Recently spent two weeks road-tripping around southern England with a rental car. The countryside was definitely my favorite—little villages, rolling hills, castles, old churches and coastal towns. Everything was just so dreamy!
We went during a heatwave, and the lack of AC was definitely an adjustment, but we still had the best time! Loved the pubs too, and everyone we met was so lovely and genuinely happy to hear we were enjoying England. Even driving on the “wrong” side and squeezing through those tiny country roads was part of the fun!!!
There’s so much history and so many beautiful places to see. Two weeks and we barely scratched the surface.
We took the train from London to Southampton and picked up our rental car there because we didn’t want our first experience driving on the left to be in London traffic. 😅
To those planning to take a similar trip here are some tips:
Some countryside roads are VERY narrow and basically one lane even though traffic goes both ways.
Get an automatic if you’re not comfortable driving manual, especially since you’ll already be adjusting to driving on the left.
Narrow roads, tractors and stopping to let other cars pass can slow you down.
Download offline maps. We lost signal a few times in the countryside.
Leave room for spontaneous stops! Some of the prettiest villages and views we saw weren’t originally on our itinerary.
If you have the time, definitely see England outside of London. 💕