Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day: Motoring Motoring Discussion forum

Motoring Discussion > Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Netsur	Replies: 28

Tue 23 Nov 10 06:37

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

There is the possibility that I will be taking a flight out of Heathrow on Saturday night 25th December. Check in without luggage will be 20:30 but cannot leave north Manchester until 17:15.

Chances of making check in?
Can anyone recommend a 'meet and greet' parking service?
Route - M6 and M40 presumably?
Any other suggestions - (please don't say fly down - there are no flights that afternoon or for the return journey three days later)?

TIA

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Tue 23 Nov 10 07:06

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - idle_chatterer

I think you can only just make the journey in this time, it's over 200 miles and even if you average 70mph (so speed in reality) you'll take a little over 3 hours. the best I ever did (years ago) from Warrington to Heathrow was 2hr50mins, then you need to allow for parking/handover.

good luck, personally I'd leave a bit earlier to allow a bit of contingency.....

Last edited by: idle_chatterer on Tue 23 Nov 10 at 07:08

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Tue 23 Nov 10 07:17

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - WillDeBeest

I'd be most concerned about the time it would take to park the car and get to the gate. Is 2030 your time at the gate or at the desk? If it's the desk, can you check in online and save some time by going straight to the gate?

Another idea: no trains on Christmas Day but is there a coach you could take? Slower, of course, but it would cut out the parking time.

Finally - and probably least helpfully, since I expect you've considered it already - what could you change to get you away from Manchester an hour earlier?

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Tue 23 Nov 10 07:32

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - BiggerBadderDave

I did that journey on Christmas day, the other way round and didn't see another car for the entire duration (more or less). So you should be able to press on a bit. I think you'll be ok.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 08:14

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - rtj70

I would say without speeding that is pushing it. And you don't know what the weather will be like. What if there is snow or fog? I would imagine roads will be pretty quiet.

I would say you'd need to leave Manchester a bit earlier.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 08:27

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

Change of plan. Thanks for all your thoughts. I was concerned about the weather, although with valet parking, I would simply drive up to the terminal and hand the keys over and with no traffic, averaging 70mph is probably easy.

Anyway looks like there is a flight from Manchester at roughly similar times for about £60 more which makes a lot more sense.

Thanks all.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 08:52

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Mapmaker

Not much choice of leaving any earlier on a Saturday, is there Espada!

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Tue 23 Nov 10 10:14

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

As you have realised Humph - no chance of me leaving before 17:15! Especially as destination is the Holy Land.

Fortunately Swiss via Zurich leaves MAN at 18:50. Leave home at 17:15 arrive MAN at 17:45 gives plenty of time for plane as will do on-line check in and no hold luggage.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 13:54

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Mapmaker

Flattered to have been mistaken for Humph...

Don't forget to do the online check-in before Friday afternoon...

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Tue 23 Nov 10 15:24

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

Oh - sorry Mappy!

Anyway thank you for thinking of my spiritual welfare. It's nice that someone understands my situation.

How's the Scooby BTW?

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Tue 23 Nov 10 09:25

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Bill Payer

>> with no traffic, averaging 70mph is probably easy.
>>
That's probably the worst time to exceed the speed limit - you'll stand out and the Boys in Blue will have nothing else to do.

Going back a few years I used to regularly drive Chester to Oxford, leaving at 5AM and getting to the office (just off the M40) at around 7.30 Even making a very(!) good speed on the motorway it was quite something to get above average 60MPH for the journey door to door.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 09:28

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Zero

That journey in those timescales is not reliably possible. I would give you 50/50 odds of making it before checkin closes.

still its of no consequence now Espada has found a better route.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 16:36

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - teabelly

Just get one of those poly boxes they put organs in and pack some pig liver in it. Then if you're stopped you're transporting an organ ;-)

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Tue 23 Nov 10 16:45

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

I think pig liver was perhaps the wrong animal to use as an example for me......Goose liver would be different story and I could take it to eat on the plane!

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Tue 23 Nov 10 16:55

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Zero

Err no

Exports of goose liver are banned in many countries.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 18:21

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

Arrrr! Well a hypothetical Arrr anyway as I have just booked the MAN-TLV flight. Anyone ever flown on Christmas Day?

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Tue 23 Nov 10 18:25

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - PhilW

"Anyone ever flown on Christmas Day?"
Father Christmas does a bit (and Rudolph and friends)

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Tue 23 Nov 10 18:41

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Dulwich Estate

Not on Christmas Day but did a long haul on New Year's Day once. The Boeing 747 was so near empty that the cabin crew made us sit in different seats to spread us about and balance the plane !

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Tue 23 Nov 10 18:49

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - R.P.

Like a lot of naughty school-children eh Dulwich ?

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Tue 23 Nov 10 19:46

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Zero

I did a European flight on new years day. It was from Gibraltar, but they only had 3 passengers, so they short hopped us to Malaga in a focker, then 7 - yes 7 people boarded a BA Tristar to Heathrow.

We all insisted on first class.

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Tue 23 Nov 10 23:44

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Dulwich Estate

Aaah ! memories.....

In about 1976 / 1977 I was working in London and a Uni friend working in Glasgow told me (on the work phone) that he was trading in his car for a better one the next day. I asked how much for and when I found out the figure I knew I could sell it at a profit in London so I did a deal with him. I got the next day off from my boss, and after work got the bus (no tube then) to Heathrow and caught the BA shuttle. The deal with BA then was that you were always guaranteed a seat and if the first plane was full they'd wheel out another one. Well, the plane (a Trident) they put me on had only a handful of people on it.

I kipped on the floor in Glasgow and in the morning - well all day actually - drove the car back to London. A week or two later it went for a tidy profit after all expenses.

I wonder if I bothered with insurance then - probably not !

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Wed 24 Nov 10 08:33

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Bagpuss

I have flown a number of times on Christmas Day, mainly to and from Manchester. Christmas is celebrated in Germany on the 24th so we can then fly into the UK and celebrate it again on the 25th. When arriving you have to allow for the fact that there's no public transport (presumably a hangover from the communist BR times) and hire cars are 3 times the normal price as are the black cabs waiting at the Arrivals terminal.

On one occasion my luggage got lost and I struggled to find anyone at the airport to report it to. It arrived 4 days later.

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Wed 24 Nov 10 08:36

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - BiggerBadderDave

On the fourth day of Christmas my luggage came to me...

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Wed 24 Nov 10 13:21

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Telb

Should be okay on Christmas Day. On Christmas eve though beware of this...

www.allfunnypictures.com/pages/santaplane.htm

:-)

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Wed 24 Nov 10 16:15

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Fursty Ferret

There's a VIP parking service right outside Terminal 1 if I remember correctly. Suggest you take a chance on all the traffic police being home with their Christmas pudding and step on it.

I have the far more unpleasant job of driving from Manchester to Devon on the 23rd, and then back to Manchester on the evening of Christmas Day.

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Wed 24 Nov 10 17:53

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Netsur

You have my sympathy! Take it easy.

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Wed 24 Nov 10 18:00

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - Iffy

...You have my sympathy!...

That's two nights with the relations, so you have my sympathy, too.

Couldn't you go there and back in a day?

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Wed 24 Nov 10 18:52

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - rtj70

Manchester to Devon and back in a day is a lot of driving.

Glad Espada has a better solution - don't drive to Heathrow - for the trip. I am lucky that I live nearer to Manchester airport that a taxi normally costs a fixed amount (about £11-12). I bet it is more on Christmas day though.

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Thu 25 Nov 10 09:57

Driving to Heathrow from Manchester - Xmas Day - legacylad

Last year on the 27th we flew KLM and the DC10 was completely full.
This was in stark contrast to several years ago when we flew B Cal from Manchester to the Caribbean. 5 of us boarded in Mter, we collected another 8 at Gatwick (I think) and we flew non stop on the Tristar, with more cabin crew than passengers. Returning with a full load one week later we had to refuel in the Azores. Happy memories.

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