I know it’s a popular tourist spot, why do you think I mentioned how fucking annoying it is?! I’ve nearly killed many of those Japanese teenagers by either refusing to stop and just blowing through the crossing with my horn blaring, or refusing to sit still for more than five minutes while some cunt checks the picture of his ugly girlfriend against the album cover to make sure she’s standing just right. There isn’t always traffic like TRAFFIC, though. Try early on a Sunday morning.
You have my sympathy Teacake but one day a cop is gonna pull you for going through the crossing when people are on it
Yeah, that’s the only crossing I ever do it on, obviously. I think I could plead provocation! In fact I’m pretty sure the cops have seen me do it more than once and just regard having horns blown at you as a natural hazard of being a moron instead of touristing in a considerate fashion. They did say they were going to take the crossing out a while ago because it was a hazard, but it never came to anything. Meh. I just avoid Abbey Road whenever I can.
Purbeck is one of the nicest places on the planet.
It has a Norman castle (Corfe), an Edwardian seaside resort (Swanage), two nature reserves (Arne Heath & Studland), a preserved steam railway, the second - largest lagoon in Europe (Poole Harbour), several great pubs and literary connections (Thomas Hardy and - lesser-known - Keith Roberts).
Don’t forget the Jurassic Coast - though if you want to see fossils you’re better off going to Lyme Regis.
Along with others I would recommend three main areas to explore…
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Lyme Regis, Sidmouth, Branscome and Exeter areas…lovely stoney beaches and English seaside towns with beautiful countryside inland. Exeter is a lovely small city.
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Cornwall, especially the Lizard.(Helford Pasage is lovely)…although this may be too far for you in the time you have in the UK.
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Poole and Bournmouth. Studland, Brownsea Island and Swanage are all lovely.
I hope you have a fantastic time 
Plans are firming up - we’ll be over there from Aug 25th to Sept 6th. Since I’m taking more time than I expected, a Kent to Cornwall to Cotswolds trip seems doable, with maybe a side trip to York or Hadrian’s Wall. A few questions for the Britishers here:
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I read that each town has a tourist office. Are these places useful for lodging references and local sightseeing recommendations? Or are they just shills for a tourist trap?
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How hospitable are British B&Bs? We’re planning to stay in them rather than in hotels, but my girlfriend is worried about sharing bathrooms, too rustic accomodations, etc. I can sleep in a barn, but she wants more luxurious digs. Also, since half of travel is meeting new people, I’m thinking that B&Bs are the way to go. Thoughts?
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How do I exchange money? Do you use Euros or pounds? Should I exchange my money here before I leave, or when I get there?
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How difficult is renting a car? Any more complex than in the states? And, I have to ask, is it hard to drive on the “wrong” side of the road?
They’re run by local councils, but they’ll charge you an arm and a leg for pretty much any piece of paper you might need. Ask the hotel staff instead.
They’re all quite different; all depends on which little old lady is in charge. The good think about British B&Bs is that they tend to be clustered together, so if you don’t like the rates/rooms at the first one, you can just walk twenty yards to the next. Make sure your girlfriend gets a look at the rooms before you hand over any money- they won’t be offended or anything.
There will be a Bureau de Change at the airport. You want pounds, although if you’ve got some Euros already for some reason you’ll be able to spend them in London and probably at touristy places outside the capital too.
It’s easier, actually. More like renting a U-Haul - just sign and go more or less. If you’re not comfortable driving a manual, it’ll be much harder, though - even at the airport rental counters you’re likely to be quite limited in your selection. Driving on the other side is quite easy, but drive around the parking areas a bit before you get onto a motorway (freeway).
Most of what RNATB said is true. What he didn’t mention is that in most, if not all libraries, you can pick up all the bumf you need for that particular area.
We never actually used any, but I don’t think anyone would call them shills.
They vary a lot, but we never had a bad experience. There are a lot online. Do some googling before you go and have a few picked out at least, if not reservations made beforehand. If you don’t want to share a bathroom, request en suite rooms. As for meeting people, that varies too. We stayed in one place that had two rooms for rent, and another that had a dozen.
The best rate you’ll get is by using credit cards. Just charge stuff as much as possible - Visa and Mastercard are accepted pretty much everywhere. You will need some cash, of course - many B&Bs actually either don’t take cards, or give discounts for cash. I just used my ATM card to pull out cash whenever I needed it.
Peoples’ experiences differ, of course, but I had no problem driving right off the bat. It’s a bit mind-warping for a day or two, but it’s not that big a deal, in my experience. My wife, on the other hand, nearly died from anxiety.
I’m not sure where Really Not All That Bright has been, but I’ve never found tourist offices charging so much as fingers and toes, let alone an arm and a leg, for anything. They do tend to have a gift shop in the same room as the actual information desk, and what you buy from such gift shops is your own look out, but we’ve spent a lot of time driving around England and Scotland, rocking up at the tourist office to pick up a map and a hotel/B&B reservation for that night. They do have a small booking charge for the reservations, but it’s literally a few pounds, not a lot on top of the room rate, and they usually give you a map and some leaflets for free.
Driving on the left isn’t difficult. Remember the whole car will be the “wrong” way round, so you just flip your brain, and it’s all simple. You’ll probably find groping in the door pocket for the gear lever the most difficult habit to get out of! In general, stay out of town centres, but that won’t be difficult either; car parks and pedestrianised areas are pretty well signposted. Don’t forget that you are required to apply your hand brake (parking brake?) when you leave the vehicle in this country, no matter how level the ground may be!
Hehe I was going to ask exactly the same thing about driving in California! One thing I would say is that, depending on where you go, England has a lot of small country lanes where you dont drive on one side of the road-you drive down the middle!
Generally now they are good, although like RNATBsaid it does vary with each one. A lot of them have ensuite bathrooms and are quite luxurious. Like anything it depends on how much you pay of course.
A lot of pubs have rooms too which can be lovely. If you google ‘British Pub Guide’ there will be some good recommendations. Have a look for the Stags Head in Dunster. Dunster is a lovely quaint village and the Stags is fantastic for food and comfortable rooms. The staff are really friendly too.
Check out the National Trust’s website too because they have lovely country houses and gardens to walk around and are all around the UK…definitely worth a visit.
Don’t rely on Euros because outside of London not many places accept them-especially not in the South West. You can exchange money in quite a few WHSmiths (a chain of newagents) now too and a lot of towns have one of these.