M25 Advice

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 16:15
M25 Advice - jamie745

Hello all. Bit of advice required from those unfortunate enough to travel Europe's biggest car park more regularly than myself. Next Sunday ive been roped into taking somebody to Portsmouth, cut a long story short on a Sunday is it best to use the M25 during the day or in the evening? Presumably on a Sunday it shouldnt be too bad either way. The route is from Suffolk to Portsmouth so obviously London is like a great big block of cheese in the way.

Now as far as im aware the shortest route would be A12 - M25 - A3 down to Portsmouth. Or the less desirable alternative is to go straight through London which is a stupid idea and im not doing that.

Thoughts?

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 16:30
M25 Advice - veryoldbear

Probably not too bad. I shall out there early a.m. doing A1(M) to Heathrow, so I'll wave.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 16:43
M25 Advice - daveyjp

Sunday evenings can lead to busy motorways - all those who have escaped London for the weekend are going home.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 16:47
M25 Advice - jamie745

Ideally id do it at the crack of dawn on Sunday as i have a 12 hour shift on the following Monday so i can do without being held up on the way back especially. Not sure the people involved will like that plan but they might have to just compromise.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 17:12
M25 Advice - Roly93

Shouldn't be too much of a problem on Sunday at almost any time up to late afternoon I would do exactly what you suggested..

Now if you were going in this direction at 08:00 on a weekday, my suggestion may be a different one !! Traffic is usually near stationary near the A3 turnoff going clockwise.

Edited by Roly93 on 15/09/2011 at 17:14

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 17:26
M25 Advice - oldroverboy

Now Jamie,

NO RACING in the Hindhead tunnels......

average speed cameras now active!

And while we have your attention, can Avant organise an HJ forum rally?

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 17:35
M25 Advice - jamie745

average speed cameras now active!

Damn! Thats put a massive dent in a large portion of my plan.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 21:49
M25 Advice - Chris M

Some of your fellow motorists heading south down the A3 on Sunday morning may be driving some very desirable wheels - it's Goodwood Revival weekend.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 21:53
M25 Advice - jamie745

I should blend in nicely then!

I think the plan of action is going to be to get it done early before the sunday drivers come out but i know im going to be met with resistance from the person in question and his sister (who lives near me, its her birthday on the saturday, she'll be accompanying us back etc) as i know they'll want to go in the evening but i suppose you cant have everything.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:05
M25 Advice - Chris M

Sorry, I didn't realise you had bought a new car ;-)

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:09
M25 Advice - jamie745

Oh..funny. My sides hurt.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:06
M25 Advice - Avant

As the Irish would say 'don't start in Suffolk'.

Which way round the M25 you go depends on which part of Suffolk you are starting from. You can check Google Maps or similar for the route: if you're the A12 side of Suffolk as you imply, I'd imagine the south way will be shorter. There are tinpot tyrants digging up the road whichever way you go, unfortunately.

If you leave at 8 or 9 in the morning, you should be back before the worst of the London weekenders hit the road (and each other)

Portsmouth is a bit of a labyrinth, but there are regular signs to the ferries, oand on the way back the 'Out of City' signs are helpful. If you're not going to the ferries, take a satnav.

Edited by Avant on 15/09/2011 at 22:07

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:14
M25 Advice - jamie745

Thanks Avant ive never been to Portsmouth and no im not going to ferries, the Jag's sat nav doesnt work so i'll pull the Navman out of the cupboard and charge that up. Sounds like no matter what i do im going to be hampered by contraflows and average speed cameras which is hardly helpful.

The third way of course is the very long way round Milton Keynes, Oxford etc then down to Portsmouth but thats such a long way round thats a stupid idea as well and no quicker than if i got stuck on the M25.

I take it you travel the M25 frequently Avant?

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:24
M25 Advice - Avant

Yes - MK / A43 / A34 are too far north and west for Portsmouth. And the A42 west of MK is slow.

I know the M25 only too well, but fortunately on average only about twice a month.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:29
M25 Advice - jamie745

Im sure we'll be fine. After all this is what the S-Type is built for isnt it?! Getting from one part of the British mainland to another...very quickly and very comfortably!

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:29
M25 Advice - veryoldbear

No no no, don't even think of going MK, Oxford, A34. That way lies madness. You could have very long nap on the M25 and still get there earlier .... I live just south of Oxford and regularly visit daughter in Letchworth:

Cross country to M40, then M25, and Ai(M) = 1 hour 20 minutes best, worst 1hr 45 mins

Up to Oxford, Bicester, MK, then take your pick (possibly Luton) has taken me at least 2 hours every time.

Always assuming you get through MK without getting lost in the roundabout forest. Yeah verily, it is worse than Hemel Hempstead, and worse than Swindon. I have the scars, the mug and the tee-shirt ...

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:31
M25 Advice - jamie745

No no no, don't even think of going MK, Oxford, A34. That way lies madness. You could have very long nap on the M25 and still get there earlier

That was my thinking as well. Only marginally more insane than chancing it through central London to avoid the M25 (which is ironic as the M25 was built to avoid that) That thinking was also thought of at the same time that the sister is paying for the petrol which is jolly lovely.

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 22:59
M25 Advice - veryoldbear

There is another basic rule ...

Never go anywhere near BicesterShopping Village during shopping hours, even worse at weekends, terminally vile near holiday times.

See you the M25, old Saab estate driven by fuury old round person with a beard ...

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Thu 15 Sep 2011 23:29
M25 Advice - jamie745

You know we all mock the M25 but something like 200,000 vehicles use it in a day and the question is...where would they all go if the M25 wasnt there?

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 00:25
M25 Advice - bathtub tom

I'll assume you're coming down the A12?

If you get off at J30 (iirc) and take the A1306 East, then turn right at the A216, with a half decent map-reader you can avoid the queues for the Dartford crossing.

Why I am I not surprised you're an Essex boy ('kinell)?

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 00:37
M25 Advice - jamie745

The plan fell down at 'half decent map reader' my company will be someone in their second year of Uni and a woman who could get lost in a telephone box.

Nice tip though thanks ill look up if it is J30 and try that.

Im not particularly an Essex boy you'll be pleased to know, when i was younger i often got mocked for speaking very poshly. Or properly, as i chose to see it.

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 14:21
M25 Advice - Chris M

jamie745, how can you be "not particularly an Essex boy"? You either are or you are not.

I'm a Romford boy, my wife is a Romford girl and both of my sons were born in Romford. I'm neither proud nor ashamed of where I was born - I wasn't given a choice! We have all since escaped to Hampshire - much nicer!

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 14:26
M25 Advice - jamie745

I was born in North London when my mum was there on a visit and i was surprisingly early and ive never lived in Essex so that, in my opinion would add up to not being an Essex boy.

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 15:50
M25 Advice - grimep

I came round the M25 Essex -> A3 last Sunday around 18:30-19:00ish, it was OK. Just the usual queue at the toll, which wasn't too bad, make sure you've got £1.50 ready and stick to the right-hand auto-toll lanes. The manned booths tend to be slower as people are handing over £20s and wanting change. Motorways do tend to clog up Sunday evening with all the townies coming back, but the M25 seems fairly immune seeing as it doesn't really go anywhere.

My main beef with that section of road -SE section of M25- comes down to design. When the A21 peels off, you actually have to get into the left hand lane. So all the M25 traffic has to organise itself into what is basically a slip road. Cue lots of stupid driving. Then there's a sharp left, followed by a sharp right, and the M26 and A21 traffic joins on the left complete with lorries just off the ferry. Cue loads more stupid driving. Slow vehicles in the fast lane. People ignoring the left-most lanes. The usual M25 stuff but amplified. My theory is you've by now got so many angry drivers the next section, which is a pretty safe bit of road design-wise, is something of an accident blackspot.

Watch out for speed cameras in Portsmouth. I think there's the odd forward-facing one with infra-red, so it will get you before you realise its there... once in Portsmouth stick to the speed limits. The A3 is a dream now the tunnel's there. Guildford->Portsmouth, 40 mins.

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 18:28
M25 Advice - Bobbin Threadbare

Why I am I not surprised you're an Essex boy ('kinell)?

It's not a surprise is it? He'll argue till he's blue in the face but he's so close to the border that it might as well be Essex. :-P

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Fri 16 Sep 2011 18:15
M25 Advice - ianhad2

The biggest car park is the M20, when the ports are closed. Although it's actually a lorry park.

I have used the M25 regularly, and have rarely had a problem.

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Mon 19 Sep 2011 22:39
M25 Advice - Avant

Jamie's been quiet today. I fear he may still be trying to find his way out of Portsmouth. :)

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 00:28
M25 Advice - jamie745

Cheeky little....

Im not going until next Sunday, so dont expect to hear from me until the Tuesday after.

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 12:14
M25 Advice - Sofa Spud

The M25 isn't really any worse than other busy motorways. The variable speed limits sections are controlled by speed cameras, so 50 mph MEANS 50 mph, not 55!

Often it's better to slow down a bit and not try to rush round the M25 at 70 in the outside lane, that gets stressful.

Also don't be afraid or guilty about being a 'middle lane hog' on the M25. At some junctions the inside lane peels off to become a slip road. Also, if you're doing 65 and decide to pull over into lane 1, you'lll probably get stuck behind a clapped out Land Rover towing a horsebox at 42 mph for mile after mile!

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 12:30
M25 Advice - bathtub tom

>>Also don't be afraid or guilty about being a 'middle lane hog' on the M25. At some junctions the inside lane peels off to become a slip road.

These are all clearly signposted.

If you don't understand road signs, should you be driving?

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 15:44
M25 Advice - jamie745

'Christian motoring' doesnt really work on roads like the M25 which is a savage theatre of stress, rushing, violent seizing of terratory as everyone battles with each other with brutal blood soaked vengeance. Dont be afraid of hogging anything, survival of the fittest people.

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 16:08
M25 Advice - Collos25

M25 is no better or worse to many other roads throughout Europe if you cannot handle it you should not be driving.

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 16:13
M25 Advice - jamie745

AGAIN COLLOS ONLY POSTS TO CRITICISE ME

WHEN WILL YOU BAN HIM AVANT?!?!?!?!?!?

I never said i cant drive on a motorway i was asking when its busiest and when im most likely to end up in a jam. Idiot. Mind you why let little things like reading what i actually wrote get in the way of you slating me for no reason.

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Tue 20 Sep 2011 19:44
M25 Advice - Collos25

It was not meant as a critism of you but of all drivers who have problems on certain roads you are becoming bit sensitive calm down before you blow a fuse.

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