a 'guide' to the UK for short term visitors

The drive around Cornwall is amazing,, St Michael's Mount, Land's End, The Minack Theatre,, all really spectacular to see.  Then there is St Ives We drove theu Cornwall for our Honeymoon a few years ago, and it has special memories for me   Gotta have a cornish pasty,,with lots of branston pickle,, beware of the dwindling stocks tho, eh Graham? LOL

Oh and you should also let them know that while haggis hunting season does occur in Scotland,, they don't hunt haggis here in England. 

Yep. In London.
The visitors intend to spend ONE day in London.
Where do you get breakfast elsewhere ?
Please offer them any helpful advice you have..

Thanks for the direction, Cascode, but I'm not going to offer advice regarding cities and towns I don't live in. Besides, you've already kindly explained that "You can't expect to find ANYWHERE to get breakfast", so how can I possibly be more helpful than you've already been?

If they're doing Devon and Cornwall, would you suggest that they try jellied eels at the seaside, a true cornish pastie, or that they have fish and chips and insist on mushy peas?

Torquay or Bude?

Exeter or Tavistock?

Is it worth driving all the way to Land's end?

I did think Land's End was worth the drive.
Mushy peas...........maybe.
Jellied eels - um.....  Just how adventurous are your friends ?

Yep. In London.

The visitors intend to spend ONE day in London.

Where do you get breakfast elsewhere ?
Please offer them any helpful advice you have..

Way back when I was a singleton going on girls weekends away all over the country we never had any problem finding a cooked breakfast, York, Dublin(ok that's Eire, not UK but close enough), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lake District ... all these places had cafes serving breakfast.  I'm willing to bet most large towns/citities/touristy areas have them as well. The only place I can recall not being able to find somewhere was Chester and so we had Burger King brekkie there.

Also this thread is regading visitors to the UK, so if they are staying in a hotel/guesthouse/b&b breakfast would most likely be available there.

Way back when I was a singleton going on girls weekends away all over the country we never had any problem finding a cooked breakfast, York, Dublin(ok that's Eire, not UK but close enough), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lake District ... all these places had cafes serving breakfast.  I'm willing to bet most large towns/citities/touristy areas have them as well. The only place I can recall not being able to find somewhere was Chester and so we had Burger King brekkie there.

Also this thread is regading visitors to the UK, so if they are staying in a hotel/guesthouse/b&b breakfast would most likely be available there.

Way back when I was a singleton going on girls weekends away all over the country we never had any problem finding a cooked breakfast, York, Dublin(ok that's Eire, not UK but close enough), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lake District ... all these places had cafes serving breakfast.  I'm willing to bet most large towns/citities/touristy areas have them as well. The only place I can recall not being able to find somewhere was Chester and so we had Burger King brekkie there.

Also this thread is regading visitors to the UK, so if they are staying in a hotel/guesthouse/b&b breakfast would most likely be available there.

You are quite right of course.
I was really just making a general point, with a bit of poetic license.
In general, Brits don't go out for breakfast. And visitors will not find it all that easy to find places that serve breakfast. My comment was intended to be helpful.

Sorry I'm late to picking this thread up.

Well, they are staying in a B&B so breakfast is sorted!

Any tips along the lines of food differences, words to use/avoid, road markings to know, thoughts about pub food, etc, etc? 

Thanks!

Road markings:
No four way stops (that I know of) in UK.
Roundabouts (rotaries ?) are common. Give way to traffic from the right. And expect to be cut up by agressive drivers.
There are no yellow school busses, (or for the benefit if Nibbles, none that I know of) so the regulations about not passng them etc....

Foods:
Pub food is generally reasonable in terms of value for money if a bit lacking in variety. But now and again, you happen on one that is truly exceptional. At both ends of the scale.
Motorway service stations are generally expensive and crap.

Ethnic foods (eg Indian, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Greek) are widely available but tend to reflect local tastes. Don't expect them to be like they are in US.

Words to avoid:
Fanny.

The one piece of advice my brother thanked me for offering after he visited the UK was to not bother hiring a car. The one thing I did forget to mention was that when looking both ways to cross the road, look RIGHT first.

When they see a sign in someone's drive advertising hardcore, tell them they'd do better watching Channel 5. Oh, but DO warn them about the TV.

Ask them to try to not laugh when passing the butcher's shop window when they're advertising faggots for sale. They should at least once try spotted dick, if only to tell the folks at home they did.

Hmmm, road signs. A sleeping policeman is not really a sleeping policeman. They need to stop at Zebras and Pelicans (or is it just Zebras?) when someone's there. Speed limits are NOT marked if they coincide with what the general rules are, so they need to know the difference between a dual carriage, a lit in-village road, etc. Oh gads, I could go on and on about the driving differences. You sure you want them to drive over here?

I think the one big thing that bothers me about American tourists...to the point that I try to disappear into the woodwork when they are around...is just how loudly they speak, which makes any well-meaning question sound derogatory.

The biggest thing that got me in trying to adjust here was how backward everything was. (Oooh, that doesn't sound right! I mean...opposite.) If they were to keep in mind that one simple rule "expect it to be opposite" then perhaps they might not be too surprised by the little things. I always felt as though little tricks were being played on me, like in Amelie. Things like salt and pepper shakers, toilet handles, light switches...I mean, it's really the bizaarest thing! Like in words...pasta/pasta, yet tomato/tomato, or the way things are spelt spelled. (I once had a work-checker spit out "airport" and I'll be darned that I could even find it in the British dictionary! *doink* aeroport!) So...expect the little things to be completely opposite. Knowing that, they'll be just fine.