Travels with Sam 🌎 Latest Topic; Christmas Markets & Festive Food 🎄

@Catgoddess_99 not yet, I will hopefully watch at some point though :slightly_smiling_face:

@Catgoddess_99 whereabouts in Cornwall are you thinking of heading?

1 Like

Hello @Peg what are you hands on thoughts for driving on the opposite side of the road?

We are thinking we will use transit but will need a car at some points outside the metro areas.

1 Like

@HelloOutThere - Definitely not a fan of driving on the opposite side of the road. It’s only bad because once your off the highways the roads outside of the city are not wide and many are one lane with pull offs to let a car pass. I’ve always been the passenger and have said ‘Blood #ell’ many a time as I’ve felt like I was going right up against a hedge or stone wall!

Suggestions are rent the smallest width car you can get your luggage into & check your credit card to see if they provide insurance overseas. Our car insurance won’t cover us overseas.

Last trip to Scotland we ferried to Islay and rented a car there. They just leave the keys in the car & at the ferry terminal for you. Best of luck!

Having visited Port Isaac three times over the years but never seen the tide in, I was excited to sit for 3 weeks last year only about a 10 minute drive from there. I can now tick high tide off there @Sam_F !!

6 Likes

@temba unfortunately we didn’t meet The Doc, hey! :rofl:

1 Like

Hi @HelloOutThere, it’s worth becoming a member of the National Trust and English Heritage as there are amazing properties, gardens and sites to visit. I well and truly get my money’s worth each year!

Sadly not @ziggy :joy:

I have to agree with you @ziggy that the Cotswolds are stunning, although I am biased because we live there! :sweat_smile:

For anyone passing through the Cotswolds I highly recommend visiting Bourton-on-the-Water, a beautiful little village with the channeled Windrush river running right through its centre.

Also worth a visit for the beauty and Cotswold charm are Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden. The latter of which is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire and its best feature is the High Street and Market Hall dating from the 14th to the 17th century.

We also love the gardens at Sudeley Castle which contain the Sudeley Sculpture Safari. The Sudeley Sculpture Safari celebrates creatures great and small and spreads both a universal and local message of peaceful coexistence with nature.

Finally, for any film buffs, Wells does not only have a stunning Cathedral but was also the location for the film Hot Fuzz, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, where they changed the name of the town to ‘Sandford’.

This is a photo of me at Market Square in Wells aka ‘Sandford’.

7 Likes

Excellent idea if you are spending sometime in UK , join National Trust, English Heritage etc. Remember joining NT in England gives you access to Scottish properties too. Gardeners World magazine do a two for one deal on other great gardens and worth looking on the National Garden Scheme website for gardens open in the area you are staying. This is all for charity and you get to see gardens you wouldn’t otherwise see. In terms of hiring a car make sure you ask for an automatic if that’s what you drive at home. You can buy an annual insurance policy to cover the excess on car hire. I will post a link if I can find.
In terms of actual driving (I have driven throughout USA, Canada and Europe) . Worth noting we are a very densely populated island so cities are often busy, motorways are usually very busy but once you get into the countryside it’s much quieter. A few cities now have the equivalent of critair certification but hire cars will always be new enough to not to need anything special for this.
As an aside if you are sitting in Europe with your own car make sure you have acquired a critair sticker before you leave.
Remember if driving in central london you will pay the congestion charges. You can do this on line.
We only have two toll crossings in UK (not including Republic of Ireland where there are many more) one is the Dartford Crossing, again you pay this on line and the other is private motorway M6 Toll road that gets you quickly around Birmingham.

4 Likes

I have a sit in North Yorkshire in April, afterwards I want to spend a couple of days on my own in one of the coastal towns, any suggestions? I’ll be using public transportation as I don’t drive anymore especially on the opposite side of the road. I understand West Yorkshire has a few villages/ towns on the coast.

@Catgoddess_99
I can recommend Whitby and it also has a train station.

3 Likes

That looks awesome!

1 Like

My sit is in the village of Finnengley

If you are in Finningley (near Doncaster) the Yorkshire Wildlife Park is definitely worth a visit if you have the time.

1 Like

Thanks for starting this. I’m not clear though. Are you suggesting others post questions and trips here as well? I’m planning a trip to Colombia SA and would love suggestions.

Hi @Robertag yes absolutely, this thread is for ‘all things travel’ related and I am sure there will be others on here as well as myself who will be able to assist you and give you some great suggestions to help you plan your perfect trip to Columbia :colombia::slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like

The HO did mention that as well as all the wild peacocks :peacock:

Port Issac or any others charming coastal village . Any suggestions?

1 Like

I think I might book the Hex Hotel in the wildlife park? I think that would be fun treat.