The wife wants to visit UK and Ireland....

jon · 05-02-2018, 10:12 PM

She wants to land in London and travel all the way up the UK then swim to Belfast and travel to Dublin. Sounds like an excellent campervan trip. Does anyone have any links to campervan rentals? Preferably a Hymer Aktiv type.
At least I can understand the language and signs this trip.

Thanks,
Jon

cruising7388 · 05-02-2018, 10:37 PM

[QUOTE=jon;71377At least I can understand the language and signs this trip.
[/QUOTE]

A local RV will most likely be a right hand drive. Driving on the left side of the road probably takes some getting use to.

avanti · 05-02-2018, 11:58 PM

In Ireland, be prepared for VERY narrow winding lanes with stone walls right up against the traffic. And lots of traffic circles, which take some getting used to due to the lane reversal.

skiMore · 05-03-2018, 12:26 AM

My wife and I considering renting an RV in the UK. Please share what you learn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

In Ireland, be prepared for VERY narrow winding lanes with stone walls right up against the traffic. And lots of traffic circles, which take some getting used to due to the lane reversal.

I haven't been there in 10+ years, but there were bushes next to the road that you pretty much had to brush up against.

There may also be insurance issues going to Northern Ireland.

The RVs are smaller over there.

Robert Ryan · 05-03-2018, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

In Ireland, be prepared for VERY narrow winding lanes with stone walls right up against the traffic. And lots of traffic circles, which take some getting used to due to the lane reversal.

Same with Wales and Scotland and many parts of England

Davydd · 05-03-2018, 01:44 PM

I got out and measured a so called Thru Highway in Wales and it measured less than 16 ft between the rock walls. Larger commercial vehicles have steel tubes welded on the side for a rub rail. A midsize SUV we rented seemed huge. We spent two weeks and 1500 miles in England and Wales. I would never consider an RV. Too restricting in where you can go.

Gryphon · 05-03-2018, 03:08 PM

I spent a couple weeks driving around England/Scotland/Wales back in 2002. I agree about the narrow roads - even a small rental car was challenging to maneuver in places.

Driving on the other side of the road wasn't much of a problem for me. I got accustomed to that pretty quickly, but it was something I had to pay attention to - I remember one time in Yorkshire realizing I had been driving on the right side of the road for the last couple miles. Fortunately, there had been no other traffic on that road.

But the one thing I never got accustomed to was having the driver's seat on the right side of the car. Having the bulk of the car positioned to my left (instead of my right) was a constant source of mild tension - I was never entirely comfortable with where the edges of the vehicle were located & continually felt like I was out of position somehow. I never had any actual trouble - no brushing up against anything - but I was on edge about it in a way that I wouldn't have been otherwise. I imagine it would have been even worse with a van.

jon · 05-03-2018, 04:24 PM

Ok, so the roads should be my greatest concern. She mentioned joining a sightseeing tour so the extra driving stress would be worth not being herded around in a tour group.
Thankfully I've got 40 years of driving experience and my left eye still has legally good vision. If I can find a van to rent I think it would be quite the adventure. besides, it's all about making good memories for the daughter before she out grows us.
We are thinking to get a Hymer Aktiv for our next van and it seems that most of the rental vans have the same general layout as the Aktiv so It'll be like a 1 week test drive.
Jon

PinIN · 05-03-2018, 10:42 PM

https://www.quirkycampers.co.uk/campervans/

thanasis · 05-04-2018, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon

At least I can understand the language ....

Are you sure?

avanti · 05-04-2018, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thanasis

Are you sure?

I was thinking the same thing.

<<B-Guy>> · 05-04-2018, 02:28 PM

Initially from the UK and still go back now and then - last time, two years ago.

When much younger, I enjoyed driving there, albeit in small cars, but these days I find the traffic volumes so great and hectic in built up areas.

With a camper van, I suppose you'd be ok on main thoroughfares, but it would be a real challenge on many of the smaller roads.

When you get out into the country, especially in counties such as Devon and Cornwall (where I was born!) you could easily even find yourself on a road so narrow that approaching cars cannot pass - one has to back up to a spot where the roadway is intentionally widened for that purpose!

I think if I did drive there again it would be in the smallest car I could find! More likely if I couldn't con relatives into driving, I'd use public transport or take coach tours!

Surprisingly though, the last time we did visit, I was quite amazed at how many RV's we saw on the roads - vans, small trailers, and the odd larger motorhome. I would say we saw more than you do here on our highways

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Brian

jon · 05-04-2018, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thanasis

Are you sure?

1000% sure I can understand the language better than Chinese or Japanese.

avanti · 05-04-2018, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon

1000% sure I can understand the language better than Chinese or Japanese.

Fair enough. But, here's a little taste of Ireland (admittedly not completely representative):

jkissing · 05-07-2018, 05:47 PM

RV rentals in UK and Ireland

manchester@touringcars.eu
We really liked this rental company out of Manchester and also a office in the Lake district. The van measured 19 1/2 ft long and I think 7 ft wide a fiat that worked well 4 on the floor. Yes the roads are not for the faint of heart! They clip the hedge rows from the ground up to about 5 ft and the above hangs over the roads among the other challenges.

teachjp · 05-07-2018, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon

Ok, so the roads should be my greatest concern. She mentioned joining a sightseeing tour so the extra driving stress would be worth not being herded around in a tour group.
Thankfully I've got 40 years of driving experience and my left eye still has legally good vision. If I can find a van to rent I think it would be quite the adventure. besides, it's all about making good memories for the daughter before she out grows us.
We are thinking to get a Hymer Aktiv for our next van and it seems that most of the rental vans have the same general layout as the Aktiv so It'll be like a 1 week test drive.
Jon

I have caravaned in UK and Europe as well as a campervan in NZ. There are companies that do that type of thing, if you google Ireland hire camper you will come up with a number of companies. It is not cheap. When we were in UK we were there for the summer and friends who live there bought us a car and caravan (we sent the money). Roads are narrow, but doable, take your time. Hire a GPS (called a sat-nav). As an alternative, we usually B&B it UK and Ireland. We can hire a small car (narrow roads) and we get a nice room and breakfast plus a host that will share all kinds of places to go and things to see. Another option might be finding out if any of the tour companies are doing campervan tours in UK/Ireland. We met a group of English on a campervan tour in New Zealand. About 30 or 40 of them all traveling together. Must have been a sight on the roads. The big camping club in UK is the Caravan Club, you may want to see what they might have. I would assume you are talking about fall of 18 or spring, summer of 19 as it might be a bit late to do this for this summer. Hope this was helpful. JP

jon · 05-07-2018, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teachjp

I would assume you are talking about fall of 18 or spring, summer of 19 as it might be a bit late to do this for this summer. Hope this was helpful. JP

Actually I was thinking about this July. I think/hope I have a 19 ft Fiat Ducato caravan reserved for a week. Waiting for the final confirmation. It's basically an Aktiv with fold down bed above the table area. If we can't find a van we'll rent a small car and drive the same route, but after traveling the last three years in our 19 ft Sprinter it'll be hard to go back to a car.

Robert Ryan · 05-07-2018, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gryphon

I spent a couple weeks driving around England/Scotland/Wales back in 2002. I agree about the narrow roads - even a small rental car was challenging to maneuver in places.

Driving on the other side of the road wasn't much of a problem for me. I got accustomed to that pretty quickly, but it was something I had to pay attention to - I remember one time in Yorkshire realizing I had been driving on the right side of the road for the last couple miles. Fortunately, there had been no other traffic on that road.

But the one thing I never got accustomed to was having the driver's seat on the right side of the carHaving the bulk of the car positioned to my left (instead of my right) was a constant source of mild tension - I was never entirely comfortable with where the edges of the vehicle were located & continually felt like I was out of position somehow. I never had any actual trouble - no brushing up against anything - but I was on edge about it in a way that I wouldn't have been otherwise. I imagine it would have been even worse with a van.

Same here driving around the Hawaiian Islands for me. Reversed for me coming from Australia but same tension.

Robert Ryan · 05-07-2018, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

Fair enough. But, here's a little taste of Ireland (admittedly not completely representative):

Also Wales. They speak surprisingly a lot more Gaelic, surprising as it is over the Mersey River from Liverpool

Robert Ryan · 05-07-2018, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Surprisingly though, the last time we did visit, I was quite amazed at how many RV's we saw on the roads - vans, small trailers, and the odd larger motorhome. I would say we saw more than you do here on our highways

Agree especially the summer months, it is packed. Europeans have much greater take up of Motorhomes than in NA. About 40% are either Class C or B models.
as against 10% in NA

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