Southampton, UK to Edinburgh, UK - Google Maps | Hacker News Reader

Southampton, UK to Edinburgh, UK - Google Maps

maps.google.com

22 pointsbillpg20 comments

I don't actually see what's wrong with that. If you ask to walk from Southampton to Edinburgh it's going to give you the fastest route. Obviously it includes the possibility of ferries, and so it's found the fastest route is via France, Dover and Belgium.

I like the alternative routes that take you through Belfast to get to Edinburgh.

That's exactly what I thought. It does look like a counter-intuitive route on the map though.

If you're going to allow ferries, why not include trains? That's obviously much faster and more direct.

I imagine it would if Google Maps had National Rail data for the UK

Google's directions from Sydney to Hobart take you to Hobart, IN, USA via Japan and ask you to "Kayak across the Pacific Ocean", twice.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&...

Three times, actually. It counts Australia to Japan as Kayaking the Pacific.

Actually, that's quite impressive. Though probably not the expected result, it's surely faster than walking the whole way... =)

Google will often suggest ferry as a means to get somewhere when you try for a walking route. Which as you point out is faster than walking the whole way. I wish it could also take into account more public transport options though as I am sure a direct train would also be fairly fast and require less passport control.

Plane would be quicker, my Dad used to commute (weekly) from Southampton to Edinburgh. It's about 40minutes by air.

It would great to have something compute the 'fastest possible travel' from A to B, including as many types of travel as possible. That way you could compare train/ferry/plane/car/etc. for long journeys and optimize accordingly.

I like that the fact that once the ferry arrives at Rosyth it sends you up the Forth and over the Kincardine Bridge rather than over the Forth Road bridge that you would have just sailed under.

The alternative route where you walk across England to Birkenhead and then take the ferry to Belfast is also pretty awesome. Four and a half days! Thank you, Google Maps Chaucer Edition.

I know the train is expensive, but it may be worth it to get to Edinburgh in seven hours rather than 3-4 days...

The directions take you to Boundstone Ln in Lancing. I went to school at Boundstone Community College on that street (actually just a High School with some extra-cred classes). I'd walk the whole length of it twice a day because I lived on Leconfield Road just off the southern hairpin, just after you get on Sompting road.

So I've walked/cycled a fraction of that route at least a few hundred times.

To quote directly from the above link:

"Walking directions are in beta."

Slightly off-topic, but not really...

This reminds me of a customer of mine who needed to rent 3 passenger vans to move 20 of his people between the airport, hotel, and office for a project in another city.

It cost $10 per day to equip each van with a GPS, but he didn't know how many days he would need. Or he could just buy a GPS at Office Depot for $90, put in into the lead van, and have the other 2 vans follow. Or just buy 3 GPS's in case the vans didn't travel together. Their PHB asked me which made more sense.

I told him to print google directions between the 3 locations and give them to everyone. Free.

That would have required planning ahead. Instead, they bought the GPS's. I don't work there anymore.

Love it. Also worth trying Southampton to Swansea :)

This really can't be right though...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=sou...

I would downvote you if I could, because you added a destination in ireland for a walking route from southhampton.

Indeed - who'd have thought that attempting to answer a silly question would result in a silly answer?

There are no silly questions or answers, just silly comments.

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