M25 is 20 years old today.
tinyurl.com/y4kk4f
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And already past it... typical of the Sun not to give its length (119 miles I think, but the clockwise carriageway must be longer really)... Always quite fancied a race round it, with or without traffic, but I suppose with wd be a bit risky, not danger-risky but legal-risky... To me the Porsche 911 driver who reached 147 on it is a bit of a hero if also a bit of an idiot...Perhaps it could be closed for an annual event.
It can get quite busy but seems to me very useful, and usually works when I want it to.
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119 miles I think,
::pedant hat on::
117 I think you'll find ;o)
::pedant hat off::
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:: Pedant hat on::
118, actually ;-)
:: leaves pedant hat on::
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:: Pedant hat on:: 118, actually ;-) :: leaves pedant hat on::
knocks it off and limps away
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118, actually ;-)
Not according to the link posted below, and also a google search.
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Oh really? Well my big book of 101 Interesting Facts About Motorway Lengths has it down as 118 pal. So please keep your pedant hat off and allow me one time shot at being right.
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That sounded harsh - there was meant to be a smiley face thing in there.
Seeing as it's you - :-)
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has it down as 118 pal.
Well, up to you if you must take the scenic route.
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Ah, but is it an average or just someone running round one carriageway or the other wearing a pedometer? There must be a small percentage dirfference surely?
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Get your tape measure (make sure it's a long one) and I'll meet you down there in 3 hours.
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">Chris and Sue Glazier, of Ashford, Kent, chose to spend their wedding night driving the M25.<"
!!
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They must be fascinating party guests.
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A far more interesting analogy of the M25 is found here.
www.iht.org/motorway/londonm25.htm
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That website is the first and probably interesting thing about the M25.
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That website is the first and probably interesting thing about the M25.
No, the most interesting thing about the M25 is that it forms the shape of the dread sigil Odegra.
And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you absolutely have to read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, fantastic book.
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A far more interesting analogy of the M25 is found here. www.iht.org/motorway/londonm25.htm
>>
".......This route was just over one hundred miles in length compared with the 117 miles of the M25."
But
www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/338.aspx says
"The M25 is 118 miles long ...and The M25 has 10,606 lights along its length and 2959 illuminated signs "
The Gov knows best?
also contains other "Key facts about England's motorways and trunk roads" if you want to know that.
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I suppose its longer in summer than winter due to expansion,where would you measure it a ring using the central reservation ,the outer rim of the outer hard shoulder ,+/- 1% on the best measuring instruments I suppose its pretty impossible to give an exact measurement I think time is the best measurement for this road so it is constantly varying which will make everbody correct..
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never really enjoyed Grand Prix racing , but if the powers that be, decided they would close the M25 for a day, and the British race was held on the M25- even I would watch, plenty of overtaking possible, the cops could have a field day and the speed cameras working overtime and with only one pit lane at the Dartford tunnel, it could be the most exciting event ever.
re actual length depends on whether it's inside lane of anti clockwise from Dartford Tunnel or inside lane of clockwise, probably by at least a few miles
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Still awaiting RF's tales of his youth spent bombing round it in a Capri...
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In a single continuous wheelspinning tail-out slide I trust... of course there was less traffic then.
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Still awaiting RF's tales of his youth spent bombing round it in a Capri...
20 years ago RF had given up the Capri's. It was best when it was disjointed sections. M3 to A3 was a disjointed section, that went nowhere and was a regular RF santa pod in whatever exotica he could borrow or cadge. The real speed demons however always used the disjointed down hill section from Reigate Hill (J8) to the M23. Anything would breech the ton down that bit.
Yes RF has done the full M25 in less than an hour, the best I think was 57minutes.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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120mph average.... er, pull the other one TVM.
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yup.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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never really enjoyed Grand Prix racing , but if the powers that be, decided they would close the M25 for a day, and the British race was held on the M25- even I would watch, plenty of overtaking possible, the cops could have a field day and the speed cameras working overtime and with only one pit lane at the Dartford tunnel, it could be the most exciting event ever. re actual length depends on whether it's inside lane of anti clockwise from Dartford Tunnel or inside lane of clockwise, probably by at least a few miles
Not sure - if you assume the road is roughly circular, the difference will only be twice the distance between the two carriageways times PI.
So if the total width of both carriageways is (say) 200 metres on average (and I suspect it is probably less), the difference in distance will only be about 1250 metres; it's likely to be less than a mile difference in length between clockwise and anit-clockwise.
I'm sure someone has actually driven round to measure it both ways, though.
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I'm sure I can recall coaches full of yokels arriving to view the wonderous that was the new M25.
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wonderous? No, wonderousness .... ness.
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wonderous? No, wonderousness .... ness.
Err...How about 'wonder'?
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">Err...How about 'wonder'?<"
Yes, that as well ;-)
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I'm sure I saw that on TV as well, Micky, IIRC it was some coach company from Gloucestershire way, must have made an exciting day out as I think it was before the services were built, lots of crossed legs??
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I can remember, as a kid, going with a coachload of yokels to see the wonderousnessness of Heathrow airport ;-) We saw Lockheed Constellations and a new thing called a De Havilland Comet. Such innocence.
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I recall as a kid visiting London and eating at one of the first McDonalds in the UK. How us ignorant yokels marvelled.
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I recall as a kid visiting London and eating at one of the first McDonalds in the UK.
In the UK, McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Woolwich, SE London, in 1974
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">In the UK, McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Woolwich, SE London, in 1974<"
Yes, the greatest food franchise in the world opens its first outlet in the greatest metropolis in the world, and they choose Woolwich. the armpit of SE London. Or is that Thamesmead? At least Thamesmead had/has the spine road, which enabled the intrepid explorer to leave Thamesmead in a hurry once the lack of intelligent life had been confirmed. It's probably infested with scameras these days.
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late 1980, Golders Green Mc D's........got laughed out the place when I asked for the knife and fork...cos I was only used to provincial towns and they only had Wimpys.
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