Originally Posted by cordelli
I don't want to start an argument over this, but in general I've found that ATM's overseas are much less reliable then they are in the United States , expecially on weekends. I can almost always find a place here to get money, but I've been in places like London, Amsterdam, etc where ATM after ATM was not working, many times just out of cash.
The fault in this comparison is that you compare a country with a city. It's obvious that ATMs in central london or amsterdam will need to handle lots of cash, consequently it is possible for them to be caught out cashless. OTOH, this won't be the case near where you live in Connecticut (or near Nottingham for that matter). I've been spending the last four years in England and never happened to conseqtively stumble upon two ATMs that were out of order/out of cash. Cards are so omnipresent here, I never have to withdraw more than 20 GBP out of a cash machine, and 20 GBP in cash can last me a week (coffee and urban public transport/taxi are the only things I pay for with cash). That said, no matter where I travel to, I do not frequent areas where there are more tourists than locals.
EDITED TO ADD: As far as I can remember, every UK airport I've been to had at least two ATMs of different banks (that certainly is the case at BHX and STN that I've visited recently)