Scotland and Northern England are amazing places. I just returned to Canada after spending 10 days visiting and exploring Edinburgh, York, and Saltburn-by-the-Sea, and many other communities in between. It was an incredible experience, especially the people and places.
I knew I would likely experience some small differences in culture and perceptions, just as I had noticed when people from Scotland and England had visited us in Canada. That I did wasn’t a surprise, but what the unexpected discoveries were was a surprise, and they inspired me to write this piece for you.
No screens on the windows … anywhere. Where I live in Canada, an open window is an invitation to every bug, flying insect, bird, mouse, chipmunk, squirrel, and any other critter. Yet, it doesn’t seem to be a problem in Scotland or Northern England.
Pay toilets. While not necessarily true everywhere, in Canada, accessing a public washroom is relatively straightforward, not so much where I visited. One day, when I had to go, I not only had difficulty finding a washroom; when I did, I had to use my credit card to pay. It was only 30 pence, or about 50 cents Canadian, but this was definitely a unexpected discovery.
No bathroom fans. Since I just mentioned pay toilets, I found the almost universal lack of bathroom fans unusual. Not only useful for dissipating humidity and odors, but they are also useful, at the risk of offending anyone, for masking sounds that a person using the washroom may wish to not to share.
To let. In Scotland and Northern England, signs with these two words are very common, and at first glance it would seem easy to confuse “To let” with “Toilet”; however, that would be wrong. “To let” simply means the space is available to rent and is not a solution for anyone searching for a toilet or washroom.
The streets and parks are quite clean; this was not a surprise; however, the surprise was in how hard it was to find the few public garbage cans and any obvious recycling bins. We knew these places recycled, but we weren’t really sure how they managed.
Street addresses when there are no street signs. There are many reasons why I am glad I did not rent a car for our vacation. Not least among them is the fact that while every place has a street address, it is almost impossible for a visitor to locate them because there are few street signs. Not at all like what we have in Canada with separate poles and often duplicate signs before and at the street intersections. In the places I visited, there might be a sign, or there might not be; the sign might be on the side of a building, the sign might be behind a bush or shrub; seldom, though, were they visible or helpful for people who had not been there before. We walked most places, and even then it was difficult to navigate successfully.
While on the topic of driving, another surprise was in just how narrow many of the roads are. Since many towns and cities date from “pre-automobile” times, they were not designed for cars, especially not for the size of vehicles common in Canada. The people of Scotland and Northern England have adapted well; their vehicles tend to be small and very nimble. Also, the lack of shoulders on the sides of roads; many times, the buses we took would brush against them while we drove, leaving little or no space for cyclists or pedestrians.
It was not a surprise that people in the United Kingdom drive on the other side of the road. What surprised me was just how dangerous that makes crossing the road for people used to life on the other side. The signs posted about “Look right, then Look left” should not be ignored; the local notwithstanding, visitors will benefit. I found driving looks stressful: narrow lanes, fast traffic, roundabouts everywhere, and humongous buses everywhere.
My advice is to fight the urge to rent a car on your first trip to these areas. Even if you can overcome the lifetime habits of driving on the right side of the road (not to be mistaken for the wrong side), and you can cross the road safely, renting a car is unnecessary because the Scots and English have a train, bus, and uber/taxi system that works incredibly well.
Oh, one more thing: did I mention I did not see a single stop sign anywhere in both countries? There are a handful of yield-type signs but no stop signs. They have traffic lights, but could you imagine the traffic abuses that would exist in Canada with stop signs? They seem to manage just fine.
Anyone with a physical disability might have a problem. History is very deep in Europe, and this is especially true in Scotland and Northern England; people have been living and building there forever, and many of the buildings are routinely hundreds of years old. Cobblestone roads, windy streets, steep steps; all of which seem to make accessibility a significant issue. Lugging around a 50lb suitcase was difficult; I could only imagine what it would be like for someone in a wheelchair. As an advocate for people living with barriers, it made me realize how much of what we call ‘charm’ quietly excludes people and that while history preserves beauty, it does not always invite access.
Buildings are old … and everything seems much older than in Canada. An old building here is 100+ years; in the UK, many buildings are upwards of 200+ years. In addition, there are many buildings which predate modern indoor plumbing as well as many of the modern conveniences we have incorporated in our homes. For example, kitchens tend to be smaller, and few homes I visited have the size and scope of appliances in Canada. Small fridges mean more frequent trips to the grocery store. Many laundry appliances are located in the kitchen as well and are the small combo units with a washer/dryer in one unit. While not huge discoveries, they were unexpected.
We have a housing crisis in Canada, and we could learn much from the examples in Scotland and Northern England. Very few homes are detached, with the majority being semi-detached or townhouses with many apartments as well.
Grocery stores are smaller and prices higher. In Canada, it is not uncommon for even a small city to have several large grocery stores with tens of thousands of square feet of selection at reasonable prices. I found in the places I visited, grocery stores with a fraction of the floor space and selection, and prices on average are about twice as much as here.
Things close earlier than you expect. Shops, restaurants, even towns quiet down early, with many of the places we wanted to visit closing at 5 pm in the afternoon. Check hours in advance, especially if you are looking for a place to eat. I was surprised that so few late-night options existed.
Hardly anyone wears a bike helmet. As a recent convert to wearing a helmet myself, I understand why someone wouldn’t wear one; I was not prepared for how few people wore one, especially children. In the United Kingdom, there isn’t any universal legislation regarding bike helmets, and it was surprising because in Canada, virtually everyone wears them.
Smoking and vaping are very common. People smoke and vape in Canada, but in far fewer numbers than I remember growing up; in the places I visited, it was much more prevalent.
Pounds and dollars, you rarely need cash. Tap-to-pay works almost everywhere. People in the United Kingdom use it for everything from transit to washrooms. Also, their coins don’t seem to make sense, as their 10 pence piece is larger than their 20 pence piece.
Restaurant Experience. The food in Scotland and Northern England was excellent, with so many different choices available. Two surprises stood out: one was ordering and pre-paying before the meal, in pubs at the counter rather than at our table. Second was tipping; in Canada, tipping, in my opinion, has grown to represent a substantial part of the meal, whereas in the areas we visited, tipping wasn’t necessary or expected.
Different methods of construction of homes and buildings. I was surprised that everything seemed to be made of stone or brick, with seemingly very few wood frame homes. Perhaps this shouldn’t have been a surprise, as they do have forests, but not on a scale we do in Canada. Additionally, for roofing, slate and tiles were used almost exclusively, with no asphalt or fiberglass shingles in sight. Also, in Canada we use concrete sidewalks, where in all the places we visited the sidewalks were made of slate slabs or asphalt, and very bumpy as well, having pulled a suitcase up and down the streets and having to stop every time the wheels got caught.
Willingness to help visitors. As first-time visitors, we got lost several times. Everyone seemed to know that if a person looked lost and was staring at their phone, you should ask them if you need help. It was very helpful and very much appreciated.
Allergies. Scotland and England are amazing; the people we encountered were wonderful, and we had a great time. We travelled by airplane, train, bus, car, and we walked for miles. There was something in the air that made me sneeze, sneeze, and sneeze some more, and despite boxes of Kleenex and allergy medication, nothing worked. As soon as I returned to Canada, it stopped. I can only conclude that, as much as I loved our trip, I am allergic to this incredible place.
We had read several books about the places we were visiting on this trip, watched even more vlogs, and all of those contributed to us enjoying our visit. It was the unexpected discoveries, I think, that really made the trip stand out: the subtle things and the nuances of the people and the way they live and have lived that made the trip memorable. I can’t wait for our next trip.
Paul.