our tent and sleeping bags with us, as we planned to spend a couple of nights in the campsites on the way back.

7. Take with you cameras, cameras, telephones - in general, everything that can be used to capture your trip.

After we loaded all of the above into the trunk, we headed towards Belarus. It was decided to make a stop for lunch in the town of Yartsevo in the Staraye Ruslo cafe, conveniently located on the M1 highway. Judging by the large number of occupied tables, the establishment is popular. There were different opinions on the taste of the food, but the portions were definitely large. The ginger lemonade at the end of the meal quenched our thirst perfectly, and we went on.

If you don't feel like eating at a roadside tavern at all, then go to Smolensk. This will not take you much more time, and in return you will be able to see another city, especially since Smolensk is worth it.

The next stop on our way was Belarus ...

This summer my family and I decided to visit the UK. According to the established tradition, the organization of the trip was engaged in independently.

By the way, obtaining a British visa was perhaps the most difficult task in this process. The quest took at least two months in total - the documents were submitted the second time, and the documents were received from the third or fourth. There was a need to hand over copies of documents that were not listed in the list of requirements on the website of the visa center, and the erroneous sending of ready-made passports to another city. Therefore, those who are going to travel to the United Kingdom are advised to attend to the issue of obtaining a visa as early as possible - three months before the trip. By the way, the visa is valid both throughout the UK and in Ireland.

When planning the route of the trip, we wanted to make a complete impression of the country, seeing megalopolises, small towns, nature, and visiting different parts of England and Scotland, differing in climate, landscape, with their own cultural and historical specifics. From Moscow we flew to London, from where, having rented a car, we went to the West Coast of England, and then - through the center of the country - to the North-East. We then moved to the central part of Scotland, completing the two-week itinerary in Edinburgh.

By the way, what I remember most was not London, which is beautiful and interesting, but reminiscent of other populous European capitals and offering the expected list of famous sights, but small towns and individual road experiences.

One of the brightest was waiting for us when we moved from London to the first "rural" parking lot in a small English village. The navigator decided to take us along the shortest (in terms of mileage) route, taking us off the highway onto an extensive network of unpaved single-lane roads, laid through the fields and lined with a dense blackberry hedge. We christened them "rabbit trails". This name did not appear by chance - what kind of animals we met on these country roads during our journey - rabbits, pheasants, badgers - some of them crossed the road with dignity, others frantically ran in front of the car to the nearest fork.

Depending on the time of day, these roads can be driven at an average speed of 10 to 20 kilometers per hour, and therefore later, if possible, we preferred large highways. Nevertheless, we were grateful to these trails for the atmosphere of Victorian England, which we felt, passing through numerous manor houses and villages with old farm houses, churches and picturesque details such as a stone humpback bridge with a statue over a tiny rivulet or a green tunnel formed by crowns of trees intertwined over the road. ...

The places where we visited along our route deserve special mention, each with its own flavor and unusual flavor. I would like to list everything, but I will limit myself to the brightest. Among those located in England, it is worth mentioning the ancient Stone Hange - a grandiose stone structure, which researchers attribute to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The city of Bath, founded by the ancient Romans and preserved thermae (Roman baths) with a huge pool. Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, where on a small pedestrian street with cozy shops and cafes we saw the house where the great playwright was born. The port city of Whitby, located on the North Sea, with a ruined abbey. Salisbury, home to the cathedral with the tallest spire in England, houses one of four old copies of the Magna Carta.

A trip to Scotland is impossible without a visit to the main city of this part of the UK - Edinburgh. A very beautiful city with a compact historical center. You will find everything here: medieval castle where you can wander all day, magnificent Gothic buildings, the luxurious Royal Mile - a street with expensive shops where you can buy cashmere ponchos or elite whiskey, Rose Street with a bunch of restaurants and bars where you can have a fun evening.

Fort William is located at the foot of the highest Scottish mountain Ben Nevis on the shores of Loch Lynn. In Fort William, you can look at the Ben Nevis distillery and strengthen your courage with the eponymous whiskey before meeting the monster Nessie, which, according to legend, lives nearby in Loch Ness.

The city of Alexandria unexpectedly meets with a huge, almost deserted shopping center, located in the building of the now defunct car brand Argyll.

And, of course, do not forget that Scotland is famous for its castles. We were most impressed by Eileen-Donan, where the movie Highlander was filmed.

British nature deserves special mention. Idyllic fields of lowland South and Central England, hilly Northern England with a harsher nature and a cold North Sea, mountainous Scotland, reminiscent of Norway, only instead of fjords - long and narrow rift lakes. And everywhere - cows and sheep grazing freely on countless pastures.

Well, and finally, a few valuable everyday observations that will come in handy when traveling to England: do not forget to take an adapter for sockets with you - they are different from European ones; when crossing the road, be sure to first look to the right, and then to the left, because left-hand traffic in England; pay attention to the units of measure and do not forget to find out the equivalents of such measures as pint, mile and gallon.

Have you read the story? Now you can play. We bet you won't win!

Discussion: 4 comments left.

My husband booked a car on economycarrentals.com. There you can enter the dates for which you want to book the car, in which city you plan to pick it up, and the site gives out the corresponding rental offers - so that you can choose a specific rental, a suitable car class, rental conditions, cost, etc. Add. a bonus from using this search engine is a discount on the price that the rental office offers if you came to it with an economik. You will not be able to choose a specific car - only the class within which you will be provided with the available car. If there are several, you can choose, in principle, the site indicates which cars of this class they have. We took Hyundai I30 and i40 - very comfortable cars for family travel. The price is highly dependent on the country, on the additional equipment you want to use, the type of insurance, etc. Before you take a car, you should read about the different types of insurance, the availability of free parking where you are going, toll roads, the cost of gasoline, etc. Otherwise, the cost of a car can significantly exceed the planned amount. This information can be found in search engines, incl. in runet, on the forums of travelers, etc.

I really liked your story about the trip, some kind of natural magnet in you, “The Navigator decided to take us along the shortest (in terms of mileage) route, taking us off the highway onto an extensive network of unpaved single-lane roads laid through the fields and lined with a dense blackberry hedge. We christened them "rabbit trails". This name did not appear by chance - what kind of animals we met on these country roads during our journey - rabbits, pheasants, badgers - some of them crossed the road with dignity, others ran frantically in front of the car to the nearest fork. " This story evokes very kind and curious feelings, I read a fairy tale in my head as if it were all happening to me, I confess they plunged me into that kind childhood) Thank you). I would like to ask, if it's not a secret, how much did such a wonderful trip cost, from visa registration to all the little things including parking fees? well, or at least an approximate amount, thank you again.

A very impressive story and the car ride itself. I was also lucky to visit England back in 1985 as a member of a trade union delegation on a trade union group exchange program. Of course, there were Soviet times and there was no freedom of independent movement then. Everything was organized and the program was approved in advance. This was mainly London and its surroundings. The program was very eventful and extremely interesting. Not every tourist will see what I saw. In order not to be unfounded, I will give the program of our stay in England.
Tourist trade union trip to England in 1985 Package - 280 rubles
Span - 170 rubles
Currency - 47 rubles
Dear comrade A.N.Bagautdinov!
You have been issued a trip to the UK on a tourist voucher.
I ask you to deposit 497.07 rubles for a ticket, flight, currency to any savings bank to the settlement account of the Regional Trade Union Trade Union No. 00695406 in the Lipetsk City Administration of the State Bank.
The receipt from the savings bank and the passport must be brought to the regional trade union council (Sovetskaya st., 7, office 111) before May 21, 1085.
Tourists will be briefed at the regional trade union council (room 109) on June 5, 1985. At 15 o'clock, have with you 50 rubles for currency exchange.
Departure from Lipetsk on June 12 at 21-30.
Return to Lipetsk on June 27 at 7-30.
Tel. 4-11-69, 4-71-38.
Head department of the regional trade union council I. V. Tenkov
Appendix No. 4 to the Protocol on Cooperation between the Central Tourism Council
and excursions and travel organization "The First Trade Union Club of Great Britain" in 1985 on a non-currency basis

PROGRAM
stay of Soviet tourists in Great Britain
June 12 - departure of the railway. from Lipetsk at 21.30
June 13 - arrival in Moscow at the Paveletsky railway station
June 14 - departure to London at 8.30 am from Sheremetyev-2 by flight SU-243
June 14 - Day 1: arrival in London (Heathrow airport) at 12.00 Moscow time (9.00 local time), transfer from the airport by bus to the Plo Hatch Hall Recreation Center (an old castle built in 1874, 50 km from London ), accommodation, free time (in fact - a sightseeing tour of London).
June 15 - day 2: in the morning - a trip to the coast of the English Channel (English Channel) with a visit to the city of Brighton (attractions, gambling machines, an aquarium);
in the evening - a reception at the members of the "First Trade Union Club of Great Britain" (birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain)
June 16 - Day 3: a trip to the London Sunday Bazaar, a visit to the Highgate Cemetery with the laying of flowers at the grave of Karl Marx, a visit to the Hamstead Recreation Park (picnic) and Hyde Park
June 17 - 4th day: sightseeing tour of London with a visit to Westminster, House of Lords and House of Commons of Parliament, Thomas Bennith General Education School
June 18 - Day 5: excursion to the Sykes machine-tool plant (making gear cutting machines for KAMAZ), meeting the workers and visiting a pub with them, visiting Windsor Castle (one of the current residences of the Queen)
June 19 - 6th day: sightseeing tour of London and visit to the "Prince Harvard" theater with watching the musical "Evita"
June 20 - Day 7: visit to the Tower of London, Madame Tussauds, National Gallery and Library named after Karl Marx
June 21 - Day 8: Visit to the British Museum, Natural Historic Museum of London and Tate Gallery (art museum), St. Paul's Cathedral
June 22 - Day 9: excursion to the satellite city of London Crowley (a sports complex consisting of a swimming pool, a weightlifting hall, a gym and a football complex), in the evening - a reciprocal reception of union members (British Trade Union Congress)
June 23 - Day 10: Visit the Sunday London Bazaar, St James's Park and the square in front of Buckingham Palace (permanent residence of the Queen)
June 24 - day 11: a trip to Hampton, a tour of the royal palace, from time to time visited by the queen (attractions - a huge and high reception hall made of wood, with boxes for guests and a fireplace in the center, an entrance hall with walls ancient weapons - pikes, halberds, shields, etc.).
June 25 - day 12: departure to Moscow from Heathrow airport, flight SU-244, arrival at 17.40 Moscow time
June 26 - departure to Lipetsk by train from the Paveletsky railway station
June 27 - arrival in Lipetsk at 7.30

Embassy of the USSR in London: Keppington Palace Gardens B-8-13
Tel. 229-36-28, 229-36-29
Consulate 223-32-15

Best regards, Anvar Nurtdin

So for this year I was considering 3 options for the place where I will travel by car: Britain, the States and something in Latin America. The states, after some hesitation, fell away - after the events of 11 September. In Latin America, I have not found any car rental information from leading firms. This means Britain.

In a "wild" trip, as opposed to an organized one, you participate at least 2 months: a month before it (preparation of the route, studying the significance for yourself of the sights that you plan to visit, searching on the Internet for maps of cities and descriptions of places) and a month after (registration, organizing photos and, as I am in this case, compiling a description for the Internet). The greater or lesser thrill from this is to each his own ...

Having studied the statistics on weather conditions (rain, in the first place), and so as not to the high season of the tour - the end of May - there is less chance of catching a continuous rain. Having studied the possible routes (according to the Polyglot "England" guide, general information on Britain on the sites "" and others) in England, Wales and Scotland, I realized that I needed a minimum 2 weeks from 23.05 in the morning. until the evening of 06/05/2002.

The not very pleasant experience of finding an affordable hotel right from the airport with a heavy bag on my shoulder suggested to me: first travel by car (overnight in the car), then search for a hotel on it, and then life in the capital. Therefore, now I have ordered another car from Israel cl. "A" at the airport for 7 days (20 pounds per day) to return it in 7-8-9 days in London at the specified address.

Car and roads

In Gatwick, instead of the ordered one (see www.ofran.com), I was offered a Peugeot 106 1.1 3-door car with a translucent hatch, and I should specially sign two conditions that were unclear to me:
1.Scuff OSF Wheel Trim - are the rims or tread in order (?)
2.Damage Waiver Accepted - Acceptable Crash (?)
Third Party Insurance Accepted - Accepted by (by?).

I also asked to pay for the fare (according to the option) on the high-speed roads 7.8 lbs, but in vain: there are no turnstiles in England and Scotland at all, and when entering Wales from Bristol, I still had to pay 4.4 lbs, as I understand now - over the bridge across the strait. But then, in my frustrated feelings (after long altercations with their boss - there was an inscription that you were entering Wales!) I did not feel this long bridge! In the future, I had to pay one more time for a beautiful arch bridge to Skye Island - 5.7 ft each and there.

Looking ahead: when I handed over the car, for one scratched wheel lining I had to pay another £ 30 (!) At their rates for replacing all 4 disks (I was shown this damage table). Hence the advice: remove at least 2 left discs at once and put them on before returning the machine.
With the left movement, I hardly got used to it. But two things tormented me until the end of the journey: This lack of feeling of the left edge of the road. Despite the fact that the roads and lanes in Britain are incredibly narrow, in the absence of the presence of this feeling, I often drove onto the curb, often paved with sharp stones. As a result, I had to throw out one tire (I bought a new one for 23 lbs), and once drive with a sledgehammer (!) And balance the disc of the same front left wheel (2 lbs). And on some section of the high-speed road in three lanes, cars were moving tightly only along the extreme lanes, I drove into the middle lane in a rage, but I felt extremely uncomfortable there even in my small car - the lanes were so narrow - and left it.

The second is the gearbox: located on the left, but acting in the same sequence. In extreme situations, when you act automatically, you want to turn on the reverse speed "for yourself", and the fifth from yourself for full arm reach ... Does the 30-year operating time affect? Maybe reorientation is much easier for young people ..?.

This time I was not given a road map of Britain with the documents - I asked for it myself and she was an additional assistant in orientation. It contains service stations of high-speed roads, a lot of tourist sites and updated road numbers. I used one such station - before entering London, on the M25 ring road, 20 miles from the center - a huge service center. Several round-the-clock cafes, a supermarket, a bed for the night, a shower with a toilet, paid parking 5f for 24 hours. The last two I used ...

From British roads, unlike those countries where I have already visited (Italy, Spain and Portugal,), it is almost impossible to go to a forest grove, to a meadow, - nowhere you cannot physically leave the road! And even stop. Probably from the sheep, which you see in all areas of the country, all roads are protected either by an ancient stone low fence or by a small embankment with a living fence, the harmful gaps of which can be seen with a wire fence. Close to the fence - a solid edge line of the road. There are pockets for stops on all roads, which are notified in advance by a road sign. And on which there must be an inscription "no overnight stay". At service stations, overnight parking is either prohibited or must be paid for.

Instead of intersections of roads and streets, "roundabouts" are very common. Circles with a diameter from 0.7 m, drawn directly on the asphalt, to several tens of meters, overgrown with trees so that sometimes it is not clear where you left (there is no sign "roundabout" - fortunately, the "obstacle on the right" has an all-encompassing right).

In my rented car, here for the first time I found a seat back that did not fold back to the end, I had to dismantle the rear backrests (I have a sliding key and a screwdriver with me), but it turned out to be for the best: now I slept on a flat horizontal surface. In the sleeping bag of the Israeli army (the son presented it) and in the liner that I sewed. With a hatch ajar 1cm. I connected a 12v 200w boiler (for coffee, tea in a thermos, soups and mashed potatoes) directly to the battery (according to a rough estimate, I can use it for about an hour without fear of putting the battery down).

I must say that I have never seen traffic jams and accidents, even in those 20 miles that I drove across London. While the majority of them are probably women at the wheel, I don’t remember the situation about which they say: "the speed of the caravan is determined by the first camel." And when on the first day, leaving the high-speed road, I drove to the right on the first roundabout, all the drivers stopped at its entrance and patiently waited for me to drive the naughty gearbox and turn in their "correct" direction (here it is an extreme situation ).

The price of a liter of gasoline throughout the country is 0.76-0.78 lbs (1ph = $ 1.45), and diesel fuel is even slightly more expensive (! ??). For 8 full days I drove 3540 km. Gasoline consumption 5.2 liters per 100 km.

Music on the radio
Due to the fact that I was driving for a long time, the musical "accompaniment" played (tautology?) Of great importance. With my great love for quality music, I enjoyed it on the way !!! A modern, but simple receiver and good speakers, and most importantly, high-quality broadcasting contributed to this. Throughout England, Wales and parts of Scotland, I listened to classics on two classical music channels broadcasting 24/7. The quality (probably of the original recording!), In contrast to the daily broadcasting like channel in Israel, is very high (musical design?), And the repertoire is more popular - operas, symphonies, ballets. (Unlike mostly opus - in Israel. And who are interested in musical opuses - probably only musicians, like criticism, in the past, only critics themselves). When I left the broadcasting range of one station, pressing the RDS button, the receiver found the same channel, but the nearest station and fixed it on the same button.

After moving north from the latitude of Glasgow - Edinburgh, these two channels disappeared, but the wonderful music channel "BBC-Scotland" appeared: blues, rock, jazz classics ... Similar to the Israeli channel "88FM".

A few words about digital camera(Olympus C4040), which is my first trip. With small dimensions and F1.8 to F2.6 at 3x Zoom, having bought 64M memory, I took pictures without limitation: without a flash on night streets, in the subway, the theater on Covent Garden, museums, cathedrals, as well as panoramas of London ( ~ 180`) from the new pedestrian bridge going from the Globus Theater to the Cathedral of St. Paul, at Big Ben (~ 270`) and a circular panorama (360`) of a panoramic painting of ancient Rome in the Victoria and Albert Gallery (V&A). Seeing immediately the future result of shooting, you correct the exposure, unsuccessful ones - you erase. As a result, I got about 450 images, mostly in the format of my computer screen 1024x768px.

To charge the NiMH-1.8a / h batteries, I made a charger connected to the car's cigarette lighter, and in a London hotel I used a standard one from the mains. A flexible tripod, installed, for example, on the roof of a car, made it possible to dilute landscapes with your physiognomy ...

In museums, galleries in London, where admission is free (British Museum, V&A Gallery, Museum of Natural History, National Maritime Museum) there is no ban on photography. But in the magnificent Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, it is forbidden to shoot, there is a respectable minister in every room. Therefore, I only wrote down the names and authors of the works I liked with the hope of finding them later on the Internet.

Weather she accompanied me, contrary to gloomy expectations.

Well now oh the journey itself.

Withdrawing money from the machine at the Cache Point airport (high commissions, as well as in London on the streets - 2ph per operation! The same story as at the airport of Athens, but there in the city itself - no commission) and getting a car at 12:30 , I went straight to Dover... Dover Castle was £ 7.50 to enter. Taking into account that you no longer have to pay for parking and do not worry. that the parking lot is overdue (I understood this advantage later) - it turned out to be not very expensive. In addition to visiting the fortress, some museums, this included visiting one of the towers with a "stick" guide in 5 European languages ​​(not clear to me), watching an imitated battle during the blockade of 1216 - films-episodes of this battle with sound and lighting effects (do I need this?). But from the top of the hill from the fortress there was a beautiful view of the huge port of Dover - with its transport interchanges, piers, departing and arriving ferries and white rocks bordering the cliff to the sea ...

On the second day in the morning it was raining lightly, which is why I missed the lovely old (according to the description) town of Rye (Paradise), and according to the even more ancient Winchelsea XI-XII centuries, part of which remained untouched on the hill after the flood of 1287 - 500 inhabitants - went early in the morning and took pictures in the intervals between the rains. Then there was Hastings- pebble beach, stormy sea. And so H "ichester, its center is a separate old cozy beautiful town, with cathedral 1091, where at 14:00 I got to the service: the parishioners were singing something to the organ (the text is given at the entrance). Between the chants, one civilly dressed man spoke from the rostrum, then the second - the parishioners giggled with restraint (recall that the church is Protestant), and at the end a man dressed in a light (colored embroidery on white) cassock spoke.

Actually, what to describe the journey itself? I will keep Ohi Ahi with me.

I'd rather tell about the British themselves, whom I observed, photographed and who had to be treated. I confess right away: i do not know English, i.e. I can understand most of the inscriptions and even ask something, but to understand any answer is beyond my capabilities (you must agree that this requires good experience - but where was it to be found in our former Soviet space ?!).

Leaving, in my opinion, from the city Wells(a huge cathedral with three hundred statues - according to the description - located in the niches of the cathedral at different heights), I lost my way and asked a woman who had just got out of the car. She began to explain the way to me, but, seeing my confused look, she waved her hand - follow me. At the exit I stopped, got out of the car, showed my left turn and drove back. The very courtesy. I would say more - the generosity of the soul.

Elsewhere I was looking in London for a way to the center (about 5 miles from the center, signs for "City center" looped around a square) and asked a man sitting in an open-air cafe. Having looked at my map of London, I hung a pinch of my fingers outside the map - now you are here - and waved my hand - go in that direction. I asked: on what streets? - The most different, a little to the right, a little to the left: they change names all the time. And, looking at the sun, he gave a piece of advice that was ingenious in its simplicity: that the sun should be on the average on your left. So I successfully and independently entered the limits of my map, and there it was a "trick" to get to the Bayswater area, where I planned to look for a hotel. By the way, I knew from previous experience that you can bargain in almost all hotels. So here, in the small hotel "Hyde Park" on Inverness Terrasce, 100 meters from the Bayswater metro station, I was offered 26f per day for a single room - we agreed on 100f for 5 days. (I apologize to a certain part of the reading public for the messages on the text of the prices for services, not being afraid to seem materialistic, because I have always weighed the pleasure that I will receive for the proposed price, but I know that for the other, remaining from the first, part public, - it also important). In a room on the third floor with a shower-toilet, TV, refrigerator, kettle. And this Arab host was not even her master! And only one of three employees whom I saw in his place. On the third day, he spoke to me in Hebrew (a few phrases), expressing his respect to me for some reason - it turned out that he lived in Gaza, worked in Petah Tikva and for 30 years in London. He looks 45 years old.

On the streets of London, the vast majority of employees in the service sector are blacks (in the subway, police, offices, bus drivers, train station employees), and in business - Arabs (shop assistants, security at the entrances to all kinds of institutions that receive in hotels ...). There is a well-known Chinese district in Soho (I think this only applies to restaurants and their customers). There is the "Arab" street Edgware Road, I walked along it at midnight on Friday: shops are open, many open (in the sense of tables on the street) cafes, and Arabs, Arabs ... talking, listening to music, chewing, smoking some pipes, put on the floor (maybe this is incense?).

Soho..., praised by my predecessor. (And why - Alice? MB because she describes London as a wonderland? (:>) But I fell in love with her story. And I was guided by it - as far as possible). Night Sokho appeared somewhat differently to my eyes (though Alice's description concerns autumn). Many restaurants on the second floors; cafes, cafes, cafes - in the basements. Young people coming out of cafe-bars with bottles of beer. Hang out. They put bottles right there at the exit. Something falls, spills. The smell of beer. Someone immediately collects the bottles. A duplex toilet for men right on the street, covering them only on three sides ...

There are a lot of rickshaws - tricycles and four-wheeled electric bicycles and even a closed herring car 10-11 meters long. Nicely dressed Chinese couples entering their Chinese restaurants and, on all sides of Soho, tables right on the streets, people sitting, standing and walking, talking, chewing and drinking - this is how this center of London appeared to my inquisitive camera on two Friday and Saturday nights. , on the last day of spring and on the first day of summer 2002 ...

By the way, unlike all, probably, Western countries - in the provincial cities of the whole of Britain (there are practically no foreigners from the former colonial countries, and crowds of tourists are also very rare) the people on the streets look very much like the Russian people. But, looking closely, I noticed an almost complete absence of smokers on the streets (a Marlboro costs about 5.5 lb. - mb.Is this a reinforcing consequence, and not a reason for a successful fight against smoking?). Men wear ordinary trousers, but girls and women - most of them wear jeans. In one very long underground passage connecting the V&A Gallery and the Museum of Natural History with the nearest metro station (it was raining outside - and it was very convenient!) One musician, 35 years old, played the harp! I thought he was a foreigner, maybe even Russian? When he finished playing, I went up to him and, introducing myself, asked if he was a foreigner. No. He named a place in London and thanked for the coin I threw. And in the medieval York, (founded by the Romans), at the crossroads of the streets, a man of about 40 was playing the piano! What he did with the instrument during every now and then arising rain - I did not have time to see ...

No, I have not seen the "prim English". Even at the Royal Theater Opera Hause at Covent Garden where I was listening to La boheme on 4.6.02. I bought a ticket in the theater itself 6 hours before the start of the performance in the amphitheater (gallery - in the Russian sense) at a very affordable price - 4p with the maximum in the stalls - 120p. I asked the cashier girl if it was convenient for a limne to come in white trousers - she smiled and said something. I clarified: at least in white, at least in black? She, laughing, repeated me: at least in white, at least in black. And the visibility from my last row was complete! Above, above the curtain, there are two dim, but quite readable lines of the translation of the singing into English. In the lower side boxes, where I entered, flat displays are installed, probably for viewing the immense stage space from the box. The theater, along with the adjoining huge glass cafeteria, was built, like most other cultural centers in London, in the middle of the 19th century.

I also listened to a piano + organ concert in cathedral of st. Paul(since 1675 - architect Christopher Wren). On the advice of the same (thanks to her) - on Sunday evening - not at 6, but at 5 o'clock (maybe the transition to daylight saving time?). You walk through this huge cathedral and in the depths of it, the remaining quarter of the chairs are intended for those who have come to listen to today's duet. They invite, give a program. A somewhat unusual combination - piano (a certain Mark Williams) and a monster organ (Huw Williams). In the sense of the monster that the organ played in the hundredth, m. part of their strength. And it was clearly felt: as if a lion was licking his lion cub! They played opuses by composers unknown to me at the turn of the 1900s. On the back of the program are the "track records" of both performers. Generally in England and Shotdandy (especially in Edinburgh) there is a tradition to use churches for organ music concerts: there are posters with prices for each concert ...

In Edinburgh I came across a program of concerts in Britain and Ireland "Russian Grandiose Performances of the Central Orchestra White Russian Army(of the White Russian Army) ", and a smaller one below -" formerly known as the Orchestra of the Red Army "! So renamed !? Yes, Edinburgh is something especially memorable phenomenon, not only for its antiquities and international festivals (this year from 11 to 31 August), but also as a two-level city. Around the intersection of Princes Street and North Bridge, within a radius of probably about half a kilometer below, there is another city with its own streets, but the same buildings. And the difference in levels reaches 7-8 floors! Along the edges of this radius there are exits to this city.

There are almost no trash bins on the streets of cities, at night there are often garbage collectors for bags (?) With dog poop, if I understood the inscriptions on them correctly. And in some town I photographed a transparant: "Penalty £ 500" next to a painted pooping dog. The cleanliness of the roads and city streets is, of course, amazing. But what I found in Hyde and Green Parks during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the reign of the incumbent queen- defies description! On 3.6.2002, huge TV screens and stage scenes were installed in both of these parks. Late in the evening in Hyde Park, I saw thousands of people shooting as the queen drove up in a bus to the place of fireworks artillery, set fire to a ball, which, engulfed in fire, rolled down the chute and gave the start of a grandiose fireworks. People sang something to the music from the screen, started round dances, ran, shouted and jumped. And under their feet were plastic bottles, glasses, bags - everything with which they celebrated the whole evening. And the next morning, during the Buckingham Palace parade, both of these parks were white with mountains of rubbish left over from the previous night. This does not fit in my head - if I was brought up from childhood not to throw garbage, then I could not even throw my cigarette butts on the road, but put them in a bag (so as not to stink from the ashtray in the car), and then garbage under my feet !? No, no - it is not worth "taking it into your head", let alone putting it into your head.

So what about the parade itself? At 9 a.m. the most diverse legions of cavalry gathered in the alleys of Hyde Park. Black horses - riders with shiny helmets; beige horses - riders for grenadiers; white horses with shaggy legs at the hooves - riders in black hemispherical caps; black and white horses - riders with lush black hats. Around - inactive police, also on horseback, but piebald. Cannon chariots from the late 18th century. At 10 am all this in a certain sequence it enters through the gate into Green Park, at the end of which, at the junction with James Park, there is Buckingham Palace. On the square near the palace (I got there without interference) there is a covered arched structure. It has a choir and orchestra ...

I was very lucky when traveling to Greenwich (I went there in the front seat of the first Light Railway carriage - on the advice of Alice). It was lucky that it was a sunny day in the morning, it was lucky that in the Naval College (buildings 1696-1751) - right after leaving the underpass from the Docklands - there was a celebration of his anniversary, and on its territory there was an exposition of an unknown (!) Automobile company to me, also celebrating its anniversary, but 50 years old. Then there was the Maritime Museum (free admission), for visiting which on that day they gave coupons for free admission to the gallery (portraits of the army and navy commanders of his and her royal majesties) Queen's House (1617-35) and the Observatory (1675), from which there was a view, not very impressive, of the Docklands and, to the left, of the center of already rainy London. And at the bottom of Greenwich Street, they dress in serpentine flags of Britain, a stage platform is being erected and a small orchestra is already climbing on it and the first chords of the celebrations dedicated to the country's tomorrow's Jubilee are given.

Royal kew gargens... On the advice of the same one, I arrived there "early in the morning" - by 9:00. But it opens at 9:30. (I can understand women - for a certain part of them "early in the morning" - this is somewhere around 10-12 hours:>) ...). And the entrance is no longer 5ph, but 6.5ph (with annual inflation of about 3-5% - the progress is amazing. Prices for other tour places and even in the metro have increased in the same progression! My weekly pass to 2 zones cost almost 20ph plus 3ph for a photo in the machine) These botanical gardens did not make much of an impression on me. Plants, plants with the names and places of their homeland, many, oddly enough, have already faded. Planted without any special design, except for 1-2 places, one of which I photographed, deciding to reproduce in my garden - a pond framed by a stone, and lilies in swampy water. Many of these exotic plants are reproduced in our hotel gardens in Eilat and with such magnificent designs that I never cease to admire every year I visit there. I., of course, you cannot compare with the garden and park ensemble of 1740 Stounhead, located half way from Salisbury to Bath, where I enjoyed walking really "early morning" 25.5 from 8 to 12 hours. An ensemble of multi-level lakes, grottoes, caves with marble Neptune and Ariadne in them, buildings imitating the Roman period, exotic bushes and trees, unseen species and in all this a pleasant smell from bush flowers. There is almost no one (there is no signpost for this magnificent place from the main highway). Rare elderly couples, also walking there, greet you with a sweet smile.

After Stounhead there was Bath and Wells, Kaernarfon and Conwy castles in Wales;

the Lake District loop, overnight on a private lawn, where I was allowed to park after a pleasant introductory conversation; highland country - Highland with its vastness, bays and lakes; a circular single track on the island of Skye (probably in translation from Scottish into English it is Sky - heavenly) with travel pockets; the almost lifeless highway 9 with lifeless landscape from Inverness to Brail Atholl, where I spent the night under a canopy tree with zero in the gas tank, waiting for the gas station to open, but which did not work and had to go another 4 miles in the most economical way; unforgettable, rather deserted road number 68 among meadows from the entrance to England to Castleside (turn to Durham) - like a roller coaster (at good speed), the road is not wide, but straight and up and down for about 150 km; spending the night on the village lawn in front of Darham, from which at 5:30 am I was "asked" by a couple of police officers (he and she), but thanks to such a wound, in an incomprehensible way, circling around the high hill on which the ancient cathedral and fortress of Darham stand, I was able to climb along the only narrow street leading to them; after York - the immense two-three-story Cambridge is all green and with numerous canals and academic kayaks in them and without a map there is no way to find and visit the described places.

home » Goa » Traveling in the UK without a car. Great Britain-england - a trip by car, interesting routes and subtleties of travel. What to take on a trip