To think DD can't drive to Wales yet (18 and passed her test last month)?

[HaHaItsRosa]

We live in London. DD, has randomly booked this little cabin thing in Wales!? It's for tomorrow. Plans on leaving tonight and staying in a Travelodge or similar and then arriving tomorrow. This is her first ever trip away on her own... she also only drives to work. She starts uni extremely soon and "wanted a peaceful getaway before it starts". I'm a bit hmm. I know she's 18 and she can go on her own and she's obviously no longer my daughter so I shouldn't worry about her no but seriously, I'm really worried. She's a sensible girl, she really is, but Wales!!!! Tell me I'm too involved and she'll be fine.

I know it's not driving but I traveled by ferry to Holyhead and had to get a number of trains with connections in Shrewsbury, New Town and about 3 other places to get to visit friends in Aber in Wales when I was just 13 and I did it alone.
The friends met me at the final stop of the journey but I still had to get there.
Your DD is 18 and will be leaving to go to university soon. This is her trying to assert her independence. Trust her.

poppypower I’m not sure your scuba diving holiday scenario is comparable though. If you’ve passed your scuba diving certification I wouldn’t say you shouldn’t go on a scuba diving because it’s dangerous. I would however advise you shouldn’t do your first qualified dive in a location that you’ve never been in before, as a night dive, without a dive guide. Your certification would allow you to do all these things, but I don’t think it would be wise.

Honestly, what’s with the suggestions that somebody surely can’t be going alone at 18, or won’t be able to cope at uni because she likes time alone!!
I went away for a night by myself at 18-19, for no other reason than because I could! I wasn’t some recluse that couldn’t communicate with other people!
Hope she has a lovely time op.

I get you. I’m overprotective and that’s probably why she wants to go. Just to prove to herself that she can. Good for her. Good for you, you’ve raised her with confidence in her ability.

She’ll be fine.

Your dd sounds quite sensible.

Also it’s a rite of passage that you must undertake a huge trip after you have passed your test.
Mine was to a caravan in Bude in an ancient Ford Escort filled to bursting with everyones luggage.

The only mishap was getting gut-rot from too much Scrumpy.

I drove from Newport to Salford andnback in one day the week after passing my test; I was very tired on the way back but was absolutely fine with the driving, I seem to recall.

I drove solo to London (from rural Somerset) for a university interview the day after passing my driving test. It was remarkably uneventful.

(I also drove a bazillion miles in the middle of the night to meet some crazy I met online without telling anyone at 18 but it's ok, I married him in the end!)

OP, did she make it to Birmingham OK?

I would be more worried if she was driving from Wales into That There London

She'll be fine. Am rather envious of her actually.

I would worry too and would want her to have a motorway lesson before setting out. We live 10 mins from the M25 and insisted that DD took post test motorway lessons with her driving instructor before she did it on her own. Luckily she is naturally quite cautious and was keen to do them for her own peace of mind and confidence. However, if she had refused I don’t think we could have forced her to it or stopped her driving on the motorway. As other people have said, sometimes you have to trust the test system and your DD and let her do her thing.

You say your own DD is very sensible so and realistically I don’t think there is anything you can do to stop her

How did she get on OP?

Hope she had a fab time..

Did she get back home safely?

She'll be fine but I understand how you feel as my daughter drove to Poland from Scotland with her friend when she was 19. I was ill with worry. She will drive anywhere now. Not so long ago she was in Rome visiting friends and they gave her car to drive about the city. Even I wouldn't even consider doing that and I've been driving for years.

Oh sorry, didn't read all the posts, hope she had a great time.