Crossing the UK twice. Do I need pounds?

[anko]

Hi all,

This summer we will be visiting Ireland with the PHEV + caravan. We will be taking the 'Land Bridge' (take boat from Hoek van Holland to Harwich, spend one night on the East coast, one night on the West coast and then take boat from Fishgaurd to Rosslare). After spending a few weeks in Ireland we will follow the same route back home. We are very much looking forward to spending some time in the UK and Ireland.

We were discussing whether we needed to bring UK Pounds on our trip. I thought we wouldn't need to do that (having a bank card and a credit card), but is this true?

Any other tips for driving or camping would be highly appreciated. Apart from stying on the left side of the road ;-)

Thanks, Anko

 

[jaapv]

Let me see, you will be crossing this year, so you won't need to buy a double entry visa yet. :lol:

Seriously, just get coffee money from the ATM on the ferry. Personally I hate travelling without some ready cash in my pocket.

There are a couple of charging points on the Hoek van Holland ferry, You need to request on checking in, it is on a first-come-first-served basis and they are on the rear of the ship.

 

[user 2238]

You should also find that shops accept Euros.

 

[Dusz]

Fuel can be paid for by credit card. Supermarkets e.g. Tesco / ASDA / Sainsburys / Morrisons usually cheaper than main garages.

Also, not all supermarkets are equal ASDA at Ipswich is cheaper than TESCO at Stowmarket

All the supermarkets have coffee shops and the COSTA's etc and motorway services all take credit cards.

When are you crossing into/out via Harwich?

 

[Dusz]

Forgot to mention.
I assume that you will be heading west on the A14. They are currently upgrading the road to the north of Cambridge. There are currently something like 14 miles of 40 mph averaging speed restrictions. Depending on the time of day the tail backs can be several miles.
Instead of heading up to Huntingdon from Cambridge you can always continue on the A428 and either turn right at Caxton Gibbet roundabout to head up to Godmanchester via the Papworth bypass or continue along the A428 and join the A1 at the other end before then turning northbound and then re-joining the A14 westbound. You will still have some of the road works to contend with from Milton (A10) to the turn off for Huntingdon.

At the M1/M6 end of the A14 the junction has been completely remodelled so unless your satnav has been recently updated follow the signs on the road and not the satnav.

There are I think 4 charge points on the ferry, 2 at the front and 2 at the rear. The last time I used it meant that I was the last vehicle to board and the last to disembark which then means you are at the back of the queue for passport control at Harwich. I also had to turn the car round so that I could plug it in as the lead would not reach otherwise.

On balance if you are towing a caravan you are not going to get very far on a charge so it is worth the possible delay.

 

[anko]

Thanks to all for the responses so far!

I assume that you will be heading west on the A14.

Indeed, we will be. So, very useful info! It will be on a Saturday. Still worth taking the detour?

 

[Dusz]

Not too sure about a Saturday. I would hope that it would not be quite as busy as during the week.

If I am on business trips its normally weekday mornings and evenings, and when visiting family in Nottingham it is Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Sunday afternoons can be busy on the A14 as it feeds into the top of the M11 with people retuning to London having been to their weekend homes in the country. Well, for some anyway.


When towing you will be restricted to a max 60 mph on A roads and motorways anyway so it is just being stuck in the stop/start traffic. But you have similar in the Netherlands so you should be fairly used to it.

 

[Hypermiler]

Shops in the UK do not take euro generally. For a drive through the country - hotel, petrol, services etc they will all take credit cards. I wouldn’t bother charging en route.
Cheers
H

 

[jaapv]

My experience too. But I feel a bit silly paying with a credit card for a packet of Maltesers.

 

[maby]

The only insuperable issues I can think of associated with having absolutely no cash on you are parking and road/bridge tolls. A lot (most?) car parks do not take credit cards for payment and many toll bridges don't either. I don't think there will be any tolls on your route and you can avoid parking fees if you don't stop, but it could be inconvenient.

 

[Dusz]

M6 toll?

 

[maby]

M6 toll?

There is a free alternative

 

[anko]

Thanks again, guys. Really appreciate it.

About the M6 Toll, is it worth while? I saw there are road works on the free alternative?

Note:: I'll be passing Birmingham on a Saturday.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

Lots of shops take contactless cards now, so you could just use you regular bank ATM card. Apple Pay is also fairly widely available - I assume there's an Android equivalent

 

[maby]

...

About the M6 Toll, is it worth while? I saw there are road works on the free alternative?

....

I honestly don't know any more - I used to drive past Birmingham quite often and never used the toll, but that was quite a long time ago and things may have changed. The Traffic England web site has a map which shows you approximate vehicle speed in real time - have a look at the route you expect to follow and make up your own mind. It always used to be the case that the M6 Toll was virtually empty most of the time - you are buying a motorway for twenty minutes.....

 

[elm70]

Hi all,

This summer we will be visiting Ireland with the PHEV + caravan. We will be taking the 'Land Bridge' (take boat from Hoek van Holland to Harwich, spend one night on the East coast, one night on the West coast and then take boat from Fishgaurd to Rosslare). After spending a few weeks in Ireland we will follow the same route back home. We are very much looking forward to spending some time in the UK and Ireland.

We were discussing whether we needed to bring UK Pounds on our trip. I thought we wouldn't need to do that (having a bank card and a credit card), but is this true?

Any other tips for driving or camping would be highly appreciated. Apart from stying on the left side of the road ;-)

Thanks, Anko

Did your car got better ?

Some time ago, you reported that your Outlander PHEV was starting the ICE also when battery was almost fully charged for power demands below 40kw ... (maybe with summer time your battery now does behave better ?)

If ICE kick in for just 40kw power from battery, it is looking you will be towing all time with ICE on.

PS: Your experience with your PHEV, since it is looking one with the biggest battery degradation, could be the experience that some of us may experience in the near future ... battery degradation in my PHEV does not seams it was to slow down ... since I got mine .. my battery downgraded from 96% SOH down to 90% .. with a almost regular lost of 0.1Ah a month (with 1 exception of 0.5Ah lost)

 

[anko]

We came back from our trip about a week ago. All went very well. No serious traffic on the A14 (it was on a Saturday and on the way back we travelled via Bristol). No real issues driving on the left side of the streets.

Interesting though to see how, apparently, the concepts of left and right are tied to whether or not you need to cross oncoming traffic. When my wife saw street signs pointing right, she would say "you need to take a left at the next junction" (as we had to cross oncoming traffic). And I would think "left, so I need to cross oncoming traffic". And I would turn right and all would work out just fine :lol:

Something similar on roundabouts. When the satnav said 'On the next roundabout, take the third exit', in my mind I would translate that into "Need to go left". And I would tell my wife I would be going left, but still go right. Quite unexpected.

Really the only negative experience was almost being robbed by (what people said where) 'Irish Travelers' at the Beaconsfield Services at the M40. When I returned to the car after a quick lunch, I was addressed by an very friendly English truck driver who warned me 'the traveler children' had forced the gas box of my caravan open. Fortunately, nothing was taken and they did not have time (or intentions) to get into my car or into the caravan itself. Or they didn't like drawing attention of the truck driver.

 

[Regulo]

Did you enjoy our huge and varied array of potholes? The lack of traffic police? Abysmal standard of driving? The light dusting of litter along our roadsides?

 

[anko]

Did you enjoy our huge and varied array of potholes? The lack of traffic police? Abysmal standard of driving? The light dusting of litter along our roadsides?

Re 1) West bound iI thought it was pretty bad. East bound, after spending 3 weeks in Ireland, I though it was quite good
Re 2) So, it wasn't me?
Re 3) Over here, when people approach junctions, they anticipate. They slow down and start looking right and left (maybe even look for eye contact with drivers in crossing traffic), well before reaching the stop line. In the UK (and Ireland as well) I saw a lot of people approaching junctions, slowing down only at the last moment and looking straight ahead as if they were the only people on the planet. For sure, they will come to a stop, but it does not inspire much confidence.
Re 4) So, it wasn't me?