Book the most
reliable guide as to the relative merits of the hotels. It is a poorly
appointed hotel that does not now have a garage of some sort, and in
many cases, necessary supplies are available. Some even go so far as to
charge the storage batteries, or "accumulators," as they are always
called in Britain, and to afford facilities for the motorist to make
repairs.

It goes without saying that a motor tour should be planned in advance
as carefully as possible. If one starts out in a haphazard way, it takes
him a long time to find his bearings, and much valuable time is lost.
Before crossing the water, it would be well to become posted as
thoroughly as possible on what one desires to see and to gain a general
idea of the road from the maps. Another valuable adjunct will be a
membership in the A.C.A. or a letter from the American motor
associations, with an introduction to the Secretary of the Motor Union
of Great Britain and Ireland. In this manner can be secured much
valuable information as to the main traveled routes; but after all, if
the tourist is going to get the most out of his trip, he will have to
come down to a careful study of the country and depend partly on the
guide-books but more upon his own knowledge of the historical and
literary landmarks throughout the Kingdom.

II

IN AND ABOUT LONDON

London occurs to the average tourist as the center from which his
travels in the Kingdom will radiate, and this idea, from many points of
view, is logically correct. Around the city cluster innumerable literary
and historic associations, and the points of special interest lying
within easy reach will outnumber those in any section of similar extent
in the entire country. If one purposes to make the tour by rail, London
is pre-eminently the center from which to start and to which one will
return at various times in his travels. All the principal railways lead
to the metropolis. The number of trains arriving and departing each day
greatly exceeds that of any other city in the world, and the longest
through journey in the island may be compassed between sunrise and
sunset.

The motorist, however, finds a different problem confronting him in
making London his center. I had in mind the plan of visiting the famous
places of the city and immediate suburbs with the aid of my car, but it
was speedily abandoned when I found myself confronted by the actual
conditions. One attempt at carrying out this plan sett