Any UK Warriors?

Assuming your debit card is Visa/Mastercard etc, it will work in UK ATMs, however I would highly recommend getting some cash before you arrive here. Your bank will more than likely charge you a processing fee, as well as giving you a slightly less favourable exchange rate for any money you withdraw here. I made this mistake when I went to Australia in March, and found that I was charged nearly 10% of the amount I withdrew in "fees".

Bristol is a lovely area, although they all speak a bit funny round there. The official tourist site for Bristol is visitbristol.co.uk (sorry it won't let me hyperlink it). Well worth a read If you are hiring a car, I'd highly recommend travelling around the countryside, sampling a beer or two (careful if driving), and relaxing. Clifton Suspension Bridge is definitely worth a visit and is quite a famous landmark.

The majority of Bristol is a lovely area, but as with any place - there are a few areas where there are less desirable people. If you're out late, just be sensible and keep your wits about you. You're very unlikely to find any issues there.

With regards to phones you can buy them here in the UK, but I'm not sure if they're going to give you any good deals on International calls. It would be worth popping into one of the stores for the major UK networks: Orange, O2, Vodafone and T-Mobile. Or you can go into one of the larger stores such as Carphone Warehouse, who deal with multiple brands. Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) phones tend to range from £9.99 upwards Personally, I'd bring a laptop and use Skype if I needed to contact anyone, but it depends on what you're bringing with you and your access to the Internet. Many cafes and bars have free Wi-fi!!

Hope that helps! And if you find yourself near Chichester or Portsmouth (a couple of hours from Bristol), you're very welcome to a beer

Disclaimer: I don't live in Bristol, but have family who live there and I have visited many times. If you die, please don't come back to haunt me

Hi Justin,
I'll try and help you!
Answers underneath.

Rich



>Certainly expensive the other way round Justin. The best way I'd suggest is to get a pre-paid calling card that will let you call US for pennies a minute. Usually find cards at train stations, airports , travel agents, post offices, some hotels and newsagents/corner shops. Problem you may have is these cards are designed to be used in regular phones sometimes via freephone numbers. Some will charge silly excess to call via a mobile or will be blocked.

Thanks so much guys, never been out of country except
for Canada and thats really not the same. Very helpful!

I am from UK. Used to speak to people from Bristol quite a bit and always found Bristolians friendly with a distinctive accent

Have a good trip!

Dean

Hi Justin,

Bristol is a nice City..it has been some years since I visted myself, but there are some very popular tourist attractions in and near Bristol.

Things To Do - Visit Bristol

Roman Bath is just up the road ....a must see if you are hiring a car.

The Severn Bridge will take you over the River Severn and into another world WALES where the Welsh live....the further you go into Wales the more beautiful it gets....if you have the time, I would recommend a visit.

The M5 (motorway) is the gateway to the South West and will take you down to Devon and Cornwall within a couple of hours...probably the most popular tourist route in the uk.

I am just off to my day job now so don't have time to give you more info, but i wish you a safe journey and hope you have a really nice visit.

Graham

Hey Justin,

I travel all over the place all the time and I usually only have my Visa debit card - it works almost everywhere.

In fact, the only place I recall it not working is in Korea - but US, Canada, and elsewhere around the world it's worked fine so you should be ok.

With that said, it's always nice to have cash so that you don't have to mess around to get a taxi that takes credit cards, or paying for small cost things.

I almost decided to come down to Robs event this weekend as I have a nephew at Bath University, but unfortunately I have a lot going on with my own businesses right now and I offered to help a friend get started making money online this weekend so I can't spare the time, but Rob's a great guy (very funny too when you feed him beer - he had lots of jokes) and Martin's definitely one of the good guys, so whatever else is going on I know you'll enjoy it.

Have fun.

Andy

As a 'funny speaking' Bristolian (who doesn't speak nearly as funny as the rest of them!), I recommend you avoid some of the dodgier areas such as 'Senpawls' (St Paul's) and 'Bartnil' (Barton Hill).

Useful phrases in an emergency are 'Izza a boozer bist ere?' (Excuse me, is there a pub around here?), 'Oozad my motor?' (Who's taken my car?) and 'Ohdup, I loss ar murr!' (Wait a moment, I've lost my Mother!).

On approaching a Bristolian, the correct form of greeting is simply 'Awright?' This means 'Hi!', and although posed as a question, does not require an answer. The correct response to 'Awright?' is... 'Awright?'! Don't forget the the word though - you'll need it again if you meet the same Bristolian when going the other way, by which time 'Awright?' mysteriously translates as 'Bye!'

Funny speaking, us lot? Never

Thank you Diana, that's the first time I've seen anyone try to translate Puddy-speak.

I always thought he was talking about tractors.

Martin

P.S. Do you fancy popping over to the Holiday Inn this weekend and giving us an interpretation service?

Guess where my wife and I are driving to this afternoon?

Bristol - small world!