Morgan friends,
This is part two of a three part report. Please refer to my earlier report
(part one).
Jack Claxton
339 Grand Avenue
Cornelia, GA 30531 USA
1956 +4 4-seater
The Journey Begins
The day of the visit, Thursday, December 4, I left my wife, Monica, in
Ireland. She was planning to shop for Waterford crystal that day with my
boss's wife (this Morgan hobby can get expensive!). It was best that she
stayed in Ireland, however, because she gets nervous in traffic in Atlanta,
where she grew up and where we know the roads. Can you imagine her with me on
the left side of the road for the first time, going who knows where in
England?!
At the airport, I was concerned about fog delaying the flight, because in
coming to Ireland on Delta, the pilot had to forego the scheduled landing in
Shannon, Ireland and move on to Dublin (due to fog) after circling for some
time. A fog delay into Birmingham would really put me in a time crunch!
Fortunately, no such delay occurred, and I was on the ground in England on
schedule. Clearing customs was uneventful, and I found myself at the Alamo
counter in no time.
My first surprise of the trip was that there were no complimentary maps. I was
told that I could buy a road atlas at the Alamo return counter near where the
car was parked. This rattled me a little. I was already apprehensive about the
roundabouts and I knew there were some major ones getting out of the airport
area. In thinking about all that, I left the airport building without buying
any British pounds (more on this later). My second surprise was that the Alamo
return office with the road atlases was closed. This one really got me! I
spent a few minutes getting oriented to the car and collecting my wits, then
pulled out about 9:15. Within moments I was in my first roundabout! I made it
OK, then stopped at the first gas (gasoline) station for a road atlas. I used
my VISA check card since I had no cash. That worked out great.
As a side note, the road atlas I bought is excellent. It's got details on
roads around airports, cities, ports, the channel tunnel, and main routes. The
scale is huge in the road map section (2.5 miles to one inch for the entire
country). It even shows details on the motorway intersections (junctions).
Also, included is a section on road signs, road types, and tourist
information. I highly recommend it. It's published by Geographer's A-Z Map Co,
Ltd., Kent, telephone 01732-781000 or London, telephone 0171-242 9246. The
cost is 12.95 pounds but it's worth it.
A Word About Roundabouts
Not too bad, really, after I got used to the idea. Where we would use stop
lights in the States, you will find a roundabout. They seem to work well in
keeping the traffic moving; maybe we need to use these in Atlanta! Approaching
a roundabout, all the traffic is traveling clockwise (as if looking from
above). One is expected to merge with traffic that is flowing from right to
left, upon pulling up to the roundabout. Once in the circle, one travels
around the circle and exits at the desired road, which is labeled. A key to
roundabouts is knowing exactly where you want to go before you get in one
(hence the usefulness of the road atlas). I found it's good to know road
numbers and several towns along the road. All the exits in a roundabout are
labeled, but if the sign references a town you don't recognize, you can't stop
in the roundabout to read the road atlas!
My Route to Malvern Link From Birmingham Airport
A452 toward Warwick
Right on A46 toward Stratford (Hark! Shakespeare's hometown)
Right on A422 toward Worcester
At Alcester, left on A46 (was A435) to Evesham
At Evesham right on A44 to Pershore
At Pershore left on A4104 toward Upton
Thru Upton to Malvern
I dead-ended in Malvern at a roundabout, and three-fourths way around was
Pickersleigh Rd.
The factory was down Pickersleigh Rd. on the right.
(Past the factory a mile or so is Malvern Link)
Total drive time (including stopping for the road atlas) was about two hours.
Tips I Found Useful in Driving on The Left
1) Know where you're going - study the atlas - I kept a list of turns I had to
make on a notepad on the dashboard
2) First timers - get an automatic and don't do it in the dark
3) Think about keeping the steering wheel near the road center
4) At stops look right first, then left
5) Watch out for the normal crazies - twice I looked to see oncoming cars
passing in my lane
6) Beware of overconfidence after you get the hang of it
7) The first ten minutes are the scariest!
Next time - Part three: "Arrival at the Works"
Jack Claxton
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