Lads weekend away in North Wales, I’m driving up from Bristol and need to pick up someone coming from Didcot via train on Friday evening after work. Probably looking at 6-8pm ish, depending if we can skive off a bit early. Then drop off on Sunday late afternoon or early evening.

Sunday I hope to be able to nip into Birmingham New Street station without too much traffic problems. Reasonable assumption?

Friday I’m expecting it to be a bit more hassle so would rather not venture too far into the center. I’m looking for small commuter stations near the M5. Ideally with easy access, parking (just somehwere I can pull up and wait if I’m early) and not too ‘rough’ an area, I don’t need to score. That’s were I’m after some local knowledge. Any suggestions?

Depends which route/line he’s coming on? Or you hoping he goes in to Brum then catches a train out to meet you?

*edit

Could he not get a train to Bristol ?

Yes train into BNS then another short train out to somwhere convenient for the M5 is the thought.

Train to bristol has been mooted as an option, but that delays leaving Bristol till he gets here, putting the arrival time in North Wales later, meaning less drinking time on friday night.

Ok, final question then before I can come up with some recommendations. M5 junction with M6, then M6 onwards going to be a nightmare Friday night. What’s your intended route from the M5 to North Wales?

I’m not a train expert but I think your best bet is for your mate to get a train to New Street, then get a connection out to some where like Longbridge (about 15 mins from New Street), which (in no traffic) is about 5 mins or so off the M5 at Junction 4. You can park in a side road easily enough – nice enough area, but if you are worried about a Peaky Blinder doing you in, a massive Sainsbury’s, costa with car park is only a minute or two walk away.

Tame bridge parkway station? Right by the M6/M5 link. Not far from junctions of either motorway and free parking last time I was there. Safe enough and 15 mins into Brum but I always get off at Villa, so not sure if it goes on to New Street or Snow Hill from memory. Not a far walk through town if the latter.

Also Bescot station near Walsall FC. You’ll see the football ground from the M6 J9, so a mile before you take the M5 link.

Check timings etc though as I don’t use either often*

*3 times a year when I get Villa tickets.

If intent on doing M5/M6 then I’d say Bromsgrove station is the best/nearest M5, plus you’ll hit this before the heaviest of traffic.

If want to avoid worst traffic the M5 to Worcs, A449 to Kidderminster, A442 via Bridgnorth to Telford, meet your mate at Telford station then on to North Wales via A5

Dudley Port, don’t think of it as a port, but you might get shanghaied!

14 mins from BNS, and close to jnct 2 of the M5.

As mentioned above Bromsgrove is the alternativev (20 mins from BNS) – more sexy, but a further drive off the motorway to get to it from Junction 4, going back on yourself.

Didcot is an easy train to Swindon, a slight deviation going straight upto get M54.
Or get him to get to Hagley, only a half hour diversion from M5, and not far from BNS.

North Wales is a big area. M6 generally quicker but alternative to M6 and with less likelihood to have accidents is to carry up the M5M6 and across to North Wales via M54 and then A5 through Llangollen, for example. Or if traffic is bad, cut the nose off and go via Stourbridge (Junction 4, M5) on A442 to Telford, rejoining M54.

Or get your mate to go to Cheltenham which is a direct train. Takes about 80 minutes and is only a short jaunt off the M5.

Droitwich station is five mins from junction 5 m5.

Telford central station (as suggested above) seems the most sensible RV point. Appreciate it’s not M5, but M54 A5 gets you away from the hell hole that is the M6 J8-J11 that seems to spawn an accident at least 50% of the time, plus the station is about 3mins drive from J5 M54.

Sorry I wasn’t very specific with my route and destination. Destination will be Betws-y-Coed/Capel Curig area, and I my intended route was M5-M6-M54-A5. I was thinking Birmingham would be a good bet for a decent regular sunday evening service.

However there are some good alternatives that I hadn’t really considered up there. Thanks for those.

Think I need to spend some time comparing train times/routes and driving times/route for various options to see what works.

I wouldn’t recommend meeting any further out of town than Longbridge – Bromsgrove is getting into longer train ride/less frequent service territory, the train station’s off the beaten track and hidden away from the main roads, and the traffic is frequently bobbins (honestly, for a nothing town it’s a sodding nightmare traffic-wise). In contrast, Longbridge gets regular, quick service from BNS and is both fast and easy to get to from the motorway – in fact, if you go to Northfield, there’s tons of parking, only two or three minutes’ drive from Longbridge and it’s a stop less out of town for your bloke travelling out of New Street. Northfield – that’s what I’d recommend for you. 🙂 New Street should be no bother to get to on Sunday.

First time I’ve ever heard of Northfield being recommended for anything… 😆

How about Birmingham International?, just off the M42, J6 with A45, change at Oxford for BHI, nice and easy.

2nd for BHi and then M42/M6 toll to avoid all the traffic (and make progress) to M6/M54

BHX train station would indeed work but driving around three sides of Brum rather than skirting past just one seems like a lot of extra miles and exposure to Birmingham commuter traffic than just zipping up M5, or indeed winding cross country through Kiddy/A442 and missing the Brum black hole altogether. Exposure to potential sitting on stationary traffic joy would surely be increased threefold.

First time I’ve ever heard of Northfield being recommended for anything…

It’s not without caveats – my scruffy old Corsa got broken into there on New Year’s Eve…. 🙁

Re BHI, for my money M42 on a Friday afternoon is not traffic avoidance (specially from Brizzle, that’s the long way round Brum).

North field can be a pig in traffic around those lights.

As an area frankley if a far superior area of town 😯 😀

If intent on doing M5/M6 then I’d say Bromsgrove station is the best/nearest M5, plus you’ll hit this before the heaviest of traffic.

Go to Barnt Green, much more frequent trains and it’s well posh & I live nearby, 5 mins from jct4m5 3 mins from jct2M42 both will link to the M6. Then sit on the M5/M6 for about 2 hours and move about 2 miles*

* this will happen where ever you start from