Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 20 total)
  • M5 southbound
  • aa
    Free Member

    i’m going to woolacombe at the end of next week.
    Having suffered some nightmare saturday journeys in the past we’re considering travelling on the friday night.
    How hideous is the m5 southbound on a friday? We’d be stopping overnight at tiverton so would need to be there by 11pm. It’ll take 4/5 hours so we’d need to leave about 6pm.
    So, friday or saturday travel?

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Depends if/when/where someone overturns a caravan.

    wrecker
    Free Member

    It’s certainly horrible at least until 1900, which is as late as i head north. Pinch points are gordano, WSM, bridgwater. After 2000 it might be ok/better.
    Jam bo has nailed it. Caravans are the blight of the west country in the summer. It was much better that year they had to stay on the inside lane.

    aa
    Free Member

    jam bo, I know what you’re saying.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    you don’t want to be near bristol before about 7 from my experience. past bristol is ok, it is just the m4/roadworks/cribbs that screw it up.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Id agree, Bristol after 7pm and then ok. This year we’ll be leaving Derbyshire about 6/7pm fri night and travel south of Bristol to stay in hotel or similar.

    aa
    Free Member

    wrightyson, that was our plan, but, the wife says travelodge at taunton/tiverton requires pre 11pm arrivals.

    scuttler
    Full Member

    There is more than one hotel south of Bristol. Me – for saturday to Saturday trips to west country in summer when coming down from Yorkshire we’ve always enjoyed the delights of Bristol until about 2pm on a Saturday and then cruised down the m5 and a3x with very little traffic.

    sambob
    Free Member

    As above, it’s normally alright other than between approx 5:00 and 8:00om. Having Said that, it once took me 11 hours to get from Shropshire to Salcombe 👿

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Days inn just off the m5 at sedgemoore is fine. Also has a private road into Weston if you fancy a wander round there sat morning. If not you’re literally up and away. Will need booking now tho as a lot of people use it as a mid way stop.
    Also various prem inns within Weston. We’ve done this for every Devon/Cornwall trip over the last 4 yrs.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Having Said that, it once took me 11 hours to get from Shropshire to Salcombe

    It once took me two hours to get out of Taunton onto the m5…

    sambob
    Free Member

    Ouch. Fingers crossed for a nice journey next friday.

    cheez0
    Free Member

    Woolacombe is an hour from Tiverton/ J27.

    Keep driving, don’t stop at Travelodge J27..

    Set off at a normal time, knowing that there will be slow traffic. Stop for a coffee every so often and before you know it you’ll be in the Red Barn sipping a beer.

    tinybits
    Free Member

    My motorway journey home is the M5 bridgewater to the M4 bath junction.

    I’d rather stick wasps up my arse than try that on a Friday!

    So I guess I’m saying good luck!!

    aa
    Free Member

    last year it took 11 hours to get from nw leics to woolacombe. I said i’d never do it again . The rest of the family could go and i’d camp in the peaks, but, i’m a sucker.

    Big-Dave
    Free Member

    Woolacombe is an hour from Tiverton/ J27.

    Keep driving, don’t stop at Travelodge J27

    ^^^This^^^

    The North Devon link road isn’t actually that long, just make sure you get past Bristol before 4pm on a Friday and you may avoid the stop start traffic that can take until Bridgwater to clear.

    My beloved employers have booked me into a training course in Oxfordshire on the Friday that marks the start of the school summer holiday period. It finishes at 12.30 and at 12.31 there will be a cloud of tyre smoke and the sound of a car disappearing down the A34 at speed as I attempt to drive home to North Devon before the M5 gets clogged with the remains of somebodies caravan.

    Ambrose
    Full Member

    Good luck guys.

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    You bugger. We’re leaving Stafford (M6 J13) at 7pm on Friday heading down to south Wales. So it’s you that’s going to cause all that congestion we hit.

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    I used to drive from Loughborough down to J27 and beyond all the time, hitting Bristol after 20:00 and you should have a clear run of it.

    That said if you don’t have a clear run the final stretch to Woolacombe is not a straight blast rather its about as far from straight as you can get and I’d suggest not driving it if you’re tired.

    We live halfway between Tiverton & Dulverton and have a converted loft which you and the wife could kip over in if you’ve had a crappy drive.

    We have a teething 8mth old daughter so there’s a high likelihood that we’ll be up late. Oh we also have a bengal cat but don’t mind him. Email in profile, drop me a line if we can help. 🙂

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    See, if you had a caravan like ours you could just pull up, legs down & off to bed. 😉

    Honest advice, Just head off earlier on the Sat morning, as in 3am early. You’ll have a great journey down & arrive for breakfast…

    We’ll not be clogging the M5 this time, but will be clogging up Northern France instead. 😆

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 20 total)

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