Air travel has risen in the U.K with low cost airlines, it has reached the price range of everybody, so people now travel all over the world, rather than just holidaying in the U.K. Now there are airports all over the country, you don’t have to travel far to find one. You can park your car securely at the airport, and pick it up when you return, it averages about $45 a week, depending on the airport charges.

Rail travel has vastly improved over the years, more so since privatisation. You can get from London to Edinburgh in about four hours, whereas before it used to be twelve, as you slept on the train. You can now book your seat in advance, and the G.N.E.R. (Great North Eastern Railway), now has Internet access in its first class carriages, along with free tea and coffee. A lot of work has been done on the lines to make them safer, following a spate of accidents due to poor maintenance. There is also the London Underground, with its warren of 13 lines; it’s very confusing when you look at a diagram of it.

Road travel has also improved, a lot of the motorways are now four lanes instead of two, there are now more motorway service stations, where you can stop and get a meal and drink, as well as fuel, and public conveniences. The fact there are many more cars on the roads than in previous years, still causes major travel upheaval, with traffic jams in all directions, especially at weekends in the summer, when you have people going out for the day, and Bank Holidays, if the weather is nice. Also roadwork’s used to be a major contributor to traffic jams, especially during the holiday season, they now tend to stop roadworks for Bank Holidays and in the summer, mainly doing repair work through the night. Whereas before you could spend hours even days getting across the country, most distant places are now reachable within 5-6 hours.

Coach travel is also becoming popular in the U.K. especially for weekends away, maybe to London to see a show, or The Eden Project in Cornwall, it’s reasonably priced and includes accommodation, entrance fees and return travel, which is less hassle than taking the car and trying to find somewhere to park.

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