It’s Really Quite Small (British Quirks 14/30)

One of the first things I noticed after moving to the UK from the US—aside from the obsession with tea and the alarming number of roundabouts—was just how tiny everything is here.

I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just... well, if you’re American, you know what I mean.

We come from the land of Costco-sized everything, where road trips can take literal days, and where “just down the road” might mean a 45-minute drive and two gas station stops. So when I landed in Britain and realized I could drive from the south coast of England to the top of Scotland in less time than it takes to binge-watch a season of Stranger Things, I had to laugh. Seriously, you could fit the entire UK into Texas and still have room left over for a few national parks and a couple of drive-thru Whataburgers.

Let’s talk about roads for a second. British roads are not designed for the faint of heart—or for cars, really. Sometimes I think they were originally goat paths that someone decided to pave over. They're narrow, winding, and occasionally seem to disappear entirely. And don't get me started on the two-way roads that are clearly only wide enough for one car. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve had to reverse half a mile to let a tractor pass.

The cities are also... snug. Everything feels like it was built before anyone imagined a future with actual people living in it. Want to park? Good luck. Want a kitchen with counter space? Adorable. Want an apartment where your bedroom isn’t also your living room, dining room, and soul? Keep dreaming.

But once you get over the initial shock of everything being a little more... compact, it starts to grow on you.

Because here’s the upside: everything is so close. In the US, planning a weekend trip can feel like coordinating a military operation. Over here? You can hop on a train Saturday morning, spend the afternoon exploring a medieval castle, and be back home in time for a Tesco meal deal and an episode of Bake Off. You can hit three countries in a weekend if you’re really feeling ambitious—and all without ever checking a bag.

And somehow, the UK packs an outrageous amount of stuff into its petite frame. Ruins, castles, pubs older than America, rolling green hills, beaches, more pubs, Harry Potter filming locations, and yes, even more pubs. It’s like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag of countries—small on the outside, but full of surprises.

So while my American instincts still panic when I try to drive down a country lane the width of a yoga mat, I’ve come to appreciate the UK's fun-sized charm. You don’t need endless highways to have big adventures. Sometimes, you just need a tiny island with an excellent train network and a national obsession with tea breaks.

Britain may be small, but it’s mighty. And it turns out, small isn’t just manageable—it’s actually pretty delightful.