I am just back from a wonderful, 14-day tour of South England, from Canterbury to Bath. What a lesson in history and architecture! Of course, we started with three days in London because that’s where the airline dropped us, and we visited the Tower and saw the crown jewels, etc. But then came a train ride to Canterbury and things changed dramatically.

Our tour included stops in Salisbury, Hastings, Portsmouth, the White Cliffs of Dover and various small towns in Cornwall, among other spots. We ate a lot of fish and chips as well as bangers and mash (aka plump sausages with mashed potatoes).

This may sound strange but as we toured, ate and slept in South England, the area reminded me quite a lot of Whidbey Island. Once away from the large motorways (aka freeways) that lead into and out of London and other large cities, most of the roads have just two lanes, very busy with speed limits no more than 50 mph. Sound familiar? South England is also shaped somewhat like an island. South and west of London, it becomes narrow with sea on both sides, especially in Cornwall.

And, of course, the climate is almost identical to our Rock’s: rain one minute, sun the next, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s.

As I studied the culture and traditions of South England, I noticed a number of things that I wish life on Whidbey were more like.

Let’s start with roundabouts on the roadways. I was amazed to see that South England has more roundabouts than stop lights. They really keep the traffic flowing and I noticed almost no backups. I believe that a lot more roundabouts would dramatically improve traffic flow on our Rock. We have very few now but the ones we have work great. Remember when WSDOT added a roundabout on Highway 20 to separate Whidbey-bound traffic from Anacortes-bound traffic? I remember hearing a lot of fear and dread as it was installed, but that roundabout has really improved a very busy intersection.

A roundabout might improve traffic flow in Coupeville by replacing the stop light at Highway 20 and Main Street. And a roundabout at Highway 20 and Bush Point Road near Freeland would definitely improve an intersection where left and right turns can be dangerous.

So, how about it, Rock dwellers. Shouldn’t we think about more roundabouts on our island? They certainly work very well in South England.

Here’s something else I noticed on our tour. The Brits do a lot of walking and they do it together. I saw countless elderly couples walking along in towns and parks, often holding hands and chatting as they went. I also saw moms and dads with toddlers and babies strolling along, enjoying fresh air and talking to each other. And I saw very few people walking by themselves.

I don’t see us doing much walking together here on the Rock. We often take our hikes alone. We walk from store to car alone. We even walk the beach alone. I consider it a great missed opportunity for us, given the natural beauty all around that could be combined with an interesting chat.

We certainly have a lot of elderly couples who could use the fresh air and a chance to do something other than watch television or read the news on a cell phone.

There you have two tips from the Brits that might improve our life here on Whidbey: better traffic flow with roundabouts and better conversation and improved health by walking together.

Harry Anderson is a retired journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Times and now lives on Central Whidbey.