M40 is 10 miles further than the M1, and has only 3 lanes. IIRC the M1 roadworks are pretty much sorted.
IME Christmas Eve is a good day to travel, and I'd hope not to see any traffic. Leaving about 2.30pm.
What do you think?
(The train is sadly a non-starter.)
There are those roadworks on the A40 somewhere around Ealing which are miserable. Alternatively one queues on the A41 up Hendon Way.
Is anything happening on the M1?
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My mother-in-law regularly drives from J2 of M1 to north Manchester to visit us. Unless any specific traffic issues her usual route is standard M1, M6 (using M6 Toll Road - it is shorter and quicker) and then depending on where in Manchester is her first stop it is either off at J19 of M6 to reach south or east side of M60 or up to J21A of M6 to M62 to reach west and north side of M60.
Would expect little heavy goods traffic on Christmas Eve so should be a decent trip, weather permitting.
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>>M40 is 10 miles further than the M1,
>>There are those roadworks on the A40 somewhere around Ealing which are miserable..
>>
If you plan to use the M40 an alternative to get there from Baker St might be A4 / M4 to J8/9 and the A404 (M) up to J4 of the M40.
I would expect this route to flow a little easier but there might be a queue up the hill to J4.
Any other road warriors out there who can comment?
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Would you mind staying off the M25 please, whatever your decision..thank you.... a North London to Wiltshire journey beckons and i'm not looking forward to it...one less car would be a bonus.
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The M25 from J15 (M4) to J16 (M40) has been behaving better recently; I presume the widening work beyond J16 has reached a stage where the tailbacks it causes are no longer long enough to affect M40 traffic. It was pretty grim from June to October; now I'd expect it to take you a maximum of 20 minutes and probably much less.
The M4-A404(M) route is a last resort for me; I'm usually happily homeward bound on the M40 while BBC Berkshire is reporting trouble on the Slough stretch of the M4.
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I shall keep off the M25 if it's the last road in the world!
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I too would be shooting down the M4 to M25 and up one to M40, then keeping my ears open to see which way to scoot round Brum bearing in mind i dislike paying the M6toll rip off.
Pretty sure the M6 roadworks between 4 and 5 will all be gone by Christmas Eve.
If you decide M1 there should be nothing wrong up to jct 25 and it does have the advantage of leaving you with further options should the M6 be chaos around 12 to 16 which it sometimes is....A50 to Stoke or even across from Sheffield via Woodhead as a last resort.
safe one.
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Keep off the roads and jump on our trains and use our fantastic public transport, never late always comfy and warm, "let the train take the strain".!!
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Bigtee, you are the Eurostar Public Relations department and I claim my five pounds.
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...I too would be shooting down the M4 to M25 and up one to M40...
Baker Street runs roughly between Oxford Street (Portman Square) and Marylebone Road, which runs seamlessly into the A40 Westway.
To go north west to Manchester, why would someone first go south west to get down onto the A4/M4, only to turn north again.
Or have I missed something?
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Baker Street runs roughly between Oxford Street (Portman Square) and Marylebone Road which runs seamlessly into the A40 Westway.
Quite right , but from the bottom end of Baker St it's only about half a mile down Park lane (Grosvenor Sq much quicker even by car transporter;-) to Knightsbridge which is the A4, not as MM will use that route i imagine he will be ducking and diving around any jams using his own preferred back ways maybe taking advantage of the 3 lane Westway till the last minute.
Unless it's changed the section past Westway is a nightmare and best avoided.
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>>gordonbennet I agree with you. Use the Westway and then down to the M4
Many more miles of fast roads.mn
Radio reporting M40 closed in one direction and later closed in the oposite direct in order to
remove icicles from a bridge. I have not come across that reason before.
Hopefully it will be a quick job.
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I don't have any clever alternatives to the A40 westway/western avenue, and should love to hear them! It's a part of town I avoid like the plague.
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I imagine Lud will be your man here MM, what he won't know about ducking and diving.
In a transporter, i'd use the Westway as far as the A41M and drop down to the A4 from the bottom of that via the Holland Park roundabout, Addison Rd and Warwick gardens.
Though the section round Warwick Gardens can be congested, thats Lud's territory and he'll be along at some point to chastise me no doubt;-)
All of that is subject to the section past Western Ave being a pita and you may well find the traffic not too bad and can just sail on through, you won't know till the day....the trouble being you can't see the queue till you're committed over the top of Scrubs Lane.
There may well be roads running parallel to Western Ave rejoining the A40 at Acton, but someone local will have to help you there, didn't take too many chances with the truck down those, 7ft width limits dotted round tend to hold my gallop.
Edited by gordonbennet on 21/12/2009 at 10:27
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I can't help you with the London end, but I do the Windsor to Cheshire (J16 M6) commute every week and I do use the dreaded (on here anyway it seems!) M4-A404 (M)-M40 route and I never have any problems (other than a dislike of 50 average limits and suchlike!). I usually drive down on a Monday 5.30am ish and get to work before 9 and I usually go home on a Friday about 6ish. The Oxford roadworks are a pain, but were absolutely clear this morning. I think I may have been very lucky this morning on the M40 by the sound of it...! There was a fair bit of traffic between the A404 junction and Slough but it was moving at least.
Last Thursday when I came back, I went to Hayes Toys R Us before I came back, so thought I would try the M4-M25-M40 route instead of A404. Queued for ages... this was at about 3.30pm! The rest of the journey was fairly clear.
I tend to use the toll road on my morning journeys and the normal M6 on my evenings... firstly not a desperate need to get back of an evening but also normal M6 seems to get very rammed on a Monday morning and it is not too bad at 8pm on a Thursday or a Friday!
Merry Xmas week to everyone.
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>>gordonbennet
I agree KISS. Your route is simple. Spot on with your comments.
>>In a transporter, i'd use the Westway as far as the A41M and drop down to the A4....a
Just to avoid ny confusion the A41M is no more.
Renamed A3220 West Cross Route. This was to allow the mob to visit the big Westfield shopping site.
A like the M4 A404 route.
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Just to avoid ny confusion the A41M is no more. Renamed A3220 West Cross Route. This was to allow the mob to visit the big Westfield shopping site.
Love it...if they left the blessed road numbers alone there wouldn't be any confusion.
best one is the A45 from M1 jct15 (used to be A45 at jct16 and it still is as far as i can see), used to be A508 from jct15 which it is....then A45 went from Northampton all the way to Felixstowe via Higham ferrers, St Neots, Cambridge, Stowmarket and Ipswich.
They've mucked around with that roads numbering so many times, it's impossible for an old time truck jockey to discuss with a new one where they are talking about.
The A14 used to run from Huntingdon to Royston, the road from Huntingdon to Cambridge used to be the A604.
Why can't they leave things alone?
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In two minds as to M1 or M4.
Addison gardens appears to be one way in the wrong direction?
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Addison gardens appears to be one way in the wrong direction?
Addison Road is one way south towards the A4. Just follow the flow:-)
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In two minds as to M1 or M4.
Why not keep an eye on google traffic for a few hours before you are due to leave London and make your choice on a best risk basis.
This exact secenario is why i'm so annoyed that Trafficmaster are turning off the existing YQ signal system next year.
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This is what you did last year, following lots of votes for the M40:
"Kind of you all to ask. A40 was clear up until a 2 mile solid section before the roadworks where there's a 20 limit. So I diverted through Acton/Ealing. I don't know how clever it was, in retrospect (or even at the time) but I was at home drinking tea within 3h 45 minutes of leaving the office."
Now that the tinpot tyrants have finished digging up the M1 (and transferred their little toys to J24-28) I'd have thought this might be worth a try (followed by M6 and M6 toll or alternatively A50).
Edited by Avant on 21/12/2009 at 22:54
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Thanks, Avant - I did look for last year's thread! M1 I think it will be.
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