Here we have gathered information that we hope you will find useful when you are traveling in the UK.

Money and ATM's

Currency

1 Pound Sterling = 100 pence. Notes are in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of 1 pound, and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 pence.

Credit Cards

Access/MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and Visa are all widely accepted. Check with your credit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.

Travelers Cheques

Accepted throughout the UK.

Banking Hours

1000-1600 Monday to Friday.

ATM's

Your existing bank cards are unlikely to work in ATM´s in the UK. However, if you have a MasterCard, Cirrus Card or Visa Card, there are a lot of ATM's in the county where you will be able to withdraw money.

Electricity

Very simply, the UK's electricity supply is 220 volts at 50hz. Converters and sets of adapter plugs are available at travel & luggage stores and at Radio Shack/Tandy and other electronic stores. They can often be found in airport shops and duty free stores. A set of adapter plugs costs around 10 to 15 Pounds and in some stores you can buy an individual adapter for only a few Pounds.

The UK uses a rectangular blade plug, with a ground pin. It looks like this:

Weather

The UK has a moderate Atlantic climate, influenced by the Gulf Stream. The South West gets the largest number of sunny days in the year. The seasons do not change dramatically. Average annual temperature is around 10 deg. C (50 deg. F). It gets colder in January and February, temperatures around 5 to 8 deg C (41 - 46 deg F). The warmest month is generally August, with average temperatures of 16 deg C (60 deg F), though the last few summers have been very changeable, with scorching heatwaves and driving rain.

So, bring plenty of cold weather gear at the start of the year, and some waterproofs during the summer!

Phoning Home

The UK has an advanced digital telephone system, and everywhere you stay will most likely include a direct dial telephone. Pay phones are also common, and work either on coins or callcards. Callcards can be purchased in many shops such as grocery shops and newsagents. Tourist information offices will also stock phone cards. Prepaid calling cards are also available that offer discounts on international calls. They generally involve calling a freephone number and then following some prompts. It's worth the extra effort, as they can work out much cheaper. These callcards are also available from many shops.

Emergencies

To contact any emergency service (Fire Brigade, Police, Lifeboats, Ambulance, Mountain and Cave Rescue, Coastal and others), dial 999 or 112 from any phone. You will quickly be connected to an operator. Clearly state the emergency service required. You will then be connected to that emergency service. Calmly and precisely detail the location and nature of the emergency, give your name, and stay on the line until you are told it is OK to hang up. Please note that this call is completely free.

If you see an accident, or any circumstance in which you think the emergency services should be called, please do so. The emergency services would rather be called 10 times about the same incident than not called at all.