How Not to Embarrass Yourself Whilst Getting Around the UK

It’s one thing to drive on the left ("wrong") side of the road; it’s quite another to add a manual transmission with the stick shift also on the “wrong” side.  Opting to  save our marriage, we elected other modes of travel in the UK, leaving the stress of a driving lesson for another visit.

We moved from Dublin across Ireland to Galway via bus. Bus is a popular mode of transport; they are clean, quiet, and generally reliable.  We also took the local bus from Galway to visit nearby towns. We found the local drivers to be helpful and friendly, and its easy to enjoy the countryside from high up in a bus.

Ferry across the Irish Sea

We left Ireland on an Irish Ferries high speed boat from Dublin, crossing the Irish Sea to land in Holyhead, Wales in under two hours.  

Holyhead was a pleasant surprise; we’d expected a peninsula empty but for an industrial-looking port and a couple of hotels.  What we found was a modern port and train station, an adorable town, and a gorgeous coastline uncrowded by tourists.  (By-the-way, Holyhead is on an island, attached to the rest of Wales by bridges.  We crossed one on a train the next day.)  Our inn was near enough to the port/train station to easily make our way on foot, even dragging our luggage.

Inside our carriage

Our introduction to VirginRail (“Virgin”, as in Richard Branson’s company -  it’s not just an airline!) was a 7-car train that departed Holyhead at 9 the next morning.  The station was as you’d imagine - have your ticket, look on the board for your train, drag your luggage to the right platform, wait for the train to arrive, get on the train.  The cars on our train were unmarked, so our reserved seat in “D” carriage was a mystery until Todd asked an employee.  This train’s “A” car was at the back end; “D” car was three ahead of it, with “H” being the First Class carriage located directly behind the engine.  Reserved seats were marked with a ticket tucked into the headrest; anybody on the train without a reserved seat could sit at any seat not marked with a Reserved ticket.**  We took advantage of this “open” seating rule five minutes into our journey, as our seats had no window, so we moved for a better view.  Also, at our train change, when a family with a fussy baby settled in directly across from us, we moved to another, quieter carriage.

Tram, Edinburgh

The train stopped at several stations on the way to Edinburgh, and our picturesque journey took about 5 hours.  There was a snack car where we purchased reasonably-priced (and surprisingly fresh and tasty) sandwiches, potato chips, fruit, cookie bars and bottled water.  Soft drinks, liquor, wine and beer were also available.  The train was comfortable, clean and bright, with roomy seats in three configurations (side-by-side forward-facing; side-by-side backward-facing; and tables with two seats forward facing and two across the table facing backward), uncrowded and quite pleasant.  Near the entrance to each car were shelves for our larger luggage, with overhead racks for smaller pieces as on an airplane.  (The gentleman seated across from us was on his way to cycle across Scotland; he told us you can store your bicycle at one end of the carriage.)  Our carriage also had a large, clean, full-room sized restroom, complete with an audio recording reminding visitors of toilet etiquette a la typical British humor.  Once in motion, 15 minutes of free wifi was available (after which you had to purchase wifi for the rest of the journey.)  

**Not all trains have open seating, as we discovered on another trip.  We didn't like our assigned, backward-facing seats.  Directly ahead of us was a table seating arrangement, empty.  We waited until one minute before departure time to move to the forward-facing table seats when, just then, you guessed it, a harried French family with two small children rushed into the carriage and angrily stared us down; we were clearly occupying their spot.  Oops.  Note to self: On TGV trains, assume that all seats are assigned and do not move to unoccupied seats until the train is in motion. 

Also of note, train stations in the UK are typically fabulous works of architecture and history, and I couldn't help but snap a few photos along our journey. 

Inside a tube station

Riding the Tube

London is a fabulous walking town, and the tube (underground metro rail) is a great way to get around, though there are also plenty of taxis.  We took one of the old-fashioned-looking black cabs, just for the ride.  But mostly we walked and took the tube.

Those with automobiles can drive from England to France through the Chunnel (that's the Channel Tunnel from the UK to France, under the English Channel), or take a ferry.  We had no car and opted for the train.

Our Eurostar train from London to Lille, France was a TGV (high speed train).  The international train station at King’s Cross/St. Pancras felt quite like an airport; ticket holders went through immigration and security, and we waited together for the announcement that our train could be boarded.  Once on our carriage, things felt a bit more formal than on the VirginRail train, but still roomy, clean, quiet and comfortable.  This train was fast - our journey to the continent sped by in under 90 minutes, and I fell asleep in the Chunnel.

So if you don't want to fly, trains, cars, public busses, inter-city rail, bicycles and boats are other options for getting around the UK.  I recommend trying them all!