By the way, since I'm going for longer than usual this time I'm wondering if anyone can help me out with a bit of info.

Is there any way of hiring a car that is NOT new in Britain, that would be cheaper than normal car hire places? Here in Australia there's a place called "Rent a bomb" that hires cars that are say 8-12 years old, for a fraction of the cost of hiring a new one.

Also, what's the best way (other than by hiring a car) to get from Manchester to Butlins Minehead without it costing too much?

Yes. OH was offered a job in Lewes east sussex, but we has sinced accepted one elsewhere. We visited there several times and it is a lovely town. Steeped in history and even has its own castle. Glorious countryside as it nestles in the south downs. I also find that southern areas of UK get much better weather in the summer,

sounds fantastic!!!
Have a wonderful time!

We rented a car locally when we went and it was a lot cheaper, if you ask around the local area or even look up car hire on the UK yellow pages (what would they be called) I'm sure you'll find someone who has some sort of rent a wreck car hire.
Alos check where the nearest train station is to the Butlins Minehead is, I think the butlins were all built when most visitors didn't have cars so arrived by train and bus.

Thanks, I never even thought of Yellow Pages (which would be called Yellow Pages by the way!). I'm sure that's the best way of finding an answer to my question so I'll try it now.

There is a train station in Taunton, not sure about in Minehead itself but there may well be.

I have had a few of those comments from people since I have been here, but they soon change their attitude when you tell them some of the problems with Australia (oh really, I didn't know that about Australia blah blah....)

I have also made a conscious decision not to watch or read too much British media because it would be so easy to be influenced by the negative bias that prevails in this country. I want to be able to make my own decisions about Britain without being influenced by the doom and gloom merchants.
Maybe you could try this when you come over to UK....

Don't know if it would interest you, but there are places that sell older cars and will take them back -- assuming they're still in good shape -- when you leave. I was told we could get a car for about 1000 pounds with a basic guarantee of road worthiness.

I'm not sure how much you get back, and in the end we didn't follow it up, but there has to be information somewhere. I bet there are places in Manchester that do it.

Bev

I think you're absolutely right. I occasionally give in to the temptation to buy a copy of the international Express (because I want to keep up to date with the news in Britain) and I always find it soooo depressing! Almost every article has an extremely anti-Britain slant and many of them would have you believe the country is well and truly DOOMED!

It's very sad and it's frankly no wonder so many British people want to leave, or at least think Britain is not as good as other countries.

The saddest thing of all is that bad news in the media can often be self-fulfilling. One example is when people hear that the economy is bad and is getting worse, they tend to spend less and that makes the economy worse!

I'm not sure how / when / if this is going to change for the better.

Good advice flea as usual....I hear a lot of people here in Perth saying "I would love to go back but not where we lived before we migrated"...when I say "why don't you try a different area/county" they sometimes look at me if I was mad.....I would like to try one day living in a different county but I am quite happy to return to Lancashire as our sons need/want to spend time with their family and friends as does my OH and myself.....when we have gone home for a holiday we spend a lot of time revisiting areas we like and also areas we have always wanted to visit and that has been just a great experience.....I would like to see Norwich and the surrounding areas....been to the Norfolk Broads once lol..and enjoyed the experience very much. There is a Travel mag published here at a weekend in the West Aus...and there is always an article on the U.K...I have kept clippings of areas that have sounded and looked lovely, areas you sometimes don't know yourself as a British person....and one day we will get around to visiting the ever growing list...lol...that is if we win the lottery....

Just want to thank everyone for all their help with travel ideas.

In the end I decided to use the train to get me from Manchester to Minehead and back (train to Taunton then bus to Minehead) and I found a pretty good deal on car hire for the remaining time I am in Britain after I leave Butlins.

It was 238 pounds for 18 days for the car, and an additional 54 pounds for the pre-booked return train tickets.

The only part of my transport arrangements I still have to pay for is the bus between Taunton and Minehead, which I think is about 7 pounds for a day ticket (which I'll be able to buy on board the bus)

Good for you!

This is what I would like to do; move back to the UK for a 'while' and see if I am right to be missing it! After a while in Australia, you start to get kind of institutionalised; you can't remember life on the outside anymore!

If I was on my own and unattached, I'd be out of here tomorrow! Ah, well. What can you do?! Sometimes in life you are stuck and that's all there is to it!

Strangely enough, I was thinking just a few hours ago how "stuck" I am, and that's even though I am 'free' to travel to Britain and am doing so in October, for the second time this year.

I'm also 'free' to move back there permanently, but unfortunately (and I find it very painful to admit this) I just honestly don't think it is the right thing for me right now, or for the foreseeable future (which is about 1 week into the future for me LOL!)

But seriously, I feel 'stuck' or 'trapped' into a very bizarre sort of reality wherby I really belong in Britain, in a spiritual sense, and yet if I was to move back there I'd be very much out of place because most of my family is now in Australia, and the few that are in Britain are almost impossible to talk to and would just think I'm stupid for moving back there.

There's more to it than that too but basically, even though I really still feel that I 'should' be living in Britain, I know I would find it incredibly hard to fit in there and would miss a lot of things about my 'life' here. In a physical and material sense, I am certain life is better here in Australia anyway.

It's hard to explain exactly what I mean by this. I hope it makes sense.

So I am sort of 'condemned" to having to spend the rest of my life living here but visiting Britain every year, (which has an still does, and probably will for a long time yet put an enormous strain on my finances), and I'm condemned to having to feel like a visitor to my own country when I am there.

I can't complain too much because in most respects I am lucky and have an above-average standard of living here, but all I can say is that it's NOTHING like the life I once thought I would live, and even though I've been in Australia (on and off) for 20 years now, it still feels like a weird, distorted version of reality.

It's sort of like I feel like one day I will wake up back in England and find that all of this emigrating thing (and the last 20 years of my life) was just a srange dream!

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I can certainly identify with the bits I highlighted (substitute US for Oz). Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning, I think I am back in my old house in Putney... However, I am not prepared to live like this forever. It's the knowledge that I will be going back one day which allows me to cope.

I know exactly what you are talking about. I too, have felt 'stuck' in Australia, knowing that Britain is in many ways still my spiritual home. In the 2 months that I have been back in Britain I have swung both ways between feeling that Australia is better, then Britain is better, then back again etc.
At the moment, I am leaning more towards wanting to be in Britain long term because for me the reality of being here is more 'real' than Australia if that makes any sort of sense.
It will be interesting to see how you feel at the end of your 2 month stint. You may feel that you would still prefer Britain even without the family ties that you have in Oz.

You're right. You are not allowed to want to RETURN to the UK. You get a huge volley of people telling you how bad Britain is ("do you really want your kids going to school in the UK?" etc etc etc) when I used to be a teacher in England and I know that there bad schools but also good schools. I know that there are good AND bad schools in Australia, too. But it's hard to remember this when you keep hearing all the criticisms.

The British do not promote themselves well like the Aussies do. The Brits are shocking moaners, especially many of those that leave and go and live in Australia or New Zealand or wherever. The press in the UK is out of control when it comes to complaining; I seriously believe some of the tabloids like the Mail and the Express or engaging in something akin to brainwashing when it comes to the scare-mongering and fear-spreading they carry on with on a daily basis. Like the sheep we humans are, we believe it all word-for-word.

So, there you are in Australia, knowing somewhere deep down that, lovely as a lot of it is, you do not feel at home. You miss your friends/family. Perhaps you cannot pursue some of the hobbies/interests/activities you love as easily in Australia. You kind of want to go back to the UK. You dare to voice that. WOAH!!! Suddenly everyone is telling you that the UK is a ghetto and you are a madman for even DREAMING of going back! How could you leave Australia for the UK?! Are you insane?! Think of your kids!

Result? You are confused and depressed, frustrated and trapped.

At least, that's how I feel quite a bit of the time!