A sudden death in the family last week has scuppered the family's original holiday plans so I'm planning a much-needed caravan-free short break in France. Our route to the shuttle from Scotch Corner will take us clockwise on the M25 from the A1 junction about 2pm this Friday 24th. Have I done something stupid? Will the most almighty jam develop out of nowhere in front of me? Should I have set off yesterday?
Comments, alternatives and pledges to keep off the M25 most welcome.
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>> Comments, alternatives and pledges to keep off the M25 most welcome.
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Hmm. Just about the wrong time I'd say.
On a weekday, you'd get away with it. On a Friday everyone goes home earlier.
I'd suggest getting to the M25 at either 12pm or 6pm, but not really in between on a Friday.
As for alternative routes, southbound on the A1 won't be the problem, everyone else will be going northbound.
You could try nipping across to the M11, to cut out a chunk of the M25...but...that bit of the M25 isn't the real problem...it's the Queen Elizabeth bridge...that will be horrible... and there's no alternative.
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Insert a lunch, if you can.
i.e. leave much earlier and then stop for lunch on the way. I guess it depends if everybody is free to leave in the morning.
The problem is, however much time you allow in the afternoon, and however long it took the last time, one accident in front of you can make a disaster of your weekend.
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Opposite direction I know, but it took us 3.5h to get from J8/9 of the M4 to Le Shuttle on a Friday afternoon in June. Similarly, we had no choice but to leave at teatime on a Friday, but although we missed our reserved arrival time we had only a 25 minute wait to board.
I thought the Shuttle service itself was excellent - first time we'd used it - but it's such a pain to get to and away from on the other side that I think we'll stick to the western Channel routes when we have the choice.
But I'm forgetting my manners. You may get lucky and I hope you do, and I'm sorry to hear about your loss.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Tue 21 Aug 12 at 18:44
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We covered similar ground last Friday but a few hours earlier aiming for Dover ferryport c12:30 rather than Le Shuttle. Slight delay getting onto QE2 bridge but nothing serious, traffic still lightish in school hols.
Been caught out once on a Sunday when traffic for Lakeside meant it took 25mins to get off Thurrock Services but ferry companies and shuttle must be used to M25 sob stories and we were allowed onto ferry as last vehicle - moving before we were seated in cafe.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 21 Aug 12 at 19:17
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Hmm... I would take the A14 spur at the bottom of the stretch of A1M from Peterborough to Huntingdon IF the traffic reports say the A14 from Huntingdon to Cambridge is ok. The A1 from Huntingdon to London is a much slower road (Buckden and Black Cat roundabout, many 50 stretches, iffy bits around Hatfield).
M11 to Dartford Crossing is also shorter but I have queued on that from M11 to the bridge on a Friday afternoon at 4PM before a bank holiday - it took 2hours to clear. As the Friday before "the" bank holiday weekend I think it will be similar. I would leave earlier and have lunch once you get over the bridge (go to Bluewater then continue down the A2 and cut across on the A229).
www.transportdirect.info can give good realistic timings for a journey when you enter the date/time combo, but will still be optimistic for a pre bank holiday Friday.
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Traffic will be queuing from before junction 30 A13. Take about 45 mins to an hour to cross bridge from end of queue. No realistic alternative. Relax and enjoy the radio.
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Sorry to hear of your bereavement hawkeye.
My comments/advice on your journey:
As you're towing, remember your non-motorway speed limit will be 50mph which puts you into conflict with the artics - especially those which like to crack on at 56mph regardless. The 2-lane dual carriageway stretch of the A14 from Huntingdon to Cambridge requires particular concentration (lots of container lorries heading east to Harwich and Felixstowe), although you'll already have covered many miles of 2-lane dual carriageway A1 by the time you get down there so you should be in the flow of things.
Which way to go at the Huntingdon split: there really is no difference in road quality between the A1 and the A14 - both have about 20 miles of slower, busier dual carriageway followed by 30 miles of 2-lane motorway and then 10 miles of 3-lane motorway leading up to the M25. The A1 has five roundabouts where the A14 has none, but on a long journey it can be nice to break up the monotony like that - more stopping places on the A1 too including a supermarket & petrol station next to the first Biggleswade roundabout.
Traffic info: Radio 2 is the only realistic source for traffic info on a journey half the length of the country, the local stations that can be received on RDS will only tell you what's happening within a 10-minute radius. First weekday travel report on R2 is about 06.50, then every 30 minutes or so until just before 19.00.
Hth.
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You might have misread this bit....
"a much-needed caravan-free short break in France"
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>> You might have misread this bit....
Oops :)
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There are ways to circumnavigate the delays at the Britannia bridge, I've diverted eastwards and re-joined at a later junction before now.
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"There are ways to circumnavigate the delays at the Britannia bridge"
But you can't avoid the delay from Junction 30 which is where the major snarl up occurs.
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>>But you can't avoid the delay from Junction 30 which is where the major snarl up occurs.
Why not exit East and re-join at J31?
I've often exited at J29 and gone through Ockendon. It seems a bit of a faff, but it's usually quicker when the traffic's bad.
Now don't you all go and ruin this for me. ;>)
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Sshhh, don't tell them all Tubby Tommy, it's a trade secret;)
For what it's worth I'd do A14/M11 any day above the A1, for the simple reason the stretch of the M25 arond Potters Bar and Waltham Abbey has a high accident rate and potential for hold ups.
Pat
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Yep - I agree with Pat but The Dartford Crossing is the great imponderable.....
I would also say Pat forgot to mention those confounded mobile roadblock lorries taking forever passing each other with a speed differential of 0.001mph on the A14.....
Last edited by: retpocileh on Wed 22 Aug 12 at 08:40
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Pat wouldn't have that problem, she's be up and away nice and early and over the Dartford Bridge before 6am and then meander around Kent for some brunch!
Pat
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But there's normally no queuing for the bridge problem until junction 30, and its not worth exiting at 30 to rejoin at 31. Been driving that route for way for years and found that at the end of the day joining the queue and waiting is usually the quickest strategy and certainly the least hassle.
Its not helped by all those idiots constantly changing lanes to secure a few feet advantage, those who queue for an hour and then don't have their money ready and those who put £1.50 worth of small change into the automatic collection buckets one coin at a time or those who can't reach the payment window from where they have stopped :-)
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and those who put £1.50 worth of small change ......
and then find that what they thought was a 10 p is 50 UAE Dirhams.......
mentioning no names of course .....
Luckily SWMBO had a 10p ......
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Thanks for your replies and expressions of sympathy. I like the idea of getting up early, doing the A1, A14, M11 and getting across the QE bridge by lunchtime with a longish stop for lunch afterwards.
As a melophobe, I don't know if I'll cope with 4 hours of Radio2 without tearing my hair out; will the 'TA' setting on my radio not give Radio 2's traffic reports? My Garmin has traffic on it; maybe I can trust that?
I'll let you know how it went in September.
Last edited by: hawkeye on Thu 23 Aug 12 at 10:02
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We travelled on 15th August, did A1 M11 and were delayed 90 minutes by the police shutting the A1 at Great Ponton, so there went our contingency and lunch stop. Traffic was slow rather than stationary as we approached Dartford. When we got to Folkestone there were no shuttle services running for an hour. In summary, 300 miles in England, 300 miles in France; 14 hours door to door.
Mrs H and I did spells of 2 hours driving each and the C8 returned 33mpg over the whole trip which I was satisfied with.
Thanks to all who gave advice.
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hawkeye, glad to hear your trip went well.
Regarding the C8, my missus is badgering me to change our Galaxy for a C8/Peugeot 807, as they have sliding doors. What's the ownership experience been like for you overall with a C8? I'd be looking at a diesel, I imagine yours is also?
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>> What's the ownership experience been like for you overall
>> with a C8? I'd be looking at a diesel, I imagine yours is also?
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Separate thread here
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=11895
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My recent experiences of the Chunnel, both directions, is that you arrive early they will,more often that not, let you cross early. On that basis I'd rather travel early and if denied boarding kick my heels in the Folkestone or Coquelles terminal/shops/restaurants than sit sweating in a traffic jam.
Last edited by: Meldrew on Thu 13 Sep 12 at 19:19
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Travel advice; have I done something daft ? - Westpig
