We’re Americans who visited the UK – and these are the 10 things about Britain that surprised us the most, from the service to the toilets (and the VERY narrow roads)
An American couple who have visited Britain extensively have revealed the 10 things that surprised them most about the country.
And the list contains a few entries that may raise a few eyebrows even among the native British population. It turns out that they can be quite proud of the quality of their public toilets, for example.
Cara Atwell and Jeremy Davis – currently in Portland, Oregon – posted a video on their ‘Magic Geekdom’ YouTube channel in which they loosely list the 10 surprising things, from least to most surprising. The video has been viewed more than 300,000 times so far.
Read on for the full rankings – and vote in our poll at the bottom for which item on the list you think is the worst thing about Britain.
10. No need for a car
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Cara says in the video: ‘I assumed you needed a car in the UK. And you don’t. You can get around so much easier in the UK on public transport than in the US. You don’t need a car – we learned that the second time around. We didn’t hire a car at all and it was lovely to get around by train everywhere.’
9. Narrow roads and parking lots
“They can be quite scary and intimidating,” says Cara, “compared to our big, wide roads in America. I was also surprised at how difficult parking can be.”
Jeremy added: “There’s not much free parking at all.”
Americans Cara Atwell and Jeremy Davis (above) posted a video on their YouTube channel ‘Magic Geekdom’ in which they list the 10 things that surprised them most about Britain
8. Many people go to London alone
Jeremy says: ‘Most international travelers only go to London. We love London, but there is so much more to see. Some of our favorite places are smaller towns and villages.”
Cara adds: ‘And people in the UK have told us we’ve been to places they’ve never been before.’
7. Footpaths
Cara and Jeremy loved the UK’s network of public footpaths. Above – Doghouse Hill near Seatown in Dorset
Cara says: ‘British footpaths are an extensive network… allowing you to walk on private land and take in all different types of landscapes. One of my favorite memories… I cherish the fact that we got to walk through a field of cows in Dorset. It was so great.’
The location was extra interesting for the couple because dinosaur footprints could be seen in the rocks.
6. Being treated nicely as Americans
Jeremy says, “People told us that people in certain cities wouldn’t be nice to Americans, but I feel like everywhere we went we had a positive experience.”
Cara adds, “Yes, international travel for Americans can be a precarious affair. We are not loved in many places.’
5. Hot and cold taps
Cara admits that when she first used the hot and cold taps, she wasn’t sure how to use them. She wondered if she should ‘quickly move her hands from one tap to the other’
The couple reveal that they have rarely come across separate hot and cold taps in America. Cara admits that when she first encountered hot and cold taps, she was unsure how to use them. She wondered whether to ‘quickly move her hands back and forth from one to the other’ or ‘just use the hot tap and hope it doesn’t get too hot’.
4. Service levels and asking for the bill
Jeremy says that when they first went to a restaurant in the UK that didn’t serve fast food, they were surprised that they didn’t get the bill automatically.
He says, “We finished what we ordered and we were just waiting and waiting….”
Cara adds, “It was disturbingly strange. It was like, ‘Where is everybody? Where did our server go?’ We sat there for 30 or 40 minutes waiting for them to bring the check. Because that’s what they do in the US.”
3. Portion sizes
Jeremy says: ‘Portion sizes in the UK can be drastically different to those in the US, in a healthier way.’
Cara adds: ‘When we got to the UK it was a bit surprising to see a normal portion of food. And not this huge plate of food that you don’t actually need to eat. It was quite shocking at first.’
2. Efficiency
Cara explains that Britain has “little things” that “make me, as an American, feel like we’re a little bit behind the rest of the world.”
An example is contactless payment – another example is trains. Cara was impressed by how you can just step in and ‘there’s nothing to it’.
She adds: “In the US, we have to make things more complicated than they need to be.”
1. Public toilets/bathrooms
Cara and Jeremy were impressed with the standard of public toilets in the UK. Above – Victorian public toilets on Hampstead Heath, London
American public restrooms are criticized as sad and “dirty,” Cara says, with doors that are often see-through.
She adds: ‘I mean, you can watch someone relieve themselves if you want to, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in the UK.’
Cara told MailOnline Travel: ‘The public toilets were the most shocking thing from the moment we arrived in the UK. After spending most of our lives using the fragile, exposed room dividers common in the US, it was so refreshing to experience a higher level of privacy.’
Is there anything in Britain that she would like to see in the US?
Cara said, “I wish the US had better public transportation and walkability, which would reduce the need for cars, especially in cities.
‘I also wish we could implement contactless payments in more places. In the US, it is very common to hand employees your credit card in restaurants and in many other situations. I would like to see an end to that.’
Are there areas where the UK can still improve?
Cara said: ‘The main thing we had to get used to was the style of restaurant service and having to ask for the bill. At first it felt strange compared to the more attentive American service. But over time we came to appreciate the British approach as it allowed for a more relaxed, informal meal.’
Cara and Jeremy post on social media as The Magic Geekdom. They can be found at www.instagram.com/themagicgeekdom; twitter.com/magicgeekdom; www.tiktok.com/@themagicgeekdom; wwww.youtube.com/@TheMagicGeekdom And www.facebook.com/themagicgeekdom.
