When my wife and I spent three weeks touring England in a rental car 40 years ago we spent every night in a different bread and breakfast. But by “bread and breakfast” I do not mean the small boutique hotels that go by that name today. We would be driving along and see a house by the side of the road with a sign in a window saying “B & B”. It would be a private home whose occupants rented out an extra bedroom for the night; in the morning you would have breakfast there, sometimes with the family. It was a crap shoot; you never knew what you were getting in for, and that was part of the fun. Do they still exist?
There might still be a few up north but definately not as common as they were.
Just out of interest, what car did you rent?
Not exactly sure what you mean by “traditional”. It’s sort of like asking if there are gas stations in the US that still do oil changes. The answer is “yes” but the business model has evolved.
I was in England throughout the month of September. I stayed in a number of B&B’s that were owned by individual families, that were very small (2-4 rooms), friendly and were in rather remote areas. However, they have modernized their rooms, take credit cards and use the internet for reservations. Breakfast was served by the proprietors. People don’t want to stay in dumps with bad plumbing.
But yes, they are all over the place and not hard to find. As common as they are in England there are even more in Ireland.
Certainly in Ireland there are still B&Bs operating out of private homes. When I visited Ireland in 2003, most of them were that way.
It was an English Ford. I forget what it was called. The first day I drove it I was terrified, but by the second day I was perfectly comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road. I had a hard time, though, getting used to the scarcity of petrol stations. I was used to finding four on almost every corner in the U.S.
I’ve never been to Engla ND, I’ve seen Fargo though. Of course that was a movie 
(sorry I couldn’t resist)
Absolutely they still exist, and I’ve never had any trouble finding them. They now boast Digital TV/Free WiFi and other amenities, but I still love staying at them.
Yes, they still exist, all over England, although not in the numbers there used to be. Running a quick check for my own city, Portsmouth on the South Coast, I see a whole host of ads for B&B (as opposed to hotels and guest houses which are listed separately).
I’m trying to picture the scenario…there I am in the living room, in my nightgown and robe, folding laundry while watching “House”. Mr. Sali is making his lunch for tomorrow. Daughter is in her room doing whatever it is she does in there. Another mundane evening … And in the spare bedroom there is some complete stranger staying there for the night? Taking a shower in our bathroom? In our kitchen, making himself a cup of tea?
Usually there will be a separate bathroom for the “paying guest” and a kettle in the room, but some B&B’s do invite you to share the lounge/living room with them…
Commonly, the daughter isn’t there at all – she’s grown up and gone off to university/married & moved in with her husband/etc. In fact, it may be her old bedroom that is being rented out. And thus the parents are generally older people, and often enjoy the company & conversations with ‘tourists’.
I was there about 10 years ago and drove from Lands End to John O’Groats. There were lots of B&Bs in peoples houses. Some had 1 room, some had 3 or 4. We stayed in a very wide range of places. Some had saggy beds and musty blankets, others were really beautiful and comfortable. One night we were in a gorgeous Georgian brick house with high ceilings and an armoir the size of a small tank. My favorites were in Scotland. One night we stayed with a village policeman who just rented out rooms to have company. He said that during the winter it was dark in the morning when he went to work and dark again before he got home. Someone could paint graffiti on the house and he wouldn’t know til Spring.
The one where I stayed in Inverness last year was that kind, as were most of the listings I saw when I was preparing the trip (1-4 rooms). Mind you, don’t tell any of the locals “here in England…” unless you want to make sure they know ye’r daft.
Absolutely. And they run the gamut, from converted spare rooms in someone’s house to bespoke properties indistinguishable from small hotels.
And it’s bed and breakfast, not bread. You usually get bread, in the form of toast with your breakfast, but you’ll definitely get bed.
:dubious: A few? I’ve never been anywhere in the UK which didn’t have B&Bs everywhere. I lived in the centre of Edinburgh and there were B&Bs all over the place. The centre of London has thousands of them.
You’re probably looking for someplace like this.
I can’t believe I wrote “bread” and not “bed”! I’m glad everyone knew what I was talking about.
I’ve stayed in B&Bs in Canada and the U.S., and I have a friend who runs a B&B in Australia. Usually they are in relatively large houses, with some separation between the guest area and the family area, though there will be some overlap, e.g., the dining room and perhaps a living room. So if you want some privacy, you can have it, or you can spend some time socialising with the owner(s).
And when we were there 40 years ago televisions weren’t as common as they are now and we were often invited to sit in the living room with the family and watch tv. Talk about getting to know the natives in a foreign country!
Although there was one with a quite attractive daughter, maybe about 20, still living there. And no, it didn’t turn into a setup for a joke.