Let me start off my saying thanks to all the incredibly courteous and selfless drivers I encountered while in the UK. My trip was made all the more pleasant by my driving experience.

Living in the Chicago area I'm treated to what seems to be third world roads on a daily basis designed around the ever boring grid system. While this may seem like a logical, useful system, it greatly reduces the opportunity for curves or other irregularities that one might find interesting. In fact, beyond a handful of roads around Chicago, you generally have to travel out of state (or downstate) to find some truly interesting motoring. What's worse driving can be considered a combative experience at times. For instance you don't dare signal that you need to change lanes as the second you do, someone typically speeds up to cut you off. And from my experience actions such as this are common in most large US cities.

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To contrast this, while in England, I found a general courtesy and respect that I've never seen in the Chicago area let alone most other parts of the US. Further drivers actually move out of the fast lane religiously for faster traffic even if no one is behind them. This is especially useful on some of the bigger motorways where speeds in the fast lane are often in excess of 90mph.

But the real star of the show were the roads themselves. There seems to be a total lack of a true grid system throughout much of the country. While not great for finding your way around this is elemental for creating brilliant roads for motoring. Sweepers are often followed by tight downhill switch-backs and then more sweepers. It's a far cry from the straight and often broken Midwest roads that I'm most familiar with.

Another enjoyable aspect of English roads are the roundabouts. They not only keep traffic moving (generally) but they also offer an excellent opportunity for the MINI's dynamics to shine. The rural ones with little or no traffic offer an opportunity for the MINI to be put through it's paces like none other.

I also found the UK roads generally smooth and well cared for. The lack of any true harsh winter I would assume helps make it much easier to maintain the road surface compared to that of the upper Midwest US.

Speed seems to be dealt with a little differently as well. It would seem that the speed limits are only loosely followed on the A roads and Motorways. While I was cruising at 88-90 mph I was passed continuously by those going 5 to 10 mph faster. Yet on the smaller roads near or in towns there seems to be a constant threat of speed cameras and thus drivers tend to be very conscious of their speed. At first I was quite concerned about triggering a speed camera but later learned that only 1 in 10 are actually loaded. Strangely I didn't really see a many of them on the motorways. Looking at the placement of the cameras and judging from the speed of other drivers, it seemed as if they were much more concerned about keeping speed down in residential areas then on motorways or rural roads.

For those who are nervous about driving in the UK I'll say this. For one don't start in London. Renting from a place out of the city (MINI-Rentals in Winchester would be my recommendation) was a great thing in that it allowed me to get used to UK roads without all the traffic and general confusion. That being said If you get easily flustered and or don't read maps well I'd urge patience and careful planning. In fact sometimes it doesn't matter how great a map reader you are as roads names and maps don't always adhere to the standards we enjoy in the US. Names change often and signage isn't based on regional or national geography but, at times, is very local in nature. Again study your maps carefully!

Overall the experience was really almost like a vacation from US roads and gridlock. UK roads and the scenery I found isn't easily expressed in words and the limited pictures here really don't do either any justice. I can't recommend enough renting a MINI while in the UK for an experience that's simply hard to get in the US.