The Key West citizen., 1954-08-02
BY BILL BECKER

SbsS SbNSN
LONDON IN - A first motor trip
through England can be a richly
rew.arding experience for the
American driver if he remembers
two things:
Take it easy, and when in Lon.
don, park it, brother, park it.
Though scenically enhancing
and modern surfaced, most British
roads follow ancient trails hardly
engineered for high speed driving.
And you have to watch out for the
cyclists who claim their share Of
the narrow road. That's why you
shouldn't try to cover more than
100 to $50 miles q day.
I know, because / have been
over the ground with mama and
htree daughters clamoring to stop
at this cathedral or that castle at
every other picturesque bend in
the road. And here, nearly all
roads have picturesque bends.
In London, the left-hand driving
in heavy traffic is a bit rough on
American nerves. Better let the
fare, or taxis, about $1.40 for half
an hour, take you where you want
to 60.
Typical of the friendly people we
met - aside from walters good
natured gibes at Americans who
like ice in their water - was the
motor company chauffeur who in
troduced me to the new car l had
arranged to buy before leaving the
United States.
He nearly talked both my ears
of while weaving through the fear
some S o'clock traffic. He kept as
suring Ine at every -hairbTeadth
escape: 1--WE been driving for
Rootes Is years and never had a
blinkin' fender scrape."' I'll never
know how he avoided breaking his
record with my car.
For the first day attractions we
took in Buckingham Palace, West
minister Abbey. Big Ben, West
minister and Lon don Bridges.
They're fairly close together, al
though the traffic makes it seem
otherwise.
Most main streets in this me-
tropolis end in a circle, such as
Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly
Circus, and then you have your
choice of four or five spokes. It's
confusing even with road map
in your lap. ! found myself agree
ing with the youngsters that the
top deck Of ali omnibus was q lot
more fun.
We began enjoying driving when
we hit the road to Canterbury and
Dover the next day. Feeling q lit
tie like Chaucer's Pilgrims, we fell
into a long caravan Of small cars,
motorcycles and bicycles, and
moved slowly over the hop-covered
Kentish Hills. "'Ops are pretty
important to this ERE country, "
an able-bibbing garageman told
me.
It is sheep country, too, and our
three city bred munchkins de-
manded we slow down so they
could watch the lambs frolic.
The drive to Canterbury, 81
miles from London Bridge, is a
two to three hour trip, depending
on how many road signs you miss.
British signs are large and expli-
cit, but sometimes they appear
to be mounted as an afterthought
on the last available post or build
ing before the turmoil.
Canterbury is a tourist must. The
Cathedral is one of the glories of
English architecture. The entrance
to the town, through the old West
gate and over a stream out of Con-
stable, takes you into a medieval
era. A few blocks later, modern
shops transport you back to Rookie
feller Center or Wiltshire Boule-
ward. You can even satisfy the
backseat clamor for an American
soft drink.
Dover lies on the channel coast
IS miles farther. The white cliffs
are impressive, but the castle and
Roman lighthouse atop them are
even more so. High on the windiest
bluff sits the castle, built some 800
years ago. But it's a newcomer
compared to the lighthouse Of
about IS AID.
The Dover-FolkStone drive pro-
vides q fine view Of Dover Strait,
and its along this time in midaft-
ernoon that you'd better start
thinking about the nights lodg-
ings. We didn't->and as night fell
were entangled in the winding
roads Of Surrey, south of London.
A bobby gave us directions, and
five minutes later we were lost
and back at the same corner. ''You
again, is it," he asked cheerfully.
His second patient recital finally
got us to Windsor.
Windsor should be 4 key stop
on any itinerary. The famed old
castle commands the Thames
heartland, and the Queens guards
in full red regalia provide unsur-
passed pomp.
The castle contains royal
la