Going to England for 5 weeks. Best way to keep money?

Hi! I have never traveled overseas before and I am getting a bit confused. I have a prepaid Mastercard and a PC financial bank account. I am told that my bank card may or may not work at some machines. Neither of the cards can be replaced while I am there so if they were lost I would be screwed. Traveler's checks seem unwieldy somehow.
I am having a nightmare vision of wandering around London from machine to machine and having no way to draw cash, then getting robbed of my Mastercard and being stuck there for 5 weeks w/no money. Eek!
I am going alone so I may be a bit paranoid. Advice?

Your bank will know if your ATM card is accepted in England, and can probably tell you where ATMs are located. That is why ATMs are networked (the little symbols on the back of your card tell you which).

I would be using the Mastercard strictly for purchases, as you will likely be hit wih double or triple fees using that at an ATM. Stick with one less fee using your bank ATM card.

If I were you I'd be getting Pound travellers cheques.

My bank says some machines do and some don't. Travellers checks are better are they? I am starting to think so too.

Yup. If you had a good credit card (you obviously don't since it is pre-paid), then I might use this more, and would probably have it such that some fees are waived, but you don't have such luxury.

TCs are best.

As with some master card / visa cards here that are pre paid, they act more as a debit card (bank card) rather than a credit card, most machines will take, mainly bigger banks like ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND, which are everywhere, and not all machines charge. Be worth checking with your card issuer if there is any fees, which im sure there will be. If you lose that card and you;re knackered, it only seems right to have a back up, get travellers cheques, if you lose them they can be replaced. Again major banks and post office (main ones) will help.

I am also going to England and they tell me I need proof of funds so I am getting travellers cheques however my bank says that they only have US and CAN travellers cheques. Does this matter?

Proof of funds? Only needed that for my visa which meant a letter from the bank stating your financial situation.... hope that helps!

When I traveled to Europe I changed my monthly banking plan here in Canada to allow unlimited international withdrawals. It cost me $30 per month which was automatically extracted. Although $30 per may seem hefty, it`s slightly less than £20 per month and there is no concern about making too many transactions.

As for ATM machines, I think I found one in 2 months of travelling around western Europe that didn`t accept my RBC card. I tried to stick to recognizable banks like Barclays and HSBC whenever possible. Good luck.

I am getting travellers cheques however my bank says that they only have US and CAN travellers cheques. Does this matter?

as cp08ace says, proof of funds is basically a suitable letter from ur bank (plus a suitably up-to-date bank statement). this is needed when u apply for a visa, but taking a bank statement with u just in case the border officials ask u is also prudent.

traveller's cheques are unwieldy and the exchange rate likely to be poor. in the uk, our banks typically have a 7% to 10% difference between the buying and selling rates for traveller's cheques and i suspect canadian banks are similar. if u use usd cheques, then u'll be hit with exchange charges in both canada and the uk: this is the worst option.

do u have a bank cash card that is linked to the cirrus or plus atm networks (for example, many td cash cards can be used at plus cash machines in the uk - expensive if u withdraw small amounts, but cheaper and more convenient than traveller's cheques if u withdraw £200 at a time)? if u cannot see the logos on ur card, then ask ur bank about this. the link below shows the plus and cirrus logos.

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/ebanking/tda_gm.jsp

ian.