{"id":7320,"date":"2017-06-23T00:45:08","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T00:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkerten.com\/wordpress\/?p=7320"},"modified":"2018-08-14T10:35:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T10:35:54","slug":"self-drive-uk-salisbury-stonehenge-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkerten.com\/wordpress\/2017\/06\/self-drive-uk-salisbury-stonehenge-england\/","title":{"rendered":"Self Drive in UK : Salisbury & Stonehenge in England"},"content":{"rendered":"

Self drive in UK can be fun!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our 12 days self drive in UK, including England, Wales and Scotland, we did not cover Northern Ireland. We booked Malaysian Airline as it has a better deal but we have to transit at KL and fly from Singapore. Total of the whole journey is about 15 hours.<\/p>\n

We arrive at 6 am in the morning at Heathrow Airport. There are 5 major international airports in London,\u00a0London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton and London Stansted.<\/p>\n

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We choose London Heathrow because our next destination is Salibury about 2 hours drive, 70.5 miles.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0
\nLondon Heathrow Airport
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n


\n<\/a>\"Post<\/a><\/p>\n

Costa Coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n

As it was still early, we had some tea and coffee at the Costa coffee at the airport. \u00a0Costa Coffee is a British\u00a0multinational coffeehouse company which you can see everywhere in UK, more than Starbuck and Coffee Bean. \u00a0You can also find Costa Coffee in the petrol station in the rest area. \u00a0The size of medium is quite huge, cappuccino cost about GBP 3 and a hot chocolate also cost around that price. \u00a0By the way, I don’t drink hot chocolate and coffee at all.<\/p>\n

\"Costa<\/a><\/p>\n

If you forget about getting roaming service for your mobile, you can always get one from the vending machine at Heathrow Airport. \u00a0Cost about GBP 25 for one from the vending machine. \u00a0It is better to subscribe your roaming back home.<\/p>\n

\"Sim<\/a><\/p>\n

We booked our car rental from Sixt car rental, it was our first time to book from Sixt Car rental, originally from Germany. \u00a0Now, it has\u00a0 about 4,000 locations in over 105 countries but mainly in Europe.<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a><\/p>\n

Car rental Sixt<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sixt car rental is located very near Heathrow Airport, there is a Shuttle bus service from Sixt to pick up their customers. \u00a0We arranged the pick up timing at 7.30 am but since we were early and did not want to lose more time so we used the phone in the car rental desk and call them to come early. \u00a0There is a car rental desk at the arrival hall and there is a phone to use to call Sixt car rental operator, free of charge. \u00a0Actually the shuttle bus services is very frequent and you don’t have to wait too long.<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a><\/p>\n

The shuttle mini bus is quite spacious and the staff are friendly!<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a><\/p>\n

As it was still very early around 7 am, when we arrived at the Sixt car rental to do our registration, many of their staffs were not yet there. \u00a0But we managed to do our registration smoothly with one of the early bird staff.<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a><\/p>\n

Once we gotten our car rental, we set our destination in the GPS in the car. \u00a0I was glad to find out the GPS is quite big compared to the one in Japan and Taiwan. \u00a0It is about the size of a mini ipad. \u00a0Very comfortable to see.<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a><\/p>\n

UK weather<\/strong><\/h3>\n

UK weather is unpredictable, it was raining heavily when we arrived in the morning. \u00a0It make us more nervous to navigate as we were still not familiar with the car yet.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

However, we managed to get by and drive to the outskirt of London. \u00a0Once we were at the outskirt of London, there were less cars and we felt less tense and slowly started to get use of the car function.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

On the way to Salisbury, the weather was getting better. \u00a0At least the rain was not as heavy. \u00a0The sky started to clear up a little.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

What kind of car should you get when self drive in UK? \u00a0The road in UK is pretty narrow and parking lot is really small. \u00a0If possible try not to get a really huge car unless your driving skill is very good. \u00a0Some roads are super narrow and can be quite scary.<\/p>\n

\"England<\/a><\/p>\n

When we approaching Salisbury, the sky turn bright and sun came out.<\/p>\n

\"England<\/a><\/p>\n

Car Parks Problem in UK – Rule no 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Rule no 1 to self drive in UK, it is not easy to get a car park in UK, always do your homework. \u00a0We already knew where we should park, so we entered the car park name in the GPS when we arrived at Salisbury. \u00a0By the way, this is our rental car, Benz. \u00a0We needed to take a picture in case we forgotten how does it look and for the number plates. \u00a0Mercedes Benz C class cost us about SGD 100 per day. \u00a0The body is not as big compare to Jaguar, originally we wanted a Jaguar but concerning of the narrow roads and parking spaces we try something smaller instead.<\/p>\n

\"England<\/a><\/p>\n

Salisbury<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Salisbury is a small town, about 45 000 population. \u00a0It was quite quiet and clean and pleasant to walk around.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Glad the rain has stopped and sunny weather but still very windy and cool. \u00a0We parked our car at one of the nearest mall and walked to the town.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Some shopping streets in Salisbury town center. \u00a0As it was \u00a0still very early there were not many people as yet.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

What do you have in Salisbury?<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Salisbury Cathedral<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Salisbury’s gem is the impressive Cathedral, which has the tallest tower (404 feet) in England. \u00a0It is very stunning when we saw the complete and huge Cathedral in front us.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

There were few status at the front of the Cathedral. \u00a0What I like about the place is, there is a very big and spacious green lawn outside the Cathedral which make the whole place so beautiful. \u00a0It also enable you to see the whole Cathedral, including the imposing spire\/tower without any obstructing view.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

We arrived around 10 am and there were already few groups of tourist from Europe with guides. \u00a0Didn’t get to see any Asian tour, may be this place is not popular among the Asian tourists because there are so many Cathedral in UK, may be they prefer Cathedral in London area.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Beautiful green lawn with tiny white flowers in front of the Cathedral.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a pet friendly Cathedral, people bringing their dogs to visit as well. \u00a0I was glad to have a chance to play with some of the dogs there.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Artwork at Salisbury Cathedral<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The statue head is red which matches very well with my red hat! \u00a0Both have mono eyelids too!<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

The Salisbury Cathedral was built from 1220 to 1258, only about 38 years, quite short I suppose as the stone building was extremely huge. It also has the oldest working clock\u00a0 in Europe (1386).<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

You can walk around the Cathedral freely but some green lawn are not allowed to step on it. \u00a0Look out for the sign.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Some artifacts found at the corridor before entering the Cathedral. \u00a0Below show “King John’s Taxes”. \u00a0It say John, the King massively increased the payments his subjects had to pay him.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Throwing Down the Gauntlet<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If a knight threw his gauntlet at your feet, he was challenging you the single combat. If you picked it up, you were accepting the challenge.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

This is truly a magnificent Gothic Style architecture which provide many great photo opportunities with unblock view.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Tallest Spire in England
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>\"Salisbury<\/a><\/h3>\n

Some old stories of the Peregrines of Salisbury Cathedral.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

The one I saw here are not peregrines, I believe these are pigeons.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Observed some of the old craving at one of the old door, quite scary head found in front of the door.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

This is also a place to see the original copy of Magna Carta, if you are interested in history. \u00a0This is a very huge Cathedral and can take up to whole morning if you interested in all the details and if you go up the tower. \u00a0I was too tired from the long flight so only spent about 1 hour plus to finish the whole site. \u00a0I din’t get in the Cathedral but if you are interested, you can always do so. \u00a0Just give a donation when entering the Cathedral, no specific fees.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Some view at the front of the Cathedral, \u00a0as you can see only some humble houses built in front of this Cathedral and a huge lawn in front. \u00a0What it means it will give you a perfect and unblocked view of the whole Salisbury Cathedral. \u00a0That is why it is so beautiful and you can take picture from all angles.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

I was sitting at a restaurant in front of the Salisbury Cathedral. \u00a0It is the glass roofed Refectory Restaurant, I choose to sit outside as the weather was very good, except quite windy. \u00a0Still a perfect spot to admire the beautiful Cathedral and sip some hot drinks and enjoy some sunshine.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Always Order 2 meals to share among 3 person in UK – Rule no 2<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After visiting the Cathedral is time to go back to Salisbury town again to get our lunch. \u00a0Found some open markets selling their plants. \u00a0We ended up ordered some fish and chips and a chicken burger. \u00a0Normally you can order two portion to share among three person. \u00a0The portion size is quite big.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Bought some strawberry and mulberry, surprisingly cheap. \u00a0A box of strawberry cost GBP 1 and 4 boxes of blue mulberry only cost GBP 1. \u00a0 Oh, yes we bought some grapes too, GBP 1.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Fruit Stalls selling at cheap price<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Have you seen the biggest panties, also the cutest. The picture can’t tell how big these are. \u00a0I can tell you about 4 times bigger than the normal size.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Some plant selling at cheap price, not sure what these are.<\/p>\n

\"Salisbury<\/a><\/p>\n

Where to park in Salisbury?<\/strong><\/h3>\n