I have to go to a conference in Bath on Friday from Leics - need to be there by 9.30 and it finishes about 3.30/4.00pm. What's the best route??
Obvious one is M69, M6(N), M42 round south of Birmingham, M5, M4 east to A46 then A46 into Bath.
But via Michelin suggests M69 then continuing onto A46 past Coventry, to Warwick, then A429 to Cirencester, then Chippenham (bit of A350) then A4 to Bath.
I have also wondered about M69 to J1, then the Old Fosse Way (B4455) down past Coventry, RLBS, before joining A429 just north of Shipston on Stour then to Cirencester etc.
Any opinions?? I know you all like proving you are better route planners than viaMichelin, Mappy, AA, TomTom etc!!
I'm prepared to set off very early to get a relatively quiet journey (some hope!!)and would prefer not to be stuck on motorways in crawling traffic for hours on the way back(fat chance at that time on a Friday)!!
Phil
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I cannot help with your route but...
There was a recent item about traffic problems getting into Bath
Travelling to Bath - nightmare !!
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=35730
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I regularly travel from Hinckley to Bristol particularly on a Friday. I always use the motorway route you describe and it takes me about 1.5 to 1.75 hours. I always aim to be on the M42 past Solihull before 7.00am and rarely have I had severe problems. The other route is far more scenic and less boring but I would suggest would take some 30 mins longer. As HK says allow plenty of time to get around Bath....
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I'm no expert but here's my twopennorth anyway. The obvious route is the motorway one you mention. I've gone south-west that way a few times without problems, but not at the times you mention. My only tip is not to be fooled into thinking your car is disintegrating on the M42.
The Fosse Way (A429 then B4455) is quite a nice road, and I returned from Gloucestershire to Leicester that way earlier this year. I don't know what the daytime traffic is like as I travelled late at night. I do know that changed priorities have made the road quite hard to follow in places, and you have to make quite a determined effort to stay on it. I managed it until I was within about 15 miles of Leicester when a large green sign conned me into joining the M69. I'm sure it is possible to follow the Fosse Way all the way into Leicester but I've never quite worked out how.
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Stick to the Michelin route there n back, especially as you will be travelling on a Friday. Leave at 6ish & beat the majority of rush hour traffic by the time you reach Bath. As you said, motorway travel on a Friday is a big no-no.
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Bath is particulalrly bad at the moment as they're doing some road resurfacing :-(
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Hi i live in Bath and would drive to Leicester using the motorway route, unless i was not in hurry and it was a nice sunny day, then i'd use the Fosse Way. Motorway it is then
Where in Bath is the conference? If you post, i can give you a better handle of how to get there e.g. it's sometimes easier to get off M4 at J.19 M32 and go round the Bristol ring road, it really does depend where it is.
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Thanks mare (and others who have contributed) the conference is at OCR, Minerva House, Lower Bristol Road, Bath, BA2 9ER
"Motorway it is then" let's hope the snowploughs have been out early - or that the met office is wrong!!
Phil
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M1 south to Rothersthorpe/Northampton services. A43 south west (around Silverstone) until it joins M40 south. M40 south for about 5 mins then leave on A34 to Oxford. At Oxford take A420 south west to Swindon - this could be the slow bit. Join M4 junction 15 at Swindon. Leave M4 at J18 and take A46 to Bath. I reckon about two hours.
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Oh yeah, haven't heard it called that, but i think it's the three / four storey office building.
Best to trace this on aroad map:
If coming down M5, suggest left onto M4,
off at Junc 19 to M32, get in left lane and stay there, follow it round to Junction 1 of M32, stay in left lane, marked Kingswood A4174.
Down slip road, left at traffic light controlled roundabout, join dual carriageway (A4174). Follow this road through 1 traffic lights, 3 traffic light controlled roundabout, 2 further roundabouts, 1 more TL roundabout, and 3 more roundabouts. Then long stretch of dual carriageway (2 miles) down to Hicks Gate roundabout.
Left at Hicks Gate onto A4 Keynsham bypass (dual carriageway).
Follow A4 (single carriageway) through Saltford. Slight delay. Speed Camera at bottom of hill. c.1 mile open road until roundabout with A39. Turn left onto Dual Carriageway (A4) into Bath.
At end of dual carriageway, go straight on the A36. (A4 branches off to left). Minerva House is on your left a few hundred yards.
If for whatever reason leaving M4 at junction 18, take A46 to Bath. After small village of Pennsylvania, turn right onto A420 for Bristol. Turn left at staggered crossroads and down v.narrow road. At T junction turn left, carry on up the hill. Past the race course (if you can see it), after the Blathwayt Arms take the right to Weston (village, not super Mare). Down very steep hill with school crossing. Just after pedestrian crossing take right singposted Bristol (again) which is Penn Hill Road. At end turn left, then next right down Newbridge Hill. At bottom of hill turn right (good luck!) and follow A4 to junction with A36, crossing the Avon as you do so. Turn left at the lights onto A36 and destination a few hundred yards.
Or a third way. Get off J18, follow A420 to Warmley and pick up Bristol Ring Road (A4174) there and follow to the A4.
Really, do not try and go through town, especially if you value your sanity on a Friday afternoon!
If you get there early, there is a Mc Donalds about half a mile further on the A36 on the left.
HTH.
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mare,
better than viaMichelin, Autoroute and Mappy combined! printed out for reference.
Hope to hit that McD's for breakfast if I make good time!!
Thanks also to marc for suggestion -
Phil
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mare, better than viaMichelin, Autoroute and Mappy combined! printed out for reference. Hope to hit that McD's for breakfast if I make good time!! Thanks also to marc for suggestion - Phil
Welcome. For where you're going, coming in off the A4 somehow will be least hassle and direct. The main problem is getting across the river Avon, which the A4174 does painlessly.
Can't really offer any comment on which route to go on a Friday Afternoon. Ordinarily, I would say M4/M5, but it can get snarled up at the interchange. A tweak to Marc's route is to carry on down the A34 and pick up the M4, more miles but that A420 is very slow and a bit confusing at the Swindon end.
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