+1 on the small car.

It takes a while to get use to where the left side of the car is. Can often tell the hired cars with us Americans, the right hand side mirror is missing.

I would also add, avoid a manual trans the first time.

When I started working there I leased a car. I got a VW GTI, small and fun, but I also got the manual. I soon decided it was not a good idea when learning the ways of the road the first time out, focus on the the other things first. For example the first day driving to work, rush hour, stopped on a hill entering a multi-lane round-about. It's not the manual, it using the left hand and the muscle memory of the pattern. After some time, of course not an issue.

Enjoy the trip, it is a great place.

 

Remember to switch back when you return. We were with our cousin in Italy who works in England but was home on Holiday. She forgot to revert back to right side driving, bit scary there. Most driving is done on human "auto pilot".

 

Book the tour in advance. You can't just turn up.
Easy train service from LHR into London, tube connection to different station, train to Birmingham and cheap taxi to factory. Easy. No sweat.
Renting a car: easy
Driving on the left: you will sweat through your shirt in the first 30 minutes. You will get in on the wrong side of the car. It will take you 10 minutes to find the rear view mirror. Your memory of the day will be mostly about the drive. You will have fun. Don't drink a drop of alcohol.
I loved the factory tour, I've driven in England with enough regularity to be not dangerous

 

Start here
Castle Bromwich Tour | Jaguar Factory Tours
Take the train and taxi.
Book train in advance. Can be expensive on the day.
Use a site like trainline or redspotted hanky.

 

Definitely train from your base area if possible - it will be quicker and less stressful. Bear in mind that some popular train routes can be massively overcrowded so travelling out of peak hours is recommended unless you enjoy playing "sardines".

To expand on Alan's points, that first turn out onto a road is the most important thing to get right. Whenever I drive on the right hand side of the road (the wrong side for me!) it takes me a few days to adjust to changing the direction I look when judging traffic gaps. Some roads are so congested here there other drivers will sometimes let you out so you sit across the nearside lane while you wait for a gap in the far lane to turn into. If you are not used to that scenario then wave them on to decline the offer.

Roundabouts are fantastic instruments for keeping traffic flowing even at busy intersections. The rules are very simple - always give way to traffic already on the roundabout (and in practise that means that is just about to about join from your right if they would then have to give way to you). Every roundabout has give way markings (double broken lines across the carriageway) on the approach to remind you of this. We indicate for our exit when approaching (left=left, straight on=off, right=right) and then unless the roundabout is very small and only fits one car we also indicate for our exit when driving on the roundabout (always indicating left as you cannot turn off right). When everyone follows those simple rule they flow smoothly, however they are frequently ignored by native drivers. The best advice is to watch the other cars and ignore their indicators. The wheel direction determines where the car will go, not the indicator lamps.

On roundabouts with islands in them which often have multiple lanes be very aware of vehicles either side of you as they can drift across into your lane and clip you. I usually hang back behind adjacent vehicles until I am sure they are not drifting over. Be aware that lorries turning left might be in the right hand lane to get corner clearance (the opposite side to what you are used to). We also have smaller roundabouts that are just white painted circles on the ground. Those have exactly the same rules.

Double, triple or even nested roundabouts are easy peasy - just treat each one individually.

One scenario you may encounter that is probably more common in parts of the world that favour traffic lights at intersections is when we have very large signalled road junctions. Typically where two major roads cross we will have dedicated lanes and often little slip roads for vehicles turning left and right to change roads. Those may share the main traffic lights, may have their own filter lights, or may use both. If unsure if you can go at what you think is a green light look at the road marking in front of you. If it is a solid single white stop line then you need a green light (solid or filter arrow) to cross it. If it is a double broken give way line you can go as long as you are not facing a red light and the way is clear to join the road (that should rarely happen as the markings would be wrong, but it does happen when a junction uses traffic lights during busy periods and reverts to giving way without lights during other times). That road marking is the easiest way to tell as some junctions are really badly signed and not at all obvious.

Also, if turning right across one of those big junctions with dedicated lanes it can sometimes be hard to identify which lane on the new road you are actually aiming for as we rarely have lane markings painted on the road once on the junction. In most cases you will find a little bollard with a blue direction arrow telling you to keep left which is your target, but not always, so use your time waiting at the stop lamp to identify your exit point. If both you and oncoming traffic are turning right across each other and you are unsure if you cross in front or behind, hang back and let the other driver decide. Only move to cross behind if you can make eye contact with the other driver so they know exactly what you are doing.

We are very polite drivers over here. Unless it is a roundabout, every time we give way both drivers will wave their hand at each other to say "thank you" and "you're welcome". The same is true if you are a pedestrian using a crossing. If you are wearing a hat to keep the sun off your eyes you should slightly raise it as it is not practical to tip/doff completely in a car (a proper gentleman never wears his hat inside though, and forfeits the right to dunk biscuits in his tea). At night we flash headlamps briefly instead of waving. If you cannot wave at the driver behind you then briefly flash the hazard warning lamps for one flash only. Be sure to reciprocate or people will swear at you. We exchange like that in any scenario that requires one or both drivers to give way, even if only very briefly due to a parked car obstruction, etc. It makes congested driving a lot less stressful over here.

With the exception of the larger cities and their catchment areas that have larger densities of foreign-born drivers, we only use our vehicle horns twice a year. The first is during the annual vehicle MOT health test to check it works, and the second use is when reserved for when the driver in front at some traffic lights has slept through at least five separate red-green cycles without moving and now you will be at least 2 hours late for work.

The thought of operating a manual gearbox with my other hand terrifies me! Holding the hand brake (park brake) with the wrong hand is odd enough.

Finally, you mentioned going via London. London is unique in Britain in that you should not make eye contact with other people unless talking to them, and you should not talk to strangers on public transport. Being born and raised in the SW of England I automatically say "hello" and "good morning" to people when our paths cross, but in London whilst mostly it goes unanswered or is met with looks of untrusting bewilderment, I did have one guy reply back to a friendly "good morning" with a barked "no thanks" without him even looking up at me. The only unprompted communication that seems allowable there is a brief smile or a nod should your eyes meet.

 

Northerner terrorised London by saying hello

No different from NYC

 

Them New Yorkers do seem to have a problem. When I lived in Colorado for several years, I got used to giving a cheerful greeting to every body, soul and derelict I passed on the street, or anywhere else. It's the thing you do. One time, I had stopped at a rest stop along I-70 in the mountains , headed towards the service building and belted out my usual "Howdy" as I passed a middle aged couple in the parking lot. They reacted like I was coming after them with a machete in each had. After I had passed them, I casually looked back to see them approaching a car with NY plates. Ya gotta wonder.

 

One very simple rule to remember is "Passenger to the Gutter". It's a quick reminder in almost any situation, left or right hand drive, especially handy when approaching a Roundabout or pulling out of a side street.

 

Being from the NYC area originally, and then moving upstate and living there for 24 years before going west, I can say with certainty that those people you freaked out in the mountains where from NYC, not the state of New York. Entirely two different cultures.

 

NYC is what I assumed. Went to grad school in upstate, so am aware of the "divide".

 

One of the basic weird things to remember is your visual perspective. On LHD cars, you are used to seeing the left wheel track in your lane. RHD you see the right track. I learned to drive in the USA, then drove in the UK 5 months when I was 18. When I came back to the US and switched sides, I kept dropping the right side of the car on the curb until I adjusted.

No booze! You think you've got it then you pull out with a pint in you and everyone in the car screams... ask me how I know.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice. Based on what I've read, I think I'll rent an automatic (even though I drive manual everyday) just to focus my attention on the driving. Also, my plan will be to arrive at LHR -- drive to Castle Bromwich so we get there on time. Then we may just drop the car at Birmingham airport (20 min from the Bromwich factory) and take the train back into the city (versus driving back to LHR to return it).

I decided to just book the VIP tour -- this way, we'll have our own private tour and so we can focus the tour on the F-type production facility. Can't wait....

 

What an amazing experience! I'd love to take that tour with my bride sometime soon. Especially since we're the proud owner of an F Type R and also have family in the UK.

 

Figured I would update this thread with my experience after having just returned from London.

First -- I decided to just rent a manual 6spd from Hertz at LHR -- and drive to Castle Bromwich. The Hertz at LHR has some amazing cars -- including a few GTRs and Bentleys. So, if you are really adventurous, you could always upgrade to a supercar!

Overall, the drive was totally fine/easy. The hardest part of driving in the UK were the roundabouts. I was honked at a few times for not obeying the roundabout rules... but we arrived alive -- and since we were driving on the highway for most of the trip, it really was easy to get used to. I will say that it is a very strange feeling to be sitting in the "passenger" seat and driving a car. But, totally doable.

Now, on to the main event. AWESOME!! that's the best way I can describe the VIP tour. We did the VIP tour (versus the group tour) because we didn't know exactly what time we would arrive (we literally landed at LHR at 7:30am and had to clear customs, pick up bags, and pick up car). As it turns out, we cleared the airport fairly quickly -- it took us about 2 hours (with one stop for coffee/washrooms) to drive to Castle Bromwich -- we got to the Jaguar visitors centre at 10:15am.

Be warned -- if you rely on Waze to get to the factory, it will direct you to a back entrance which is for commercial vehicles only. The actual visitors centre is on the opposite side of that gate. Not far away but this mistake cost us about 10 min -- got stuck in a few roundabouts while trying to find the right entrance....

We arrived and found Graham (our retired Jag shop worker / tour guide) waiting for us. He brought us to the second floor of the visitors centre: we were offered coffee, drinks, and Graham proceeded to explain exactly what we were going to do on the tour.

Unfortunately, there had been a production stop on the F-type line so we couldn't see F-types being made but he would still take us into that building to see the "standstill" shop. We would tour the factory putting together the frames/chassis and inserting the engines into the XFs/XJs. Then we would see the live production facility where we would see them assemble the XFs and XJs. After seeing the live production, we then were taken to the paint shop.

Overall, I felt like I was a kid in a candy shop -- I tried to ask as many questions as I could but also tried to absorb everything I was seeing. I've been on manufacturing tours before (at a Toyota factory) but that was a very guarded tour where the participants were limited in terms of where we could walk, etc. On this tour, we were literally on the shop floor. At times we walked up (or down) over (or under) walkways that the shop floor staff would walk along -- we did it so we could get a better look at the production. Also, when you customize your Jaguar as much as we are allowed to - there's something a lot different about visiting the Jaguar factor versus your standard mass production facility.

Our tour guide Graham was amazing. He worked for Jaguar for ~30 years before retiring. What was most interesting (to me) was to chat about the differences he saw over those years in terms of corporate ownership. I think there is no doubt that Ford added value as it relates to showing Jaguar how to automate their production facility. Where Ford appears to have failed them was a total misunderstanding of the Jaguar customer's need for customization. The automation that Jaguar needs has to also allow for customization. This is where Tata came in and rescued the Jaguar brand. There's no question (from what I heard) that Ford was very conservative and micromanaging the Jaguar decisions, Tata appears to be more willing to take risks and they also understand the luxury brand that Jaguar was/is building.

Back to the tour.....

What truly was remarkable was just how Jaguar has been able to marry automation with customization. On the XJ line we saw vehicles that were fitted for right or left side driving, different length chassis, and obviously different interior options. The same was true in the state of the art paint shop -- this facility was just spectacular. Lots of robots -- but the facility is fully controlled (for humidity, temp, etc). The vehicles roll through that facility with literally a few feet between the bumpers of each car -- yet, the first could be black and the second white. There's no paint particles in air to ruin the second vehicle. I know I may sound like a fool in thinking they did certain runs of the same color -- but I truly didn't think they could get the quality they do from these robots and all while on an assembly line.

The F-type facility was also just amazing (even though the shop was "down"). We happened to bump into the lead shop foreman while we were walking through. We chatted about the new 4 cylinder model and about the other 2018 Ftype models. We also walked through the production process to see exactly how the F-type is assembled -- and we ultimately saw a bunch of final product F-types.

After the tour, we were treated to lunch at the Visitor's Centre. And, as with all tours, we ended up in the Jaguar gift shop where you can buy swag -- they had a "sale" (30% off) which was nice given that I knew I had to buy something.

We left the visitor's centre at around 2pm. So, overall we spent about 4 hours on the VIP tour. We drove to Birmingham airport (which is about 15 min away) -- dropped off the car and took the train back to London.

Overall, I would highly recommend the factory tour. If you don't want to spend the money on the VIP tour, then do the group tour. You won't regret it.

 

Thanks for the write up. Sounds worthwhile.

 

I'm going back for my second tour at the end of June. Taking my nephew as I'm the cool Uncle with the F-Type ;-). Can't wait to see things I didn't notice last time, and learn knew things missed on the tour last year.

 

Great write up. How much did they charge for the VIP Tour?

 

It was 325 GBP. A lot of $$ but worth it as a once in a lifetime experience.