One thing that seems to scare every American I am studying with is driving on the left side of the road. Really, what could be so hard? Well, it wasn’t. I’m sure I did some things wrong, my roundabout etiquette probably wasn’t up to par but all in all it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be!
I retrieved my car at 8am Friday morning. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t get the Vauxhall Corsa, but a Peugeot 207! Now that isn’t a huge upgrade but it did mean a larger motor, diesel economy and more space. Unfortunately it’s French! We all know how well the British and French get along. So the basics were: steering wheel on the right, manual transmission in the middle, and satnav stuck to the windshield. Fantastic! I set off into the Friday morning rush hour of northern London. Because of London’s Congestion Charge (pay £8/day to drive in central London) I couldn’t afford any wrong turns. I had to stick to the one exempt road which passed through this zone. I was immediately thrown out into stop and go city traffic on a different side of the road, a different car, and a manual transmission which I could manage fairly well. While leave I only stalled it once! So I followed the A40 (two lane road) west towards Oxford and then meeting up with the M40 (a motorway, equivalent to an interstate) which I took directly into the Cotswolds.
My first destination was the charming town to Chipping Norton. I wasn’t going because of the charm! I followed a route suggested by the Chipping Norton website which provided my first experience through the countryside and my first experience on a B road (basically a back road). The view was absolutely spectacular. The roads were bordered by hedges that are used as fences and stacked stone walls. These walls are what have made the Cotswolds famous. They are just simply stones stacked to about three feet high. No mortar is used to hold them together, just gravity. Some have fallen, most are still standing. There are pictures of both of these in the Road Trip album.
I reached Chipping Norton mid-morning. The main reason for my stop here was to find Jeremy Clarkson’s house. I have coordinates for his house which I located on Google Maps and found a route there. I got turned around a few times trying to get there, my roundabout skills weren’t very good at this point! I finally found it and was sad to find it surround by a tall stone wall. I do have a picture of that and his gate though!! So with that out of the way I found a car park (parking lot), parked my little Peugeot and went for a stroll. Like I said earlier, its quite a charming town. There was a store for everything and no large grocery stores. Just like an old town. I had lunch in a small pub. Quite expensive for a small sandwich but everyone has to eat!
My next stop was recommended by a local. A small town on the Welsh border called Hay on Wye. I had made a reservation at a hotel for the night. My goal was to reach the town by nightfall which happens around 4pm these days. I had picked out a nice route which avoided all motorways and I did my best to avoid A roads as well. I spent a good bit of time on the B4077. I can say that this was my favorite road of the whole trip. It was winding with beautiful views, colorful trees and of course the Porsche Boxer which I kept playing catch up with! It was good fun and I’d love to drive that road again sometime.
I arrived in Clyro in Wales (the town where the hotel was at) at dusk. I checked into the hotel and relaxed for a bit. My eyes were stressed and my mind exhausted or maybe it was the other way round. I don’t know, I was too tired! I then headed into town. It was 2 miles down a dark, windy B road. Not exactly what I wanted to drive on at night. I did get a fantastic piece of lamb there, which I paid dearly for. You have to indulge yourself every now and again! Since the town was so far away there wasn’t going to be a wild, exciting evening ahead. I decided to walk around a bit (and took a few pictures) and then retired for the night on the top floor of the Baskerville Hall Hotel.
The next morning I awoke to a dreary sky, a full breakfast and the open road! I swung through Hay on Wye during the daytime, no pictures, sorry. I then set off for Cheltenham, the center of the Cotswolds. I wanted to make it there and another town before nightfall so I stuck to the motorways today. I reached Cheltenham, had a walk around. I found the Christmas Market which they had going on. I had a stroll around there, enjoyed the crafts and the Christmas music. Time was running short on my parking stub so I set off for Cirencester. I purchased a book which had different routes around the Cotswolds. I unfortunately got a little turned around and ended up in Cirencestester a bit earlier than expected. No worries though! I had a walk around. There had some fantastic buildings and the parish there was on par with the abbeys around England.
The day began to run short so I packed up, jumped in my little car and for the first time set the satnav for home. I think navigation is a stupid idea for enjoying the scenery and everyday driving. However I wanted to be back in the city before dark, so I punched in my postcode and away I went! I ended up coming into the west end of London at 4pm. Traffic was terrible and my left foot got the workout of it’s life. I dropped the car off shortly there after and caught the bus back to my flat.
It was truly fantastic to step back onto a bus and be driven once again. This was however one of the best things that I have done while here. I recommend that anyone who travels here to leave enough time for a drive through the countryside. It’s the only way you’ll be able to enjoy it at your own pace.
