I'm taking a lwb Transit full of furniture & assorted stuff to my brother in Leicester next week and am pondering the best route.
Usually I'll head down the A1 (or A68 then A1) and take it from there, but I was wondering about taking the M74 M6 and maybe even M6 toll this time.
The idea is that usually I'm travelling in the car, but this time it's a large(ish) van and the M6 route might be less of a chore.
I don't think theres a big difference in mileage.
Route starts Edinburgh and will be daytime Thursday one way, Friday return.
Any thoughts??
Thanks.
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M74, M6 then M6 jct 15 A50 Stoke to M1 down to Leicester.
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I've done this journey a few times (both routes) and there's not a lot in it in terms of time. The M6 route adds a little extra distance, but the difference is trivial as a proportion of the total miles.
The one drawback of the M6 route is the time you're bound to lose time in the congested bit, which seems to start north of Manchester and then starts to thin out south of Warrington.
As cumfray1 points out, there's probably no point in staying on the M6 after Stoke: you'll just end up in another busy bit of the motorway network in the West Midlands. The A50 can be busy, but it is a fairly decent dual carriageway all the way to the M1.
To start the journey, the A702 from Edinburgh to the M74 is a nice road but not a terribly fast one.
One other possibility: the A7 provides a lovely scenic route through the borders, joining the motorway near Carlisle. Taking it adds time to the journey, but the difference isn't as great as you might think, and it will make up for some of the boredom of spending so much time on motorways.
The A1/M1 route would might give you a more consistent speed but I'd guess it'll probably be a little slower overall.
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The A7 is a wonderful route but what you are really doing, if you go via the M6, is crossing the country from one side to the other and then back.
What's more if you attempt it coming back on a Friday then it will prove the worst possible day to do so - traffic jams are commonplace all along the M6.
I used to go to Leicester from the North West coast via the M6 and then the M69 but, fortunately it was always at weekends so wasn't too bad traffic wise.
The A50, as mentioned above, is an excellent dual carriageway and, if you did decide to use the M6, would cut out the Midlands snarl ups.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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The A7 is a wonderful route but what you are really doing, if you go via the M6, is crossing the country from one side to the other and then back.
True, but it's a pretty narrow country when you're in the Scottish borders, or the far north of England! There's probably only about 30 miles difference in terms of distance. (My A7 detour might add a bit more!)
I seem to remember someone pointing out (maybe even here) that although Edinburgh is on the east coast, it's actually west of Bristol.
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Yes, Edinburgh is actually west of Carlisle!
Maybe I'll take the A7 for a bit of variety. I don't think I've been south of Gala on the A7 before.
I am a bit concerned about possible jams on Friday, but I hope to get out of Leicester at 9 or 10 am in an effort to avoid the worst of it.
Thanks .
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Another good way is to head out of Edinburgh as if you are taking the A702 but take the A703 and then A701 to Moffat (you can avoid Penicuik by taking a left after the Bush roundabout)
Its a great drive even in a transit
I do it every week or so and it is quicker than the A702/M74 as you don't get many trucks
Also as a regular user of the M6 and A1, I would say the M6 is quicker
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Thanks one and all.
I took the A701 - M74 - M6 - A50 - M1
A701 was an excellent tip, nice drive and very quiet.
A50 was good too - and afforded the opportunity to get fuel at non-motorway prices!
Would definitely use the same route again.
Cheers!
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