The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[nietoperz]

Renting a car is pretty easy.

[Chesscub]

You could always go to the quarry where they filmed Dr. Who regularly in the 70's.

Or go to Swindon to see if you can get an Andy Partridge or Colin Moulding (of XTC) sighting.

[skywatcher]

(where's the castle from Holy Grail?)

It's in Ireland!

Basically going to loop England in under a week.

Cardiff is in Wales and France is not England!

[skywatcher]

Renting a car is pretty easy.

Driving on the left isn't, though I agree it won't cause any problems with actually renting the car. Get used to driving from the "passenger" seat, familiarise yourself how a traffic "roundabout" works and you'll be fine!
Remember the UK isn't that big, but you might be better off taking public transport, especially when you find out how much fuel costs over here!

[Derm]

Are you sure about the castle from Holy Grail being in Ireland?
I only ask because I remember a scottish friend I knew in collage talking about visting it there when he was younger.
Of course thinking about it we might be talking about different scenes, the one he went to was from the bit with the frenchmen insulting them.

[Punchy]

Driving on the left isn't, though I agree it won't cause any problems with actually renting the car. Get used to driving from the "passenger" seat, familiarise yourself how a traffic "roundabout" works and you'll be fine!
Remember the UK isn't that big, but you might be better off taking public transport, especially when you find out how much fuel costs over here!

What about how much public transport costs?

[Derm]

What about how much public transport costs?

Yeah, if your going any real distance like up to Scotland renting a car is a lot more practical and lets you go to places more direct.
For me to drive to London is about a 2 hr drive and would cost me about £25 there and back in petrol or I could take the train for 2 1/2 hrs, if I got lucky with the time I was traveling, and would cost me £50.

[Amoebas]

Cardiff is in Wales and France is not England!

Point taken, I'll correct myself...

"Basically it's a week long loop of mostly England".

[nietoperz]

Driving on the left isn't, though I agree it won't cause any problems with actually renting the car. Get used to driving from the "passenger" seat, familiarise yourself how a traffic "roundabout" works and you'll be fine!
Remember the UK isn't that big, but you might be better off taking public transport, especially when you find out how much fuel costs over here!

Driving on the other side of the road really isn't that difficult at all - one picks it up just about immediately in my experience. And as Punchy pointed out, public transport can be dear, especially in London where a single-zone Tube ticket is apparently more than £5 now.

[John Q.]

Just booked flights for the wife and myself from Philadelphia to Gatwick in September.

First time to another continent. I can find all the tourist traps easy, and while we'll do alot of that, I'm also looking for suggestions for some inside info (the stuff NOT in the brochures).

Two weeks, I hope it's enough to do London proper as well as quick hits of Liverpool & Manchester (and maybe Cardiff (if the Rift is in season)).

Most important of all to the Brit Outhousers... which pub can you be found in?

Wsa in London last year with mt girlfriend. It's a great city, i really liked it.

One word of warning though, if you're gonna be using ATMs for cash, make sure you take out enough to keep you going for a while, as they can be surprisingly hard to find.

Them and public toilets.

Oh and don't go on the Londoin Eye if it's a hot day. 45 minutes in a glass bubble in direct sunlight with 15-20 other people can get pretty uncomfortable.

[Punchy]

Wsa in London last year with mt girlfriend. It's a great city, i really liked it.

One word of warning though, if you're gonna be using ATMs for cash, make sure you take out enough to keep you going for a while, as they can be surprisingly hard to find.

Them and public toilets.

Oh and don't go on the Londoin Eye if it's a hot day. 45 minutes in a glass bubble in direct sunlight with 15-20 other people can get pretty uncomfortable.

Really? Cash Machines are everywhere in the UK! Plus you can use cards pretty much everywhere.

[John Q.]

Really? Cash Machines are everywhere in the UK! Plus you can use cards pretty much everywhere.

Yeah man, maybe it was just because i didn't know the city, but i found them pretty hard to find in some areas.

In dublin you can't walk 100 yards without coming across an atm.

also, i prefer to deal in cash, i'm not very good with money, and i find cards are way too easy to use, so i feel better using cash. I don't even have a credit card.

[Punchy]

Yeah man, maybe it was just because i didn't know the city, but i found them pretty hard to find in some areas.

In dublin you can't walk 100 yards without coming across an atm.

also, i prefer to deal in cash, i'm not very good with money, and i find cards are way too easy to use, so i feel better using cash. I don't even have a credit card.

I agree with you about using cash, if I use my debit card too much I lose track of my money.

But I've never had a problem finding one, the problem is finding one where you don't have to queue for ages! Especially in central London.

Amoebas, do you want to know where the best comic shops in London are?

[skywatcher]

as Punchy pointed out, public transport can be dear, especially in London where a single-zone Tube ticket is apparently more than £5 now.

Yes, but driving around London can be a nightmare for anyone not used to it with "red routes" (where you can't park or even stop) and horrendous traffic queues around the major places of interest.
Including for parking fees, it's a lot cheaper and quicker to get around on the Underground than in a hire car, especially if you don't know the area. As for driving for miles on the motorway to other cities, why drive for hours when the train can take the strain? By the way, only rich fools buy a ticket at the station for £50 rather than an easiy obtainable "saver ticket" (purchased in advance) for around half that.

[skywatcher]

do you want to know where the best comic shops in London are?

I imagine they are in London!
(I also doubt anyone coming from the States will be inclined to buy VERY expensive imported American comics, I'm sure Amoebus can wait until he gets home for his comic fix!)