Done several times, though not normally directly...and going again soon.
Been from Lands End to John O Groats.
There are plenty of historic towns with castles, churches, car & plane museums along the way.
It just depends on what you want to see.
As said its not like driving in Australia, Motorways are good until you get an accident or a junction.
A roads are usually OK but slower, winding, intersections, towns etc.
B Roads are narrower than most footpaths we have here.
Go the wrong way and it might be 15 minutes before you can legally turn around.
Just because something is 60 miles away it does not follow that it is 1 hour away.
There are nice patches of road, especially up in Scotland but you just gotta get lucky re the traffic and weather.
I avoid the big cities with rental cars, if I want time there I train/fly and use public transport and/or do tours. Parking, navigating and congestion charges etc are a PITA.
Oxford, Bath and York (and most of England) are not meant for cars, its better to stay in a smaller places. I use my rental car for smaller towns and visiting relatives or places that are hard to get to by public transport. Even in these small towns there is usually only 1 public pay parking lot, free parking is nearly non existent during office hours. Toilets are often located here.
They are slowly converting to US style Motorway Services with fuel, food, restaurants and motels etc. These can be useful as if there is a tourist attraction nearby there will often be a bus to it. Park N Rides are another good thing to prevent you going into the cobbled mazes of older UK cities. You park on the outskirts in a big parking lot and buses take you into the town. There are usually toilets and food machines etc as well. You do have to pay a few pounds but it is cheaper than paying to park IN the town. Parking at a supermarket like Tesco/Aldi/Sainsbury etc can sometimes be free and you can explore the town for a bit.
Petrol is about A$3 a litre now, hire cars are not that cheap, if you want an Automatic double the price, and our dollar sucks...have a great trip! It sounds like I am trying to talk you out of it...but its just a warning. Like I said I am planning my trip now too.
www.alnwickgarden.com
