Country Information

UK

Location: Northwest coast of European Mainland
Capital: London
Population: 65 million
Currency: Pound (GBP)
Language: English

Dates in the country

Mid September 2017

Climate

In general the UK have warm summers and cool winters. Summers are cooler than those on the continent, but the winters are milder. The overall climate in England is called temperate maritime. This means that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0ºC in winter and not much higher than 32ºC in summer.

Public Holidays

  • January 1st New Year’s Day
  • January 26th Australia Day
  • April 3rd Good Friday
  • April 6th Easter Monday
  • May 1st early may bank holiday
  • May 29th Spring bank holiday
  • August 28th Summer Bank Holiday
  • December 25th Christmas
  • December 26th Boxing day

VISA

No visa required as both UK citizens

Medical



Vaccines advised:

  • Tetanus
  • Malaria: No


Rules of the Road



In addition to having current valid International driving permit and insurance, each visitor should know the basic laws of driving in the UK:

  • A driver sits on the right hand side of the car and drives on the left hand side of the road.
  • A driver and all passengers must wear seat belts.
  • Baby seats and child restraints are mandatory.
  • It is not allowed to use cell phone while driving.
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is not allowed.
  • The minimum driving age is 17 years old.

There are three main types of roads in UK: M (Motorway), A, and B roads.

  • “M” roads are the fast roads; they are like American highways (freeways).
  • “A” roads are the main routes between towns. They range from dual carriageways to one-lane roads.
  • “B” roads are secondary roads.

On signs, distances and speed limits are given in miles and miles per hour (mph). The National Speed limits are:

  • Residential areas: 20mph (35 km/h);
  • Villages and towns: 30mph (48 km/h);
  • Single carriageways: 60 mph (96 km/h);
  • Motorways and dual carriageways: 70 mph (112 km/h).

Other information:

  • Cities and towns centers are armed with speed cameras. It is legal to use of a Speed Camera Detector for warnings mobile and fixed speed cameras.
  • That is legal to cross the road and park a car facing oncoming traffic. Double continuous yellow lines along the curb indicate “No parking at any time”. A single continuous yellow line indicates a parking restraction is at the definite hours of the day.
  • U-turn (or 3-point-turn) is allowed on any road where it can be done safely.
  • The rule for driving on the traffic roundabouts is “Always give way to traffic that is coming from the right”.
  • Once a pedestrian steps onto an intersection, driver must stop his vehicle and stays until the pedestrian has stepped back onto the sidewalk.
  • Safety helmets for drivers and passengers of motorcycles are required.
  • Emergency assistances can be reached by dialing 911.
  • A car gives a lot of freedom and help to explore sights. The interesting and picturesque places you can see driving in the countryside of the UK. Many country roads are wide only for one car; therefore, you should watch out for small areas where you can pull up to let an oncoming car pass you. Other drivers will also pull over to let you pass.
  • Foreign drivers should remember that there are many unmarked police cars on British roads; they perform random cars and drivers checks of vehicles and drivers.


Places to Visit


  • London to visit everyone.
  • Bentham to end the trip with Tristan’s parents.


Route

Shipping from Southampton back to Australia.

A detailed route showing where we went overlanding and exploring. We jotted down the routes we travelled on a physical map which travelled with us from Australia to the UK, then transferred this to a digital form using Google Maps (KML and GeoRSS Layers) 

These are exact appropriations, maps differ between brands and converting from paper to digital may lose some details in translation. This should still show in great detail our route.