trip,
under ordinary conditions, is not at all exorbitant or out of the reach
of the average well-to-do citizen.
Those who have traveled for long distances on American roads can have no
conception whatever of the delights of motor traveling on the British
highways. I think there are more bad roads in the average county, taking
the States throughout, than there are in all of the United Kingdom, and
the number of defective bridges in any county outside of the immediate
precincts of a few cities, would undoubtedly be many times greater than
in the whole of Great Britain. I am speaking, of course, of the more
traveled highways and country byways. There are roads leading into the
hilly sections that would not be practicable for motors at all, but,
fortunately, these are the very roads over which no one would care to
go. While the gradients are generally easier than in the States, there
are in many places sharp hills where the car must be kept well under
control. But the beauty of it is that in Britain one has the means of
being thoroughly warned in advance of the road conditions which he must
encounter.
The maps are perfect to the smallest detail and drawn to a large scale,
showing the relative importance of all the roads; and upon them are
plainly marked the hills that are styled "dangerous." These maps were
prepared for cyclists, and many of the hills seem insignificant to a
powerful motor. However, the warning is none the less valuable, for
often other conditions requiring caution prevail, such as a dangerous
turn on a hill or a sharp descent into a village street. Then there is a
set of books, four in number, published by an Edinburgh house and
illustrated by profile plans, covering about thirty thousand miles of
road in England and Scotland. These show the exact gradients and supply
information in regard to the surface of the roads and their general
characteristics. Besides this, the "objects of interest" scattered along
any particular piece of road are given in brief--information at once so
desirable and complete as to be a revelation to an American. There are
sign-boards at nearly every crossing; only in some of the more retired
districts did we find the crossroads unmarked. With such advantages as
these, it is easily seen that a tour of Britain by a comparative
stranger is not difficult; that a chauffeur or a guide posted on the
roads is not at all necessary. The average tourist, with the exercise of
ordinary int
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