M25 in the morning....Worth avoiding?

[pembo]

I have an interview on Tuesday morning (10am) in St Albans and I'm going to be heading over from Chelmsford (M25- J28 to J22). I'm just wondering if this would be the best way to go or whether the A414 would be nicer although it means going through a few towns and potentially getting held up at each one.

If I take the job I'm going to have to do it every day so a heads up for the quickest route would be handy. I'd probably end up getting another bike and/or moving a bit closer in time but we have just signed another 6 month minimum lease on our flat and quite like it here.

I'm planning to do the trip as if I'm heading for a normal work time so I will probably be there early but it will be worth it for working out if the commute is feasible.

[djt100]

Can't give a specific answer as to that part of the M25 but I spent 2 1/2 years traveling from south to west and can say without doubt that the M25 is rarely worth avoiding, yes there is lots of traffic but you'll normally be traveling at 30 or over so still faster than the backroads

[Ozzie Osmond]

djt100 said:

the M25 is rarely worth avoiding, yes there is lots of traffic but you'll normally be traveling at 30 or over so still faster than the backroads

^^^^^ This. Allow yourself plenty of time and go for it.

[pembo]

Fair enough but if it's going to take me 2 hours each way every day it will have to be a seriously good payrise and the chance to do something semi-interesting for a change haha.

Cheers

[911p]

Traffic starts to build as early as 6am but begins to clear at around 9am. You can and will hit stop-start traffic if you don't leave early enough, leave at least 2 hours to complete the journey, if just for the interview - better safe than sorry!

[pembo]

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll leave at 7.30 with the aim to be there for 9 which will be an hour early for the interview but the kind of time frame I would like to be working with if I get/take the job.

I'm actually looking forward to taking the back road trip home with the roof down and enjoying my day off, I don't get many reasons to go for a drive like that but I guess I may grow to hate those roads in the future.

[Monkeylegend]

Another option is to head up to Stansted and pick up the A120 across to the A10. You can then pick up the A414 at Hertford which will take you across to Hatfield and onto the North Orbital. A bit fiddly but it normally keeps moving.

Many times you hear of problems on the M25 anti-clock between J27 and J25 at that time of day, best to avoid if possible.