What's the Best Time and Day

[Val & Frank]

Hi

Being retired we can leave any day of the week or time of day/night. If you had a journey from the North of Scotland to the South West of England what time, or day would you choose to travel on???

Thanks Frank

ps June or July

 

[LizCornwall]

Hi Frank, Well the campsite here in Cornwall where I work, we are quite busy month of June nearly fully booked, most people will be arrived on Sunday, early afternoon, tea time ish if thats any help, of course not sure whether some are coming from the North of Scotland, but I would not advise travelling on a Saturday, you will probably get a few more replies on this who have actually done the distance, the reason being June is popular because will still be low season for most retired people.

I am dreading July down here everywhere will be busy, there again not a Saturday for travelling unless you have to. Liz

I hope this is of some help Liz

 

[Geordie]

Hi Frank,we're from central and when we went s/w we travelled thru the night Thursday and had a few stops on the way and arrived around mid-day Friday. Being out and about down there over the period of our holiday I had never seen so many vans on the road. DO NOT travel on a Saturday.

 

[Oldfogey]

Actually I'm going to disagree somewhat about Saturday. Certainly don't drive in the SW on a Sat, but if you are OK for night driving and want to cover some distance, I would consider setting off Saturday afternoon and driving through the night. Driving on Sunday means you get far less big lorries, making for an easier tow, and with a few hours kip around dawn, you could potentially make the whole run in one go, if you have that sort of stamina (I do, my wife doesn't, so we don't try).

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

Hi Frank,

We will be doing a similar trip starting from here in Norfolk, but going up to Sutherland - it's about 650 miles.

We usually make a start at about 1pm on Friday, and travel through the night with a couple of sleep stop offs on the way, it takes about 18 hours all told!!

We find it works well for us, as there is less traffic the further north you go. Maybe food for thought for your return!! :O)

 

[adrian_5071472]

we do the trip every year from anglesey to perranporth,dont go on a weekend,especially if they are still working on the A30,we went on saturday last year,usually takes us about 8 hours with stops,but took us 13 and half last year.it was a nightmare,got on A30 near bodmin and stopped,took us 3 and a half hours to do last 60 miles.going on a monday this year

 

[harry_374244037]

Hi,

Adrian , we are going to cornwall last two weeks in august , shall be leaving in the wee early hours of sat. morning, its about 300 miles from where we are .. someone said they are improving the roads around indian queens , wonder if it will be ready for this summer anyone out there know?

harry

 

[adrian_5071472]

when we were there last august they said it should be finished by now,dont know if it is or not,some kind person should be able to tell us i`m sure, were going in september this year so it hopefully wont be as busy

 

[gavin_5121842]

Hi Frank,

i'm watching this post with interest, as we're doing the same journey (from Inverness) in July.

My plan A is to leave Inverness after work on the Saturday (2pm) and do 2 stop-overs on the way down. Probably around Moffat / Lockerbie for the first, and just South of Birmingham for the second.

Plan B, and my favourite is to leave at 2-3am on Sunday morning with a stop-over around Stoke on Trent. I'd then leave there early enough to possibly miss the rush hour traffic at Birmingham.

Only problem with plan B is we have 10 and 13 girls with us, but they should be ok with plenty breaks.

Driving overnight is certainly a lot less stressfull, as long as you get a good sleep before you leave,

Gavin.

 

[Litespeed]

As a note they are still working on the A30 across Goss Moor.

To be honest the only time you will not experience hold ups at this stretch is early mornings (before 7.45am) or evenings. There are currently no other roadworks on the A30 from Exeter down to Penzance......I'm sure this will change by High Season!

 

[trucker]

Hi Frank, a few bottle necks on route to south west, not forgetting m6/m5 juction at Birmingham, bristol and then normaly Exeter. If you are travelling at the w/e aim to be past Exeter by 6am, so if you are going all the way through to Cornwall you should be past Bodmin by 8ish which will leave most of the traffic behind you. Indian queens road improvements should be completed by the summer. Went past a few weeks ago and alot of the road is tarmac even though not open so it looks good for a better summer.

Unfortunatly all this will do is push the bottleneck from Indian Queens to Truro Windmills where the road goes from duel to single carageway.

Kevin H