Kendal Winters

[SlowStig]

I am hoping that some of the Cumbrian PH'ers can offer some assistance. My GF has moved up to Kendal and is now commuting to Penrith via either the A6 or the M6, however she is wondering what the weather is going to be like during winter and which is the best route out of Kendal to get to Penrith over winter.

I am thinking that the A6 will be consistently gritted and cleared, however the A684 is a main road so surely would be also kept clear?

[Richspec]

m6 everytime, in heavy snow the a6 can get blocked even though its been gritted due to lack of traffic.
I maintain the weather station on top of shap and have seen the conditions change rapidly between gritter passes via the camera images.

[Jazoli]

I live in Kendal and head up that way 3 days a week, 95% of the time Sharp will be fine and easily passable, the other option is the a684 as mentioned then the M6, but that can also be tricky, and then there's down the bypass to jct36.

Sharp can be really foggy all year round and needs treating with respect at times, it is a very fast road for a lot of the locals in a morning so tell the gf to get a move on!

[SlowStig]

Thanks for the info chaps, she does drive at a fair old rate so I doubt she will be holding anyone up!

Would a softroader be worthwhile investigating buying? Something like a MINI all4 or Suzuki SX4 4wd?

[Jazoli]

You don't/won't need a 4wd 99% of the time, the last couple of winters have been pretty mild, there was no snow at all last year, a decent set of winter tyres would suffice, if your missus wants a 4wd then fine, if it has summer tyres on it will probably get just as stuck as everyone else.

It can get really bad up there though, and if its snowing heavily its safer/better to use the m6/a591, I wouldn't try and use the A6 or A684 when its snowing heavily, the a684 has a couple of very steep hills!

[SlowStig]

I suspected the a684 would be out the question, great fun to drive down in the dry but in the wet I found it got really slippery so can imagine in the snow/ice it would be very difficult.

I think best combo would be awd with winter tyres, if she is getting a new car she might be able to get a set of winter wheels fairly cheap from ebay(other online auction sites are available) to maximize grip!