Practical Information for visiting United Kingdom

The currency is the pound sterling (GBP). The UK is not in the eurozone and euros are not accepted.

Cards and contactless are accepted virtually everywhere, including buses, taxis, market stalls and small pubs, and a growing number of places are card-only. Cash is genuinely optional in most of the country, though useful in rural areas, at village halls and for a few older pubs.

Note that Scotland and Northern Ireland issue their own banknotes. They are sterling and are legal currency, but English shops occasionally refuse them out of unfamiliarity — a recurring minor irritation.

ATMs are widespread; use bank machines rather than the fee-charging ones in convenience stores.

Tipping: ten to fifteen per cent in restaurants where no service charge is added, and no tip at the bar in a pub — that is not done. Taxis are usually rounded up.

Coverage for mobile networks is good in cities and along main routes, with 5G in urban areas. Rural coverage is patchier than the maps claim, and mid-Wales, the Highlands and parts of the south-west have genuine dead zones — a real consideration if you are walking or driving remote roads.

The UK left the European Union, so EU roaming rules no longer apply automatically and several operators have reintroduced charges. Check before travelling; local prepaid SIMs and eSIMs are cheap and widely available.

Free Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafes, pubs and on many trains, and available across public transport networks in the larger cities.

If you are heading into the hills, download offline maps — and note that the emergency services accept a text to 999 if you register in advance, which works on a signal too weak for a call.

The UK is a safe country and the great majority of visits are trouble-free. Problems are urban, petty and avoidable.

• Phone snatching from mopeds and bicycles is a recognised problem in central London and some other cities. Do not stand at a kerb using your phone.
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• Pickpocketing on the Underground, around Oxford Street, Camden and major stations, and at festivals.
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• Look right. Traffic comes from the opposite direction to most of the world, and pedestrian injuries to visitors are common enough that London paints reminders on the road.
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• Hills and coast. Mountain rescue teams are called out constantly to people underequipped in the Lakes, Snowdonia and the Highlands. Weather turns fast, and the tide on flat coasts — Morecambe Bay in particular — comes in faster than people can walk.
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• Alcohol-related trouble in city centres late at night on weekends is the commonest source of aggravation.
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• Northern Ireland is safe to visit; occasional localised disorder around July parades is worth checking for.

The National Health Service provides emergency treatment to anyone. Visitors from countries with reciprocal arrangements, including the EU with a valid EHIC or GHIC, are covered for necessary care; others may be charged for hospital treatment, so travel insurance is sensible.

Accident and emergency departments are for genuine emergencies and waits can be long. 111 is the free NHS advice line for anything urgent but not life-threatening, and it will direct you to the right service — it is the number to use rather than turning up at a hospital.

Vaccinations: routine cover is sufficient.

Ticks in long grass, bracken and moorland carry Lyme disease, particularly in the Highlands, the New Forest and parts of Wales. Check after walking.

Midges in the Scottish Highlands between June and September are not dangerous but are genuinely capable of ruining a trip; repellent and a head net are standard equipment.

Weather exposure on the hills is the real risk. Pharmacies are widespread and pharmacists can treat a range of minor conditions directly. Tap water is safe everywhere.

Queue. Form an orderly line and wait your turn, including at bus stops and bars. Pushing in is the most reliable way to make a British person quietly furious.

At the bar. Order and pay at the bar, not at the table. Buy in rounds, and take your turn. Do not tip the bartender; offering to buy them a drink is the traditional alternative.

Names. Do not call Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish people English, and do not use England and Britain interchangeably.

Apologise freely. Sorry is used constantly and rarely means what it says.

Stand on the right on escalators, particularly on the Underground.

Rights of way let you walk across private land on marked paths. Close gates, keep dogs on leads near livestock, and take litter home.

Smoking is banned indoors in public places throughout, and drink-driving limits are strict — lower in Scotland than in England.

Emergency numbers: 999 or 112, either of which reaches police, ambulance, fire, coastguard and mountain rescue. Both work from any phone, including one with no credit.

111 is the NHS non-emergency line for urgent medical advice, available around the clock and free. 101 is the non-emergency police number.

Emergency SMS. If you register your phone in advance by texting register to 999, you can text the emergency services — which works where the signal is too weak for a voice call, and is genuinely useful in the hills.

Mountain rescue and the coastguard are volunteer and free at the point of use, reached through 999. Tell someone your route before walking in the hills.

Weather warnings from the Met Office use a yellow, amber and red system; red means do not travel.

Keep an offline copy of your passport and insurance. Embassies are in London, with some consulates in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.