Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)
  • Padstow from Derby this Saturday
  • marcus
    Free Member

    So what do we reckon, leave midnight on Fri, 3.00 on Saturday morning, or just 11.30 and hope everyone else decided to go at silly o’clock ? Anyone want to take bets on journey time ? T5 (obvs) with a 10yo and 12yo, who like to tag team toilet breaks. It’s gonna be hell.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Doing Manchester – Gorran Haven in a couple of weeks.

    The plan is to leave at 3:30am. Breakfast at Exeter Services by 7:30 am. Tintagel by 10:00am to have a look at the castle and the final 40 miles late in the afternoon as we can’t get into the accommodation until 6:00pm.

    Tried this a couple of years ago. Sailing past the M5/M4 intersection at 70mph around 6:00am was an absolute delight! We were sat at a friend’s house in St Ives by 10:00am.

    revs1972
    Free Member

    Empty sunny delight bottles take care of the toilet breaks, one advantage of a van is the kids can piss on the go 😉

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    jekkyl
    Full Member

    Saturday after schools kick out! 🤣🤣🤣

    tcomc1000
    Free Member

    I just travelled from Truro to helston and already the tourists are blocking up the roads ( not surprising given the glorious weather.)
    If you are coming down I suggest planning on bringing bikes/walking everywhere. This summer is going to be the busiest down here in many a year.
    My top tip would be to leave in the dead of night for food /beer shops as well as the drive, the amount of randoms wandering aimlessly around supermarket aisles makes you want to weep.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    My top tip would be to leave in the dead of night for food /beer shops as well as the drive, the amount of randoms wandering aimlessly around supermarket aisles makes you want to weep.

    i swear they made the aisles in padstow tesco the width such that two tourists won’t pass each other. locals are fine…

    i made the mistake of taking the lane from constantine to porthcothan the other day instead of going the long way round, I think I spent more time going backwards than forwards.

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    I’d take the Cross Country Voyager train from Derby straight to Bodmin then get a taxi or the bus up to Padstow. The roads are going to be hell.

    We’re heading to Falmouth in September and will be taking the Caledonian Sleeper to London then the GWR service west. We did it last year and got about on bikes, on trains, on foot and on ferries. We got up to places like St Ives just fine. Any gear we needed like kayaks or paddle boards we rented. It was really restful compared to how we did it from Matlock in the past, getting up at 5 and sitting in traffic all week every time we went somewhere.

    jekkyl
    Full Member

    Have you thought about getting a cheapy hotel for the Friday night, Somewhere nr Weston-super-Mare ish? Then you could set off at like 8 or 9 on the Friday then a lovely cooked breakfast for the shorter trip down on Saturday morning.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    i made the mistake of taking the lane from constantine to porthcothan the other day

    I was at Constantine yesterday morning :). Arrived at 9am, field car park was pretty much full by 11.30 when we left, with folk still pouring in.

    Back home in sunny Yorkshire now. They were queuing south on the M5 on and off for already. I do not envy anyone heading down that way on Saturday, even with a 3am start. Next six to eight weeks are going to be challenging for the locals!

    Have you thought about getting a cheapy hotel for the Friday night, Somewhere nr Weston-super-Mare ish?

    Good luck! Just looked (out of interest) for a Premier Inn family room for that night. Nothing doing.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    I was at Constantine yesterday morning :). Arrived at 9am, field car park was pretty much full by 11.30 when we left, with folk still pouring in.

    i only nipped up there to pick some wax up. took nearly an hour to do the 6 mile round trip.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    You’ll have to use your super-secret surf spots for the rest of the summer. Or not leave the house.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    i just get up earlier than everyone else. not uncommon to be in the water at 5am this time of year.

    greentricky
    Free Member

    I did Derby to Tiverton (M5 J27) on Saturday, left at 9am and arrived at 2pm with about 15mins of stops, would expect another two-three hours on that to Padstow, either go early or late, only took 3.15mins to get back in the evening.

    If you need cheap fuel on the way my go to’s that are within 2mins of a motorway junction are Tesco at Shirley on M42, Asda at Cribs Causeway and Sainsburys at Taunton.

    Spud
    Full Member

    We should have done Nottingham to Padstow on Saturday, but a positive tested child means we’re delayed to Tuesday. Last year we did the run in around 6.5 hours leaving at 7:00am, towing the caravan, on a week days it’s 6ish and that’s with a couple of stops with the dogs. Contrast to getting to Braunton at Whit for the week and that was nearly 9 hours, for 65 less miles simply due to traffic volumes. Friend of ours who lives in Hollywell Bay, said it’s crackers down there and has been for weeks and looks like worsening, site we’re on said the same.

    superstu
    Free Member

    I live in east Devon. The last couple of Fridays and one Saturday there have been accidents on the southern parts of the M5 (Taunton, Cullumpton, Exeter) causing traffic to come onto the already car park like A303/A30.

    Dead of night would be my call.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    After many years of doing derby to padstow it’s always a nightmare. Usually go the night before and stop in premier inn on the way down. Had the odd lucky journey but also had some real humdingers including a 10hr nightmare.but what you going to do? Got to just chance it.

    richardoftod
    Full Member

    Try the Fosse Way (The Romans knew what they were doing!), M1 – Leicester – M69 – B4455 / A429 / A303 Honniton / A30 used to use this road to the South West for work beats M6/M5 hands down, gets busy on A303/A30, but you are going to meet some of that traffic anyway.

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    To add to the @munrobiker plan, courier your luggage to the destination ahead of time to make the public transport just a bikes and people affair.

    IHN
    Full Member

    Have you thought about getting a cheapy hotel for the Friday night, Somewhere nr Weston-super-Mare ish?

    Yeah, or do you know anyone who lives in, say, Gloucestershire, who could give you a bed for the night? 😉

    jimfrandisco
    Free Member

    I live down south, so even though Cornwall is hours away, I can understand why people go.
    But because I’ve always lived down south, I’ve not experienced much of the north and haven’t holidayed in the north since I was a kid – so I’m genuinely interested to know why people drive all the way from Yorkshire (and further) to get down to Cornwall.
    Is it the warmer weather, the scenery alone, is it because its more tourist friendly or is there nothing that quite compares up north?

    As I say, genuinely interested. We’re in Dorset again this summer, but I’m looking to go the other direction later in the year.

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    Is it the warmer weather, the scenery alone, is it because its more tourist friendly or is there nothing that quite compares up north?

    Have you ever been swimming in the North Sea!? 🙂

    It’s flipping cold and a muddy brown – nothing like the crystal clear waters of Cornwall and Devon.

    I’m from land-locked Derbyshire and we’re off to Cornwall in Sept when the kids have gone back to school.

    It’s usually Cornwall, Devon or Pembrokeshire for us. Yorkshire is great though, the water just isn’t as appealing.

    chevychase
    Full Member

    One of these is the correct answer, having just done it:

    “leave midnight on Fri, 3.00 on Saturday morning”

    Anything else? Welcome to hell.

    superstu
    Free Member

    Lol at suggesting the A303 / A30 is better than the M5. Like being asked if you want to be punched in the face or kicked in the nuts. Honestly I am driving the A303 and M5 a lot and they’re both just grim on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. This year is worse than previous.

    I spent 6 hours getting from Selborne to Honiton a couple Fridays back. That’s a 2.5 hour journey in “normal” traffic.

    Very early travelling always going to be the winner in summer.

    scamperjenkins
    Free Member

    Meeting the in laws at Gloucester services Thursday to drop the kids off. Hate the trip as I can see the nice queues on the M5 south bound which I know I’ve got to then join. Last half term it was a 9 hr round trip from Plymouth.

    The south hams is going to be rammed this summer.

    marcus
    Free Member

    Well, it appears that the journey will now take until Wednesday due to quarrantining children. – On the brightside, at least the traffic should be ‘slightly’ better midweek.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Did anyone attempt M6/M5/A30 last Saturday?

    stumpyjon
    Full Member

    On the way to North Devon from Manchester to see my Mum, would normally do it out of season but Covid. It’s been slow so far and not got to the touristy bit of the M5 yet…..

    stumpyjon
    Full Member

    And now I remember why I don’t visit my Mum that often, seven and a half hours, could’ve been worse, M6 got closed after we came through.

    Cletus
    Free Member

    I spent last week in a holiday rental in Brixham. The rental ran from Sunday to Sunday which was ideal from a traffic point of view.

    Left Cheltenham on Sunday at 07:30 and got to Exeter with no delays then headed to Dartmoor to go walking as our rental was not available until 4pm.

    We returned on the following Sunday leaving Brixham just before 9am and again the journey was very easy with no traffic delays.

    Conclusion: travel on a day other than Friday, Saturday or Monday 🙂

    danmac
    Free Member

    We travelled from Droitwich to Newquay on Monday 12th. Left at 5am, arrived just after 9 including a loo break break for the kids. Travelled back this evening, leaving Newquay at 5.30pm and getting home at 10.15pm including a Burger King at Exeter services. Whats this traffic people are speaking of?!

    Seriously though… The first week we were in Cornwall it wasn’t too bad. Last week was utter carnage getting parked anywhere. We sat for over an hour to get parked at Holywell Bay on Sunday, and that was at 9am!

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Manchester to Boscastle yesterday. Left at 3:30am and was to there just after 9:00.

    Been walking around Mevagssey today. Not many cars at all.

    Staying in Gorran Haven which is very quiet. Perfect!

    kelvin
    Full Member

    Not been that busy anywhere this weekend. Last week was a very different story!

    DavidB
    Free Member

    I spent last week in a holiday rental in Brixham. The rental ran from Sunday to Sunday which was ideal from a traffic point of view.

    Bloody grockles .. our town is currently rammed with you lot 😀

    jkomo
    Full Member

    Taunton hotel Friday night.
    We had a day at Wooky hole, then stayed nearby then drove the rest smug as you like.
    Easy drive in at nine.

    kelvin
    Full Member

    Oh… avoid Plymouth if you’ve yet to come down, they’re working on the bridge and it’s currently the slow route to escape that other county.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Oh… avoid Plymouth

    Not just for the holidays…

    marcus
    Free Member

    Well we left at 04.00 on the Wednesday after quarantining. Drinking tea on the campsite by 09.00.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Got back today. Left at 5:15am and was home for 11:45. 336 miles. I’ll take that!

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    Last Friday, left Wadebridge at midday, got back into Stafford, after two short piss stops, 8pm. Quite glad that I was driving an automatic.
    We were at a festival. A few years ago they had it on the Devon / Cornwall border. Headliners were Cream and the Jam.
    Couldn’t decide which to put on first.

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