That time of year again. Couple of weeks and of we go. I have decided to stick with the M1 to M42 route to M5 then A30. We usually make 2 stops, one at Strensham and one at Taunton to fill up. Always take some sarnies and a flask. 6.00am start i reckon its 356 miles to Crantock from our house. treat the journey as part of the hol. Look forward to seeing usual sights. Whats happening on M1 is it still 50mph for that long stretch through derby Notts area.
Can anyone suggest different places to stop. To refuel rest etc. Come on Dog you must have done this run a few times.
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>>Can anyone suggest different places to stop. To refuel rest etc. >>
Cullompton Services south of Taunton, Mc Donalds, good value.
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Junction 24 Bridgwater. take the slip road off and turn right, 200 yrds to the next roundabout and turn left for Nth Petherton instead of towards Bridgwater and the dervices, and in less than half a mile you have The Compass Tavern and a little further along a transport cafe called Grahams Cafe.
The cafe is basic but the food is good. If you don't fancy the decor then turn round and go back to the Compass Tavern!
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Wed 9 Jun 10 at 06:41
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M5 Junction 5 ( Droitwich)
Take the exit and at the roundabout take the first exit to Wychbold.
Almost immediately there is a Transport Cafe ( very good) on your left.
If you want to go a bit more upmarket, there is Webbs of Wychbold Garden Centre in less than a mile with a restaurant. Opposite the garden centre is a garage with fuel cheaper than on the M5.
Note: All directions assume you are travelling southbound!
Pat
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>> Almost immediately there is a Transport Cafe ( very good) on your left.
>>
I was looking forward to having a break there Pat, it's now a hotel and a small McDonut.
Few and far between now those good cafes.
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I can recommend Webbs and the garage opposite:)
Pat
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Instead of filling at Strensham come off at jct 9 Tewkesbury but turn left towards Ashbury, BP garage half mile on right, probably cheaper.
If you can make it to Bristol for fill up or maybe just put a tenner in at Strensham, jct 17 Patchway you'll see huge Asda immediately on left as you drop down the slip road, turn sharp left at junction, must be cheapest fuel on the route, good instore cafe too.
No use to you any further down i'm afraid.
In my previous job i didn't get to sit around all day in cafe's like someone i could mention so i'll leave the encyclopedic gastronomic knowledge to them...;)
why do i say these things, she'll beat me up..
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I think there's a Morrisons on the road between the M5 and Tewkesbury, just before you get to the town.
Usual refuelling opportunities for man and machine.
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Obviously your wages never depended on tipping, loading and mileage:)
But we do travel that route to Cornwall each year with the caravan and have time to stop!
Pat
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>>Come on Dog you must have done this run a few times<<
Don't ask me guv'nor, I'm 'almost' Cornish now, i.e. been ere 14 years & rarely cross into England,
In the olde days I would 'hit' the M4 in West London, pedal to the metal until the Little Chef
on the A38 just past Exeter for a full English jobbie,
In later years & I would do the M3/A303/A30 stopping at the Jolly Diner near Honiton (probably gorn by now)
There used to be a nice little truck stop on the A303 just orf Ilminster or Ilchester,
well signposted - someone (Pat?) will know it.
Last edited by: Dog on Wed 9 Jun 10 at 09:34
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The one at South Petherton is a Travelodge and Little Chef now but I think you mean the one that used to be at Cartgate roundabout.
Pat
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Told yer, Pat doesn't need SatNav she uses CaffNav..)
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Only during the hours of darkness:)
For those travelling down the M5 there is also The Vale between the M5 and Evesham that comes highly recommended!
Pat
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>> I think you mean the one that used to be at Cartgate roundabout.<<
Well done you! ~ tinyurl.com/2w7nrnz
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There is also a sainsburys with petrol, on a retail park with usual food outlets just of the taunton Jn of the M5
Tesco is just off the Shirley Junction (A34) of the M42 also with fuel. If heading south come off at the junction and take A34 towards shirley, can't miss it on the right after about 400 yards. The adjacent Garden Centre Cafe wasn't bad last time I was in, a couple of years ago. Melbicks is better on the A452 but means coming off at Dunton Island nr the Belfrey and following the A446 down through Coleshill and picking up the 452 at the NEC Business Park (sometimes a bit slow) or leaving at the A45 and doubling back a couple of miles.
Don't know why anyone buys fuel on the motorways.
There is also a Morrisons near the Asda at Bristol (Cribbs Causeway) - have eaten in the Asda a few times (normally breakfast) and best description now is cheap. Not as good as it used to be. As part of the retail park there is a group of food outlets - about 1/2 a mile from Asda - it is a big retail park.
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IJWS, your post has me thinking i may have given the correct jct number 17, but the wrong area name Cribbs as against Patchway...my excuse i'm working on.
Thanks for update on Asda cafe, it's been a few years since i used to park overnight there some years ago, certainly better food than the service areas at the time.
Agree about motorway fuel.
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>> There is also a Morrisons near the Asda at Bristol (Cribbs Causeway) - have eaten
>> in the Asda a few times (normally breakfast) and best description now is cheap. Not
>> as good as it used to be. As part of the retail park there is
>> a group of food outlets - about 1/2 a mile from Asda - it is
>> a big retail park.
>>
For those with an aversion to the asda / morrisons supermarket petrol there is also a shell garage in cribbs (Oposite the BMW / Porsche / MINI dealers) which usually price matches asda (sometimes 1p a litre more)
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The last two times we went from the Herts/Essex border leaving at 4am, non stop, breakfast in a hotel in Boscastle (watching the clouds carefully) at 9a.m. Civilised breakfast of eggs benedict. Of course, I forgot to mention that I was absolutely knackered with a 1000 yard stare!!
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Pat, don't you miss those transport cafes where full English used to include 10 B & H??!! real atmosphere...
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>> include 10 B
>> & H??!!
yeah, usually floating in the tea
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I certainly do woodster:)
I notice from Dogs Google map link that the one he mentions has gone 'up market' now.
I do hear the company is interesting though if you park there overnight!
Pat
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Thank you everyone for your input much appreciated. I will expect usual hold ups on M1 with the road works. One thing i always look for weather and visibility permitting is the Glastonbury Tor. You have a very short period when heading south to see it, when you see the first sign for jc23.
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Sorry Brentus, jus reread your OP...M1 roadworks 28 to 25 all lifted now, 4 lanes all running well...hopefully.
Safe one.
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Oh that sounds good GB thanks. Any more cameras anywhere to look out for.
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Likewise, only just read this topic. M1 roadworks are indeed all finished, and a very fine stretch of road it is too.
I'll give you a wave as you come past on the A42 :-)
>> Any more cameras
There is the variable speed limit stretch on the middle third of the M42 but that's pretty idiot-proof. A quick tip - the gantries with cameras on are in pairs, i.e. if the gantry on the opposite carriageway hasn't got cameras on, then neither will the gantry you're passing under. Cameras on the other carriageway = cameras on your carriageway too. Not a lot of people know this.
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Wed 9 Jun 10 at 21:51
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Gotta be easier to do the limit surely?
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I'm not condoning speeding, just answering the OP's question. ;-)
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I meant the limit WITHIN the works TD. just do 40 or whatever if in doubt. Getting speedy gets us no where.
Time 4 bed said zebedee!
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>> Gotta be easier to do the limit surely?
>>
You normally don't hava a choice, if the limits are set you have 3 or 4 lanes solid going at the limit. Frequently you don't even have the opportunity to take advantage of the ACPO tolerance.
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Thanks for that Dave much appreciated. Didnt know that about gantry camera's. Not that ill be speeding though.
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What a week, fabulous weather. Embarrassed to say i still stopped at Strensham & Taunton Dene. Probably because its a straight run in and off. Petrol extortionate as it always is. I reckon coming off at that cribbs causeway for diesal looks best. Stopped at same places on way home. Youngsters in party were gutted , no KFC, Mc D's etc. I think it was wimpy. Tell you what these places are extremely expensive. They say it costs to provide the service. Both establishments were heaving with heavy footfall. The tills never stopped ringing. Noticed parking was limited and administered by PPC in both cases. So expensive food and petrol clearly another case of good old rip of Britain.
In September i will stop at different places promise.
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Peeing down all day today in Cornwall - good, the gardens need it :)
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weather looks variable for my Northumberland trip next week!
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We got about two hours of rain today. Looks like the hose pipe ban is coming.
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Dog, am off to Newquay on Sunday - whats the forecast for the next week??
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news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/21?&search=newquay&itemsPerPage=10®ion=uk
Better than Northumberland next week where I am going. No wonder you guys come south:(
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Don't you be fretting about the weather, Zero.
When you see the wide open spaces, the traffic free roads and the towns you can park in, your only worry will be agoraphobia.
We just don't want too many of you guys coming north and jamming up the place.
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By the way. On the M5 you see them statues at side of motorway. I noticed this time a camel & was it a young camel. Also i still maintain you can see the Glastonbury tor from the M5. Can anyone else confirm this.
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I can confirm that the scarf has now been removed from around the camels neck!
Pat
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>> We just don't want too many of you guys coming north and jamming up the
>> place.
>>
Seconded!
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>>Dog, am off to Newquay on Sunday - whats the forecast for the next week<<
Sorry, I missed this as I went orf to bed early after a long walk with my poor ole mutt,
anyway cobber - you've got the sp on the ole wev now.
I was listening to a 3 hour prog on BBC Radio Cornwall yesterday aft., its a fone in program and the topic was Newquay, I haven't been over that way for about 4 years but its seems to be a place to avoid after lights out - unless you would enjoy the likes of Veronicas in Playa de las Americas ~ www.teneriferesorts.com/any/trwveronicas.aspx
Newquay is fine in the daytime though and has many good beaches & views, its just at this time of the year it attracts the young 'live for today' merchants, probably the same as Blackpool & sowfend in Essex :)
The other thing to watch out for is the tea leaves ... tourists that leave expensive items in their cars are rich pickings!
p.s. wanna buy a camera - I've got 5 DSLR's to chose from.
(I jest) ... have a nice one (holiday) :)
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Dragging up an old thread I know, but earlier today I booked a 5 break in Looe starting on the 6th of May which I now realise is a Bank Holiday. In view of this what route would the panel recommend taking from Kent for the least hassle traffic wise, the A303 or M4/5 ? Of course it may well be chucking it down in which case the roads will be dead !
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The roads are hardly ever dead Skip and if it's raining heavily they mimse more than usual.
There won't be that much in it for time and the 303 has the great virtue of passing Stonehenge.
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>> Dragging up an old thread I know, but earlier today I booked a 5 break
>> in Looe starting on the 6th of May which I now realise is a Bank
>> Holiday. In view of this what route would the panel recommend taking from Kent for
>> the least hassle traffic wise, the A303 or M4/5 ? Of course it may well
>> be chucking it down in which case the roads will be dead
Bank holiday? the M4/M5 vs A303 is the ultimate frying pan / fire argument. I am a A303 man by habit and the fact its a more picturesque interesting route. You have to accept the jam at Amesbury to Winterbourne Stoke unless you plan one of the back lane bypass routes.
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Go at a funny time. Like leaving at 02.00/03.00 or something. At that time of year the sun will be up early and you'll get there painlessly. Bacon butties on the beach early doors...
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>> Go at a funny time. Like leaving at 02.00/03.00 or something. At that time of
>> year the sun will be up early and you'll get there painlessly. Bacon butties on
>> the beach early doors...
>>
I could do that no problem Humph, but getting the OH moving at that sort of time is another matter !
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Tell her you'll buy her some new shoes if she does. Trust me, it's like heroin to them...
( bound to be somwhere in Looe sells flip flops so it needn't be too painful )
:-)
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>> Bank holiday? the M4/M5 vs A303 is the ultimate frying pan / fire argument.
Hmm, that's what I was thinking !
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>> Bank holiday? the M4/M5 vs A303 is the ultimate frying pan / fire argument.
Ooh, ah... naturally assumed no one here was contemplating that one at a completely moronic time, no offence but..
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No need to get anyone moving at 2 am after four hours' kip. Sleep late the day before, gird your loins, stay up late without getting too drunk and go for it.
It's so much safer and more relaxed without a lot of anxious grockles getting in the way.
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Wise words AC.
I fairly often have to get an 06.00 flight out of Heathrow or Gatwick which translates into leaving home at 01.30. Never bother going to bed the night before, no point, but as you suggest, I try to ensure that I've had plenty of sleep the night prior to that.
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Skip don't forget that the B3253 via St Martins is still closed after the landslip a few weeks ago and it seems likely it will be until the autumn.
You have to approach via the A387 and Sandplace.
Pat
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>> Skip don't forget that the B3253 via St Martins is still closed after the landslip
>> a few weeks ago and it seems likely it will be until the autumn.
>>
>> You have to approach via the A387 and Sandplace.
>>
>> Pat
>>
Thanks for the info Pat, I wasn't aware of that.
Andy
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"...starting on the 6th of May..." - which is the last day (the Monday) of a Bank Holiday weekend, so everyone who is away for the weekend will have already gone and the trek back won't start until the afternoon, depending on the weather. You will have to contend only with those "out for the day", so you could just be lucky - make an early start and you should be OK.
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>> no KFC, Mc D's etc. I think it was wimpy. Tell you what these places are extremely expensive. >>
McD's services such as Cullumpton on the M5 between Taunton and Exeter charge the same price for food as on the High St so relatively good value where as Burger King etc prices are much higher in a service area.
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We saw petrol at £1-25.9 at Taunton Deene but paid £1-14.9 at Asda just off the M6 at Coventry.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Sat 3 Jul 10 at 08:27
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Just had a lovely week in St.Ives. 348 miles each way, both done non-stop. Outwards in 4 hrs 40 and backwards in 5 dead. Sandwiches and flask in the car, hotel at Crabis bay for breakfast - now that was a total rip-off but lovely views and a nice way to end the journey.
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>>hotel at Crabis bay for breakfast
Carbis Bay :)
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Finger co-ordination error Dog - I can spell!
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You should be OK going westwards on the A303 on a bank holiday: most people will be coming back, away from the West Country.
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>>Finger co-ordination error Dog - I can spell!
I began to wonder if it was a bay I hadn't heard of before ;)
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Never mind that Dog, just avoid the hotel unless you want to pay through the nose for a half size breakfast! (and you're making me proof read everything now..)
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I don't know if you call this a subtopic. Not worth starting a new thread for anyway.
Earlier in this conversation the lorry drivers were talking about cheaper fuel off the motorway. How does it work for them? I can't imagine they pay for their own fuel, so is there some incentive from the company to fill up cheaper, or a penalty if you don't, or is it in fact quicker to fill up on the motorway and that works out better or what?
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Most firms (unless very small) have a fuel card similar to this one
www.keyfuels.co.uk/home.aspx
It's similar to the bunkering system which is still used by some but broadly speaking Hauliers don't pay pump prices but a flexible and constantly changing lower price.
The downside is you have to plan a journey around a fuel stop!
Pat
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The long road to Cornwall - Hard Cheese
