Tourist Information
Tourist Information Offices
Communicating
Telephones
Internet Access
Mail
Transportation
By Car or Public Transportation?
Map: Public Transportation Routes in Britain
Public Transportation
Buses
Renting a Car
Map: Britain by Car: Mileage & Time
Cheap Flights
Resources
Resources from Rick Steves
Other Guidebooks
Recommended Books and Movies
Harry Potter Sights
Holidays and Festivals
Conversions and Climate
Numbers and Stumblers
Metric Conversions
Imperial Weights and Measures
Clothing Sizes
Britain’s Climate
Temperature Conversion: Fahrenheit and Celsius
British-Yankee Vocabulary
The Visit Britain website contains a wealth of knowledge on destinations, activities, accommodations, and transportation in Great Britain. Families will especially appreciate the “Britain for Kids” travel suggestions. Maps, airport transfers, sightseeing tours, and theater tickets can be purchased online (www.visitbritain.com, www.visitbritainshop.com/usa for purchases). Also try these official tourism board websites: www.visitengland.com, www.visitwales.com, and www.visitscotland.com.
In Britain, your best first stop in every town is generally the tourist information office—abbreviated TI in this book (and abbreviated locally as “TIC,” for “Tourist Information Centre”). In London, the City of London Information Centre is helpful; see here.
TIs are good places to get a city map, information on public transit (including bus and train schedules), walking tours, special events, and nightlife. Due to funding constraints, some of Britain’s TIs are struggling; village TIs may be staffed by volunteers who need to charge you for maps and informational brochures that more fully funded TIs give out for free.
Some TIs have information on the entire country or at least the region, so try to pick up maps for destinations you’ll be visiting later in your trip. If you’re arriving in town after the TI closes, call ahead to get your questions answered and try to pick up a map in a neighboring town.
For all the help TIs offer, steer clear of their room-finding services (bloated prices, booking fee up to £4, no opinions, and they take a 10 percent cut from your B&B host).
Smart travelers use the telephone to book or reconfirm rooms, get tourist information, reserve restaurants, confirm tour times, or phone home. Generally, it’s cheapest to use an international phone card in Britain. This section covers dialing instructions, using mobile phones, and buying phone cards (for more in-depth information, see www.ricksteves.com/phoning).
How to Dial
Calling from the US to Britain, or vice versa, is simple—once you break the code. The European calling chart in this chapter will walk you through it.
Dialing Domestically Within Britain
These instructions apply to dialing from a landline (such as a pay phone or your hotel-room phone) or a British mobile phone.
Britain, like the US, uses an area-code dialing system. To make domestic calls within Britain, punch in just the phone number if you’re dialing locally, and add the area code (which starts with a 0) if calling long distance.
Area codes are listed (with phone numbers) in this book, displayed by city on phone-booth walls, and available from directory assistance (dial 118-500, £0.64/minute). Certain phone numbers, however, are considered “nongeographical” and don’t have area codes. These include mobile phone, toll-free, and toll numbers.
Mobile phone numbers begin with 074, 075, 076, 077, 078, and 079 (and are more expensive to call than a landline). Numbers starting with 080 are toll-free, but those beginning with 084, 087, or 03 are inexpensive toll numbers (£0.10/minute maximum from a landline, £0.20-40/minute from a mobile). Numbers beginning with 09 are pricey toll lines. If you have questions about a prefix, call 100 for free help.
If you’re dialing within Britain using your US mobile phone, you may need to dial as if it’s a domestic call, or you may need to dial as if you’re calling from the US (see “Dialing Internationally,” next). Try it one way, and if it doesn’t work, try it the other way.
Dialing Internationally to or from Britain
If you want to make an international call, follow these steps:
• Dial the international access code (00 if you’re calling from Britain, 011 from the US or Canada). If you’re dialing from a mobile phone, you can replace the international access code with +, which works regardless of where you’re calling from. (On most mobile phones, you can insert a + by pressing and holding the 0 key.)
• Dial the country code of the country you’re calling (44 for Britain, or 1 for the US or Canada).
• Dial the area code (without the initial zero) and the local number. (The European calling chart on the next page lists specifics per country.)
Calling from the US to Britain: To call a London hotel from the US, dial 011 (US access code), 44 (Britain’s country code), 20 (London’s area code without its initial 0), then 7730-8191 (the hotel’s number).
Calling from any European Country to the US: To call my office in Edmonds, Washington, from anywhere in Europe, I dial 00 (Europe’s access code), 1 (US country code), 425 (Edmonds’ area code), and 771-8303.
Mobile Phones
Traveling with a mobile phone is handy and practical.
Using Your Mobile Phone: Your US mobile phone works in Europe if it’s GSM-enabled, tri-band or quad-band, and on a calling plan that includes international calls. Phones from AT&T and T-Mobile, which use the same GSM technology that Europe does, are more likely to work overseas than Verizon or Sprint phones (if you’re not sure, ask your service provider). Most US providers charge $1.29-1.99 per minute while roaming internationally to make or receive calls, and 20—50 cents to send or receive text messages (incoming texts are free for some carriers).
You’ll pay cheaper rates if you put a European SIM card in your mobile phone; to do this, your phone must be electronically “unlocked” (ask your provider about this). Then in Europe, buy a SIM card, which gives you a European phone number. SIM cards are sold at mobile-phone stores and some newsstand kiosks for $5—10, and generally include at least that much prepaid domestic calling time (making the card itself effectively free). My favorite brand is Lebara, which offers very affordable rates on both domestic UK calls and calls to the US (about $0.08-0.16 to either); although the card is free, the potential downside is that you must buy $16 of credit—more than you’re likely to use at these rates. Incoming calls are generally free.
Insert the SIM card in your phone (usually in a slot on the side or behind the battery) and it’ll work like a British mobile phone. Before purchasing a SIM card, always ask about fees for domestic and international calls, roaming charges, and how to check your credit balance and buy more time. You’ll pay more if you’re roaming in another country, and you may pay more to call a toll number than you would dialing from a fixed line.
Buying a European Mobile Phone: Shops all over Europe sell basic phones. (For example, Britain’s Carphone Warehouse sells pay-as-you-go mobile phones for as little as £10 plus £10 for calling time.) Many airports and train stations have hole-in-the-wall mobile phone shops. The mobile-phone desk in a big department store is another good place to check. Wherever you buy a phone, be sure your package includes a SIM card and prepaid credit for making calls.
Renting a European Mobile Phone: Car-rental companies and mobile-phone companies offer the option to rent a mobile phone with a European number. While this seems convenient, hidden fees (such as high per-minute charges or expensive shipping costs) can really add up—which usually makes it a bad value. One exception is Verizon’s Global Travel Program, available only to Verizon customers.
Data Downloading on a Smartphone: Many smartphones, such as the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry, work in Britain (though some older Verizon iPhones don’t). For voice calls and text messaging, smartphones work the same as other US mobile phones (explained earlier). But beware of sky-high rates of about $20 per megabyte for data downloading (checking email, browsing the Internet, streaming videos, and so on). The best solution: Disable data roaming entirely, and only use your device to access the Internet when you find free Wi-Fi. You can ask your mobile-phone service provider to cut off your account’s data-roaming capability, or you can manually turn it off on your phone (look under the “Network” menu).
If you want Internet access without being limited to Wi-Fi, you’ll need to keep data roaming on—but you can take steps to reduce your charges. Consider paying extra for a limited international data-roaming plan through your carrier, then use data roaming selectively (if a particular task gobbles bandwidth, wait until you’re on Wi-Fi). In general, ask your provider in advance how to avoid unwittingly roaming your way to a huge bill. If your smartphone is on Wi-Fi, you can use certain apps to make cheap or free voice calls (see “Calling over the Internet,” next).
Calling over the Internet
Some things that seem too good to be true...actually are true. If you’re traveling with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you can make free calls over the Internet to another wireless device, anywhere in the world, for free. (Or you can pay a few cents to call a telephone from your device). The major providers are Skype (www.skype.com, also available as a smartphone app), Google Talk (www.google.com/talk), and FaceTime (this app is preloaded on most Apple devices). You can get online at a Wi-Fi hotspot and use these apps to make calls without ringing up expensive roaming charges (though call quality can be spotty on slow connections). You can make Internet calls even if you’re traveling without your own mobile device: Many European Internet cafés have Skype, as well as microphones and webcams, on their terminals—just log on and chat away.
Landline Telephones
As in the US, these days most Brits do most of their phoning on mobile phones. But you’ll still encounter landlines in hotel rooms and at pay phones.
Hotel-Room Phones: Calling from your hotel room can be great for local calls, and for international calls if you have an international phone card (described later). Otherwise, hotel-room phones can be an almost criminal rip-off for long-distance or international calls. Many hotels charge a fee for local and sometimes even “toll-free” numbers—always ask for the rates before you dial. Incoming calls are free, making this a cheap way for friends and family to stay in touch (provided they have a long-distance plan with good international rates—and a list of your hotels’ phone numbers).
Phones are rare in B&Bs, but if your room has one, the advice above applies. If there’s no phone in your B&B room, and you have an important, brief call to make, politely ask your hosts if you can use their personal phone. Ideally, use a cheap international phone card with a toll-free access number, or offer to pay your host for the call.
Public Pay Phones: These are relatively easy to find in Britain, but they’re expensive. Unlike phones in most of Europe, British pay phones don’t use dedicated, insertable phone cards; instead, you’ll pay with a major credit card (which you insert into the phone—minimum charge for a credit-card call is £1.20) or coins (have a bunch handy; minimum fee in £0.60). The phone clearly shows how your money supply’s doing. Only unused coins will be returned, so put in biggies with caution. (If money’s left over, rather than hanging up, push the “make another call” button.) Avoid using an international phone card at a pay phone (see below).
Types of Telephone Cards
International phone cards can be used with any type of phone (and will generally save you plenty of money, especially on overseas calls). With these cards, phone calls from Great Britain to the US can cost less than 10 cents a minute, as long as you don’t call from a phone booth. British Telecom levies a hefty surcharge for using international phone cards from a pay phone (so instead of 100 minutes for a £5 card, you’ll get less than 10 minutes—a miserable deal). But they’re still a good deal if you use them when calling from your hotel-room phone or mobile phone with a European SIM card.
To use the card, dial a toll-free access number, then enter your scratch-to-reveal PIN code. (If you have several access numbers listed on your card, you’ll save money overall if you choose the toll-free one starting with 0800.) To call the US or Britain, see “How to Dial,” earlier. To make calls within Britain using an international calling card, you must dial the area code even if you’re just calling across the street. These cards, which are sold at newsstands, work only within the country of purchase (e.g., one bought in Britain won’t work in France). Buy a lower denomination in case the card is a dud.
US calling cards, such as the ones offered by AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint, are a rotten value and are being phased out. Try any of the options outlined earlier.
Useful Phone Numbers
Emergencies
Police and Ambulance: tel. 999
Embassies and Consulates in London
US Consulate and Embassy: tel. 020/7499-9000 (all services), no walk-in passport services; for emergency 36-hour passport service, email LondonEmergencyPPT@state.gov or call all-services number (24 Grosvenor Square, Tube: Bond Street, www.usembassy.org.uk)
Canadian High Commission: tel. 020/7258-6600, passport services available Mon-Fri 9:30-13:00 (38 Grosvenor Street, Tube: Bond Street, www.unitedkingdom.gc.ca)
Travel Advisories
US Department of State: tel. 888-407-4747, from outside US tel. 1-202-501-4444, www.travel.state.gov
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs: Canadian tel. 800-267-6788, from outside Canada tel. 1-613-996-8885, www.voyage.gc.ca
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: US tel. 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636), www.cdc.gov/travel
Directory Assistance
Operator Assistance: tel. 100 (free)
Directory Assistance: toll tel. 118-500 (£0.64/minute, plus £0.23/minute connection charge from fixed lines)
International Directory Assistance: toll tel. 118-505 (£1.99/minute, plus £0.69 connection charge)
Trains and Buses
Train Information for Trips within Britain: tel. 0845-748-4950, overseas tel. 011-44-20-7278-5240 (www.nationalrail.co.uk)
Eurostar (Chunnel Info): tel. 0843-218-6186, overseas tel. 011-44-12-3361-7575 (www.eurostar.com)
National Express Buses: tel. 0871-781-8178 (www.nationalexpress.com)
Airports
Heathrow: tel. 0870-000-0123 (airport code: LHR, www.heathrowairport.com)
Gatwick: tel. 0844-892-0322 (airport code: LGW, www.gatwickairport.com)
Stansted: tel. 0844-335-1803 (airport code: STN, www.stanstedairport.com)
Luton: tel. 01582/405-100 (airport code: LTN, www.london-luton.com)
London City Airport: tel. 020/7646-0088 (airport code: LCY, www.londoncityairport.com)
Southend Airport: tel. 01702/608-100 (airport code: SEN, www.southendairport.com)
Airlines
Aer Lingus: tel. 0871-718-2020 (www.aerlingus.com)
Air Canada: tel. 0871-220-1111 (www.aircanada.com)
Alitalia: tel. 0871-424-1424 (www.alitalia.com)
American: tel. 0844-499-7300 (www.aa.com)
British Airways: tel. 0844-493-0787 (www.ba.com)
Brussels Airlines: toll tel. 0905-609-5609—40p/minute (www.brusselsairlines.com)
easyJet: tel. 0870-600-0000 (www.easyjet.com)
KLM Royal Dutch: tel. 0871-231-0000 (www.klm.com)
Lufthansa: tel. 0871-945-9747 (www.lufthansa.com)
Ryanair: tel. 0871-246-0000 (www.ryanair.com)
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS): tel. 0871-226-7760 (www.flysas.com)
United Airlines: tel. 0845-607-6760 (www.united.com)
US Airways: tel. 0845-600-3300 (www.usairways.com)
Heathrow Airport Car-Rental Agencies
Avis: tel. 0844-581-0147 (www.avis.co.uk)
Budget: tel. 0844-544-3439 (www.budget.co.uk)
Enterprise: tel. 0800-800-227 (www.enterprise.co.uk)
Europcar: tel. 0871-384-1087 (www.europcar.co.uk)
Hertz: tel. 0870-844-8844 (www.hertz.co.uk)
It’s useful to get online periodically as you travel—to confirm trip plans, check train or bus schedules, get weather forecasts, catch up on email, blog or post photos from your trip, or call folks back home (explained earlier in this section, under “Calling over the Internet”).
Your Mobile Device: The majority of accommodations in Britain offer Wi-Fi, as do many cafés, making it easy for you to get online with your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Access is often free, but sometimes there’s a fee.
Some hotel rooms and Internet cafés have high-speed Internet jacks that you can plug into with an Ethernet cable. A cellular modem—which lets your device access the Internet over a mobile phone network—provides more extensive coverage, but is much more expensive than Wi-Fi.
Public Internet Terminals: Many accommodations offer a computer in the lobby with Internet access for guests. If you ask politely, smaller places may let you sit at their desk for a few minutes just to check your email. If your hotelier doesn’t have access, ask to be directed to the nearest place to get online.
Security: Whether you’re accessing the Internet with your own device or at a public terminal, using a shared network or computer comes with the potential for increased security risks. Be careful about storing personal information online, such as passport and credit-card numbers. If you’re not convinced a connection is secure, avoid accessing any sites that could be vulnerable to fraud (e.g., online banking).
You can mail one package per day to yourself worth up to $200 duty-free from Europe to the US (mark it “personal purchases”). If you’re sending a gift to someone, mark it “unsolicited gift.” For details, visit www.cbp.gov and search for “Know Before You Go.”
The British postal service works fine, but for quick transatlantic delivery (in either direction), consider services such as DHL (www.dhl.com).
If you’re debating between public transportation and car rental, consider these factors: Cars are best for three or more traveling together (especially families with small kids), those packing heavy, and those scouring the countryside. Trains and buses are best for solo travelers, blitz tourists, and city-to-city travelers. While a car gives you more freedom—enabling you to search for hotels more easily, and carrying your bags for you—trains and buses zip you effortlessly from city to city, usually dropping you in the center, often near a TI. Cars are great in the countryside, but an expensive headache in places like London.
In Britain, my choice is to connect big cities by train (e.g., London, Bath, York, Edinburgh, and Glasgow) and to explore rural areas (such as the Cotswolds, North Wales, the Lake District, and the Scottish Highlands) footloose and fancy-free by rental car. You might consider a BritRail & Drive Pass, which gives you various combinations of rail days and car days to use within two months’ time.
Trains
Regular tickets on Britain’s great train system (15,000 departures from 2,400 stations daily) are the most expensive per mile in all of Europe. For the greatest savings, either book in advance, leave after rush hour (after 9:30), or ride the bus. Now that Britain has privatized its railways, it can be tricky to track down all your options; a single bus or train route can be operated by several companies. However, one British website covers all train lines (www.nationalrail.co.uk), and another covers all bus and train routes in Britain (www.traveline.org.uk—for information, not ticket sales). Another good resource, which also has schedules for trains throughout Europe, is German Rail’s timetable (www.bahn.com).
As with airline tickets, British train tickets can come at many different prices for the same journey. A clerk at any station can figure out the cheapest fare for your trip (or call the helpful National Rail folks at tel. 0845-748-4950, 24 hours daily). Savings can be significant. For a London-Edinburgh round-trip (standard class), if you book the day of departure for travel after 9:30, it may be around £120; the cheapest fare, booked a couple of months in advance as two one-way tickets, can cost as little as £55.
While not required on British trains, reservations are free and can normally be made well in advance. They are a good idea for long journeys or for travel on Sundays or holidays. Make reservations at any train station or over the phone or Internet when you buy your ticket. With a point-to-point ticket, you can reserve up to two hours before train time, but railpass holders should book seats at least 24 hours in advance.
Buying Train Tickets in Advance: The best fares go to those who book their trips well in advance of their journey. (While only a 7-day minimum advance booking is officially required for the cheapest fares, these sell out fast—especially in summer—so booking 6-8 weeks in advance is often necessary.) Keep in mind that when booking in advance, “return” (round-trip) fares are not always cheaper than buying two “single” (one-way) tickets. Also note that cheap advance tickets often come with the toughest refund restrictions, so be sure to nail down your travel plans before you reserve. To book ahead, go in person to any station, book online at www.nationalrail.co.uk, or call 0845-748-4950 (from the US, dial 011-44-20-7278-5240, phone answered 24 hours) to find out the schedule and best fare for your journey; you’ll then be referred to the appropriate vendor—depending on the particular rail company—to book your ticket. If you order online, be sure you know what you want; it’s tough to reach a person who can change your online reservation. You’ll pick up your ticket at the station, or you may be able to print it out at home. (BritRail passholders, however, cannot use the Web to make reservations.)
A company called Megabus (through their subsidiary Megatrain) sells some discounted train tickets well in advance on a few specific routes, though their focus is mainly on selling bus tickets (info tel. 0871-266-3333, www.megatrain.com).
Buying Train Tickets as You Travel: If you’d rather have the flexibility of booking tickets as you go, you can save a few pounds by buying a round-trip ticket, called a “return ticket” (a same-day round-trip, called a “day return,” is particularly cheap); buying before 18:00 the day before you depart; traveling after the morning rush hour (this usually means after 9:30 Mon-Fri); and going standard class instead of first class. Preview your options at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Senior, Youth, and Family Deals: To get a third off the price of most point-to-point rail tickets, seniors can buy a Senior Railcard (for ages 60 and above), and younger travelers can buy a 16-25 Railcard (for ages 16-25, or for full-time students 26 and above with a valid ISIC card). A Family and Friends Railcard allows adults to travel about 33 percent cheaper while their kids ages 5 to 15 receive a 60 percent discount for most trips (maximum of 4 adults and 4 kids). Each Railcard costs £28; see www.railcard.co.uk. Any of these cards are valid for a year on almost all trains except special runs, such as the Heathrow Express or the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels (fill out application at station, brochures on racks in info center, need to show passport; passport-type photo needed for 16-25 Railcard).
Railpasses: Consider getting a railpass, which offers hop-on flexibility and no need to lock in reservations, except for overnight sleeper cars. The BritRail pass comes in “consecutive day” and “flexi” versions, with price breaks for youths, seniors, off-season travelers, and groups of three of more. Most allow one child under 16 to travel free with a paying adult. If you’re exploring Britain’s backcountry with a BritRail pass, standard class is a good choice since many of the smaller train lines don’t even offer first-class cars. BritRail passes cover England as well as Scotland and Wales.
More BritRail options include England-only passes, Scotland-only passes, Britain/Ireland passes, “London Plus” passes (good for travel in most of southeast England but not in London itself), and BritRail & Drive passes (which offer you some rail days and some car-rental days). These BritRail passes, as well as Eurail passes, get you a discount on the Eurostar train that zips you to continental Europe under the English Channel. These passes are sold outside of Europe only. For specifics, see www.ricksteves.com/rail.
Although buses are about a third slower than trains, they’re also a lot cheaper. Most buses are operated by National Express (tel. 0871-781-8178, www.nationalexpress.com). Note that Brits distinguish between “buses” (for in-city travel with lots of stops) and “coaches” (long-distance cross-country runs)—though for simplicity in this book, I call both “buses.”
Round-trip bus tickets usually cost less than two one-way fares (e.g., London-York one-way is about £25; round-trip costs about £40). And buses go many places that trains don’t. Budget travelers can save a wad with a bus pass. National Express sells Brit Xplorer bus passes for unlimited travel on consecutive days (£79/7 days, £139/14 days, £219/28 days, sold over the counter, non-UK passport required, tel. 0871-781-8178, www.nationalexpress.com). Check their website to learn about online deals; senior/youth/family cards and fares; and discounts for advance booking.
If you want to take a bus from your last destination to the nearest airport, you’ll find that National Express often offers airport buses. Bus stations are normally at or near train stations (in London, the main bus station is a block southwest of Victoria Station).
Megabus sells very cheap promotional fares on certain routes, often beating National Express in price. While this can save you some money, you have to book far ahead for the best rates, and journey times tend to be longer than those on National Express (info tel. 0871-266-3333, www.megabus.com). They also sell discounted train tickets on selected routes.
If you’re renting a car in England, bring your driver’s license. It’s recommended, but not required, that you also have an International Driving Permit (sold at your local AAA office for $15 plus the cost of two passport-type photos; see www.aaa.com); however, I’ve frequently rented cars in Britain and traveled problem-free with just my US license.
Rental companies in England require you to be at least 23 years old. Drivers under the age of 25 or over the age of 70 may incur a young- or older-driver surcharge (some rental companies do not rent to anyone 75 and over). If you’re considered too young or old, look into leasing (covered later), which has less-stringent age restrictions.
Research car rentals before you go. It’s cheaper to arrange most car rentals from the US. Call several companies and look online to compare rates, or arrange a rental through your hometown travel agent.
Most of the major US rental agencies (including National, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Thrifty) have offices throughout Europe. It can be cheaper to use a consolidator, such as Auto Europe (www.autoeurope.com) or Europe by Car (www.ebctravel.com), which compares rates at several companies to get you the best deal. However, my readers have reported problems with consolidators, ranging from misinformation to unexpected fees; because you’re going through a middleman, it can be more challenging to resolve disputes that arise with the rental agency.
Regardless of the car-rental company you choose, always read the contract carefully. The fine print can conceal a host of common add-on charges—such as one-way drop-off fees, airport surcharges, or mandatory insurance policies—that aren’t included in the “total price” but can be tacked on when you pick up your car. You may need to query rental agents pointedly to find out your actual cost.
For the best deal, rent by the week with unlimited mileage. To save money on gas, ask for a diesel car. I normally rent the smallest, least-expensive model with a stick-shift (cheaper than automatic). An automatic transmission adds about 50 percent to the car-rental cost over a manual transmission. Almost all rentals are manual by default, so if you need an automatic, you must request one in advance; beware that these cars are usually larger models (not as maneuverable on narrow, winding roads). But weigh this against the fact that in Britain you’ll be sitting on the right side of the car, and shifting with your left hand...while driving on the left side of the road. The floor pedals are in the same locations as in the US, and the gears are found in the same basic “H” pattern as at home.
For a three-week rental, allow $900 per person (based on two people sharing) for a small economy car with unlimited mileage, including gas, parking, and insurance. For trips of this length, look into leasing; you’ll save money on insurance and taxes.
You can sometimes get a GPS unit with your rental car or leased vehicle for an additional fee (around $15/day; be sure it has all the maps you need before you drive off). Or, if you have a portable GPS device at home, consider taking it with you to Europe (buy and upload European maps before your trip). GPS apps are also available for smartphones, but downloading maps on one of these apps in Europe could lead to an exorbitant data-roaming bill (for more details, see “Data Downloading on a Smartphone,” earlier).
Big companies have offices in most cities; ask whether they can pick you up at your hotel. Small local rental companies can be cheaper but aren’t as flexible. If you pick up the car in a smaller city, such as Bath, you’ll more likely survive your first day on the British roads.
Compare pickup costs (downtown can be less expensive than the airport) and explore drop-off options. For a trip covering both Britain and Ireland, you’re better off with two separate car rentals. When selecting a location, don’t trust the agency’s description of “downtown” or “city center.” In some cases, a “downtown” branch can be on the outskirts of the city—a long, costly taxi ride from the center. Before choosing, plug the addresses into a mapping website. You may find that the “train station” location is handier. Returning a car at a big-city train station or downtown agency can be tricky; get precise details on the car drop-off location and hours. Note that rental offices usually close from midday Saturday until Monday.
When you pick up the rental car, check it thoroughly and make sure any damage is noted on your rental agreement. Find out how your car’s lights, turn signals, wipers, and fuel cap function. Ask what type of fuel your car takes before you fill up. When you return the car, make sure the agent verifies its condition with you.
Car Insurance Options
When you rent a car, you are liable for a very high deductible, sometimes equal to the entire value of the car. Limit your financial risk by choosing one of these three options: Buy Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage from the car-rental company, get coverage through your credit card (free, if your card automatically includes zero-deductible coverage), or buy coverage through Travel Guard.
CDW includes a very high deductible (typically $1,000-1,500). Though each rental company has its own variation, basic CDW costs $15-35 a day (figure roughly 25 percent extra) and reduces your liability, but does not eliminate it. When you pick up the car, you’ll be offered the chance to “buy down” the basic deductible to zero (for an additional $10-30/day; this is sometimes called “super CDW”).
If you opt for credit-card coverage, there’s a catch. You’ll technically have to decline all coverage offered by the car-rental company, which means they can place a hold on your card (which can be up to the full value of the car). In case of damage, it can be time-consuming to resolve the charges with your credit-card company. Before you decide on this option, quiz your credit-card company about how it works.
Finally, you can buy collision insurance from Travel Guard ($9/day plus a one-time $3 service fee covers you for up to $35,000, $250 deductible, tel. 800-826-4919, www.travelguard.com). It’s valid everywhere in Europe except the Republic of Ireland, and some Italian car-rental companies refuse to honor it. Note that various US states differ on which products and policies are available to their residents.
For more on car-rental insurance, see www.ricksteves.com/cdw.
Leasing
For trips of three weeks or more, consider leasing (which automatically includes zero-deductible collision and theft insurance). By technically buying and then selling back the car, you save lots of money on tax and insurance. Leasing provides you a brand-new car with unlimited mileage and a 24-hour emergency assistance program. You can lease for as little as 21 days to as long as six months. Car leases must be arranged from the US. One of many reliable companies offering affordable lease packages is Europe by Car (US tel. 800-223-1516, www.ebctravel.com).
Driving in Britain
Driving in Britain is basically wonderful—once you remember to stay on the left and after you’ve mastered the roundabouts. Every year, however, I get a few notes from traveling readers advising me that, for them, trying to drive in Britain was a nerve-racking and regrettable mistake. If you want to get a little slack on the roads, drop by a gas station or auto shop and buy a green P (probationary driver with license) sign to put in your car window (don’t get the red L sign, which means you’re a learner driver without a license and thus prohibited from driving on motorways).
Many Yankee drivers find the hardest part isn’t driving on the left, but steering from the right. Your instinct is to put yourself on the left side of your lane, which means you may spend your first day or two constantly drifting into the left shoulder. It can help to remember that the driver always stays close to the center line.
Road Rules: Be aware of Britain’s rules of the road. Seat belts are mandatory for all, and kids under age 12 (or less than about 4.5 feet tall) must ride in an appropriate child-safety seat. It’s illegal to use a mobile phone while driving—pull over or use a hands-free device. In Britain, you’re not allowed to turn left on a red light unless a sign or signal specifically authorizes it. For more information about driving in Britain, ask your car-rental company, read the Department for Transport’s Highway Code (www.direct.gov.uk—click on “Motoring” and look for “The Highway Code” link), or check the US State Department website (www.travel.state.gov, click on “International Travel,” then specify “United Kingdom” and click “Traffic Safety and Road Conditions”).
Speed Limits: Speed limits are 30 mph in town, 70 mph on the motorways, and 50 or 60 mph elsewhere (though, as back home, many British drivers consider these limits advisory). The national sign for 60 mph is a white circle with a black slash. Motorways have electronic speed limit signs; posted speeds can change depending on traffic or the weather. Follow them accordingly.
Note that road-surveillance cameras strictly enforce speed limits. Any driver (including foreigners renting cars) photographed speeding will get a nasty bill in the mail. (Cameras—in foreboding gray boxes—flash on rear license plates to respect the privacy of anyone sharing the front seat with someone he or she shouldn’t.) Signs (an image of an old-fashioned camera) alert you when you’re entering a zone that may be monitored by these “camera cops.” Heed them.
Roundabouts: Don’t let a roundabout spook you. After all, you routinely merge into much faster traffic on American highways back home. Traffic flows clockwise, and cars already in the roundabout have the right-of-way; entering traffic yields (look to your right as you merge). You’ll probably encounter “double-roundabouts”—figure-eights where you’ll slingshot from one roundabout directly into another. Just go with the flow and track signs carefully. When approaching an especially complex roundabout, you’ll first pass a diagram showing the layout and the various exits. And in many cases, the pavement is painted to indicate the lane you should be in for a particular road or town.
Freeways (Motorways): The shortest distance between any two points is usually the motorway (what we’d call a “freeway”). In Britain, the smaller the number, the bigger the road. For example, the M-4 is a freeway, while the B-4494 is a country road.
Motorway road signs can be confusing, too few, and too late. Miss a motorway exit and you can lose 30 minutes. Study your map before taking off. Know the cities you’ll be lacing together, since road numbers are inconsistent. British road signs are never marked with compass directions (e.g., A-30 West); instead, you need to know what major town or city you’re heading for (A-30 Penzance). The driving directions in this book are intended to be used with a good local map. A road atlas, easily purchased at gas stations in Britain, is money well-spent (see “Maps,” here).
Unless you’re passing, always drive in the “slow” lane on motorways (the lane farthest to the left). The British are very disciplined about this; ignoring this rule could get you a ticket (or into a road-rage incident). Remember to pass on the right, not the left.
Rest areas are called “services” and often have a number of useful amenities, such as restaurants, cafeterias, gas stations, shops, and motels.
Fuel: Gas (petrol) costs about $10 per gallon and is self-serve. Diesel rental cars are common; make sure you know what kind of fuel your car takes before you fill up. Unleaded pumps are usually green. Note that self-service gas pumps and automated toll booths and parking garages often accept only a chip-and-PIN credit card (see here) or cash. It might help if you know the PIN for your US credit and debit cards, but just in case a machine rejects them, be sure to carry sufficient cash. For more on chip and PIN, see here.
Driving in Cities: Whenever possible, avoid driving in cities. Be warned that London assesses a congestion charge (see here). Most cities have modern ring roads to skirt the congestion. Follow signs to the parking lots outside the city core—most are a 5- to 10-minute walk to the center—and avoid what can be an unpleasant grid of one-way streets (as in Bath) or roads that are only available to public transportation during the day (as in Oxford).
Driving in Rural Areas: Outside the big cities and except for the motorways, British roads tend to be narrow. In towns, you may have to cross over the center line just to get past parked cars. Adjust your perceptions of personal space: It’s not “my side of the road” or “your side of the road,” it’s just “the road”—and it’s shared as a cooperative adventure. If the road’s wide enough, traffic in both directions can pass parked cars simultaneously, but frequently you’ll have to take turns—follow the locals’ lead and drive defensively. Some narrow country lanes are barely wide enough for one car. Go slowly, and if you encounter an oncoming car, look for the nearest pullout (or “passing place”)—the driver who’s closest to one is expected to use it, even if it means backing up to reach it. If another car pulls over and blinks its headlights, that means, “Go ahead; I’ll wait to let you pass.” British drivers—arguably the most courteous on the planet—are quick to offer a friendly wave to thank you for letting them pass (and they appreciate it if you reciprocate). Pull over frequently—to let faster locals pass and to check the map.
Parking: Parking can be confusing. One yellow line marked on the pavement means no parking Monday through Saturday during work hours. Double yellow lines mean no parking at any time. Broken yellow lines mean short stops are OK, but you should always look for explicit signs or ask a passerby. White lines mean you’re free to park.
In towns, rather than look for street parking, I generally just pull into the most central and handy “pay and display” parking lot I can find. To “pay and display,” feed change into a machine, receive a timed ticket, and display it on the dashboard or stick it to the driver’s-side window. Rates are reasonable by American standards, and locals love to share stickers that have time remaining. If you stand by the machine, someone on their way out with time left on their sticker will probably give it to you. Keep a bag of coins in the ashtray or glove box for these machines and for parking meters.
The AA: The services of Britain’s Automobile Association are included with most rentals (www.theaa.com), but check for this when booking to be sure you understand its towing and emergency road-service benefits.
Stock Up: Set your car up for a fun road trip. Establish a cardboard-box munchies pantry. Buy a rack of liter boxes of juice for the trunk, and some Windex and a roll of paper towels (called a “kitchen roll” in Britain) for cleaner sightseeing.
London is the hub for many cheap, no-frills airlines, which affordably connect the city with other destinations in the British Isles and throughout Europe. If you’re considering a train ride that’s more than five hours long, a flight may save you both time and money. When comparing your options, factor in the time it takes to get to the airport and how early you’ll need to arrive to check in.
Be aware of the potential drawbacks of flying on the cheap: nonrefundable and nonchangeable tickets, minimal or nonexistent customer service, treks to airports far outside town, and stingy baggage allowances with steep overage fees. If you’re traveling with lots of luggage, a cheap flight can quickly become a bad deal. To avoid unpleasant surprises, take time to read the small print before you book.
The best comparison search engine for both international and intra-European flights is www.kayak.com. For inexpensive flights within Europe, try www.skyscanner.com or www.hipmunk.com. If you’re not sure who flies to your destination, check its airport’s website for a list of carriers.
The low-cost airline, easyJet, flies from London (Gatwick, Luton, Southend, and Stansted airports) as well as Liverpool. Prices are based on demand, so the least popular routes make for the cheapest fares, especially if you book early (tel. 0870-600-0000, www.easyjet.com).
Irish-owned Ryanair flies from London (mostly Stansted Airport, though also Gatwick and Luton), Liverpool, and Glasgow to often obscure airports near Dublin, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Oslo, Venice, Turin, and many others (Irish toll tel. 0818-303-030, British tel. 0871-246-0000, www.ryanair.com). However, be warned that Ryanair charges additional fees for nearly everything. The company requires a mandatory online-only check-in (£5 charge), from 15 days to four hours before your flight (no airport check-in). When checking in, you must also print out your boarding pass; if you show up without it, there’s an additional £40 charge. You can carry on only a small day bag; you’ll pay a fee for each checked bag (price depends on the season; up to two bags allowed per passenger).
Brussels Airlines (formerly Virgin Express) is a Brussels-based company with good rates and hubs in Bristol, Birmingham, Heathrow, Manchester, and Newcastle (US tel. 516/296-9500, British toll tel. 0905-609-5609—£0.40/minute, www.brusselsairlines.com).
Rick Steves’ Great Britain 2013 is one of many books in my series on European travel, which includes country guidebooks, city guidebooks (London, Paris, Rome, Florence, and more), Snapshot Guides (excerpted chapters from my country guides), Pocket Guides (full-color little books on big cities, including London), and my budget-travel skills handbook, Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door. Most of my titles are available as ebooks. My phrase books—for Italian, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese—are practical and budget-oriented. My other books include Europe 101 (a crash course on art and history), Mediterranean Cruise Ports (how to make the most of your time in port), and Travel as a Political Act (a travelogue sprinkled with tips for bringing home a global perspective). A more complete list of my titles appears near the end of this book.
Video: My public television series, Rick Steves’ Europe, covers European destinations in 100 shows, including 10 episodes on Great Britain. To watch episodes online, visit www.hulu.com/rick-steves-europe; for scripts and local airtimes, see www.ricksteves.com/tv.
Audio: My weekly public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, features interviews with travel experts from around the world. I’ve also produced free self-guided audio tours of the top sights and neighborhoods in London (and other great cities). All of this audio content is available for free at Rick Steves Audio Europe, an extensive online library organized by destination. Choose whatever interests you, and download it for free via the Rick Steves Audio Europe smartphone app, www.ricksteves.com/audioeurope, iTunes, or Google Play.
Maps
The black-and-white maps in this book are concise and simple, designed to help you locate recommended places and get to local TIs, where you can pick up more in-depth maps of towns or regions (usually free). Better maps are sold at newsstands and bookstores (£3-7). Before you buy a map, look at it to be sure it has the level of detail you want.
If you’ll be lingering in London, buy a city map at a London newsstand; the red Benson’s Handy London Map & Guide is excellent. Even the vending-machine maps sold in Tube stations are good. The Rough Guide map to London is well designed (sold at London and US bookstores). The Rick Steves’ Britain, Ireland & London City Map has a good map of London (www.ricksteves.com). Many Londoners, along with obsessive-compulsive tourists, rely on the highly detailed London A-Z map book (called “A to Zed” by locals, available at newsstands and www.a-zmaps.co.uk).
If you’re driving, get a road atlas covering all of Britain. Ordnance Survey, AA, and Bartholomew editions are all available for about £7 at tourist information offices, gas stations, and bookstores. Drivers, hikers, and cyclists may want more in-depth maps for the Cotswolds, the Lake District, and Snowdonia (North Wales).
If you’re like most travelers, this book is all you need. But if you’re heading beyond my recommended destinations, $40 for extra maps and books is money well-spent. If you’ll be focusing on London or England, consider Rick Steves’ London 2013 or Rick Steves’ England 2013.
The following books are worthwhile, though most are not updated annually; check the publication date before you buy. The Lonely Planet and Let’s Go guidebooks on London and on Britain are fine budget-travel guides. Lonely Planet’s guidebooks are more thorough and informative; Let’s Go books are youth-oriented, with good coverage of nightlife, hostels, and cheap transportation deals. For cultural and sightseeing background, look into Michelin and Cadogan guides to London, England, and Britain. The readable Access guide for London is similarly well-researched. Secret London by Andrew Duncan leads the reader on unique walks through a less touristy London. If you’re a literature fan, consider picking up The Edinburgh Literary Companion (Lownie).
To learn more about Britain past and present, check out a few of these books or films.
Nonfiction
For a serious historical overview, wade into A History of Britain, a three-volume collection by Simon Schama. Literary Trails (Hardyment) reunites famous authors with the environments that inspired them. A Traveller’s History of England (Daniell), A Traveller’s History of Scotland (Fisher), and A History of Wales (Davies) provide good, succinct summaries of British history.
Other options include the humorous Notes from a Small Island, (Bryson), The Matter of Wales (Morris), or any of the books by Susan Allen Toth on her British travels. If you’ll be spending time in the Cotswolds, try Cider with Rosie, Laurie Lee’s boyhood memoir set just after World War I. If you’ll be visiting Scotland, consider reading Crowded with Genius (Buchan) or How the Scots Invented the Modern World (Herman), which explains the influence the Scottish Enlightenment had on the rest of Europe. The Guynd (Rathbone) is a memoir of a woman who married into a historic Highlands estate. And the obsessive world of British soccer is illuminated in Nick Hornby’s memoir, Fever Pitch.
Fiction
For the classics of British fiction, read anything—and everything—by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and the Brontës.
Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a fantastic adventure story set in Scotland. Sharon Kay Penman brings 13th-century Wales to life in Here Be Dragons. In the romantic, swashbuckling Outlander series (Gabaldon), the heroine time-travels between the Scotland of 1945 and 1743.
Pillars of the Earth (Follett) traces the building of a fictional 12th-century cathedral in southern England. For a big book on the era of King Richard III, try The Sunne in Splendour, one in a series by Sharon Kay Penman. Wolf Hall (Mantel) sets its intrigues in the court of Henry VIII, while Restoration (Tremain) returns readers to the time of King Charles II.
Set in the 19th-century Anglican church, The Warden (Trollope) dwells on moral dilemmas. Brideshead Revisited (Waugh) satirizes the British obsession with class and takes place between the World Wars. A rural village in the 1930s is the social battlefield for E. F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia. A family saga spanning the interwar years and beyond, Atonement (McEwan) takes an intense look at England’s upper-middle class. For evocative Cornish settings, try Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca or The House on the Strand.
Mystery novels have a long tradition in Britain. A Morbid Taste for Bones (Peters) features a Benedictine monk-detective in 12th-century Shropshire. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple was introduced in 1930 in The Murder at the Vicarage. And Ian Rankin’s troubled Inspector Rebus first gets his man in Knots and Crosses, set in present-day Edinburgh. For other modern mysteries, try any of the books in the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George.
For a more contemporary read, check out Bridget Jones’s Diary (Fielding), Behind the Scenes at the Museum (Atkinson), White Teeth (Smith), Saturday (McEwan), or anything by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy).
Film and Television
In terms of world influence, Britain’s filmmaking rivals its substantial literary contributions. Here are some films that will flesh out your understanding of this small island, past and present.
For a taste of Tudor-era London, try Shakespeare in Love (1999), which is set in the original Globe Theatre. In A Man for All Seasons (1966), Sir Thomas More faces down Henry VIII. Showtime’s racy, lavish series The Tudors (2007-2010) is an entertaining, loosely accurate chronicle of the marriages of Henry VIII. For equally good portraits of Elizabeth I, try Elizabeth (1998) and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), or the BBC/HBO miniseries Elizabeth I (2005).
Written and set in the early 19th century, the works of Jane Austen have fared well in film. Among the many versions of Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth is the winner. Persuasion (1995) was partially filmed in Bath. Other Austen adaptations include Sense and Sensibility (1995, with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and Kate Winslet) and Emma (1996, with Gwyneth Paltrow). The 1995 SoCal teen comedy Clueless also (freely) reinterprets Emma. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre has been made into a movie at least nine times, most recently in 2011 (with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbinder).
In The Elephant Man (1980), the cruelty of Victorian London is starkly portrayed in black and white. Sweeney Todd (2007) captures the gritty Victorian milieu, as do several highly stylized Sherlock Holmes films (2009 and 2011). Sherlock shows up again in an excellent 2010/2012 BBC updating of the detective’s story, set in present-day London.
How Green Was My Valley (1941), which won Best Picture, was set in a 19th-century Welsh mining village.
In 1995, Scottish history had a mini-renaissance, with Braveheart, another winner of the Best Picture Oscar, and Rob Roy, which some historians consider the more accurate of the two films. The UK television series Monarch of the Glen (2000) features stunning Highland scenery and the eccentric family of a modern-day Laird.
The upstairs-downstairs Edwardian era of the early 20th century has inspired many films. Producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory teamed up to create many well-regarded films about this era, including Howard’s End (1992, which captures the stifling societal pressure underneath the gracious manners), A Room with a View (1985), and The Remains of the Day (1993).
The all-star Gosford Park (2001) is part comedy, part murder mystery, and part critique of England’s stratified class system in the 1930s. Its screenwriter, Julian Fellowes, went on to create the wildly popular Downton Abbey (2011/2012), a spot-on portrayal of aristocratic life before and after World War I (filmed at Highclere Castle, about 70 miles west of London). Chariots of Fire (1981), about British track stars competing in the 1924 Paris Olympics, ran away with the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Wartime London has been captured in many fine movies. The King’s Speech (2010) won the Best Picture Oscar, with Colin Firth named Best Actor for his portrayal of King George VI on the eve of World War II. Hope and Glory (1987) is a semi-autobiographical story of a boy growing up during WWII’s Blitz. In Foyle’s War, a BBC series (2002), detective Christopher Foyle solves crime amid wartime in southern England.
British acts became all the rage in the States in the 1960s, thanks to a little band called the Beatles, whose A Hard Day’s Night (1964) is filled with wit and charm. During this time, “swinging London” also exploded on the international scene, with films such as Alfie (1966), Blowup (1966), and Georgy Girl (1966). For a swinging spoof of this time, try the Austin Powers comedies.
England goes mainstream in a series of 1990s hits: Hugh Grant charms the ladies in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Notting Hill (1999); Gwyneth Paltrow lives two lives in Sliding Doors (1998); and John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kevin Kline hilariously double-cross one other in A Fish Called Wanda (1988).
For a departure from the typical Hollywood fare, see My Beautiful Laundrette (1986), a gritty story of two gay men (with Daniel Day-Lewis). For another portrayal of urban London—and the racial tensions found in its multiethnic center—look for Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987). Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) is a violent crime caper set in the city.
Billy Elliot (2000), about a young boy ballet dancer, and Bend It Like Beckham (2003), about a young girl of Punjabi descent who plays soccer, were both huge crowd-pleasers. An Education (2009), about a bright schoolgirl who falls for an older man, takes place in 1960s London. V for Vendetta (2006), based on a British graphic novel, shows a sci-fi future of a London ruled with an iron fist.
In The Queen (2006), Helen Mirren expertly channels Elizabeth II during the days after Princess Diana’s death. If you enjoy The Queen, don’t miss two other reality-based films by the same screenwriter and with many of the same cast members (most notably Michael Sheen as Tony Blair): The Special Relationship (2010, about the friendship between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton) and The Deal (2003, about Tony Blair’s early relationship with Gordon Brown).
Britain has offered up plenty of comedy choices over the years. If you’re in the mood for something completely different, try Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), a surreal take on the Arthurian legend. The BBC’s deeply irreverent “mockumentary” series The Office (by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant) inspired the gentler US television show. In The Full Monty (1997), some working-class Yorkshire lads take it all off to pay the bills.
For Kids: If you’re traveling to London or Great Britain with children, consider watching Mary Poppins (1964), My Fair Lady (1964), A Little Princess (1995), the Wallace & Gromit movies, Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean television series and movies, and the Harry Potter films.
Harry Potter’s story is set in a magical Britain, and all of the places mentioned in the books, except London, are fictional, but you can visit many real film locations. Many of the locations are closed to visitors, though, or are an un-magical disappointment in person, unless you’re a huge fan. For those diehards, here’s a sampling.
Spoiler Alert: The information below will ruin surprises for the three of you who haven’t yet read or seen the Harry Potter series.
London
In the first film, The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Harry first realizes his wizard powers when talking with a boa constrictor, filmed at the London Zoo’s Reptile House in Regent’s Park (Tube: Great Portland Street).
London bustles along oblivious to the parallel universe of wizards. Hagrid takes Harry shopping for school supplies in the glass-roofed Leadenhall Market (Tube: Bank) and approach the storefront at 42 Bull’s Head Passage—the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron pub (which, in the books, is placed among the bookshops of Charing Cross Road), which opens onto the magical Diagon Alley. The goblin-run Gringotts Wizarding Bank, though, was filmed in the real-life marble-floored Exhibition Hall of Australia House (Tube: Temple), home of the Australian Embassy.
Harry catches the train to Hogwarts at King’s Cross Station. (The fanciful exterior shot in The Chamber of Secrets (2002) is actually nearby St. Pancras International Station.) Inside, on a pedestrian bridge over the tracks, Hagrid gives Harry a train ticket. Harry heads to platform 9¾. (For a fun photo-op, head to the station’s western departures concourse to find the Platform 9¾ sign and the luggage cart that looks like it’s disappearing into the wall, between tracks 8 and 9.)
In The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry careens through London on a three-decker bus that dumps him at the Leaky Cauldron pub. The exterior was shot on rough-looking Stoney Street at the southeast edge of Borough Street Market, by The Market Porter pub (Tube: London Bridge).
In The Order of the Phoenix (2007), the Order takes to the night sky on broomsticks over London, passing over plenty of identifiable landmarks, including the London Eye, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. They arrive at Sirius Black’s home at “Twelve Grimmauld Place,” filmed at a park-like square called Lincoln’s Inn Fields, near Sir John Soane’s Museum (Tube: Holborn).
The Millennium Bridge is attacked and collapses into the Thames in in the dramatic finale to The Half-Blood Prince (2009). For Order of the Phoenix and the first Deathly Hallows (2010), the real government offices of Whitehall serve as exteriors for the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione fight off disguised Death Eaters in a Muggle café, filmed in the West End’s bustling Piccadilly Circus. Other London settings, like Diagon Alley, only exist at Leavesden Film Studios (20 miles north of London), where most of the films’ interiors were shot. Leavesden recently opened its doors to Harry Potter pilgrims, who come to see many of the original sets and props (see here).
Near Bath
Many scenes showing the mysterious side of Hogwarts were filmed in the elaborate, fan-vaulted corridors of the Gloucester Cathedral cloisters, 50 miles north of Bath. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, when Harry and Ron set out to save Hermione, they look down a long, dark Gloucester hallway and spot a 20-foot troll at the far end.
In The Sorcerer’s Stone, the scene showing Harry being chosen for Gryffindor’s Quidditch team was shot in the halls of the 13th-century Lacock Abbey, 13 miles east of Bath. Harry attends Professor Snape’s class in one of the Abbey’s peeling-plaster rooms—appropriate to Snape’s temperament. (Mad Max tours include Lacock; see here.)
Outdoor scenes from the first Deathly Hallows, in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione take refuge in the woods, were filmed in the Swinley Forest area of Windsor’s Great Park.
Elsewhere in England
Oxford provided many locations for Hogwarts. Christ Church College’s dining hall was a model for the one seen throughout the films (with the floating candles); the stone staircase out front was an actual shooting location for The Sorcerer’s Stone. The restricted-books section of Hogwarts Library (where Harry sneaks in with the invisibility cloak in The Sorcerer’s Stone) was filmed inside Oxford’s Duke Humfrey’s Library. At the end of that film, Harry awakens from his dark battle into the golden light of the Hogwarts infirmary, filmed in the big-windowed Divinity School; Ron also recuperates here after being poisoned in The Half-Blood Prince. In The Goblet of Fire (2005), Mad-Eye Moody turns Draco into a ferret in the New College cloister.
In The Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry walks with his white owl, Hedwig, through a snowy cloister courtyard located in Durham’s Cathedral (see listing on here).
Harry first learns to fly a broomstick on the green grass of Hogwarts’ school grounds, filmed inside the walls of Alnwick Castle, located 30 miles from Newcastle. In The Chamber of Secrets, this is where the Weasleys’ flying car crashes into the Whomping Willow.
In the second Deathly Hallows (2011), the pivotal scene at Lily and James Potter’s home in Godric’s Hollow—when Harry becomes the “Boy Who Lived”—was shot in the medieval town of Lavenham, Suffolk, about 75 miles northeast of London.
Harry and Hagrid speed through Liverpool’s Queensway Tunnel on Sirius Black’s flying motorcycle in Deathly Hallows: Part I, as they flee a pack of eager Death Eaters.
Wales
Shell Cottage, home of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour and a hideout for other characters, appears in both Deathly Hallows movies. The cottage temporarily sat on Freshwater West beach in the southwestern region of Pembrokeshire. It’s the same beach where Harry, Ron, and Hermione wash up after leaping off the back of a dragon in Part II.
Scotland
Many of the movies’ exterior shots—especially scenes of the Hogwarts grounds—were filmed in craggy, cloudy, mysterious Scotland (much of it in the Fort William and Glencoe areas).
The Hogwarts Express train that carries Harry, Ron, and Hermione to school each year was filmed along an actual steam-train line that runs between Fort William and Mallaig (tourists can ride this Jacobite Steam Train—see here). The movies show the train chugging across the real-life Glenfinnan Viaduct, where, in The Goblet of Fire, the Dementors stall the train and torture Harry. A train bridge opposite Loch Shiel near Fort William popped up in The Chamber of Secrets and was used again when the Dementor boarded the train in The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Also in The Prisoner of Azkaban, Hogwarts Lake was filmed using Loch Shiel, Loch Eilt, and Loch Morar near Fort William, and Hagrid skips stones across the water at Loch Eilt. Steal Falls, a waterfall at the base of Ben Nevis, is the locale for Harry’s battle with a dragon for the Triwizard Tournament in The Goblet of Fire.
Other scenes filmed in the Highlands include a desolate hillside with Hagrid’s stone hut in Glencoe, which was the main location for outdoor filming in The Prisoner of Azkaban. Exterior scenes for The Half-Blood Prince were filmed in Glencoe as well as in the small village of Glenfinnan.
This list includes national holidays observed throughout Great Britain plus selected festivals. Many sights and banks close on national holidays—keep this in mind when planning your itinerary. Throughout Britain, hotels get booked up during Easter week; over the Early May, Spring, and Summer Bank Holidays; and during Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day. On Christmas, virtually everything shuts down, even the Tube in London. Museums also generally close December 24 and 26.
Many British towns have holiday festivals in late November and early December, with markets, music, and entertainment in the Christmas spirit (for instance, Keswick’s Victorian Fayre).
Before planning a trip around a festival, make sure to verify its dates by checking the festival website or the Visit Britain website (www.visitbritain.com).
Here are some major holidays in 2013:
| Jan 1 |
New Year’s Day |
| Jan 2 |
New Year’s Holiday (Scotland) |
| Jan 25 |
Burns Night (Scotland) |
| Mid-Feb |
London Fashion Week (www.londonfashionweek.co.uk) |
| Mid-Feb |
Jorvik Viking Festival, York (costumed warriors, battles; www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk) |
| Early March |
Literature Festival, Bath (www.bathlitfest.org.uk) |
| March 29 |
Good Friday |
| March 31, April 1 |
Easter Sunday and Monday |
| May 6 |
Early May Bank Holiday |
| Early May |
Jazz Festival, Keswick (www.keswickjazzfestival.co.uk) |
| Late May |
Chelsea Flower Show, London (book tickets in advance for this popular event at www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea) |
| May 27 |
Spring Bank Holiday |
| Late May-early June |
International Music Festival, Bath (www.bathmusicfest.org.uk) |
| Late May-early June |
Fringe Festival, Bath (alternative music, dance, and theater; www.bathfringe.co.uk) |
| Early June |
Beer Festival, Keswick (music, shows; www.keswickbeerfestival.co.uk) |
| Early-mid-June |
Trooping the Colour, London (military bands and pageantry, Queen’s birthday parade; www.trooping-the-colour.co.uk) |
| Mid-June |
Royal Highland Show (Scottish county fair, www.royalhighlandshow.org), Edinburgh |
| Mid-late June |
Golowan (Midsummer) Festival, Penzance (www.golowan.org) |
| Late June |
Royal Ascot Horse Race, Ascot (near Windsor; www.ascot.co.uk) |
| Late June-early July |
Wimbledon Tennis Championship, London (www.wimbledon.org) |
| Early July |
International Eisteddfod (folk songs, dances, www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk), Llangollen |
| Mid-July |
Early Music Festival, York (www.ncem.co.uk) |
| Late July |
Cambridge Folk Festival (buy tickets early at www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk) |
| Aug |
Military Tattoo (massing of bands, www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk), Edinburgh |
| Aug |
Fringe Festival (offbeat theater and comedy, www.edfringe.com), Edinburgh |
| Aug |
Edinburgh International Festival (music, dance, shows, www.eif.co.uk) |
| Aug 5 |
Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland only, not England or Wales) |
| Late Aug |
Notting Hill Carnival, London (costumes, Caribbean music, www.thenottinghillcarnival.com) |
| Aug 26 |
Summer Bank Holiday (England and Wales only, not Scotland) |
| Sept-Nov |
Illuminations, Blackpool (waterfront light festival, www.visitblackpool.com/illuminations) |
| Mid-Sept |
London Fashion Week (www.londonfashionweek.co.uk) |
| Mid-Sept |
Jane Austen Festival, Bath (www.janeausten.co.uk) |
| Late Sept |
York Food and Drink Festival (www.yorkfoodfestival.com) |
| Nov 5 |
Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, Britain (fireworks, bonfires, effigy-burning of 1605 traitor Guy Fawkes) |
| Nov 30 |
St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland |
| Dec 24-26 |
Christmas holidays |
| Dec 31—Jan 2 |
Hogmanay (music, street theater, carnival, www.hogmanay.net), Scotland |
- In Europe, dates appear as day/month/year, so Christmas is 25/12/13.
- What Americans call the second floor of a building is the first floor in Britain.
- On escalators and moving sidewalks, Brits keep the left “lane” open for passing. Keep to the right.
- To avoid the British version of giving someone “the finger,” don’t hold up the first two fingers of your hand with your palm facing you. (It looks like a reversed victory sign.)
- And please...don’t call your waist pack a “fanny pack” (see the British-Yankee Vocabulary list at the end of this appendix).
Britain uses the metric system for nearly everything. Weight and volume are typically calculated in metric: A kilogram is 2.2 pounds, and one liter is about a quart (almost four to a gallon). Temperatures are generally given in Celsius, although some newspapers also list them in Fahrenheit.
1 foot = 0.3 meter
1 yard = 0.9 meter
1 mile = 1.6 kilometers
1 centimeter = 0.4 inch
1 meter = 39.4 inches
1 kilometer = 0.62 mile
1 square yard = 0.8 square meter
1 square mile = 2.6 square kilometers
1 ounce = 28 grams
1 quart = 0.95 liter
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds
32°F = 0°C
Britain hasn’t completely gone metric. Driving distances and speed limits are measured in miles. Beer is sold as pints (though milk can be measured in pints or liters), and a person’s weight is measured in stone (a 168-pound person weighs 12 stone).
1 stone = 14 pounds
1 British pint = 1.2 US pints
1 imperial gallon = 1.2 US gallons or about 4.5 liters
1 stone = 14 pounds (a 168-pound person weighs 12 stone)
When shopping for clothing, use these US-to-Britain comparisons as general guidelines (but note that no conversion is perfect).
- Women’s dresses and blouses: Add 4 (US women’s size 10 = UK size 14)
- Men’s suits, jackets, and shirts: US and UK use the same sizing
- Women’s shoes: Subtract 2½ (US size 8 = UK size 5½)
- Men’s shoes: Subtract about ½ (US size 9 = UK size 8½)
The first line is the average daily high; second line, average daily low; third line, average days without rain. For more detailed weather statistics for destinations in this book (as well as the rest of the world), check www.worldclimate.com.
Britain uses both Celsius and Fahrenheit to take its temperature. For a rough conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit, double the number and add 30. For weather, remember that 28°C is 82°F—perfect. For health, 37°C is just right.
For a longer list, plus a dry-witted primer on British culture, see The Septic’s Companion (Chris Rae). Note that instead of asking, “Can I help you?” many Brits offer a more casual, “You alright?” or “You OK there?”
5 shirts: long- and short-sleeve
