Roads for a quick blast from Zone 1 London
Discussion
Morning all
I live in Central London, close to Waterloo. Whilst this has plenty of advantages, I can't think of anywhere in the UK that is so poorly positioned for hopping in the car on an evening after work, or on a weekend morning, and going for a short blast along some decent roads. Cruising the Kings Road, or doing endless laps of Shaftesbury Avenue and Picadilly, is not my idea of a good drive
I have seen a number of threads on 'drives out of London' but nothing which specifically tackles routes from the very centre. Clearly a favourite 'quick and easy' route for someone living in Hammersmith isn't so handy for a Dulwich-dweller.
I'm confident that I'm not the only Zone 1 Pistonheader with this 'problem', so I thought it would be helpful to start this thread to allow us Zone 1 dwellers to share our favourite routes.
At the moment, to enjoy some proper driving, I find myself getting up and out in the car at 6am on a Saturday or Sunday morning. This means I can be outside the M25 and heading towards some fun/decent roads with 45 minutes. But as I struggled out of bed yesterday morning, I thought 'wouldn't it be nice if I could do this on an evening after work'. Maybe it's too much to ask - the price I pay for living in the geographical centre of such a large city. But I would love to find out if anyone has any secret escape routes from the centre of town. In particular, I'm wondering if the roads south-east of Croydon are any good, and how quickly/easily they can be accessed from Zone 1 - I'm not a huge fan of the A23. What awaits if I head out on the A2 towards Kent - does this open up any decent drives? Or even heading through the East End and up the M11 for a few junctions? Here are my usual Sunday morning routes:
1. Out along Embankment, A4, M4, A404 up to join the M40 at High Wycombe, off at Junction 5 M40 and then a blast around the Chilterns/up towards Thame, and further north if time allows. This is a great route - but it still takes close to an hour to get to the Junction 5 turn-off from Westminster, and for the fun to begin.
2. Out through Wandsworth, pick up the A3 heading towards Portsmouth. Take the Merrow turn-off just before Guildford, and pick up signs towards the A25 and Dorking. From here, any B road heading south towards Cranleigh. On a good run, I can get down to the A25 in just under an hour - but again, this requires leaving Zone 1 before 6.30am.
Cheers
I live in Central London, close to Waterloo. Whilst this has plenty of advantages, I can't think of anywhere in the UK that is so poorly positioned for hopping in the car on an evening after work, or on a weekend morning, and going for a short blast along some decent roads. Cruising the Kings Road, or doing endless laps of Shaftesbury Avenue and Picadilly, is not my idea of a good drive
I have seen a number of threads on 'drives out of London' but nothing which specifically tackles routes from the very centre. Clearly a favourite 'quick and easy' route for someone living in Hammersmith isn't so handy for a Dulwich-dweller.
I'm confident that I'm not the only Zone 1 Pistonheader with this 'problem', so I thought it would be helpful to start this thread to allow us Zone 1 dwellers to share our favourite routes.
At the moment, to enjoy some proper driving, I find myself getting up and out in the car at 6am on a Saturday or Sunday morning. This means I can be outside the M25 and heading towards some fun/decent roads with 45 minutes. But as I struggled out of bed yesterday morning, I thought 'wouldn't it be nice if I could do this on an evening after work'. Maybe it's too much to ask - the price I pay for living in the geographical centre of such a large city. But I would love to find out if anyone has any secret escape routes from the centre of town. In particular, I'm wondering if the roads south-east of Croydon are any good, and how quickly/easily they can be accessed from Zone 1 - I'm not a huge fan of the A23. What awaits if I head out on the A2 towards Kent - does this open up any decent drives? Or even heading through the East End and up the M11 for a few junctions? Here are my usual Sunday morning routes:
1. Out along Embankment, A4, M4, A404 up to join the M40 at High Wycombe, off at Junction 5 M40 and then a blast around the Chilterns/up towards Thame, and further north if time allows. This is a great route - but it still takes close to an hour to get to the Junction 5 turn-off from Westminster, and for the fun to begin.
2. Out through Wandsworth, pick up the A3 heading towards Portsmouth. Take the Merrow turn-off just before Guildford, and pick up signs towards the A25 and Dorking. From here, any B road heading south towards Cranleigh. On a good run, I can get down to the A25 in just under an hour - but again, this requires leaving Zone 1 before 6.30am.
Cheers
The problem with the evenings after work is that the rush hour stretches till 9 or 10pm! Use that time to go to bed early and get up at 530am for a blast.
You could get from Waterloo to Sidcup in about 1/2 hour in the early morning, from there it's fast dual cariageway or motorway to rural Kent. I don't have the route anymore, but once I was taking the tunnel on the motorbike back from a day trip to France, I met a biker who marked up my map with a good B-road route back through Southern Kent to the A21. It was sooo much better than Surrey!
I reckon if you take the M20 to Jct 2 then head south on B-roads, you'll do just fine......
You could get from Waterloo to Sidcup in about 1/2 hour in the early morning, from there it's fast dual cariageway or motorway to rural Kent. I don't have the route anymore, but once I was taking the tunnel on the motorbike back from a day trip to France, I met a biker who marked up my map with a good B-road route back through Southern Kent to the A21. It was sooo much better than Surrey!
I reckon if you take the M20 to Jct 2 then head south on B-roads, you'll do just fine......
You'll have to go fair way beyond junction 2 to find many B roads. Nothing much until you get beyond Yalding.
I would go A20/M25/A21/A25 to Bessels Green, then head up to Ide Hill and the network of B roads east and south of Edenbridge. Cross the border into East Sussex and head for Ashdown Forest. Did the latter as part of a 120 mile tour early on Sunday morning. Roads were dry and the sun was shining. Rounded off by a full English at the finish. Perfect.
I would go A20/M25/A21/A25 to Bessels Green, then head up to Ide Hill and the network of B roads east and south of Edenbridge. Cross the border into East Sussex and head for Ashdown Forest. Did the latter as part of a 120 mile tour early on Sunday morning. Roads were dry and the sun was shining. Rounded off by a full English at the finish. Perfect.
I head out on weekend mornings along the M4 to the Maidensgrove area. The fun roads start just after Henley, which is about 50 minutes (Google says an hour).
I looked at threads like this a while ago to find routes just north of London, and tried them out, but they were disappointing. Very short stretches of fun road sandwiched among urban areas, so you have to be very specific in your route to avoid getting back to normal boring roads. At least around Maidensgrove you can take left/right turns at random and it's windy roads all the way.
I looked at threads like this a while ago to find routes just north of London, and tried them out, but they were disappointing. Very short stretches of fun road sandwiched among urban areas, so you have to be very specific in your route to avoid getting back to normal boring roads. At least around Maidensgrove you can take left/right turns at random and it's windy roads all the way.
thanks all for your feedback.
Red Devil, I decided to follow your tips on Saturday morning - a great route! Montecristo, I will investigate your suggestions in the near future. My route was as follows (leaving central London at 630):
- Down through Croydon, then out through Warlingham, down the hill at Clarks Lane to Westerham, then on to Edenbridge, Cowden, Hartfield and through the forest to Fairwarp. Hartfield to Fairwarp was my favourite section. From there I looped over to Buxted, and up to Groombridge, then back to Hartfield, on to Hever and then to Ide Hill.
A few observations - the route back to central London from Ide Hill via M25 and A20 was much faster than coming down through Croydon. Whilst the sat nav will send you south, the trip out on the A20 is better due to fewer traffic lights and more dual carriageways. I also made the mistake of coming thorugh Crowborough at the start of the return leg, around 830am - this seemingly coinciding with local mums dropping children at football/swimming lessons. Next time I will avoid and/or start even earlier.
Keep the tips coming for drives out of Zone 1!
Red Devil, I decided to follow your tips on Saturday morning - a great route! Montecristo, I will investigate your suggestions in the near future. My route was as follows (leaving central London at 630):
- Down through Croydon, then out through Warlingham, down the hill at Clarks Lane to Westerham, then on to Edenbridge, Cowden, Hartfield and through the forest to Fairwarp. Hartfield to Fairwarp was my favourite section. From there I looped over to Buxted, and up to Groombridge, then back to Hartfield, on to Hever and then to Ide Hill.
A few observations - the route back to central London from Ide Hill via M25 and A20 was much faster than coming down through Croydon. Whilst the sat nav will send you south, the trip out on the A20 is better due to fewer traffic lights and more dual carriageways. I also made the mistake of coming thorugh Crowborough at the start of the return leg, around 830am - this seemingly coinciding with local mums dropping children at football/swimming lessons. Next time I will avoid and/or start even earlier.
Keep the tips coming for drives out of Zone 1!
Somewhat based on this thread, a friend and I did a spookily similar route on Saturday but unfortunately had to turn back just after lunch because something had come up. So we didn't actually get there. Also left a bit too late. These sort of trips really need to start pre 7am.
The spooky bit is that we too used that very same village as our final destination (Fairwarp). We came out of London on the A3 and jumped over the M25 above Reigate. We then headed over to East Grinstead and stopped at the Curious Pig for lunch.
Idea was to then take the A264 from East Grinstead to Tunbridge Wells and then head down the A267 to Heathfield, then over to Fairwarp and back north via the small roads to Edenbridge. Only got as far as lunch
Whenever I'm heading down South for a blast or to catch a flight from Gatwick I always head out through Greenwich and take the A2 down to the M25. This is much quicker than Croydon, A30 etc even though you are going the wrong direction for a few minutes.
I am in Canada Water, but we had to go via Clapham to pick up the other car.
I will be exploring East Kent and Essex soon, as these are easily accessible for me via the A13. Watch this space!
The spooky bit is that we too used that very same village as our final destination (Fairwarp). We came out of London on the A3 and jumped over the M25 above Reigate. We then headed over to East Grinstead and stopped at the Curious Pig for lunch.
Idea was to then take the A264 from East Grinstead to Tunbridge Wells and then head down the A267 to Heathfield, then over to Fairwarp and back north via the small roads to Edenbridge. Only got as far as lunch
Whenever I'm heading down South for a blast or to catch a flight from Gatwick I always head out through Greenwich and take the A2 down to the M25. This is much quicker than Croydon, A30 etc even though you are going the wrong direction for a few minutes.
I am in Canada Water, but we had to go via Clapham to pick up the other car.
I will be exploring East Kent and Essex soon, as these are easily accessible for me via the A13. Watch this space!
sc23 said:
thanks all for your feedback.
Red Devil, I decided to follow your tips on Saturday morning - a great route! Montecristo, I will investigate your suggestions in the near future. My route was as follows (leaving central London at 630):
- Down through Croydon, then out through Warlingham, down the hill at Clarks Lane to Westerham, then on to Edenbridge, Cowden, Hartfield and through the forest to Fairwarp. Hartfield to Fairwarp was my favourite section. From there I looped over to Buxted, and up to Groombridge, then back to Hartfield, on to Hever and then to Ide Hill.
A few observations - the route back to central London from Ide Hill via M25 and A20 was much faster than coming down through Croydon. Whilst the sat nav will send you south, the trip out on the A20 is better due to fewer traffic lights and more dual carriageways. I also made the mistake of coming thorugh Crowborough at the start of the return leg, around 830am - this seemingly coinciding with local mums dropping children at football/swimming lessons. Next time I will avoid and/or start even earlier.
Keep the tips coming for drives out of Zone 1!
I live in the Medway area, and the Ashdown Forest is one of my favourite places to head for a drive. I usually head to Farningham, then down through Eynsford, Shoreham and Otford to Sevenoaks, cut across to Edenbridge via Ide Hill then down through Hartfield and across the forest. It's a fair drive for me too, so I like to do it on a Sunday morning very early.Red Devil, I decided to follow your tips on Saturday morning - a great route! Montecristo, I will investigate your suggestions in the near future. My route was as follows (leaving central London at 630):
- Down through Croydon, then out through Warlingham, down the hill at Clarks Lane to Westerham, then on to Edenbridge, Cowden, Hartfield and through the forest to Fairwarp. Hartfield to Fairwarp was my favourite section. From there I looped over to Buxted, and up to Groombridge, then back to Hartfield, on to Hever and then to Ide Hill.
A few observations - the route back to central London from Ide Hill via M25 and A20 was much faster than coming down through Croydon. Whilst the sat nav will send you south, the trip out on the A20 is better due to fewer traffic lights and more dual carriageways. I also made the mistake of coming thorugh Crowborough at the start of the return leg, around 830am - this seemingly coinciding with local mums dropping children at football/swimming lessons. Next time I will avoid and/or start even earlier.
Keep the tips coming for drives out of Zone 1!
What do you drive? I'll keep my eyes peeled next time I get the chance to go for a drive that way, if you ever do that route again.
Thanks all.
AOK - lunch tips are also warmly welcomed! They might be an incentive for my wife to join me (she thinks it's very strange that I have taken to rising at 5.45 on a weekend to go driving). The Curious Pig looks great. Any breakfasting spots are also of interest. Do keep us updated on your findings in East Kent and Essex.
Conscript - I know that route down through Shoreham through to Sevenoaks, through my cycling trips in are - lovely roads. My preferred route is to avoid Sevenoaks by ducking through Seal, then down towards Shipbourne, and then it's easy to cut across towards Ide Hill and Hever. I drive a 360 Modena - great fun although it's best suited to the wider B roads - the sat nav sent me down a couple of single track lanes on Saturday, the wing mirrors were taking a pasting from the hedges on both sides! I'm also hoping to pick up a 205 GTI in the coming months to relive the front wheel drive adventures of my youth. Hope to see you out there one day, bright and early!
Cheers
AOK - lunch tips are also warmly welcomed! They might be an incentive for my wife to join me (she thinks it's very strange that I have taken to rising at 5.45 on a weekend to go driving). The Curious Pig looks great. Any breakfasting spots are also of interest. Do keep us updated on your findings in East Kent and Essex.
Conscript - I know that route down through Shoreham through to Sevenoaks, through my cycling trips in are - lovely roads. My preferred route is to avoid Sevenoaks by ducking through Seal, then down towards Shipbourne, and then it's easy to cut across towards Ide Hill and Hever. I drive a 360 Modena - great fun although it's best suited to the wider B roads - the sat nav sent me down a couple of single track lanes on Saturday, the wing mirrors were taking a pasting from the hedges on both sides! I'm also hoping to pick up a 205 GTI in the coming months to relive the front wheel drive adventures of my youth. Hope to see you out there one day, bright and early!
Cheers
This is a good loop.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.2561627,0.019...
Ive been using this as a test run for my rebuilt Speed Six, alternatively the "Dungenessburg" ring!
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.2561627,0.019...
Ive been using this as a test run for my rebuilt Speed Six, alternatively the "Dungenessburg" ring!
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