The Fast and the Furious: UK

I still remember the first time my dad took me to go driving.  I was fifteen years old, I didn't have my driver's permit yet, and he wanted me to practice. So he took me to the parking lot of an abandoned department store and showed me the ropes.

Now, I wouldn't venture as far to say that I am the best or the safest driver in the world, but I will give myself a little credit.  I've been driving for 8 years now and I think I know what I'm doing.  Even with that amount of driving experience, nothing prepares you for driving on a road that is barely big enough to fit one and a half cars.

Then there are the Greyhound busses, full of tourists, barreling down the road headed straight for you, and you are forced onto the grass lining the road just so that the bus can speed past. God forbid you are on a road that doesn’t have a shoulder or maybe on the side with the cliff.  It’s really a scary situation.  Now imagine all of that, with the added bonus of having to drive on the other side of the road and the other side of the car. That's a totally different monster that needs to be conquered on its own.  Welcome to driving in the UK.

We got to the rental car place and asked about the upgrade to the new Mini Cooper. Because when in England, it’s always worth the upgrade.  The woman behind the desk said it was an extra six pounds per day so naturally our response was "ehhhhhh whatever.”

I'm not going to lie when we first went out to the car I opened the door on the wrong side.  Not a great way to start getting used to this backwards way of driving.  Thank goodness it was an automatic.  I can't even imagine how difficult it would have been trying to learn to drive stick on the other side of the road and with my left hand.

Getting out on the road for the first time was actually not bad.  I was most worried about the left-hand round-a-bouts, but those were surprisingly easier than I thought. Once you've gotten used to being on the other side of the car and staying in your lane properly, driving in the UK is really awesome.  Not so much the main highways. That was a bunch of straight roads, lane changing, and speed cameras. 

The real fun happens when you venture off the beaten path and take the country roads that criss-cross the UK.  We drove through the Lake region of England on these country roads and I have to say it was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.  There are gorgeous views on either side of the car, a lake on one side, mountainous terrain on the other, and maybe a sheep here and there.

Now because my mom and grandmas will read this, I will not say how fast I ended up going, but let’s just say that there aren't any speed cameras on the country roads, and you can get that upgraded mini cooper to go a little faster on the straight-aways, which can be pretty fun.  (Seriously mom, I was safe the whole time!)

I've always made fun of countries that drive on the other side of the road.  It’s backwards and never made any sense to me. But that is a great thing about traveling.  You learn to accept and love different cultures, ways of thinking, and, in this case, ways of driving. I will be the first to tell you that I cannot wait to go back and drive on the left side the UK roads again.