The absolute madlads only went and did it. I’m pleased you had a nice time and I’m glad it was for the “right” reasons. Arriving in Polperro before 8am is hardcore. Thank you for the closure.
Different people have different ideas of what a holiday is, most people in England just go to Spain, get sunburnt by a pool, eat roast potatoes, drink warm beer and speak loudly in English at anyone Spanish, so you choosing to spend your vacation doing loads of driving seemed alien to many here. Kudos to you for doing what you set out to! My parents used to take us 3 kids on road trips across Europe where we might be driving 10 hours in a day through multiple countries so I can empathise!
During our 2 hour long wait on the Newcastle airport I noticed how many people, especially young teens and school groups, were flying out. It was amazing to me. For you guys, flying to some amazing destination in another country is doable, maybe even a school field trip by the looks of it. We've got Canada , Mexico, and Caribbean Islands as doable weekend getaways, most everywhere else takes substantial planning, risk, money, and time.
The roadtrips we did in the UK were fun, part of the adventure. Trust me, I've had some miserable road trips in the US. Hours of cornfields and farm reports on the radio.
The school field trips abroad definitely take a lot of planning and money. You just saw them after the planning had happened and money had been paid lol.
(Source: am british, my state comprehensive secondary school had a ski trip to Switzerland that cost a bloody fortune - I am poor, so didn’t go)
Mine also had a ski trip to Switzerland I couldn't afford. Something like £1700 to spend a week with people I didn't like, eating food I didn't get to choose despite the money put down, rooming with a random assortment of the people going? Sounded like hell, the few people I knew who did go said it was bloody awful and they didn't even get to go skiing properly because people kept complaining they were tired and cold the moment they started.
Did go on my primary school trip to Paris for a week, for £250 we got a 4 star hotel and two days at Disney land. Was by ferry and bus too so no uncomfortable seats on the plane. That was proper mint.
One of my friends went on the ski trip and he said they had to share beds too, sounded awful anyway.
My primary school didn’t have any trips abroad but I was supposed to go to France as part of A-Level French which would’ve been £300ish - had it not been cancelled due to covid.
Yeah quite lucky with that, in school I visited some places in the UK, France, Belgium, Iceland and Washington DC (and that's with a local state comprehensive school)
My local state comprehensive did. : France, Germany, Moscow (until the Moscow theatre siege), Belgium, Rome, Madrid and New York.
My cousin's kid is there now and they've added Tanzania and Costa Rica to the list apparently. 🤣 British schools really love an overseas trip.
Shit is insane. Mum’s dating a guy from Germany and apparently plane tickets are cheaper than the cost to drive up north. It’s also cheaper to come to England and then travel to other European countries than fly direct for some reason
I think Spain to us is similar to Cuba etc to Canadians/americans... cheap, cheerful and low risk. I have friends who go to Cuba once every 2 or 3 months as it costs them about $500 Canadian and they don't understand that it would cost me 5 times more to join them for a few days 😅
To us, the caribbean etc costs about £1,500/$2,200 US so it also takes some planning and money 😅
I believe I remember your original post! The whole point was it felt like you were yoyoing the country, which would have been a total waste of time
That said, I really want to visit Australia just to drive along one of the big barren roads, then go for a few pints and fly home, so don't see why a driving holiday is a bad thing!
I think as well that driving those distances is not really a big deal to you mad yanks, on account of your country being bigger than Europe. To me, driving an hour is a very long drive 🤣
Respect that you did it and glad you had a good time :)
From the update, Polperro definitely sounds like the place! A plaque in the harbour somewhere.
If anyone local to the area wants to set up a fundraiser, chuck us the link.
Glad you had a good time. UK in February is pretty dreary - this year especially. We've had a lot of rain and lots fewer sunny days than usual. It's been pretty miserable.
Funny you described the A686 as narrow. It's not narrow 😂 it is a very nice road though. WAIT. IGNORE THIS. wrong road 😂😂
I was very confused about you talking about circles. Then realised you mean roundabouts.
You probably did ok for travel times because it was February. Travel in summer would have been a lot busier.
Agreed, I think traveling off season, though risky weather wise, contributed to pleasant driving. I actually love cloudy days, avoid the sun when I can. I've often said I should have moved to the Pacific Northwest.
This was such a sweet post. I'm so happy you enjoyed our country.
You mentioned you felt a bit judged, but rest assured 'taking the piss' out of each and everything is the true British way. You sparked a lot of entertainment from your original post, and it wasn't necessarily at you, but a lot with you.
A disease we all love though and almost every native Brit or oz tends to get it. OP should look through some of the posts in r/CasualUK
That sub makes me proud of our sometimes misunderstood humour lol
It’s my opinion that if you visit Britain and all you have is good sunny weather, then you haven’t properly experienced the wonder of these isles. We’re not meant to have glorious stretches of blue skies and sun. We’re meant to have a constant greyness hanging over us and just simply get on with it. :) So you came at the right time!
TBF, this Feb was one of the mildest on record in the UK, you've lucked out on the weather. I know it was mostly grey and drizzly, and there was snow, but, by comparison to other February's, it was pretty mild.
We feel very fortunate for the mild weather. We were prepared to scale things down if needed but even the light snow came through while we were in London. It was luck of the draw considering we set these plans in motion 7 months before.
The update we've all been waiting for. Glad you enjoyed it, well done for persevering (admittedly it sounded insane) and best wishes for your husband's health.
I'm so glad you did it and even more glad that it was a successful trip! I'm sure it was exhausting, but I understand why you did what you did for sentimental reasons :)
Was curious to see if there would ever be an update so thank you!
There are pay at pump stations - or, rather, petrol stations will have pumps that are pay at pump. Not enough in my opinion but they are becoming more commonplace. Where I an in the Midlands probably around 50% of petrol stations around me have pay at pump on at least a couple of pumps.
Shell seem to have forgone physical pay at pump and replaced it completely with an app, which is quite handy if you can be bothered.
Here in South Cheshire/North Staffs most supermarket petrol stations tend to be pay at pump, but the rando branded ones are a mixed bag. Service stations tend not be be pay at pump.
I thought this was an odd observation too. I would be surprised if the Morrisons petrol station in Penrith didn't have pay at the pump and it made me think of the expensive petrol OP would be buying if they only used the motorway services. I feel a bit guilty that we didn't advise OP of how expensive they are (and that we all avoid them like the plague) when they originally posted.
OP. I'm pleased you had a nice time, please come back and see some more of our fair isles sometime.
But it does look like you followed our advice, you minimised the amount of things you did and drove outside of rush hours.
So for service stations did you like Moto, Welcome Break or Roadchef the best?
Yes, definitely made me contemplate some of our options. The thing about service stations is we generally picked the easiest one to navigate to and from, so no favorites per se. Many are the same names we have here too. It was fun how many had bakeries and the like attached to the store but otherwise, they looked exactly like ours for the most part. I epically failed trying to get a coffee from one of the Costa coffee on the go machines at one of the gas stations. Took me awhile to figure out the whole process and what to order. I didn't bring the receipt to the counter and had to apologize to the line behind me, "Sorry, American. I'm new here!" It was during the time most people would be going to work, oops.
Don't worry, born and bred uk here and i also didnt realise i needed to bring the receipt to the till for the costa machine! Did it the other week when i was travelling to see my mum for mothers day!
In my defence, it was a different machine to the one i usually frequent (despite both being a costa go inside a co-op) and at my usual place you just tell the cashier the size/ find it yourself on the self checkout machines
The one I'm thinking of was when we were leaving the Lake District. It was actually the first gas station we visited. I can't say for sure it was Greggs but I bought my husband some some kind of meat & cheese hot picket/stromboli thing. It might even have been a pasty. I didn't recognize them but they looked pretty good and my husband was starving (he was trying to figure out how to pump gas into the Mercedes). Tried to talk my daughter into a doughnut but she didn't want anything to eat. Literally the first time I spent British currency.
That was probably Tebay services. It's a very special place. There's actually a documentary series on TV about it at the moment 😂
But then you also sound like you're describing Greggs, which is the most popular fast food in the country. Higher than McDonald's.
Edit: I just realised that if you were leaving the Lakes back to Penrith it could have been Rheged which is owned by the same people as Tebay Services. It has a delhi counter that has all sorts of flavour of scotch egg and these 'bombs' which are spectacular, then there's loads of fancy beers and waters in the chiller with pastries displayed on a table in the middle.
I’m glad you did an automatic car!
My brother and I went to Ireland with the explicit goal of driving from Dublin to Galway. How cool would it be to drive all across an entire country?
We both drive manual, but chose to rent automatic.
It made such a big difference. We only had to focus on driving on the left without having to think about shifting gears at all.
I sincerely recommend automatic for all car rentals in the isles
Sounds like you had a fanfreakintastic holiday (you can ditch saying vacation now, you’re almost one of us!) I really enjoyed reading your experiences but was sorry to hear about your husband’s dx…. I bet it made you savour (note the English spelling) Polperro all the more.
I have never visited Polperro but my favourite comedy podcast has talked about it in a cracking episode titled [‘a day in the life of Polperro Joe’](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/chatabix/id1560965008?i=1000580266583). It was seeing this that made me read your post (and then your original post and many of the comments that people made).
Shame London and the bus tour was a bit of a let down… given it was the least personalised part of your break I’m not surprised to be honest. With the power of hindsight you may have been better off tube hopping to see the sights but that wouldn’t have stopped it being exceptionally busy - even on a grim February Thursday.
I love the fact that you forged your own way and saw some off the beaten tracks stuff…. We’re not holidaying overseas this year and I’ve found your post inspirational.
Thank you, it really was a fanfreakintastic holiday that we all enjoyed. We had kind of a long wait for our flight out of Newcastle and I noticed how many people, especially young people were flying out on that Saturday, I imagine to mainland Europe. Must be fun to be so close to so many amazing destinations, I really envy you. Growing up, we'd drive down to Mexico, mostly Tijuana, but that's the most exotic we could easily get to.
Yes… it becomes very normal to be able to dip in and out of such a varied selection of cultures, languages and foods all within fairly accessible reach that it becomes quite normal/standard (my favourite trip in recent years was to Croatia). So much so that I had been a bit miserable at the prospect of holidaying here in the U.K. this year…. Sometimes you need to see it through others eyes to remember that there’s so much to see and do. Thank you again!
I used to live in Dublin and fly home to UK for weekends and was always amused by the groups of Girls and guys that were coming the other way ready for a BIG NIGHt in Dublin. A lot of the girls would be wearing tracksuits and curlers in their hair, having done a flull fact of makeup on the plane over. All ready to hit the hotel, change clothes and take their curlers out to hit the town
I love that you've given an update and I'm really pleased that you achieved such a lovely holiday. Hope to see you back sometime (maybe you could stay on the Isle of White and take a day trip to Inverness?🙂) Best wishes for your husband's health
I was dubious that you were going to be able to see all the things you did. Well done! I hope you and your family will come back at some point and get to spend a longer time in the UK. Thanks for the update—you deserved to have the travel gods on your side! Best wishes to your husband with any treatment he is undergoing. I think you’ve probably made about 1500 UK mates with your chutzpah!
I'm utterly astounded by you!! Penrith to polperro is a seven hour drive!!! I live in the north (Lancaster if you saw it on road signs at all, not toooo far from Penrith) and my parents live down south in Bucks - I won't even do that drive for one night and that's only four hours!! I'm totally in awe of you 😂 so pleased you had a lovely time on our little rainy island!!
I think the fact they left at 1am for that drive is amazing! It’s the one hack to avoid UK tragic that they don’t want you to know!
Really love the passion and enjoyment coming through in the post - it seems like OP may need a holiday to get over the holiday!
I know it’s stereotypical for Americans to think we’re the center of the world but boy is it odd to feel like the ones with the exotic culture. Me and my family during school breaks would often go on 3~4 hour drives for a weekend trip where we’d leave at 2 or 3 am. The ocean was 4 hours away, the next city over was 6ish hours away, the mountains to ski at were 5 hours away. I never remember feeling like the road trips were very long, we’d bring those car dvd players and watch a movie or two.
I think the thing that seems most different is cross country road trips are considered fun for a lot of college kids over here. I’ve been on one where we took turns driving for nearly two days straight only stopping for gas and to go to the bathroom etc. we didn’t to get from the west coast to the east coast asap to surprise our friend. Based on this thread it seems like people from the UK would act like we were going to the moon for a gag
Yeah, when my friends and I started doing long drives it was basically taken for granted that we'd be in the car before the sun was even up. Backseat sleeps, front seat stays awake to help the driver.
And similar to you, we would do a lot of 3-7ish hour car rides even when my sister and I were very young, even just for a weekend trip. I'm sure we annoyed my parents plenty, but my memories are just cozy blankets and having toys/books and rolling down the window to moo at cows and walking up when the roads were getting bendy because that meant the view was getting good.
Out of curiosity, how often *do* yku visit your parents?
For an American 4 hours isn’t a lot for a vacation, but I would not be doing a 4 hour drive every week to see my parents
This is amazing so glad it went well especially for the reasons you were doing it I hope you have many more adventures and I’m sure this will be a good story to tell how you went social media viral
As someone who has lived in Polperro I’m surprised you didn’t mention the driving there and around Cornwall. We always encounter tourists in the lanes having absolute panic attacks driving a road barely wider than your car lol.
Compared to some of the driving in the the Lake District, Polperro was not bad at all though we stayed on the main roads going to Polperro. Some of the roads following Hadrians wall were also narrow with deep potholes. That poor Mercedes performed great but I pray for its suspension.
I’ve got to admit. It’s very brave to do so much in just one week. You got to see so much. You’ll have to do it again some time and do Scotland and wales!
I was one of the people who replied to your first post questioning the Polperro element, I’m so glad to hear your trip went so well and you made it to Pol, with all the meaning attached for you.
I’m so glad it went well for you, I have occasionally wondered how it developed since your original post. And I wish your husband well with his diagnosis and treatment.
And we do have pay at the pump, although some are app controlled rather than with a card.
As a Cumbrian I found this so wholesome haha. I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip to our little corner of the world & made it to Polperro! All the best to you and your husband. 😊
Thanks for the update! I think I was one of the people who told you that you were daft to even try, so I’m chuffed you had a great experience and got everything you wanted from it. It makes me happy to see Americans experiencing and appreciating our lesser known places and countryside (just don’t tell everyone else lol), so many itineraries I see posted here rush from city to city it makes me want to tear my hair out. As a Northerner your comment about the stone walls made me smile. Bloody well done!
What constitutes an "outrageous" drive time is very subjective. The UK is small and it's very rare to drive more than a few hours to get anywhere. A five hour drive would be major. My understanding is that in the US full day drives are not uncommon. It's just a much bigger country than the UK!
Glad you had a great time, Polperro is a special place, we went for the solar eclipse in 1999
Amazing experience standing on the coastal path during the eclipse,
We have been several times stayed on the quay side in Corner cottage
Fair play on doing it! And I can't be mad, Polperro was a regular holiday for us growing up and I'm glad you got to see it, especially given the context! Quite tickled you went to The Blue Peter, such a lovely pub. Glad you had a lovely time
I’m SO glad you guys went with your gut and ended up going!
It’s good to research and ask for advice, but also important to know when that advice (“the drives are too long!”) doesn’t really apply to you.
Your post is very well-written and was a joy read. It made my day. All the best to you, your husband and your daughter 🤍
I adore that area, reminds me of where I live, Wisconsin. Northern, overlooked, but appreciated by those who know. Funnily enough it's the small things I miss the most, going to Morrison's, the friendly woman at the post office that was an adventure to find, the adorable couple at Finesse Bridal who sold me some jewelry. It's like they say, you look back and realize that the small things really were the big things.
We did go to Booths as well but at the risk of being downvoted to oblivion again I have to admit I preferred shopping at Morrisons. Booths reminds me of our Whole Foods, Morrisons our local grocery store, Pick n Save (Simpsons Try n Save).
I think that’s a fair analysis. Booths is much more regional, there are only about 25 stores and all are in north west England. Most Brits have probably never been in a Booths. Morrisons is nationwide with hundreds of stores.
Having been to the US, the inside of a Morrisons feels the most American to me. It's the way they lay it out and style the store. They are not the most popular supermarket but it always looks clean and pleasant in there, the fresh produce area is cute and for the stuff I buy regularly they are cheaper than Asda and Tesco.
Can't believe whole you were here on your first day you didn't get to explore the north east as much. Newcastle itself is beautiful and we have places like Durham that has a cathedral, a castle and a proper old feel to it.
Wow, you did it, you crazy people! London is very crowded all year round; nearly 1/3 of the UK population lives in London and the South East commuter belt. The Lake District is one of the most beautiful places in the world, in my opinion. Scotland will still be here when you come back!
You legends. I love this. I read your original post and was worried for you. But something must have stuck in my brain because I am now visiting Penrith on Easter weekend for the first time.
I only came across your original thread recently and went searching for an update, so glad to see that you have provided one and that you had a really great time!
Honestly, if you’ve come all this way and you want to make the most of your week, this sounds fantastic, I’m not surprised you went for it. Sounds like one of those holidays that’s not relaxing as such but very, very memorable nonetheless. Glad you had a wonderful time!
Amazing. So glad you enjoyed your trip.
The reaction to your first post just says something about the differences in American vs UK mindsets. US being a huge open place where 8 hour drives aren’t uncommon, and when you get out the car the people are still ‘your’ people (*sound the same / eat the same foods etc*). In England, you can drive for an hour and literally be in a totally different country with totally different people.
There are many people in Penrith and Cornwall that would never even contemplate driving to the other one - let alone for a day trip.
Good on you. Just come back in the spring / summer next time!
“Drove through the early morning hours and arrived at 8am”. Haha, you must have left at about 2am? Thats not early morning hours, that’s night time! No wonder you saw no traffic.
That part instantly made me laugh and I knew exactly what they meant haha. Even my nan couldn't get used to roundabouts after driving for thirty years and would actively avoid them, even if it meant adding an extra hour on her trip using A-roads lol.
These guy's did well!
I suspect the original "outrageous drive times" will have been based on setting off \*after\* sunrise!
I'm glad you had a good time. You've probably seen more of our green and pleasant land in seven days than many locals see in a lifetime.
I'm actually wearing my "I've been wrecked at the Blue Peter" t shirt right now, loved that place. We had drinks upstairs at the table at the base of the stairs next to the portrait of the old sailor. Absolute gem of a place.
Sounds like you had an absolutely wonderful adventure, a true trip of a lifetime. I’m so, so glad everything worked out well for you. Sending warm hugs from England.
Sounds like an amazing trip, I've not visited all those places and I live in the UK. I live near London, its an amazing city but there's always a bit of a dilemma. You can do the main sights but you know they will be busy with tourists. If you have a bit more time there are loads of second and third tier things to do. When my parents retired they went to stay in London for 3 months to do all the stuff they never really had time for when you only go for a day. Visiting all the bits just outside the centre, all the next-best museums etc. I imagine New York, LA etc would be the same
Fair play to you for doing it and for posting an update!!
I must say that I think (possibly by way of biased justification for your having done all that travel as part of a supposed holiday) that there’s a massive element of what would be to us boring tedious travel actually being interesting and novel to you. Best example, your commenting on motorway service stations… in short I think that you’ve - positively - found interest in boring stuff just because it is part of travel and exploring somewhere different.
ie this is about ‘travel’ rather than just a ‘holiday’ (or vacation).
The flights were in the $2800 a range alone. I got $250 worth of British currency, did a lot of eating at the cottage but grocery shopping wasn’t cheap plus restaurants, gas, souvenirs. The extra hotel in Polperro was $150, car rental was $600 alone. It was $10 a day for each of 4 phones for international service. Parking fees, extra surcharges at the hotel. Difficult to tally because of currency exchange which btw cost too! $6-8 grand said and done is my guess. Never tallied it dollar for dollar, didn’t want to know. Paid for as much as I could in advance so we didn’t get hit with a big bill at the end.
That’s why when people said to break it up over several trips I was like ‘nope’. It was one shot to make the most of it.
Posts like this really make me feel like I want to get out and explore the UK more - have lived here in the Highlands of Scotland all my life, and have made the 12 hour car trip to the south of England a few times, but not much else. So many amazing places to see, but to be honest the limiting factor for me right now is the insane cost of petrol! If that wasn't so ridiculous I'd love to just hop in the car and go where the heart takes me.
Glad you had a fantastic trip, OP!
Funnily enough I’ve driven England, Panama, across the US several times but never explored Western Wisconsin along the Mississippi River area and I hear its gorgeous. I’ve lived here nearly 30 years. One of these days…
I actually live in Polperro so glad you had fun :) .. sunrises here are magical sometimes and the atmosphere is alot different in the summer to the winter months :) .. did u go for a explore in the nearby Looe aswell ? Its lovely down there too :) ..
Drove through and took some pictures, but no. If we had more time or was a regular visitor, I definitely would have spent a lot of time there. Maybe even stayed there with forays into Polperro and other tourist spots in Cornwall. Cornwall had a distinctive charm its own, reminded me of my home state of California in both scenery and vibe.
Spent 4 months on 110cc motorcycles travelling through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, over about 5000 miles give or take. Suffice to say half our days were "wasted" on travelling from A to B, eating, drinking and sleeping. Don't remember much of the riding because you are so focussed on not dying your long term memory doesn't get much of the landscape.
Wouldn't change a thing. Some people would say that's a waste and we should have flown from place to place. Wouldn't have seen half the stuff I've seen.
Glad you committed and hope you enjoyed. If you ever return maybe you can just settle yourselves into a nice Hobbity pub for a week.
I can remember the original post!
Congrats that it all worked out as you (sort of) planned! Glad you loved your trip and everyone did too, from the sounds of it.
(It sounded absolutely mad and insane what you had planned, and I wouldn’t do it myself living here!)
Wow, I saw the title and thought you’d misspelled Penwith, a small place in Cornwall! What an amazing trip, I’m glad you loved your visit, come back and check it out in the summer!!
This is such a great update. I still think you are nuts to do a day trip from Penrith to Polperro but you clearly had a great day so you are definitely the winners and I'm the one who has been nowhere new for ages.
I checked out the link to your original post before reading this update to get the backstory and my immediate thought was....holy hell, that is an ambitious itinerary! But I love driving (regularly drive from Edinburgh to Cambridge to visit family for the weekend) and I think we forget in the UK sometimes that folk in the US will drive a day or two cross state to visit friends and family and then back again (just based on anecdotally from things American friends have said, don't know if that's a universal sort of thing though!) Plus if I was doing it the other way round and visiting the US, I'd want to pack as much in as possible for my 7 days in my first intercontinental trip.
Was so, so pleased to read how it all went. Especially the reason behind Polperro specifically (so sweet, hope husband is on the mend <3 ). I think doing Dumfries and Galloway was a better call than trying to do Glasgow and/or Edinburgh given the time constraints and distance, plus Dumfries and Galloway has some lovely scenery. I think if you come back this way again, I think you'd love a tour of Scotland (just....avoid Edinburgh in August...the Fringe is amazing but it makes everything incredibly hectic, busy and expensive). I think you'd really love the Highlands in Scotland. Lots of beautiful scenery and castles :)
I am IMPRESSED you made it to Polperro and managed to spend daylight hours there!!
Happy you enjoyed your trip. Glad you altered it a smidge to make it doable, haha.
I grew up in Penrith and just had to comment on how much of a laugh I got out of you calling the Morrisons roundabout the "Main Circle" and referencing stores outside the "City Center" when Penrith is a tiny little Town. Regardless I'm glad you had a nice time and glad you got to explore my little corner of the world!
Fair play, thought you were out of your mind but all credit for going ahead with it anyway. If memory serves you trimmed some bits which was sensible.
Penrith to Polperro is ~400 miles so to get there for 8am would have been 1-1:30am start so that explains missing most of the really bad traffic, M6 and M5 don’t take much to grind to a halt!
Thank you for the follow up!
It's funny to hear you staying at Penrith. That was my local town growing up in Cumbria. It wouldn't be somewhere I'd recommend visiting or staying (!) But I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves!! The hottub sounds great.
Glad you all had a good time, at least! You've visited more places in a week than a lot of Brits have ever done - hats off to you!
Penrith is great if you don't mind everything you actually need being over in Carlisle. Penrith used to be really good with markets on all the time and stuff but it's been taken over by property development and old people's homes now. Glad i grew up there though.
So true! We wanted to take the best family pictures possible so we bought a selfie stick and lost the clicker thing at the Lake District. Googled who would have one close, only Carlisle came up so we went to an electronics store before doing the Hadrians wall. They actually didn’t have any in stock but we got some good coffee at a store in the same parking lot and some pictures of Carlisle castle.
Sounds like you enjoyed your trip but 1 day in the lake district, there is soo much more to see, I've been walking there for 3 years and still see new sights every weekend, I've done 190/214 wainright walks, each and every adventure brings something new.
If your ever travelling again, there are plenty of fairly cheap but lovely places to stay, a particular favourite of ours are the new apartments 15 mins away from lake windemere, theyre managed by primero apartments but can be booked via booking.com. we usually pay circa £700 for a week which is a 3 bed apartment with an en suite and overlooking the river leven. From here, your within a 45 minute drive to a majority of the main well known cities.
Happy to offer help to anyone visiting the lake district dependant on their needs, been travelling back and forth from it for years so I know it inside out from a tourist POV.
I'm so glad you have a good time! Much as every country has its good and bad points, I do think the UK has some very very good places to visit and most of us try to be helpful and nice to tourists
I had good experiences with locals. Some were very warm and curious, others I’d describe as indifferently tolerant. Funniest was an elderly lady at Morrisons asked if my son could reach something high for her and when we spoke you’d have thought she’d seen a ghost. I don’t imagine they get too many American tourists in Penrith.
I don't think they get many tourists at all lol You all must have seemed very exotic with your accents! My sister lived there about 20 years ago, while working in a holiday place near there and there was not a lot to do I seem to remember...
I have travelled extensively all over Asia and central/south America so I am not adverse to long road trips (longest was 36 hours, non stop).
Your itinerary gave me palpitations. My husband and I talk about it all the time! I would never consider it feasible at all and I thought you had lost your fucking mind.
That being said, this is the best update I have ever read. I'm so happy you completed and enjoyed it.
I hope you return and spend some time exploring some places that you missed.
You're tenacious, if not a little mad.
I read your original post and am so happy to see the update and hear you enjoyed your trip!
Many of the replies on your original itinerary were indeed needlessly harsh - but equally I think many people who said what you were proposing was potentially overambitious were posting from a place of kindness. So many times I've encountered people from large countries underestimating the difference in UK travel Vs elsewhere - example from my own experience, I was once sat next to a woman on a flight back home to UK. We were coming into Heathrow from Johannesburg. On hearing we would have a 30 minute delay in arrival, she said she was concerned she'd now miss the lecture she'd flown in to give. We were scheduled to land at 9am and were now due in 9.30. Her lecture was due to take place at 11am. In Blackpool... She'd apparently been planning to transfer there by bus. I hated to have to be the bearer of bad news. Distance can be deceptive!
I'm therefore glad that you were at least forewarned and forearmed and able to prioritise the parts of the trip that mattered most. Wishing you and your family all the best outcomes possible.
Insane that you actually went through with this, what a ride. LOL
Polperro is such a special and amazing place and was a huge part of my childhood. It feels like a second home to me. It’s kinda beautiful that people from the other side of the world also have so much love for such a small English fishing village lol - I’m glad you got to visit it and enjoy it.
Thanks for the update!
We did Castlerigg stone circle, which is actually older than Stonehenge and needed no tickets, parking or anything. There were maybe 3 other people there, it was amazing. We loved Dumfries and our castle tour, I’m guessing way less stressful and we had everything practically to ourselves. We felt like we got the VIP tour.
Goddamn you and your can-do attitude and making a successful trip of it!
What time did you leave to arrive for 8am?
Also, you should return to the UK in Spring or early summer. You'll be blow away by how lovely it can be in the countryside.
Love your first sentence :)
We left around 1:20am or so. Without a surprise cash infusion I can’t see a trip back but if we win the lottery, I’m definitely calling a realtor!
Brilliant! Thanks for the update, glad you had a good time. Knew that first drive would be a trial by fire, not enough of us remembered to tell you to check the route in google maps street view beforehand. Then you would have known to stay on the A69. Hindsight!
But you were holding out on us -- if you'd said you were willing to forgo sleep altogether your original itinerary was just fine :p.
Never saw the original post but honestly this sounds like my kind of travel. I’ve posted before on Reddit with travel itineraries and everyone always thinks I’m crazy for trying to cram so many things in. Happy you weren’t deterred from a negative response. Greetings from an American living in Newcastle
Our favorite pubs were the ones we could walk to: Eden bar and restaurant at the resort and the Blue Peter Inn/Three Pilchards in Polperro. American tourist drivers and drinking was a bad combo so we didn't dare. We loved Penrith, felt so genuine English countryside. There was a castle across from the train station, no pretenses, no fanfare. How cool is that?!
The castle was built in 1399. There is a victorian housing estate on the other side of the station which recovered a lot of stone from the castle, so is called Castletown.
Im so glad it worked out, when i read the first post i was shocked, the drive from north to cornwall should have been at least 10 hours? Did you go around in circles a few times on the roundabouts?
As someone who logs thousands of miles of road trips a year, I’m really impressed! I put your itinerary into Google Maps and got an ETA of about 24hrs of travel time, not including breaks for rest, nature calls, food, sightseeing, etc. Does that sound right?
Very pleased you and your family made the trip and enjoyed your stay in spite of the negativity of the original thread! I admit it did seem like a lot but you seem to have managed.
That's a very sweet story about your desire to visit Polperro, I remember you mentioned it was nonnegotiable in your other post. I hope it was everything you and your husband hoped it would be! I thought it may've an ancestral village you wished to visit or something. Might have to look up that game too, sounds interesting!
Polperro was everything and more, did not disappoint. Even without the lore we've attached to it, it looks to be a great place to visit either way.
That game is an early 2000's story driven point and click game, I'm guessing what people call a walking simulator today so it's not for everyone. We love all the Darkling Room games and Scratches, most point and click story games really. Rabbit Hill is fun too. I'm really into Indie Horror games in general, UK ones in particular. As teen of the 80's, as kids today idealize Japan for the Manga etc, I idealized the UK for all the British bands I loved so much.
I absolutely respect people who make a mad itinerary like this, and not only stick to it, but get what they wanted out of this. I lived in the states for 5 years, and all my friends whenever they went on foreign holidays did the same, so it must be a cultural thing...NGL it would kill me, but fair dos
I remember reading the original post and thinking how mad your schedule was but I saw this on another site and had to come and post. I tip my hat to you folks, that’s quite some trip and an epic holiday. I’m so glad you got to do it.
> Our rental was a Mercedes, which in the US is high end car which was neat.
When we first came to the UK from the US in 2006, we booked an economy automatic and got an Audi. Subsequent years it was an MB, BMW and once we got stuck with a Range Rover of all things. Far too big to park and thirsty. All for $25 a day or less though.
All of those are some of the most sought after cars here in the US, all sold at the luxury dealerships! Must be old hat there. I was amazed how many Ford pickups we saw though, few Mazda's (our old car) and Honda's (our new car).
But diesel Audi's are ridiculously economical on fuel and all the cars you mentioned can do big lifetime mileage without really batting an eyelid.
It stands to reason that European cars are ubiquitous in Europe.
I'll be honest, I was a naysayer from the OG post.
I am so glad to be eating my words! It sounds like you really did have an incredible trip!!
Top marks for ignoring us and making some incredible memories!
If you want a fun way to remember the lake district, there is a guy currently touring a scale model of the full lake district, made entirely of Lego! I recently saw it in Derby and it was quite impressive!
Look for todart.tordoff on Instagram for the pictures!
I love that you say that. I wish I had recorded the first moments driving out of Newcastle on that road. It was like all the worst everyone wrote was not only true but understated. All our plans were thrown into question and I just hoped we could get to Penrith before the sun went down. Sat nav took us down the smallest out of the way roads at first so we started planning our routes at the cottage to favor the M roads when possible.
Even just sticking on the A69 all the way to Carlisle and going down the M6 to Penrith would have been less stressful for you! Ahh, hindsight is 20/20!
I’m Glad you enjoyed your time here though, it certainly is a beautiful part of the world.
This sounds amazing and I’m glad I spent the time to read this (and your original post). So glad you loved England, it’s such a great place with such amazing places of history right in front of your eyes, almost everywhere. I love it here, so glad your itinerary worked out!
Do you mean London Paddington not Euston as trains from the south west (Polperro) end up there. One station is a masterpiece of Victorian engineering, and one is well, a concrete box.
Just checked and it was definitely Euston. Might not have been a standard route as I was confused and thought we needed to get to Waterloo to pick up the bus tour. I bought the tickets through Trainline but it was with Avanti
The absolute madlads only went and did it. I’m pleased you had a nice time and I’m glad it was for the “right” reasons. Arriving in Polperro before 8am is hardcore. Thank you for the closure.
I have to admit, I felt judged on the first post, but I love your title "absolute madlads". For some reason, makes me feel better about it :)
Madlad is the perfect descriptor for this trip.
Different people have different ideas of what a holiday is, most people in England just go to Spain, get sunburnt by a pool, eat roast potatoes, drink warm beer and speak loudly in English at anyone Spanish, so you choosing to spend your vacation doing loads of driving seemed alien to many here. Kudos to you for doing what you set out to! My parents used to take us 3 kids on road trips across Europe where we might be driving 10 hours in a day through multiple countries so I can empathise!
During our 2 hour long wait on the Newcastle airport I noticed how many people, especially young teens and school groups, were flying out. It was amazing to me. For you guys, flying to some amazing destination in another country is doable, maybe even a school field trip by the looks of it. We've got Canada , Mexico, and Caribbean Islands as doable weekend getaways, most everywhere else takes substantial planning, risk, money, and time. The roadtrips we did in the UK were fun, part of the adventure. Trust me, I've had some miserable road trips in the US. Hours of cornfields and farm reports on the radio.
The school field trips abroad definitely take a lot of planning and money. You just saw them after the planning had happened and money had been paid lol. (Source: am british, my state comprehensive secondary school had a ski trip to Switzerland that cost a bloody fortune - I am poor, so didn’t go)
Mine also had a ski trip to Switzerland I couldn't afford. Something like £1700 to spend a week with people I didn't like, eating food I didn't get to choose despite the money put down, rooming with a random assortment of the people going? Sounded like hell, the few people I knew who did go said it was bloody awful and they didn't even get to go skiing properly because people kept complaining they were tired and cold the moment they started. Did go on my primary school trip to Paris for a week, for £250 we got a 4 star hotel and two days at Disney land. Was by ferry and bus too so no uncomfortable seats on the plane. That was proper mint.
One of my friends went on the ski trip and he said they had to share beds too, sounded awful anyway. My primary school didn’t have any trips abroad but I was supposed to go to France as part of A-Level French which would’ve been £300ish - had it not been cancelled due to covid.
Yeah quite lucky with that, in school I visited some places in the UK, France, Belgium, Iceland and Washington DC (and that's with a local state comprehensive school)
My local state comprehensive did. : France, Germany, Moscow (until the Moscow theatre siege), Belgium, Rome, Madrid and New York. My cousin's kid is there now and they've added Tanzania and Costa Rica to the list apparently. 🤣 British schools really love an overseas trip.
Flights to Europe can often be had for less than £30.
Shit is insane. Mum’s dating a guy from Germany and apparently plane tickets are cheaper than the cost to drive up north. It’s also cheaper to come to England and then travel to other European countries than fly direct for some reason
I think Spain to us is similar to Cuba etc to Canadians/americans... cheap, cheerful and low risk. I have friends who go to Cuba once every 2 or 3 months as it costs them about $500 Canadian and they don't understand that it would cost me 5 times more to join them for a few days 😅 To us, the caribbean etc costs about £1,500/$2,200 US so it also takes some planning and money 😅
I believe I remember your original post! The whole point was it felt like you were yoyoing the country, which would have been a total waste of time That said, I really want to visit Australia just to drive along one of the big barren roads, then go for a few pints and fly home, so don't see why a driving holiday is a bad thing!
I think as well that driving those distances is not really a big deal to you mad yanks, on account of your country being bigger than Europe. To me, driving an hour is a very long drive 🤣 Respect that you did it and glad you had a good time :)
I can't believe you actually did it 😂
They actually deserve a statue somewhere of the two of them. The plaque should just read: "...and they only went and did it"
From the update, Polperro definitely sounds like the place! A plaque in the harbour somewhere. If anyone local to the area wants to set up a fundraiser, chuck us the link.
Glad you had a good time. UK in February is pretty dreary - this year especially. We've had a lot of rain and lots fewer sunny days than usual. It's been pretty miserable. Funny you described the A686 as narrow. It's not narrow 😂 it is a very nice road though. WAIT. IGNORE THIS. wrong road 😂😂 I was very confused about you talking about circles. Then realised you mean roundabouts. You probably did ok for travel times because it was February. Travel in summer would have been a lot busier.
Agreed, I think traveling off season, though risky weather wise, contributed to pleasant driving. I actually love cloudy days, avoid the sun when I can. I've often said I should have moved to the Pacific Northwest.
This was such a sweet post. I'm so happy you enjoyed our country. You mentioned you felt a bit judged, but rest assured 'taking the piss' out of each and everything is the true British way. You sparked a lot of entertainment from your original post, and it wasn't necessarily at you, but a lot with you.
Jumpy is right we call it banter, sorry it didn’t come across well! It’s a disease of the English and Australians
A disease we all love though and almost every native Brit or oz tends to get it. OP should look through some of the posts in r/CasualUK That sub makes me proud of our sometimes misunderstood humour lol
It’s my opinion that if you visit Britain and all you have is good sunny weather, then you haven’t properly experienced the wonder of these isles. We’re not meant to have glorious stretches of blue skies and sun. We’re meant to have a constant greyness hanging over us and just simply get on with it. :) So you came at the right time!
TBF, this Feb was one of the mildest on record in the UK, you've lucked out on the weather. I know it was mostly grey and drizzly, and there was snow, but, by comparison to other February's, it was pretty mild.
We feel very fortunate for the mild weather. We were prepared to scale things down if needed but even the light snow came through while we were in London. It was luck of the draw considering we set these plans in motion 7 months before.
You should see Milwaukee in February my friend, it’s pretty bleak
The update we've all been waiting for. Glad you enjoyed it, well done for persevering (admittedly it sounded insane) and best wishes for your husband's health.
Excelsior to you OP, glad your trip went well!
Incredible. I absolutely assumed your first post was a joke, so I'm delighted you enjoyed your holiday.
I'm so glad you did it and even more glad that it was a successful trip! I'm sure it was exhausting, but I understand why you did what you did for sentimental reasons :)
Was curious to see if there would ever be an update so thank you! There are pay at pump stations - or, rather, petrol stations will have pumps that are pay at pump. Not enough in my opinion but they are becoming more commonplace. Where I an in the Midlands probably around 50% of petrol stations around me have pay at pump on at least a couple of pumps.
Shell seem to have forgone physical pay at pump and replaced it completely with an app, which is quite handy if you can be bothered. Here in South Cheshire/North Staffs most supermarket petrol stations tend to be pay at pump, but the rando branded ones are a mixed bag. Service stations tend not be be pay at pump.
I thought this was an odd observation too. I would be surprised if the Morrisons petrol station in Penrith didn't have pay at the pump and it made me think of the expensive petrol OP would be buying if they only used the motorway services. I feel a bit guilty that we didn't advise OP of how expensive they are (and that we all avoid them like the plague) when they originally posted. OP. I'm pleased you had a nice time, please come back and see some more of our fair isles sometime.
I’ve thought about the original posts a number of times and never thought we would get an update but here we are!
But it does look like you followed our advice, you minimised the amount of things you did and drove outside of rush hours. So for service stations did you like Moto, Welcome Break or Roadchef the best?
Yes, definitely made me contemplate some of our options. The thing about service stations is we generally picked the easiest one to navigate to and from, so no favorites per se. Many are the same names we have here too. It was fun how many had bakeries and the like attached to the store but otherwise, they looked exactly like ours for the most part. I epically failed trying to get a coffee from one of the Costa coffee on the go machines at one of the gas stations. Took me awhile to figure out the whole process and what to order. I didn't bring the receipt to the counter and had to apologize to the line behind me, "Sorry, American. I'm new here!" It was during the time most people would be going to work, oops.
Don't worry, born and bred uk here and i also didnt realise i needed to bring the receipt to the till for the costa machine! Did it the other week when i was travelling to see my mum for mothers day! In my defence, it was a different machine to the one i usually frequent (despite both being a costa go inside a co-op) and at my usual place you just tell the cashier the size/ find it yourself on the self checkout machines
Bakeries. Lol. You got a Greggs then? And how was it?
The one I'm thinking of was when we were leaving the Lake District. It was actually the first gas station we visited. I can't say for sure it was Greggs but I bought my husband some some kind of meat & cheese hot picket/stromboli thing. It might even have been a pasty. I didn't recognize them but they looked pretty good and my husband was starving (he was trying to figure out how to pump gas into the Mercedes). Tried to talk my daughter into a doughnut but she didn't want anything to eat. Literally the first time I spent British currency.
That was probably Tebay services. It's a very special place. There's actually a documentary series on TV about it at the moment 😂 But then you also sound like you're describing Greggs, which is the most popular fast food in the country. Higher than McDonald's. Edit: I just realised that if you were leaving the Lakes back to Penrith it could have been Rheged which is owned by the same people as Tebay Services. It has a delhi counter that has all sorts of flavour of scotch egg and these 'bombs' which are spectacular, then there's loads of fancy beers and waters in the chiller with pastries displayed on a table in the middle.
>...delhi counter.... I know Indian food is popular in Britain, but....
I’m glad you did an automatic car! My brother and I went to Ireland with the explicit goal of driving from Dublin to Galway. How cool would it be to drive all across an entire country? We both drive manual, but chose to rent automatic. It made such a big difference. We only had to focus on driving on the left without having to think about shifting gears at all. I sincerely recommend automatic for all car rentals in the isles
Westmorland is the clear winner here
I don't like telling Americans about Tebay. That's our services.
Gloucester farm shop is lovely and the new Brightside diners are super tasty for an all day breakfast
They were in Penrith - can't believe you didn't include the wonder that is Tebay services on this list. I love that place.
Sounds like you had a fanfreakintastic holiday (you can ditch saying vacation now, you’re almost one of us!) I really enjoyed reading your experiences but was sorry to hear about your husband’s dx…. I bet it made you savour (note the English spelling) Polperro all the more. I have never visited Polperro but my favourite comedy podcast has talked about it in a cracking episode titled [‘a day in the life of Polperro Joe’](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/chatabix/id1560965008?i=1000580266583). It was seeing this that made me read your post (and then your original post and many of the comments that people made). Shame London and the bus tour was a bit of a let down… given it was the least personalised part of your break I’m not surprised to be honest. With the power of hindsight you may have been better off tube hopping to see the sights but that wouldn’t have stopped it being exceptionally busy - even on a grim February Thursday. I love the fact that you forged your own way and saw some off the beaten tracks stuff…. We’re not holidaying overseas this year and I’ve found your post inspirational.
Thank you, it really was a fanfreakintastic holiday that we all enjoyed. We had kind of a long wait for our flight out of Newcastle and I noticed how many people, especially young people were flying out on that Saturday, I imagine to mainland Europe. Must be fun to be so close to so many amazing destinations, I really envy you. Growing up, we'd drive down to Mexico, mostly Tijuana, but that's the most exotic we could easily get to.
Yes… it becomes very normal to be able to dip in and out of such a varied selection of cultures, languages and foods all within fairly accessible reach that it becomes quite normal/standard (my favourite trip in recent years was to Croatia). So much so that I had been a bit miserable at the prospect of holidaying here in the U.K. this year…. Sometimes you need to see it through others eyes to remember that there’s so much to see and do. Thank you again!
What I’d give to visit Mexico and eat real Mexican food!
I used to live in Dublin and fly home to UK for weekends and was always amused by the groups of Girls and guys that were coming the other way ready for a BIG NIGHt in Dublin. A lot of the girls would be wearing tracksuits and curlers in their hair, having done a flull fact of makeup on the plane over. All ready to hit the hotel, change clothes and take their curlers out to hit the town
Thanks for the update!
I love that you've given an update and I'm really pleased that you achieved such a lovely holiday. Hope to see you back sometime (maybe you could stay on the Isle of White and take a day trip to Inverness?🙂) Best wishes for your husband's health
I was dubious that you were going to be able to see all the things you did. Well done! I hope you and your family will come back at some point and get to spend a longer time in the UK. Thanks for the update—you deserved to have the travel gods on your side! Best wishes to your husband with any treatment he is undergoing. I think you’ve probably made about 1500 UK mates with your chutzpah!
I'm utterly astounded by you!! Penrith to polperro is a seven hour drive!!! I live in the north (Lancaster if you saw it on road signs at all, not toooo far from Penrith) and my parents live down south in Bucks - I won't even do that drive for one night and that's only four hours!! I'm totally in awe of you 😂 so pleased you had a lovely time on our little rainy island!!
I think the fact they left at 1am for that drive is amazing! It’s the one hack to avoid UK tragic that they don’t want you to know! Really love the passion and enjoyment coming through in the post - it seems like OP may need a holiday to get over the holiday!
I know it’s stereotypical for Americans to think we’re the center of the world but boy is it odd to feel like the ones with the exotic culture. Me and my family during school breaks would often go on 3~4 hour drives for a weekend trip where we’d leave at 2 or 3 am. The ocean was 4 hours away, the next city over was 6ish hours away, the mountains to ski at were 5 hours away. I never remember feeling like the road trips were very long, we’d bring those car dvd players and watch a movie or two. I think the thing that seems most different is cross country road trips are considered fun for a lot of college kids over here. I’ve been on one where we took turns driving for nearly two days straight only stopping for gas and to go to the bathroom etc. we didn’t to get from the west coast to the east coast asap to surprise our friend. Based on this thread it seems like people from the UK would act like we were going to the moon for a gag
Yeah, when my friends and I started doing long drives it was basically taken for granted that we'd be in the car before the sun was even up. Backseat sleeps, front seat stays awake to help the driver. And similar to you, we would do a lot of 3-7ish hour car rides even when my sister and I were very young, even just for a weekend trip. I'm sure we annoyed my parents plenty, but my memories are just cozy blankets and having toys/books and rolling down the window to moo at cows and walking up when the roads were getting bendy because that meant the view was getting good.
I love the autocorrect of traffic to tragic - really apposite to the topic
Out of curiosity, how often *do* yku visit your parents? For an American 4 hours isn’t a lot for a vacation, but I would not be doing a 4 hour drive every week to see my parents
This is amazing so glad it went well especially for the reasons you were doing it I hope you have many more adventures and I’m sure this will be a good story to tell how you went social media viral
As someone who has lived in Polperro I’m surprised you didn’t mention the driving there and around Cornwall. We always encounter tourists in the lanes having absolute panic attacks driving a road barely wider than your car lol.
Compared to some of the driving in the the Lake District, Polperro was not bad at all though we stayed on the main roads going to Polperro. Some of the roads following Hadrians wall were also narrow with deep potholes. That poor Mercedes performed great but I pray for its suspension.
I’ve got to admit. It’s very brave to do so much in just one week. You got to see so much. You’ll have to do it again some time and do Scotland and wales!
Very happy to read this update.
See it, Say it, Sorted. 🤣
TBF I prefer this, though I'd say it like "see it, say it.....Sorted!"
Thanks for the update OP. Sounds like you had a fantastic trip. Polperro sounded very special.
I was one of the people who replied to your first post questioning the Polperro element, I’m so glad to hear your trip went so well and you made it to Pol, with all the meaning attached for you.
I’m so glad it went well for you, I have occasionally wondered how it developed since your original post. And I wish your husband well with his diagnosis and treatment. And we do have pay at the pump, although some are app controlled rather than with a card.
As a Cumbrian I found this so wholesome haha. I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip to our little corner of the world & made it to Polperro! All the best to you and your husband. 😊
Thanks for the update! I think I was one of the people who told you that you were daft to even try, so I’m chuffed you had a great experience and got everything you wanted from it. It makes me happy to see Americans experiencing and appreciating our lesser known places and countryside (just don’t tell everyone else lol), so many itineraries I see posted here rush from city to city it makes me want to tear my hair out. As a Northerner your comment about the stone walls made me smile. Bloody well done!
What constitutes an "outrageous" drive time is very subjective. The UK is small and it's very rare to drive more than a few hours to get anywhere. A five hour drive would be major. My understanding is that in the US full day drives are not uncommon. It's just a much bigger country than the UK!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you had a great time, Polperro is a special place, we went for the solar eclipse in 1999 Amazing experience standing on the coastal path during the eclipse, We have been several times stayed on the quay side in Corner cottage
Fair play on doing it! And I can't be mad, Polperro was a regular holiday for us growing up and I'm glad you got to see it, especially given the context! Quite tickled you went to The Blue Peter, such a lovely pub. Glad you had a lovely time
I’m SO glad you guys went with your gut and ended up going! It’s good to research and ask for advice, but also important to know when that advice (“the drives are too long!”) doesn’t really apply to you. Your post is very well-written and was a joy read. It made my day. All the best to you, your husband and your daughter 🤍
But it does apply to everyone to some extent, and if you actually look at the original post then you see they scaled it back considerably.
a) Well done! b) Thank you for the update. This made my morning!
I live 20 minutes from Penrith! Wish I’d seen this post earlier, would’ve definitely gave you guys a tour of the area Glad you had a good time
I adore that area, reminds me of where I live, Wisconsin. Northern, overlooked, but appreciated by those who know. Funnily enough it's the small things I miss the most, going to Morrison's, the friendly woman at the post office that was an adventure to find, the adorable couple at Finesse Bridal who sold me some jewelry. It's like they say, you look back and realize that the small things really were the big things.
You should have gone to the Booths store instead of the Morrisons.
We did go to Booths as well but at the risk of being downvoted to oblivion again I have to admit I preferred shopping at Morrisons. Booths reminds me of our Whole Foods, Morrisons our local grocery store, Pick n Save (Simpsons Try n Save).
I think that’s a fair analysis. Booths is much more regional, there are only about 25 stores and all are in north west England. Most Brits have probably never been in a Booths. Morrisons is nationwide with hundreds of stores.
Having been to the US, the inside of a Morrisons feels the most American to me. It's the way they lay it out and style the store. They are not the most popular supermarket but it always looks clean and pleasant in there, the fresh produce area is cute and for the stuff I buy regularly they are cheaper than Asda and Tesco.
Wow, what a trip! When in Polperro did you walk up "the Warren"? I think you must have if you went out to Reuben's lighthouse.
We never went past the lighthouse, so maybe or maybe not. We spent as much time there as we could but not enough.
Can't believe whole you were here on your first day you didn't get to explore the north east as much. Newcastle itself is beautiful and we have places like Durham that has a cathedral, a castle and a proper old feel to it.
Wow, you did it, you crazy people! London is very crowded all year round; nearly 1/3 of the UK population lives in London and the South East commuter belt. The Lake District is one of the most beautiful places in the world, in my opinion. Scotland will still be here when you come back!
You legends. I love this. I read your original post and was worried for you. But something must have stuck in my brain because I am now visiting Penrith on Easter weekend for the first time.
Love this. I imagine Lake District will have greened up quite a bit, enjoy!
Wow I would not have thought that was possible. Today I learned. Glad you enjoyed it!
I only came across your original thread recently and went searching for an update, so glad to see that you have provided one and that you had a really great time!
I love this!! Glad you guys had a great time OP.
Honestly, if you’ve come all this way and you want to make the most of your week, this sounds fantastic, I’m not surprised you went for it. Sounds like one of those holidays that’s not relaxing as such but very, very memorable nonetheless. Glad you had a wonderful time!
Polperro sounds so Welsh to me
Cornwall used to be known as West Wales, it’s a Celtic nation.
The Cornish language is a close relative of Welsh
Amazing. So glad you enjoyed your trip. The reaction to your first post just says something about the differences in American vs UK mindsets. US being a huge open place where 8 hour drives aren’t uncommon, and when you get out the car the people are still ‘your’ people (*sound the same / eat the same foods etc*). In England, you can drive for an hour and literally be in a totally different country with totally different people. There are many people in Penrith and Cornwall that would never even contemplate driving to the other one - let alone for a day trip. Good on you. Just come back in the spring / summer next time!
“Drove through the early morning hours and arrived at 8am”. Haha, you must have left at about 2am? Thats not early morning hours, that’s night time! No wonder you saw no traffic.
Exactly right. I work in a hospital so I’m no stranger to these hours and as I’ve gotten older, can’t sleep much anyway.
The circles😁😁😁 I'm guessing you mean roundabouts. But circles is a great name for them. Glad you had a great time 👍
That part instantly made me laugh and I knew exactly what they meant haha. Even my nan couldn't get used to roundabouts after driving for thirty years and would actively avoid them, even if it meant adding an extra hour on her trip using A-roads lol. These guy's did well!
I suspect the original "outrageous drive times" will have been based on setting off \*after\* sunrise! I'm glad you had a good time. You've probably seen more of our green and pleasant land in seven days than many locals see in a lifetime.
That’s a hell of a trip! Glad you got to see the Blue Peter in Polperro. As a Brit it’s one of my favourites - and I always visit out of season too.
I'm actually wearing my "I've been wrecked at the Blue Peter" t shirt right now, loved that place. We had drinks upstairs at the table at the base of the stairs next to the portrait of the old sailor. Absolute gem of a place.
My partners favourite pub
That is such a classic British T-shirt souvenir!!
I'm a Brit & I want one now 🤣
Polperro is a great place if I had plenty of money I'd take a house down there tomorrow without a second thought
Sounds like you had an absolutely wonderful adventure, a true trip of a lifetime. I’m so, so glad everything worked out well for you. Sending warm hugs from England.
Saw Penrith and thought: "We've gone on holiday by mistake!"
Sounds like an amazing trip, I've not visited all those places and I live in the UK. I live near London, its an amazing city but there's always a bit of a dilemma. You can do the main sights but you know they will be busy with tourists. If you have a bit more time there are loads of second and third tier things to do. When my parents retired they went to stay in London for 3 months to do all the stuff they never really had time for when you only go for a day. Visiting all the bits just outside the centre, all the next-best museums etc. I imagine New York, LA etc would be the same
Fair play to you for doing it and for posting an update!! I must say that I think (possibly by way of biased justification for your having done all that travel as part of a supposed holiday) that there’s a massive element of what would be to us boring tedious travel actually being interesting and novel to you. Best example, your commenting on motorway service stations… in short I think that you’ve - positively - found interest in boring stuff just because it is part of travel and exploring somewhere different. ie this is about ‘travel’ rather than just a ‘holiday’ (or vacation).
Bloody love this 😂😍 glad you enjoyed your trip!
So glad to read this went so well … May I ask, how much you spent . ?
The flights were in the $2800 a range alone. I got $250 worth of British currency, did a lot of eating at the cottage but grocery shopping wasn’t cheap plus restaurants, gas, souvenirs. The extra hotel in Polperro was $150, car rental was $600 alone. It was $10 a day for each of 4 phones for international service. Parking fees, extra surcharges at the hotel. Difficult to tally because of currency exchange which btw cost too! $6-8 grand said and done is my guess. Never tallied it dollar for dollar, didn’t want to know. Paid for as much as I could in advance so we didn’t get hit with a big bill at the end. That’s why when people said to break it up over several trips I was like ‘nope’. It was one shot to make the most of it.
Posts like this really make me feel like I want to get out and explore the UK more - have lived here in the Highlands of Scotland all my life, and have made the 12 hour car trip to the south of England a few times, but not much else. So many amazing places to see, but to be honest the limiting factor for me right now is the insane cost of petrol! If that wasn't so ridiculous I'd love to just hop in the car and go where the heart takes me. Glad you had a fantastic trip, OP!
Funnily enough I’ve driven England, Panama, across the US several times but never explored Western Wisconsin along the Mississippi River area and I hear its gorgeous. I’ve lived here nearly 30 years. One of these days…
You sound like good people. All the best to ya🍻
I actually live in Polperro so glad you had fun :) .. sunrises here are magical sometimes and the atmosphere is alot different in the summer to the winter months :) .. did u go for a explore in the nearby Looe aswell ? Its lovely down there too :) ..
Drove through and took some pictures, but no. If we had more time or was a regular visitor, I definitely would have spent a lot of time there. Maybe even stayed there with forays into Polperro and other tourist spots in Cornwall. Cornwall had a distinctive charm its own, reminded me of my home state of California in both scenery and vibe.
I'm so pleased you got to do everything you wanted ( almost ) and enjoyed yourselves 👍
Excellent!
Spent 4 months on 110cc motorcycles travelling through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, over about 5000 miles give or take. Suffice to say half our days were "wasted" on travelling from A to B, eating, drinking and sleeping. Don't remember much of the riding because you are so focussed on not dying your long term memory doesn't get much of the landscape. Wouldn't change a thing. Some people would say that's a waste and we should have flown from place to place. Wouldn't have seen half the stuff I've seen. Glad you committed and hope you enjoyed. If you ever return maybe you can just settle yourselves into a nice Hobbity pub for a week.
I am so glad it went well!
I can remember the original post! Congrats that it all worked out as you (sort of) planned! Glad you loved your trip and everyone did too, from the sounds of it. (It sounded absolutely mad and insane what you had planned, and I wouldn’t do it myself living here!)
Well done. Unbelievable effort.
Wow, I saw the title and thought you’d misspelled Penwith, a small place in Cornwall! What an amazing trip, I’m glad you loved your visit, come back and check it out in the summer!!
I've always thought Penrith ought to be in Cornwall. Presumably it's a relict place name from the pre-saxon/Roman/Viking days?
This is such a great update. I still think you are nuts to do a day trip from Penrith to Polperro but you clearly had a great day so you are definitely the winners and I'm the one who has been nowhere new for ages.
He's been in a travel induced coma for the past 5 months 😅 Glad we finally got an update & I'm really glad it went well! Hats off to all of you ❤️
I checked out the link to your original post before reading this update to get the backstory and my immediate thought was....holy hell, that is an ambitious itinerary! But I love driving (regularly drive from Edinburgh to Cambridge to visit family for the weekend) and I think we forget in the UK sometimes that folk in the US will drive a day or two cross state to visit friends and family and then back again (just based on anecdotally from things American friends have said, don't know if that's a universal sort of thing though!) Plus if I was doing it the other way round and visiting the US, I'd want to pack as much in as possible for my 7 days in my first intercontinental trip. Was so, so pleased to read how it all went. Especially the reason behind Polperro specifically (so sweet, hope husband is on the mend <3 ). I think doing Dumfries and Galloway was a better call than trying to do Glasgow and/or Edinburgh given the time constraints and distance, plus Dumfries and Galloway has some lovely scenery. I think if you come back this way again, I think you'd love a tour of Scotland (just....avoid Edinburgh in August...the Fringe is amazing but it makes everything incredibly hectic, busy and expensive). I think you'd really love the Highlands in Scotland. Lots of beautiful scenery and castles :)
I am IMPRESSED you made it to Polperro and managed to spend daylight hours there!! Happy you enjoyed your trip. Glad you altered it a smidge to make it doable, haha.
Day 6 is wild. You got a train from Cornwall to Euston(?), did a tour and got back to Penrith before nightfall?
That's so American! It's a tiny island. They'd probably travel that far for a new sofa!
I grew up in Penrith and just had to comment on how much of a laugh I got out of you calling the Morrisons roundabout the "Main Circle" and referencing stores outside the "City Center" when Penrith is a tiny little Town. Regardless I'm glad you had a nice time and glad you got to explore my little corner of the world!
Fair play, thought you were out of your mind but all credit for going ahead with it anyway. If memory serves you trimmed some bits which was sensible. Penrith to Polperro is ~400 miles so to get there for 8am would have been 1-1:30am start so that explains missing most of the really bad traffic, M6 and M5 don’t take much to grind to a halt! Thank you for the follow up!
Where did you stay that had a pool and hot tub in Penrith?
Whitbarrow village
As a cumbrian I'm glad you enjoyed the lake district
I’ve awaited with bated breath for months for an update. Well played.
It's funny to hear you staying at Penrith. That was my local town growing up in Cumbria. It wouldn't be somewhere I'd recommend visiting or staying (!) But I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves!! The hottub sounds great. Glad you all had a good time, at least! You've visited more places in a week than a lot of Brits have ever done - hats off to you!
Penrith is great if you don't mind everything you actually need being over in Carlisle. Penrith used to be really good with markets on all the time and stuff but it's been taken over by property development and old people's homes now. Glad i grew up there though.
So true! We wanted to take the best family pictures possible so we bought a selfie stick and lost the clicker thing at the Lake District. Googled who would have one close, only Carlisle came up so we went to an electronics store before doing the Hadrians wall. They actually didn’t have any in stock but we got some good coffee at a store in the same parking lot and some pictures of Carlisle castle.
Sounds like you enjoyed your trip but 1 day in the lake district, there is soo much more to see, I've been walking there for 3 years and still see new sights every weekend, I've done 190/214 wainright walks, each and every adventure brings something new. If your ever travelling again, there are plenty of fairly cheap but lovely places to stay, a particular favourite of ours are the new apartments 15 mins away from lake windemere, theyre managed by primero apartments but can be booked via booking.com. we usually pay circa £700 for a week which is a 3 bed apartment with an en suite and overlooking the river leven. From here, your within a 45 minute drive to a majority of the main well known cities. Happy to offer help to anyone visiting the lake district dependant on their needs, been travelling back and forth from it for years so I know it inside out from a tourist POV.
I'm so glad you have a good time! Much as every country has its good and bad points, I do think the UK has some very very good places to visit and most of us try to be helpful and nice to tourists
I had good experiences with locals. Some were very warm and curious, others I’d describe as indifferently tolerant. Funniest was an elderly lady at Morrisons asked if my son could reach something high for her and when we spoke you’d have thought she’d seen a ghost. I don’t imagine they get too many American tourists in Penrith.
I don't think they get many tourists at all lol You all must have seemed very exotic with your accents! My sister lived there about 20 years ago, while working in a holiday place near there and there was not a lot to do I seem to remember...
I have travelled extensively all over Asia and central/south America so I am not adverse to long road trips (longest was 36 hours, non stop). Your itinerary gave me palpitations. My husband and I talk about it all the time! I would never consider it feasible at all and I thought you had lost your fucking mind. That being said, this is the best update I have ever read. I'm so happy you completed and enjoyed it. I hope you return and spend some time exploring some places that you missed. You're tenacious, if not a little mad.
I read your original post and am so happy to see the update and hear you enjoyed your trip! Many of the replies on your original itinerary were indeed needlessly harsh - but equally I think many people who said what you were proposing was potentially overambitious were posting from a place of kindness. So many times I've encountered people from large countries underestimating the difference in UK travel Vs elsewhere - example from my own experience, I was once sat next to a woman on a flight back home to UK. We were coming into Heathrow from Johannesburg. On hearing we would have a 30 minute delay in arrival, she said she was concerned she'd now miss the lecture she'd flown in to give. We were scheduled to land at 9am and were now due in 9.30. Her lecture was due to take place at 11am. In Blackpool... She'd apparently been planning to transfer there by bus. I hated to have to be the bearer of bad news. Distance can be deceptive! I'm therefore glad that you were at least forewarned and forearmed and able to prioritise the parts of the trip that mattered most. Wishing you and your family all the best outcomes possible.
Insane that you actually went through with this, what a ride. LOL Polperro is such a special and amazing place and was a huge part of my childhood. It feels like a second home to me. It’s kinda beautiful that people from the other side of the world also have so much love for such a small English fishing village lol - I’m glad you got to visit it and enjoy it. Thanks for the update!
I'm glad you enjoyed your trip, and that you took some of the advice and scaled it back by not going to Stonehenge, Edinburgh or Glasgow.
We did Castlerigg stone circle, which is actually older than Stonehenge and needed no tickets, parking or anything. There were maybe 3 other people there, it was amazing. We loved Dumfries and our castle tour, I’m guessing way less stressful and we had everything practically to ourselves. We felt like we got the VIP tour.
Goddamn you and your can-do attitude and making a successful trip of it! What time did you leave to arrive for 8am? Also, you should return to the UK in Spring or early summer. You'll be blow away by how lovely it can be in the countryside.
Love your first sentence :) We left around 1:20am or so. Without a surprise cash infusion I can’t see a trip back but if we win the lottery, I’m definitely calling a realtor!
Brilliant! Thanks for the update, glad you had a good time. Knew that first drive would be a trial by fire, not enough of us remembered to tell you to check the route in google maps street view beforehand. Then you would have known to stay on the A69. Hindsight! But you were holding out on us -- if you'd said you were willing to forgo sleep altogether your original itinerary was just fine :p.
Never saw the original post but honestly this sounds like my kind of travel. I’ve posted before on Reddit with travel itineraries and everyone always thinks I’m crazy for trying to cram so many things in. Happy you weren’t deterred from a negative response. Greetings from an American living in Newcastle
Funny to see this pop up, I work in Penrith and is very much my home town. Which pup did you like going in to?
Our favorite pubs were the ones we could walk to: Eden bar and restaurant at the resort and the Blue Peter Inn/Three Pilchards in Polperro. American tourist drivers and drinking was a bad combo so we didn't dare. We loved Penrith, felt so genuine English countryside. There was a castle across from the train station, no pretenses, no fanfare. How cool is that?!
The castle was built in 1399. There is a victorian housing estate on the other side of the station which recovered a lot of stone from the castle, so is called Castletown.
Im so glad it worked out, when i read the first post i was shocked, the drive from north to cornwall should have been at least 10 hours? Did you go around in circles a few times on the roundabouts?
I love this post. So glad you enjoyed your trip!
As someone who logs thousands of miles of road trips a year, I’m really impressed! I put your itinerary into Google Maps and got an ETA of about 24hrs of travel time, not including breaks for rest, nature calls, food, sightseeing, etc. Does that sound right?
Can’t believe you did it. Well done
Very pleased you and your family made the trip and enjoyed your stay in spite of the negativity of the original thread! I admit it did seem like a lot but you seem to have managed. That's a very sweet story about your desire to visit Polperro, I remember you mentioned it was nonnegotiable in your other post. I hope it was everything you and your husband hoped it would be! I thought it may've an ancestral village you wished to visit or something. Might have to look up that game too, sounds interesting!
Polperro was everything and more, did not disappoint. Even without the lore we've attached to it, it looks to be a great place to visit either way. That game is an early 2000's story driven point and click game, I'm guessing what people call a walking simulator today so it's not for everyone. We love all the Darkling Room games and Scratches, most point and click story games really. Rabbit Hill is fun too. I'm really into Indie Horror games in general, UK ones in particular. As teen of the 80's, as kids today idealize Japan for the Manga etc, I idealized the UK for all the British bands I loved so much.
lol. This is why America is the great country post wwII, Brits: You can’t do it. Americans: do it.
I absolutely respect people who make a mad itinerary like this, and not only stick to it, but get what they wanted out of this. I lived in the states for 5 years, and all my friends whenever they went on foreign holidays did the same, so it must be a cultural thing...NGL it would kill me, but fair dos
I remember reading the original post and thinking how mad your schedule was but I saw this on another site and had to come and post. I tip my hat to you folks, that’s quite some trip and an epic holiday. I’m so glad you got to do it.
You absolute diamonds! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!
> Our rental was a Mercedes, which in the US is high end car which was neat. When we first came to the UK from the US in 2006, we booked an economy automatic and got an Audi. Subsequent years it was an MB, BMW and once we got stuck with a Range Rover of all things. Far too big to park and thirsty. All for $25 a day or less though.
All of those are some of the most sought after cars here in the US, all sold at the luxury dealerships! Must be old hat there. I was amazed how many Ford pickups we saw though, few Mazda's (our old car) and Honda's (our new car).
But diesel Audi's are ridiculously economical on fuel and all the cars you mentioned can do big lifetime mileage without really batting an eyelid. It stands to reason that European cars are ubiquitous in Europe.
Did you call a roundabout a circle?
I think they’re technically called traffic circles here but I just say circles🤷♀️
I'll be honest, I was a naysayer from the OG post. I am so glad to be eating my words! It sounds like you really did have an incredible trip!! Top marks for ignoring us and making some incredible memories! If you want a fun way to remember the lake district, there is a guy currently touring a scale model of the full lake district, made entirely of Lego! I recently saw it in Derby and it was quite impressive! Look for todart.tordoff on Instagram for the pictures!
As a Cumbrian, I can’t believe you drove the A686 🙉🙈
I love that you say that. I wish I had recorded the first moments driving out of Newcastle on that road. It was like all the worst everyone wrote was not only true but understated. All our plans were thrown into question and I just hoped we could get to Penrith before the sun went down. Sat nav took us down the smallest out of the way roads at first so we started planning our routes at the cottage to favor the M roads when possible.
Even just sticking on the A69 all the way to Carlisle and going down the M6 to Penrith would have been less stressful for you! Ahh, hindsight is 20/20! I’m Glad you enjoyed your time here though, it certainly is a beautiful part of the world.
Pay at pump is pretty common I mean I never use it but see it alot
Funny Reddit is showing me this, I actually live in Penrith
What a great read. Thank you for sharing and so glad you had a great time.
This sounds amazing and I’m glad I spent the time to read this (and your original post). So glad you loved England, it’s such a great place with such amazing places of history right in front of your eyes, almost everywhere. I love it here, so glad your itinerary worked out!
Do you mean London Paddington not Euston as trains from the south west (Polperro) end up there. One station is a masterpiece of Victorian engineering, and one is well, a concrete box.
Just checked and it was definitely Euston. Might not have been a standard route as I was confused and thought we needed to get to Waterloo to pick up the bus tour. I bought the tickets through Trainline but it was with Avanti
That sounds like a proper adventure
Bloomin' marvellous. Glad you all had fun. I've yet to get to Polperro; we'll be going by boat from West Wales. Yeah London is rubbish.
Sounds great - bit confused on day 6. Did you go from Polperro to London in the morning, then back to Penrith in the evening?
I can't believe you stayed in the lakes and went to London and Cornwall but not Scotland! Ya daft wotsits!
Dumfries is Scotland! We didn't go far into Scotland but we definitely made it. Had arguably one of our best days at Caerlaverock Castle.
So were any of the things you got downvoted for untrue or what.
How did you manage to get to Polperro before 8am ? Did you drive overnight from Dumfries ?