Just been checking my car for the warning triangle but cannot find it, does the car come with one or do you have to buy it as an extra (surely not!)

I'm afraid that you do as well as a First Aid Kit!

As well as Fire extinguisher, hi-vis vests and spare bulb kit.

Fire extinguisher isn't mandatory in all European Countries, however the hi-viz vests and bulb kits are.

I never said it was, but it is something that I carry with me along with bulbs, large first aid kit, warning triangle (x2), spare clothing, food & water, sleeping bag, shovel, mini toolkit, phone charger and emergency phone battery.

I hope I never have to use them, but I would rather have them, and not use then, than need them and not have them.

Some of that kit came in handy on 6 December 2010 when it took me nearly 16hrs to travel 50 miles along the M8 and M74 in heavy snow and temperatures below -10°C.

  I am considering Hoek van Holland to Harwich. I think Stena Line does that route. 

 

Yes, Stena.

 

That’s my favourite way to go (when I don’t fly) - I used that route again just a week or so ago. I like the overnight sailings; the ships are nice and modern and have some pleasant cabin options. The food is rubbish (nothing like as good as you would expect on Scandinavian routes), but you're not on there long enough for that to really matter. It's a bit of an indulgence in terms of time and cost, of course.

 

Beware the traffic in southern Holland, though – it’s the most densely populated part of Europe and you really feel it on the roads. Be prepared for heavy traffic any time but early Sunday mornings.

I never said it was, but it is something that I carry with me along with bulbs, large first aid kit, warning triangle (x2), spare clothing, food & water, sleeping bag, shovel, mini toolkit, phone charger and emergency phone battery.

I hope I never have to use them, but I would rather have them, and not use then, than need them and not have them.

Some of that kit came in handy on 6 December 2010 when it took me nearly 16hrs to travel 50 miles along the M8 and M74 in heavy snow and temperatures below -10°C.

 

Where do you put the luggage ?

 

Where do you put the luggage ?

I use one of the nets to partition off the last third of the boot, where I also keep my Ghillie kettle, fuel(twigs, pine cones, cotton wool), water, camping food, spare walking boots, waterproof over jacket and trousers, and a bag for dog walking 'essentials'!

The RN gave gave me 22 years of practice of making maximum use of minimum space.

Not sure if anyone noticed but the superb 3 has another very clever option. When it is raining in France the speed limit decreases, I. E. From 130 to 110 or 90 to 80. The superb seems to automatically decrease the limit displayed on the car screen, if you have sign recognition enabled, when raining probably using the data from the front wiper rain sensor!

Edited 27 March, 201610 yr by micloi

I never said it was, but it is something that I carry with me along with bulbs, large first aid kit, warning triangle (x2), spare clothing, food & water, sleeping bag, shovel, mini toolkit, phone charger and emergency phone battery.

I hope I never have to use them, but I would rather have them, and not use then, than need them and not have them.

Some of that kit came in handy on 6 December 2010 when it took me nearly 16hrs to travel 50 miles along the M8 and M74 in heavy snow and temperatures below -10°C.

 

On seeing your location I can see why you carry all that kit as you don't have to go too far from home to get into some remote areas, living in London I can normally do without the food and water as you are never too far from a fried chicken shop, however if I was travelling and especially if it was winter or expected bad weather then I would take additional precautions.  

Edited 27 March, 201610 yr by Prykey

Yes, Stena.

 

That’s my favourite way to go (when I don’t fly) - I used that route again just a week or so ago. I like the overnight sailings; the ships are nice and modern and have some pleasant cabin options. The food is rubbish (nothing like as good as you would expect on Scandinavian routes), but you're not on there long enough for that to really matter. It's a bit of an indulgence in terms of time and cost, of course.

 

Beware the traffic in southern Holland, though – it’s the most densely populated part of Europe and you really feel it on the roads. Be prepared for heavy traffic any time but early Sunday mornings.

 

Thank you eurotraveller. Will keep the traffic warning in mind when planing our trip. We will probably making our crossing on a Monday.

Also, I don’t know which way you’re travelling south, but beware also that much of the A7 Flensburg (Kiel)-Hamburg is under widening construction. Traffic consequently gets pretty bad there much of the time, too. I don’t know about your option through Denmark and therefore the A1 Lübeck-Hamburg route, although I think that was done some years ago.

 

On the upside, the widening of the A1 Hamburg-Bremen is finally, finally completed and the outcome is absolutely fantastic: the best autobahn I’ve ever driven – I covered most of it at over 200 km/h so it doesn’t take long … 

Also, I don’t know which way you’re travelling south, but beware also that much of the A7 Flensburg (Kiel)-Hamburg is under widening construction. Traffic consequently gets pretty bad there much of the time, too. I don’t know about your option through Denmark and therefore the A1 Lübeck-Hamburg route, although I think that was done some years ago.

 

On the upside, the widening of the A1 Hamburg-Bremen is finally, finally completed and the outcome is absolutely fantastic: the best autobahn I’ve ever driven – I covered most of it at over 200 km/h so it doesn’t take long … 

 

I was actually thinking of that route - Flensburg to Hamburg. Thinking of spending the night somewhere between Hamburg and Bremen. Will be making our trip end of July, beginning of August.

I'm travelling from the UK to mainland Europe on Friday and was thinking of a checklist for my L&K (with dynamic light assist and traffic sign recognition) to switch to the right-hand traffic:

1. Car - Light - Travel Mode - Right-hand traffic (is this supposed to switch automatically?)

2. Menu - Settings - Time and date - Time zone

3. Menu - Settings - Units - Speed - set to km/h - do I have to do this to switch traffic sign recognition to km/h?

Have I missed anything?

I can confirm that the only manual adjustment that was required on the L&K S3 was the time zone to GMT+1.

Headlights adjusted automatically; TSR was interpreting speed limits in km/h.

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Great tips. Thank you ukgnome and sandervdw. Have taken the Newcastle route before when DFDS left from Gothenburg, Sweden. Our last trip to Newcastle we drove up to Scotland.

 

This trip though we are planing to drive first to London and then further south into Cornwall. I am considering Hoek van Holland to Harwich. I think Stena Line does that route. Not sure if there are any better routes but it´s early days yet.

You will love Cornwall.  Make sure you try a Pasty, Belgian Fries and beer all very nice - but nothing beats a Cornish Pasty and pint of Doom Bar on a sunny (!) Cornish afternoon!!

You will love Cornwall.  Make sure you try a Pasty, Belgian Fries and beer all very nice - but nothing beats a Cornish Pasty and pint of Doom Bar on a sunny (!) Cornish afternoon!!

 

Thank you Ant1975. We have never been to Cornwall so we are really looking forward to this trip. Cornish Pasty, Belgian Fries and a pint of Doom Bar you say. Looking forward to that sunny Cornish afternoon.

Edited 30 March, 201610 yr by ssc

Leave plenty of time to get to Cornwall! It is further than it looks and the time you are travelling will be the peak period for holiday traffic. The A303 which is the usual route selected by sat nav etc is notoriously bad for traffic. It is a mixture of dual and single carriageway. Queues are commonplace. The option to use the M4 from London and then the M5 to Exeter is usually more predictable but again can get congested as it is so busy from Bristol South.

 

Maybe worth looking for places to visit on the way down and take a day or two. There are some great places on the way. Stonehenge. Longleat House and Safari Park. Or if you go south coast way then some really old fashioned English Victorian seaside towns like Lyme Regis, Budleigh Salterton in East Devon/West Dorset. Or the South Devon area which is just as picturesque in parts as Cornwall (says a Devon lad).

I promise you that it may look like an easy 275 miles from London to say Truro but it rarely is. It will take you a really long day to make that journey on most days in late July/early August. (even with a Superb!!)

 

enjoy your visit and lets hope you get some reasonable weather,

Leave plenty of time to get to Cornwall! It is further than it looks and the time you are travelling will be the peak period for holiday traffic. The A303 which is the usual route selected by sat nav etc is notoriously bad for traffic. It is a mixture of dual and single carriageway. Queues are commonplace. The option to use the M4 from London and then the M5 to Exeter is usually more predictable but again can get congested as it is so busy from Bristol South.

 

Maybe worth looking for places to visit on the way down and take a day or two. There are some great places on the way. Stonehenge. Longleat House and Safari Park. Or if you go south coast way then some really old fashioned English Victorian seaside towns like Lyme Regis, Budleigh Salterton in East Devon/West Dorset. Or the South Devon area which is just as picturesque in parts as Cornwall (says a Devon lad).

I promise you that it may look like an easy 275 miles from London to say Truro but it rarely is. It will take you a really long day to make that journey on most days in late July/early August. (even with a Superb!!)

 

enjoy your visit and lets hope you get some reasonable weather,

 

Thank you Sagalout. Some really good suggestions and sound advise which I truly appreciate. Thinking of relying on the Superb´s Amundsen sat nav. It´s almost 6 years since I have had an inbuilt system to rely on. My last one was in a Honda CRV. We drove from Sweden to southern Germany, into The Czech Republic and then up to Berlin before heading back to Sweden. No problems. Even found places to stay for the night. I hope that the Amundsen sat nav proves just as good. Although maybe it is a good idea if we book our B&B before we leave.

 

Stonehenge is definitely on our list. Like you suggested we are planing a leisurely trip down to Cornwall. Will check the UK tourist sites to get more ideas and I will definitely be adding your suggestions to our list. Probably Lyme Regis or Budleigh Salterton could be a good place for our first night? We will then keep to the south coast towards Lands End. Anyway, that is the general idea.