England - The Basics and What You Should Know

This is a long post, and I'm not sure why it's so long. England is an easy country to travel and navigate. I highly recommend it! So, even though it's long, and I can't figure out why, you should go on and read!


Language:
There's certainly something to be said for traveling internationally but not having to decipher another language while abroad. It makes maps, ordering meals, subway stations, and general life much easier when able to understand signage and those around you. However, there are over a dozen different British accents (for some fun on the different dialects check out Anglophenia's awesome video) and some of them are quite hard to understand for the untrained ear. I often had to ask people to repeat themselves, but no one seemed offended.

Another small hurdle can be the fact that although you can read the words, they might not mean anything to you. Do you know what nappies are? Not light periods of sleep. They're diapers. Don't tell someone you desperately need a nappy. (If you do need a quick bit of sleep, then you need a kip)

Other words and phrases:

lorry = truck

cuppa = a cup of tea

top up = refill

take away = take out food

knackered = tired

cheers or ta = thanks

pudding = dessert

biscuit = cookie

quid  = one British Pound

jacket potato = baked potato

chips = french fries

crisps = potato chips

underground or tube = subway

Transportation:
Surprisingly easy. Figuring out public transportation is what scares me the most about traveling. Even travel within the USA. It's horrifying to me. But the London Underground system is very easy to understand. Each line has a color and a name, the Central Line for instance is red. The trains either go north and south or east and west.

White circles joined by a white line means you will
have a bit of a walk from one line's platform to the other's.

I suggest figuring out your route in this manner:
1. Find an Underground map upon entering the station (they're always easy to find).
2. Find the station you need for your destination (you will need a London city map that shows Underground stations to figure out the closest one)
3. See if any of the colored lines go all the way to the station you're standing in
       3a. If there's one line all the way make sure you know which direction you're going (N, S, E, or W) then follow the signs to the correct platform (e.g. Central Line West)
       3b. If the two stations are not connected by one line pick a line leaving the station you're in and see where it intersects one of the lines going to your destination. There should be a white circle where the lines intersect with a station name - that's the station where you will need to get off and switch to another train. Again, make sure you know which direction you need to be headed for both trains.
4. As an added reassurance that you're getting on the right train, look and see what the last stop is on the line you're getting on. That last stop will be displayed on the front of the train when it pulls in*. Each platform also has a list of stops displayed on big signs. If you don't see your stop, you're on the wrong platform.
5. Signs in the tube cars will show the route and stops so you can keep track of where you are and how many stops you have to go.

*You'll notice some lines split, the Central Line for instance. This is where you really need to pay attention to the last stop on a line. If your stop is after the split,  you'll need to make sure the front of the train you get on has the right ending point on it. If you just get on the first Central Line train you see, it might take the wrong fork.

Can you figure out where all of the letters spelling
London come from?

You'll need an Oyster Card in order to get into Underground Stations. Although Oyster cards can be purchased at stations, you should get a Visitor Oyster card online prior to your trip so that you can use it on buses, the Overground Rail, and National Rail Services. You fill the card with a certain amount of money and any trips are subtracted from the balance. You just touch the card to the round yellow circles at the station turnstiles. If you get a red beep and the turnstile doors don't open, you need to top up your card (put more money on it). You swipe your card again to get out of any station, and the fare is calculated by the distance between your starting station and ending station.

Bus fare is also paid using your Visitor Oyster Card, but you only swipe the card once, when you board. Bus fare is flat no matter how long you're on the bus. Fare is 1.5 pounds and you cannot pay with cash. You must have an Oyster Card. If you have a regular Oyster Card and not a Visitor Card, make sure you've added the Bus and Tram Pass. Buses will take MUCH longer to get you anywhere.

I've made this all sound terribly difficult, but it really isn't. Visitor Oyster Card. Swipe at station turnstile or upon boarding bus. Top up when your money runs out.

Oh one last note, if you're planning on seeing a lot of London make sure your Visitor Oyster Card is good for zones 1-6. Otherwise, look at this map and see what zones you need the card for.

Walking as transportation is great, just remember they drive on the opposite side of the road in London. Pedestrians have the right of way at a crosswalk, but look right first! Then left. Every cross walk has written on the ground "look right" or "look left" though, in case you forget. Apparently a lot of foreigners were getting run over?

Money:

The measure of money in England is called a Pound (also sometimes referred to as a Quid). The pound comes in 5, 10, 20 and 50 paper notes as well as a 2 pound coin. The only other unit of money is pence. 100 pence make up a pound and these all come in coins - 1 penny (a singular pence is a penny), 2 pence, 5 pence, 10, 20, and 50 pence.

The symbol for pound is £ and prices are written as such,  £5.50 = 5 pounds and 50 pence. Something costing under a pound is often written as 50p. That's fifty pence but usually pronounced "fifty-pee". Currently the pound is worth more than a US dollar and the Euro - so things can get a bit expensive.

Food and Drink:
Bangers and Mash are sausages and mashed potatoes. Fish and Chips is fried cod and french fries. That's all you need to know.

That blue bar right under the windows
for people outside to put their drinks
on. Pubs get crowded and the crowd
spills outside.

No, not really. What you should know is that if you go to dine in a pub (which 9 out of 10 establishments are) there's a certain procedure to be followed. If someone doesn't meet you at the door to seat you, you're in a pub. Just find yourself somewhere to sit, figure out what you want from the menu, and find the table number of where you're sitting. Then go to the bar, order, and tell them you're table number. Someone will get your drink right then, and someone else will bring your food. You will pay when you order, so make sure you bring your money to the bar with you.

If there are a lot of people seated, just send one or two people to the bar to order and pay for everyone. Menus are posted outside most pubs, and you should check them out because some pubs don't offer much in the way of food. It's a pub, so it's mainly for drinking.

Do not leave or give a tip in a pub. If someone has seated you, taken your order, brought you a check, etc...then you're in a restaurant and you need to tip  - unless it is already added to your check. Check your check.


Well, I think you can now travel to England without looking or sounding like a ninny.