Touring the UK? - you deserve a medal ! (1 Viewer)

[Lenny HB]

Don't use toll roads and never had a traffic delay at Dover in 39 years.

 

[Tanya_and_Mick]

On the topic of UK vs. wider European roads:

Considering a sample of the UK Infrastructure (M'way's, A and B roads) over a ten year period, in conjunction with memories of childhood holidays and the expereince of travelling with work. I would say these journeys were typically planned to consider, public holidays, Fridays, Monday Morning, what sporting events were on and where; plus, any other thoughts of how our journey time would be impacted.

We have only recently started to travel by road to Spain via the tunnel. We do plan, as we have dogs and take timely breaks and swap driving - but only on 12 months experience the planning for us is different than planning a UK trip.

Better vs worse - I'd say just different.

 

[Basildog]

On the topic of UK vs. wider European roads:

Considering a sample of the UK Infrastructure (M'way's, A and B roads) over a ten year period, in conjunction with memories of childhood holidays and the expereince of travelling with work. I would say these journeys were typically planned to consider, public holidays, Fridays, Monday Morning, what sporting events were on and where; plus, any other thoughts of how our journey time would be impacted.

We have only recently started to travel by road to Spain via the tunnel. We do plan, as we have dogs and take timely breaks and swap driving - but only on 12 months experience the planning for us is different than planning a UK trip.

Better vs worse - I'd say just different.

I have never actually managed to sort this planning thing that others seem to do
I blame my mates old dad he was a total tosser and a rogue but good fun , I went on my first European trip with him at age 19 after my mate was killed I said I would go with him as he needed the encouragement to get back into life , he was a seasoned traveler for business and pleasure the old bugger would go for n standby at Dover then swap windscreen cards from someone who was in the toilets/cafe
Anyway after many a trip away with him all over Europe I am now that tosser who plans nothing, will take any old crap vehicle and really don't give a monkeys, haven't been over for a while but there won't be a plan as sadly I don't know any responsible adults who could help with it

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[suavecarve]

The only planning we do for travelling is to miss Lille around rush hour, we can now include Antwerp and Brussels having been caught there recently, after 7 years of europe, mostly France, I am struggling to remember another big queue. I am sure there have been a couple. I dont count the one for a tunnel that had to have traffic lights on 15 minute turnaround where we just got the ice creams out.
The one thing we do notice in our 90 mile journey back from Folkestone (via M25 A3 is we plan that to make sure we miss rush hour but still get caught at least once on the way back) is the amount of sirens. 90 miles of road and we will hear maybe 4 sets of sirens whereas we have hardly heard any in the previous month.
We used to do Cornwall and turn the radio on every saturday morning to hear the length of the queue which probably averaged 20 miles.
I just think the UK needs a tad more planning, is quite a bit more hectic and more expensive. But thats just me (and the wife).
The minus side of europe is the occasional tourist tax you get when your beer bill turns up. The cost of beer in france versus everywhere else, the french riviera is manic and certainly no better than Cornwall for travelling and how big the place is, you still have to remember that it takes a long time to get to the South of France but i suspect it will take me about the same time to get to the Highlands. In fact i just googled it and 3 hours less (including tunnel) to get to john o groats versus montpellier without tolls.
Based on all that for us, Europe pretty much every time.

 

[tonyidle]

There's two-thirds of the UK that hasn't featured in this discussion. I'm not surprised travel is a little crowded down there in the remainder .

 

[Teuchter]

France,

aires are overnight parking places.. not sites and certainly not destinations. Popular ones are rammed out by late afternoon.. parked so close you may not be able to open your windows or get access to a garage .. has happened to us on many occasions.
There are many lovely rural aires by canals etc .. great if you love fishing. Many aires are free and for good reason, no one wants to spend more than a day in a deserted French village with two shops . Aires near tourist attractions and coastal towns are rarely free and many are now quite expensive.. €15 or more in some of the most popular

Camp sites in France near resorts are expensive and many are only open for the summer season.. Easter until end of August ..

Autoroutes are very expensive.. avoiding them will save money but you will spend hour after hour going through villages, endless roundabouts, traffic chicanes and the local traffic is not in a hurry.. after half a day and having covered less the 100 miles you submit and hit the Autoroute

Fuel is now more expensive than the UK

Getting across the channel is not cheap either.. ferry fares are now quiet expensive and if you have a pet that's another added cost, we have two dogs, so that's £68 ferry fare (£17 each dog each way ) and another £60 for worming coming back

Don't get me wrong, we have toured and enjoyed France for many many years but it's now so busy and expensive that we plan to spend more time in the UK..


UK.. don't go away on Bank Holidays or during School holidays .. avoid these times and it's a lot less busy.. CLs are a fantastic way to tour the UK, average £12 -15 .. many less than a tenner ..
There are no toll on Mways (except M6 bypass)
Avoid the over- hyped NC500 .. find your own secret places away from the tourist traffic ..

Don't go to the West Country July and Aug .. Wales is closer and has as many lovely coastal towns and villages and rarely packed out , even during summer.

I agree with some of what you say Jim but we go to France once a year for about 6 weeks (got back 10 days ago from a 5 week trip using 11 sites) had no trouble finding sites (we usually try to use municipal sites as they are well kept and good value and often close to shops, bars, restaurants etc.) never booked in advance just turned up & stayed as long as we wanted and paid when we left often in the afternoon - a great arrangement - unlike the UK - pay up front and be off with you by 11 am at the latest!

We do avoid France between 10th July and 25th August though!! too busy!

As to the NC 500 we have travelled parts of it often long before the concept existed and indeed every year since its inception, again it is best to avoid it in the school Summer holidays but outside those times there is normally room on all but the busiest of sites. We plan to spend 6 weeks or so touring round the North of Scotland this year starting at the end of August (weather permitting!!) and as I hail from Portmahomack in Ross-shire and will certainly visit there and in fact most of the NC 500 is where we will travel except on the way back when we intend to miss out Skye and catch MacBraynes ferry from Ullapool to Stornaway and meander down through Lewis,Harris the Uists etc. and end up in Oban again courtesy of MacBraynes, then head for home (Hampshire)

You know the MacBraynes mantra on Scotland?

The Lord God made this fair land and all that it contains
Except for the Western Isles Because they're MacBraynes!

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[Lenny HB]

Peage tailback..
Dover traffic delays

Never noticed that road in Dover with signs to Paris & Lyon.

 

[Just smiffy]

Peage tailback..

Dover traffic delays

Never use tolls.....

The real French roads....

We can all find photos to fit our view....

 

[hilldweller]

..30 minutes in queue, then queuing on M42, no particular reason

Signs said A38 closed, take diversion........more queues..
.

You should go to Germany, half the motorways are being upgraded with stupendous queues.

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[JJ]

I have only one comment for the Britain bashers, mind the ferry ramp doesn't hit you on the arse as you leave
D.

I go by tunnel... it gets me out of Blighty quicker.

JJ

 

[busby]

In 39 years of driving I've covered more than 1.5 million miles, I simply don't feel the need to spend my holiday time adding large amounts to that. I'm happy to tour in the uk, whether that be doing 100 miles in a month or 100 miles in a day matters not, it's still touring.

D.

A few more years and miles and you will get the hang of it,,,Never worked my mileage out,,started 1962,,,300 to 500 miles a day until i retired,,,200 miles is a big day now,,,BUSBY,,

 

[busby]

You should go to Germany, half the motorways are being upgraded with stupendous queues.

Thats why i don't use motorways if i can help it,,,BUSBY,,

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[scotjimland]

The real French roads....

View attachment 243054 View attachment 243055

We can all find photos to fit our view....

of course we can, I was replying to the OP .. who said

Europe, apart from big cities, roads are quiet

 

[Cheshirecat57]

A few more years and miles and you will get the hang of it,,,Never worked my mileage out,,started 1962,,,300 to 500 miles a day until i retired,,,200 miles is a big day now,,,BUSBY,,

Are you saying you did 500 miles a day in 1962?.

 

[JJ]

The roughest "road" I have ever driven on regularily is in Portugal...

...the track down to QMJ.

It leads to Paradise.


JJ

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[JJ]

in total we lost seven minutes over our original eta.

Cripey cripes...

I haven't been held up that long this year driving in Portugal...



JJ

 

[busby]

Are you saying you did 500 miles a day in 1962?.

300 to 500,,No tacos back then,,,,It was still possible without motorways,,,BUSBY

 

[Lenny HB]

fair enough.. I spoke as I found .. some N roads maybe ok for making good time.. many I've tried were not, and D roads are just a joke... but ideal for cycling ..

Plenty of D roads that are dual carriageway with a hard sholder & plenty of A roads in the UK that are so narrow you wouldn't want to take a Motorhome down.

Having just returned from 4 weeks in France, not seen a traffic jam or a toll booth. Went via Belgium at both ends of the trip, yes Belgium roads can be rough and our standard joke when we find a rough road in France is "didn't know we had gone back to Belgium". But Beligum roads are no worse than some of the rual roads in Kent and Sussex we had to traverse to get home.

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[hilldweller]

and Brussels.

It's neck and neck which is the worst ring I know, M25 or Brussels Ring.

M25 might win because it also has the worst road surface in UK on the southern bit.

 

[Jim]

While touring the continent, its fine to have empty roads, in much of the country that's all they do have, Limousin anyone When on the road Try finding a decent pint of ale or a proper pint of fresh milk, you won't, I've tried for 40 years. How about buying a proper bit of bacon or having a nice cup of tea, you got no chance. Try finding proper sarcasm outside of these fine isles, best of luck with that. Here you'll find people who know how to queue, people who can laugh at themselves. People who will apologise to you, when you bump into them. On your tours abroad see if you can find people who moan as much as us, you won't, we're world champions. See if you can find people who pride themselves on their modesty as much as the Brit. you'll look but you have no chance, we're the best.

As for motorhoming, Our CL and CS Network is for the most part as good or better than the Aires system, unless of course, you love dusty carparks which make up far too many of the aires in France and maybe you enjoy Frenchmen parking so close your door hits their step. We have a thousand pubs you can park up at eat drink and be merry. We've got pub gardens, ever see one of those on the continent? No, you haven't, though in France a bit of concrete complete with dog poo and a large ashtray might pass for one. You haven't even got a decent pub, though I know some of you enjoy the pretend pubs on the continent, "Jock's Bar" "The Red Lion" they are awful, pale imitations of the real thing.

Yes our roads might be busier, but that's because this place is more popular, it's better We don't charge you a fortune to use our motorways which for the most part are always moving. We have got some of the finest coastlines in the world, we are an Island. We've got the Millenium stadium, We are the home of Soccer, Cricket, Rugby, Golf, Rounders and Badminton, The spiritual home of Music and theatre and these days some the best food in Europe; eaten in France lately? (Yuk) We have the best telly so much so that when touring people spend a fortune on equipment so they can watch it wherever they are(ever watched Spanish telly ) We've got accents, so many you could spend a lifetime learning. we call complete strangers love, darling or me-duck. We've got THE Queen. We've got stunning majestic Scotland, we have James Bond, don't forget Beautiful Wales with campsites that have the best views in the world. Three Cliffs on the Gower anyone? Monty Python. Nothing Johhny foreigner has can compare, and even if it looks good, in summer you always have the whiff of open-sewer, in fact that's how I know I'm in Spain.

Not many are caught at Dover trying to stowaway to the mainland. Why is Britain more popular? Well it's just better that's all. And the more moany old expats that leave us the better it gets

 

[Barclaybasher]

While touring the continent, its fine to have empty roads, in much of the country that's all they do have, Limousin anyone When on the road Try finding a decent pint of ale or a proper pint of fresh milk, you won't, I've tried for 40 years. How about buying a proper bit of bacon or having a nice cup of tea, you got no chance. Try finding proper sarcasm outside of these fine isles, best of luck with that. Here you'll find people who know how to queue, people who can laugh at themselves. People who will apologise to you, when you bump into them. On your tours abroad see if you can find people who moan as much as us, you won't, we're world champions. See if you can find people who pride themselves on their modesty as much as the Brit. you'll look but you have no chance.

As for motorhoming, Our CL and CS Network is for the most part as good or better than the Aires system, unless of course, you love dusty carparks which make up far too many of the aires in France and maybe you enjoy Frenchmen parking so close your door hits their step. We have a thousand pubs you can park up at eat drink and be merry. We've got pub gardens, ever see one of those on the continent? No, you haven't, though in France a bit of concrete complete with dog poo and a large ashtray might pass for one. You haven't even got a decent pub, though I know some of you enjoy the pretend pubs on the continent, "Jock's Bar" "The Red Lion" they are awful, pale imitations of the real thing.

Yes our roads might be busier, but that's because this place is more popular, it's better We don't charge you a fortune to use our motorways which for the most part always moving. We have got some of the finest coastlines in the world, we are an Island. We've got the Millenium stadium, We are the home of Soccer, Cricket, Rugby, Golf, Rounders and Badminton, The spiritual home of Music and theatre and these days some the best food in Europe; eaten in France lately? (Yuk) We have the best telly so much so that when touring people spend a fortune on equipment so they can watch it wherever they (ever watched Spanish telly ) We've got accents, so many you could spend a lifetime learning. we call complete strangers love, darling or me-duck. We've got THE Queen. We've got stunning majestic Scotland, we have James Bond, don't forget Beautiful Wales with campsites that have the best views in the world. Three Cliffs on the Gower anyone? Monty Python. Nothing Johhny foreigner has can compare, and even if it looks good, in summer you always have the whiff of open-sewer, in fact that's how I know I'm in Spain.

Not many are caught at Dover trying to stowaway to the mainland. Why is Britain more popular? Well it's just better that's all. And the more moany old expats that leave us the better it gets

All true

And we have roads so smooth you could play snooker on them

....proper sarcasm..

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[busby]

While touring the continent, its fine to have empty roads, in much of the country that's all they do have, Limousin anyone When on the road Try finding a decent pint of ale or a proper pint of fresh milk, you won't, I've tried for 40 years. How about buying a proper bit of bacon or having a nice cup of tea, you got no chance. Try finding proper sarcasm outside of these fine isles, best of luck with that. Here you'll find people who know how to queue, people who can laugh at themselves. People who will apologise to you, when you bump into them. On your tours abroad see if you can find people who moan as much as us, you won't, we're world champions. See if you can find people who pride themselves on their modesty as much as the Brit. you'll look but you have no chance.

As for motorhoming, Our CL and CS Network is for the most part as good or better than the Aires system, unless of course, you love dusty carparks which make up far too many of the aires in France and maybe you enjoy Frenchmen parking so close your door hits their step. We have a thousand pubs you can park up at eat drink and be merry. We've got pub gardens, ever see one of those on the continent? No, you haven't, though in France a bit of concrete complete with dog poo and a large ashtray might pass for one. You haven't even got a decent pub, though I know some of you enjoy the pretend pubs on the continent, "Jock's Bar" "The Red Lion" they are awful, pale imitations of the real thing.

Yes our roads might be busier, but that's because this place is more popular, it's better We don't charge you a fortune to use our motorways which for the most part are always moving. We have got some of the finest coastlines in the world, we are an Island. We've got the Millenium stadium, We are the home of Soccer, Cricket, Rugby, Golf, Rounders and Badminton, The spiritual home of Music and theatre and these days some the best food in Europe; eaten in France lately? (Yuk) We have the best telly so much so that when touring people spend a fortune on equipment so they can watch it wherever they (ever watched Spanish telly ) We've got accents, so many you could spend a lifetime learning. we call complete strangers love, darling or me-duck. We've got THE Queen. We've got stunning majestic Scotland, we have James Bond, don't forget Beautiful Wales with campsites that have the best views in the world. Three Cliffs on the Gower anyone? Monty Python. Nothing Johhny foreigner has can compare, and even if it looks good, in summer you always have the whiff of open-sewer, in fact that's how I know I'm in Spain.

Not many are caught at Dover trying to stowaway to the mainland. Why is Britain more popular? Well it's just better that's all. And the more moany old expats that leave us the better it gets

Looking at the world through Rose Tinted Glasses comes to mind,,,I have never had a problem getting fresh milk or decent bacon in France,,in fact i bring a certain brand back home with me,,Think the main reason other than this year there isn't dust in UK parking places is because it gets damped down by all the rain we normally have,,,As others have said everyone to their own,,BUSBY

 

[Bailey58]

Hold ups in Norway too.

 

[pagey]

one reason i avoid the uk news@email.parkdeanresorts.co.uk

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[Jim]

one reason i avoid the uk news@email.parkdeanresorts.co.uk

An email address makes you avoid the UK! Strange

 

[JJ]

Try finding a decent pint of ale or a proper pint of fresh milk, you won't, I've tried for 40 years. How about buying a proper bit of bacon or having a nice cup of tea, you got no chance

If you ever come this way again O Blessed Leader, I can show you where to obtain these items...

Took some time to train up the local traders but (mostly) sorted now...


JJ

 

[busby]

If you ever come this way again O Blessed Leader, I can show you where to obtain these items...

Took some time to train up the local traders but (mostly) sorted now...


JJ

Think its only Lidl of all the supermarkets in France that don't stock fresh milk,,but they do in Spain,,,Weird,,BUSBY,,

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[laneside]

Emigrate if Britain is so awful
What's stopping you, work, family, language???
Can't be that bad then.

As for having to plan or book - not so, done quite a few trips just Britstopping...

We did just that and buggered of to France and after Three years we have no regrets at

 

[gus-lopez]

You should go to Germany, half the motorways are being upgraded with stupendous queues.

but still faster than an open road in the UK and with the knowledge that when completed you'll probably be able to travel flat out if you want

 

[Jim]

If you ever come this way again O Blessed Leader, I can show you where to obtain these items...

Took some time to train up the local traders but (mostly) sorted now...


JJ

Thanks, I look forward to it; but you of all people know my tongue was firmly in my cheek when posting. I love exploring the continent, I love France, Spains alright and I adore Portugal. It's because we're all different that makes it so much fun. People come here from quiet places and love the hustle and buzz of London, others come from warmer climes and fall in love with our temperate climate. Different is good... My post? I'm just hard-wired to defend blighty from the ex-pats who constantly knock the old girl

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