Best Route On A Friday Afternoon

[Maydup]

Its against my better judgement to set out on any journey on a Friday afternoon! But no option this week, we ate heading from East to West UK for a 9am appointment on Saturday and prefer to stay over rather than drive in the early hours.

My question is for people with real knowledge of the traffic on a Friday setting out at 3pm from North Suffolk to Bristol. Is there anything to chose between the routes......west then south, or south then west.

Either A14, M6, M5 or A11, M11, M25, M4

I know what google and AA route planners suggest but I would be grateful for experienced advice. Many thanks

[Maydup]

Or of course, there is the Bedford, Oxford route.

Decisions decisions!

[jno]

personally I'd avoid the M25 at anything resembling rush hour, especially on a Friday and especially the bits anywhere near Heathrow. But I don't know enough about any of the routes to offer comparative advice.

[davegosling]

If I were you, I'd avoid the M25 at all costs on a Friday afternoon. Chances are, you'll be fine, but it just takes one small incident and it really is a six-lane carpark!

I'd take the following direction, without actually going through the towns themselves, of course!

Bury St Edmons - Cambridge - Bedford - Milton Keynes - Bicester - Oxford - Swindon and then joining the M4 at junction 15 (Bradbury).

[mushroom25]

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon to be avoided too - at home time it's really busy, but with the current roadworks and 40mph limit, it can be horrendous.

route suggested by davegosling probably the best - a proportion of the route (eg Bedford to MK) is now much improved....

[Maydup]

Thanks Dave, i liked the look of that route on the map.

Does anyone who drive across country regularly and know whether the traffic going around each of those towns amounts to better or worse than the traffic on the motorways?

[bhg481]

What's your objection to driving in the early hours Maydup? Travelling any of the routes you've suggested would be so much easier overnight. The M4 between Reading and the M25 is virtually deserted in the early hours of Saturday morning and extremely busy, particularly westwards, every workday evening.

[Maydup]

Sleep deprevation bhg!

We have a full day on Saturday leave hotel at 8am for a 9am start and would prefer to have slept and feel reasonably fresh.

[bhg481]

We find that by going to bed very early evening on Friday we can leave home in the early hours to get to Dover in time for our Ferry. Having done that we have a doze on the boat and stop for a short sleep at the other side - it sounds like a sleep part-way through the day isn't an option for you. Shame.

[Buenchico]

I also live in Suffolk and I've driven to Bristol (and/or South Wales) plenty of times. My own preference has also been to use the A14/M6/M5 route. On a Friday afternoon you'd probably hit some slow traffic on the Cambridge-Huntingdon section (and perhaps around Coventry & Birmingham) but that would probably be better than the usual Friday chaos on the M25.

Under no circumstances whatsoever should you consider going via Bedford, Milton Keynes and Oxford! Earlier this year I was doing daily commutes from my home to Didcot. I could choose between the 140 mile route along that path or the 160 mile one using the A12, M25 and M40 up to Oxford. For me it was 'no contest'. I knew, from painful experience that the shorter route (in terms of distance) would actually be the far longer one (in terms of time), probably by at least an hour. Those Milton Keynes roundabouts are a nightmare!

[Buenchico]

PS: You can avoid the A14 roadworks by using the A428 and the A1198, around the edge of Papworth Everard. (I've usually been pleasantly surprised by how traffic-free the A1198 is, even at busy times).

Alternatively, you can stay on the A428 until meeting the A1 and then rejoin the A14 at Brampton Hut.

[zebo]

Last time we went west on the Bedford, MK route it was a nightmare, as well as the roundabouts in MK there seemed to be dozens of sets of road works.

[diddlydo]

M25 on a Friday afternoon - AVOID at all costs!I know Suffolk to Oxford very well indeed having done it regularly for 40 years - just look at a map and choose any cross-country route avoiding motorways (plenty of dual carriageway available and there are more escape routes if there's a major hold-up)/ Oxford to Bristol via Swindon and then join M4 (I know that route too from when son lived in Bristol).

[Zacs-Master]

I’d be setting off at noon rather than 3pm for that journey.

[Maydup]

Thanks everyone, we'll check online for roadworks and plot our final route. probably a creative route over to M6 then M5.

We'll set off as early as we can but one of us is unable to get the whole day off. Think of us!!