This could be a road trip challenge too far. I'm sure others have done worse but even I'm thinking this one could go to the wire.
I presume you are not anticipating dealing with any failure in that time?
Have you told the bookies? Could be a nice earner and entertainment for us...
Twitter updates needed...
Will you load the car after the test so they have access to everything inside and it's not stupidly heavy for brake tests etc?
It's a 600mile drive and I reckon you'll struggle to average more than 60 so say 10 hours without stops and you need to be in Dover 45 mins to an hour before you depart for checkin etc.
Get away by 9am and you might get lucky 🙂
No scope for failure at all
on which did it fail the first time ?
is it a free retest - ie a look at the failed items or is it a retest after too long which is costing and means a full look around ?
As above what did it fail on?
fastest route via m6 toll says 8 hours but these things are always stupidly optimistic so say 10 hours if you don’t faff about having a long lunch
2 drivers is also handy so you can keep moving at all times - at my age I’d struggle to drive for 10 hours non stop!
id say you’ll be ok but not a lot of room for manoeuvre (or pile-ups on M25!)
You can drive with no MOT to a pre booked test.
Any garages in Calais doing them?
They only check the failed items on the retest to see if they've been fixed I believe. So hopefully it won't take long to do.
not a chance i say
Just enough time to get to a car rental place after it fails. Don't forget to get your code thing that you need these days involving your national insurance number.
Is this in a Landy with a max speed of 45?
Very tight I'd say. Doable but tight.
Glasgow to Dover has always been a ball ache in my experience. Around Manchester/Liverpool is typically a riot. Then the M25 carnage.
Only time I've had a clean run was leaving Glasgow late evening.
Last year there was a fatal crash on the M25 around Dartford so my satnav redirected me through London at rush hour. That was an experience I never want to repeat. At one point I was on a 4 lane road rammed with traffic with the satnav repeating "stay in the right hand lane" then all of a sudden chirps in with "exit left now"😭😭😭
Mot fail included wishbone bush, replaced complete wishbone, sticky front brake calliper, replaced with new discs and pads. Rear anti roll bar bushes, needed to get a complete new anti roll bar ans the bushes are bonded to it. The test shouldn’t take long.
I should miss the commuter traffic over the Forth Bridge and around Edinburgh to Biggar and the M74. That’s usually quick to near Manchester. The Toll road gets me past Birmingham, then it’s close to tea time at the M25
The car is an old school Volvo V70 D5, it’s a comfy cruiser. I’ll keep you posted en route
I didn’t get past reading “Fife”. That’s where it’ll all go wrong
Boom!
Handluggage and hire car..
Definitely possible. If you can be around Edinburgh by lunch you'll easy do it. I'd be tempted to do A1 south from Edinburgh, A14, M11 as there's so much less chance of jams compared to M6 & M1.
Couple of years ago I left South Queensferry at 2pm, arrived in Dover at 930pm and got the 10pm boat. I did have to make progress and only stopped once for a very quick loo stop. Average speed was 67mph.
M6 is hideous from Manchester to the toll, 50 limits and 3 lots of roadworks. Roadworks South of toll to m1 too that is just the local stuff I know about
The important question is when and where will you be posting live updates? Can you run Strava Beacon constantly so we can follow you there?
The important question is when and where will you be posting live updates?
A photo from every bog used between Fife and dover - with a collection of beautifully stacked logs in front of anything otherwise sensored so we know it's you.
A photo from every bog used between Fife and dover
To save time diapers and Imodium can be deployed
I’m up for a blow by blow journey update too, the logs are a trademark of yours but pushing one down the internet to Strava Beacon isn’t practical so maybe just log on here when you are being tailgated by a truck so we can throw virtual abuse at the truck driver in question.
Oh and practically call the ferry company and chat about the morning ferry
A few years ago we were getting the 10pm ferry from Portsmouth. Getting paperwork out for motorhome on morning of trip realised MOT expired. Panic ring round to fund garage open on Saturday. Tracked one down 10 miles south in Leeds. Test done by 1pm - failure on brakes - some begging with garage who did the work and retested. Passed - on the road by 4pm - arrived at terminal by 9pm! Overnight ferry - much de-stress beer drunk.
That was a drive of about half the distance though!
Another option mightbe to see if ferry following morning has space - if memory serves its just an admin charge to change crossings.</span>
Didn't need to open this thread to know who was involved 🙂
Should be easily doable, also I have never had problems getting on the ferry before or after my scheduled departure when arriving early or late, as long as they are not fully booked up they seam quite relaxed about it.
schools in England either finished last week or end Tuesday ish - that should cut a great deal of traffic compared to normal conditions, Saturdays from now on very busy with holiday cross over traffic.
It is now 10pm.
Are you on a boat?
I'd imagine not as he hasn't had his mot yet.
10pm on Tuesday night is D Day
As you say it's just gone 10pm on Monday night and the mechanic still has my car and isn't answering calls.
Everything is packed and good to go though.
Didn't read the times on the posts! I thought this was live and exciting 🙁
As above, i reckon you're in with a good shot assuming the test goes well and you're straight out, you'll be at Birmingham around rush hour and if you take the M6 toll that never gets toooo bad.
Good luck, McM, but mostly posting to say to olddog that I’m glad I’m not the only one to have done that. Meant to be leaving on a Saturday to overnight in London before heading to Belgium early the next day. Gathering paperwork together that morning and realised MOT had expired 🙄 Getting an MOT on a Saturday in mid Wales is not an easy business, let me tell you. Not a stress-free start to the holiday.
As above, i reckon you’re in with a good shot assuming the test goes well and you’re straight out, you’ll be at Birmingham around rush hour and if you take the M6 toll that never gets toooo bad.
You will be in a queue from Manc to the toll at that time if your unlucky then,
Easily doable - not sure about the M6 route though, I’d go to Penrith and then head across to the A1(M)
M25 around teatime will be fun. Then you have to look forward to the M20 Jn 3 to jn6 at rush hour, especially now there is a temporary 50mph limit.
Don't use the M20. Use the M2 / A2.
no need to make those decisions yet - google maps is good but maybe we can provide live updates if McMoonter posts occasionally to advise when the next decision needs to be made.
In fact, as it's TdF time, we could even set up appropriate feed zones to make sure he doesn't need to stop - passing supplies to him as he drives past.
Even better; there must be someone on here who could rig up some kind of inflight refueling system? Some 25litre barrels in the boot, rigged up to a garden sprayer with a nozzle on the end of it, and he could refuel as we go, Vulcans to Port Stanley style. There's a scottish bloke who's an ace at these sorts of jury rigged contraptions.... I wonder what he's doing today?
Update. I collected the car from the garage doing the work for the test at midnight
On the way home I noticed that the steering wheel wasn’t perfectly aligned in the straight ahead position. OCD hell!
Im at the council MOT station, the car is on the ramp
ive phoned a four wheel alignment company in Edinburgh who are going to try and fit me in on the way past. It might take an hour but it will ensure the tracking is correct and most importantly the steering wheel is level
I regularly do Perth to Kent.
DO NOT DO THE M6 / TOLL
The Penrith, Scotch corner A1 route is virtually always faster.
Please tell me you are wearing sunglasses, it has to be done 🙂
ive phoned a four wheel alignment company in Edinburgh who are going to try and fit me in on the way past. It might take an hour but it will ensure the tracking is correct and most importantly the steering wheel is level
Should give you time for some sleep....
Have you got any word from the ferry company about a later saliling so you don't need to thrash yourself down the country and end up a jibbering caffine wreck by the end of the midlands?
I think I’m going to go the Penrith - Scotch Corner - M1 route to add to the challenge
I think my ferry ticket allows me the option of the first available spot on the earlier or later ferry
That is beautiful. A near impossible timeframe but a slightly wonky steering wheel has you forgoing an hour to get it remedied. I hope you ask them to sort out any tyre logo/valve issues whilst they are at it.
With such a tight timescale I would have put a sticker over the wheel to deflect the OCD..
Best it f luck 🚀🖖
Green light to go. MoT pass!
So, has it passed?
#prayformcmoonterwood
And he’s off!!!
As much as I'm pleased for you, that swift pass and on the road by 0820 rather deflates the challenge. Disappointed.
14hrs to get to Dover?
Cheesy Peas.
We could make it a bit more challenging. Can anyone stack a pile of logs next to the motorway services with the ones at the bottom facing the wrong way for optimum stacking?
The Penrith, Scotch corner A1 route is virtually always faster.
How do you know? 😉
IME no probs getting on an earlier/later boat, used to go between London and Belgium for work a couple of times a month- booked the crossing but just turned up when I could.
Is there a tracker we can follow?
Is there a tracker we can follow?
This is a man who has lost entire buildings in his garden only to rediscover them decades later.
Do you really think he's the "live tracking" type? 😉
How do you know?
Google keeps agreeing on that one, as said M6 has lots of roadworks down south which removes most of the extra speed if not all from the toll - and you end up doing the toll becasue you have no choice, the M5 round Brum has big roadworks which makes the M6/M42 worse
The Al from Scotch corner is a lot better these days and fairly clear of roadworks when I last did it
Fair dos. Used to do London - NW regularly and agonised over doing M6 toll vs M1 A50, always convinced I'd picked the wrong one. But that was before google traffic.
What's better in UK, google or Waze? I like the latter for the speed limit display, but for traffic jams it's crap here in Spain as no one uses it.
prayformcmoonterwood
I was going to. But that nonsense regarding the steering wheel lost all my sympathy 😑
A50 is probably the worst of the lot of them at the moment!!
Google traffic works really well for me, lands me fairly close to predicted
Currently at wheel alignment place in Edinburgh. They are hopeful they can have us back on the road by eleven
edit - car now on ramp
Car now on ramp
back on the road by eleven
Why not just book a ferry two hours later now and have a relaxing drive down there knowing you can stop and take reasonable breaks etc?
WWaswas, because that would be admitting defeat and McM IS NOT ABOUT DEFEAT!!!!
McM IS NOT ABOUT DEFEAT!!!!
Getting to the ferry by 10 means getting to the ferry by 10!
He's going to end up driving off the end of the link span into the sea at 10:01 just to prove a point isn't he 😉
This is a man who has lost entire buildings in his garden only to rediscover them decades later
Can anyone stack a pile of logs next to the motorway services with the ones at the bottom facing the wrong way for optimum stacking?
Loving the quality levels of teasing going on.
You'll be passing our house about 7-8pm just off J13 on M25 any chance you could spare a few mins and pop in to help me sort these logs out. Pretty sure I've stacked them wrong
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TIA
@mcmoonter - the A1M is usually a lot quieter than the M1 and you'll be further east along the dreaded M25.
Godspeed McM
It is probably to late for this - but when my parents did a house swap with a couple in Kent for six months I did Edinburgh-Kent regularly, and tried a few variations. M1 definitely the way to go, marginally quicker and far less scope for problems.
Is there an update from MCM?
If they're heading down the M6 they'll be passing me any minute now. I feel we should be cheering them on from motorway bridges along the way.
Does McM have one of these?
It has French connotations so could be worth using if he has a dislike for LeFrog(s)
Is there an update from MCM?
Rusty bolts sheared during the alignment - still in Fife
👀
No chance of making the ferry then.
All bets off ?
It's not over until 22:00. Keep the faith.
COME ON MCM!
They are hopeful they can have us back on the road by eleven
edit – car now on ramp
Couldn't you have just used the Rolls Royce instead and travelled in refined elegance?
We’ve reached the services at Wetherby, all seems to be going ok. Thankfully we weren’t held up by the convoy behind a huge earth moving truck on a low loader going the other way on the A66
is there still time to go back home for my smart shoes? We are off to a wedding, Keen sandals may have to do
At this rate you'll be able to catch a boat earlier than the one you're booked on.
5 hours driving (M25 willing...)!