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The '''United Kingdom''' is a European state which forms the so-called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area Common Travel area] with [[Ireland]] and is not part of the [[Schengen Agreement]]. Hitchhiking in the United Kingdom is feasible although the British are a little surprised (especially in [[England]]) to see people still doing it these days since it has become a dying trend largely due to the safety worries, insurance issues and very busy roads, but also extremely cheap coach fares. You will still manage a ride somehow but you really need to be '''at the right spot.''' Finding a safe spot where drivers can pull over easily can be crucial here - British people usually don't like to stop in bad places, so make it easy for them to pick you up!
British people don't like stopping in unsafe places! Try to find a stop where it's easy to stop, even at the cost of lower traffic.
Also, here rides are lifts and trucks are lorries :)
* [http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/15000.htm Another (maybe better?) Map of service stations]
Pls add info'' [[User:OlcheMaith|Roaming Pencil]] has hitchhiked over 5000 km in the UK (Mid/North England, Wales and Scotland). She was initially apprehensive due to this page, but has found out that UK is great for hitchhiking, often with low waiting times, people offering rides even before you officially start hitchhiking, and very helpful drivers. ''
Clean up. Remove dead links, restructure content, update some information like pop sizes, eu affiliation
|language = English; recognized regional languages are Welsh, Irish, Ulster Scots, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish
|capital = [[London]]
|pop = 6067,975081,000
|currency = Pound sterling (GBP)
|hitch = <rating country='uk' />
|BW = GB
}}
The '''United Kingdom''' is a country in [[Nothern Europe]] which forms the so-called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area Common Travel area] with [[Ireland]] and is not part of the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is connected to mainland Europe via the [[English channel]]. As of 2020, it is no longer part of the [[European Union]].
Hitching in [[Scotland]] or [[Wales]] tends to be more easy than in southern [[England]] although this depends from county to county. For example, the rural mentality in the [[South West England|South West]] makes it a lot more easier than trying to hitch in the [[South East England|South East]]. It seems the closer you are to big cities, especially London, the harder it is. Furthermore, especially in the South of England, people have some kind of you-only-get-what-you-merit-(equals: work for)-attitude, which is why they sometimes react with unfriendliness to the idea of hitching. On the other hand, very many students hitched in the 70s and 80s and they often give lifts now that they are rich and 50plus. '' [[User:OlcheMaith|Roaming Pencil]] has hitchhiked over 5000 km in the UK (Mid/North England, Wales and Scotland). She was initially apprehensive due to this page, but has found out that UK is great for hitchhiking, often with low waiting times, people offering rides even before you officially start hitchhiking, and very helpful driversolder. ''
Like anywhere else, it is illegal to walk on motorways, and so hitchhiking is best done from the bottom of [[slip road]]s and at [[rest area|service stations]] (at discretion of the owner). Highways Agency officials may question you if you hitch from sliproads on motorways as technically you are not allowed to do this, but the police will not pay any interest; the Highways Agency staff are more pedantic than the police regarding that.
Apart from motorways, you can also hitch on the so-called A-roads, where - legally - you can stand on the side lane. As A-roads, however, are a replacement for motorways in more rural areas, people basically go at the same speed, and it is quite difficult and dangerous to flag somebody down.
If you're hitchhiking long distances and considering making a sign, in general people use the motorway names rather than the city names. For example, from [[London]] to [[South West England|Cornwall]] have a sign saying ''M4''. But if you are hitching on a motorway with multiple cities (i.e. ''M1'') it is an idea to use a sign with the city name (e.g. [[Nottingham]], [[Sheffield]]).
Most people in the United Kingdom seems to be afraid of terrorist attacks, criminals or whatever. You can easily notice that junctions, stations, supermarkets and sometimes even pubs are video-monitored. They have naked scanners at the airports and so on. If you ask unknown people in cities in the dark for the way or for something, they can be terrified or anxious.
As a final note, rides are lifts and trucks are lorries :)
== Service stations hitchiking method ==
Stick to motorway services, as lot of traffic is passing, filling up their tanks. TALK with drivers who are filling up their tanks in petrol station. It will help if you will have a sign, or if you don't have one, have some kind of paper map, because you will look more trustable from distance. As they are afraid of terrorists, try to be as polite as possible, sometimes you'll encounter chatty people, chat a little bit for their pleasure, and for you to calm down if you are trying to get a ride for longer time. Also you can even get job offers (Strazdas007 got offer from driver to work as roofpainter or smth like that in service station near Leeds). If there are a lot of traffic coming through petrol station, or in general, don't waste time going to speek to drivers in rest area, they will pass you at some point. Try asking drivers if you are in good place for heading that direction, for example: Strazdas007 was stuck on Maidstone services while trying to get to the North, as all drivers where going South, or just around the corner, so he just went back to Dover port. If you are in bad service station for your direction, don't hesitate going back to last good spot, or possibly good spot. Try to look up service stations on maps or gps. A Collins road map of the UK (+ Ireland) can be found in book stores for ~£5 and is very useful here since you don't want to miss the last possible service sttation. Go for the popular ones if you have a choice, like: Starbucks over Costa, as it is with petrol stations - Shell over BP. Also, with some luck, you can even get job offers (Strazdas007 got offer from driver to work as roofpainter or smth like that in service station near Leeds).
== Climate ==
== Hitchhiking from or towards [[Ireland]] ==
There are ferries from [[Wales]] ([[Holyhead]] in the North and [[Fishguard]] in the South), from Scotland (Troon, Cairnryan, Stranraer) and from England (around Liverpool). Currently, it might only be possible to get across without paying if you can find a sympathetic driver who allows you to hide in their vehicle, as every passenger pays separately.
{{nomadwiki}}
* [http://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/services/map/ Map of Services Stations] - Motorway Services Online
* [http://www.frixo.com Frixo Traffic Reports] – Live travel updates for UK roads / motorways
* [http://www.motorwayservices.info/ Motorway Services Info] UK Motorway Services Information (Reader's Comments)
== Personal Experiences ==
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
{{nomadwiki}}
{{UK_constituent_countries}}
{{hitchbase_country|203}}
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[[Category:United Kingdom| ]]
[[Category:Northern Europe]]
