Any route / stop off suggestions Camberley to Cairnryan?

[manmaths]

Hi,

I’m flying to Heathrow to pick up a car with my old man (his new car) from a dealer in Camberley, then driving to Cairnryan to catch a ferry back to Northern Ireland.

Planning to arrive Friday 1030 at Heathrow, but will catch ferry Saturday. So without mad time pressure, are there any suggestions of a good route to take, or any good points of interest along the way / hotel suggestions around the Lake District area?

Google maps is suggesting motorways skirting Birmingham and then Liverpool.

Any suggestions welcome - I don’t know the area at all.


Nathan

[TheDrownedApe]

honestly? Just get past Preston on the M40, M42, M6 as quickly as you can. For the rest of the journey it's whether you want chilled motorway or driving roads through the Lakes, but at this time of year it may well be full of campervans.

Clearly the car will dictate the route

[Dr Interceptor]

Really depends on the car as to what kind of roads you're going to want to drive - is it coming from Scuderia Prestige?

Tebay services on the M6 is worthwhile for a pit stop... the views surrounding it are stunning, and it has a farm shop etc on site.

[manmaths]

Hi,

Yes that’s the dealer but unfortunately not something as exotic as you might imagine - an Audi A8!

Still keen to get off the motorway at some point into some more interesting scenery.

Thanks for the services suggestion - noted

[Skodillac]

I'm a regular driver between Berkshire and Scotland, my favoured route is M40/A46 (Coventry bypass)/M69/M1/M18/A1(M)/A66/M6/A74(M), which neatly misses Birmingham traffic, the M6 Toll (horribly expensive IMHO) and the nasty Stoke to Preston leg of the M6 which is often congested, and under ludicrous "Smart Motorway" 50 limits most of the time. It's a slightly longer route, but far nicer. You could take in the British Motor Museum at Gaydon on the way, just off the M40.

[manmaths]

Ok that’s just the local info I was looking for!

Cheers

N

[Down on the Farm]

You will love the A75 once you get clear of Dumfries and the 40 truck limits.

Across West to Castle Douglas, past Kirkcudbright, Gatehouse of Fleet, etc. The journey up along the side of the estuary past Creetown to Newton Stewart is great on a nice day - flowing interesting roads West to Stranraer.

As has been said, best to get North of South Lakes turn off Jnc 36 for a stopover and relish an early morning drive.



Edit: petrol at Creetown is seriously cheap - was £1.249 two weeks ago when I went past.

Edited by Down on the Farm on Thursday 21st August 19:24

[samoht]

Skodillac said:

I'm a regular driver between Berkshire and Scotland, my favoured route is M40/A46 (Coventry bypass)/M69/M1/M18/A1(M)/A66/M6/A74(M), which neatly misses Birmingham traffic, the M6 Toll (horribly expensive IMHO) and the nasty Stoke to Preston leg of the M6 which is often congested, and under ludicrous "Smart Motorway" 50 limits most of the time. It's a slightly longer route, but far nicer. You could take in the British Motor Museum at Gaydon on the way, just off the M40.

If you do take the A66 there are a couple of niceish places to stop to eat, eg Cross Lanes Farm Shop, right by the road, if their opening times align.

[manmaths]

Down on the Farm said:

You will love the A75 once you get clear of Dumfries and the 40 truck limits.

Across West to Castle Douglas, past Kirkcudbright, Gatehouse of Fleet, etc. The journey up along the side of the estuary past Creetown to Newton Stewart is great on a nice day - flowing interesting roads West to Stranraer.

As has been said, best to get North of South Lakes turn off Jnc 36 for a stopover and relish an early morning drive.



Edit: petrol at Creetown is seriously cheap - was £1.249 two weeks ago when I went past.

Edited by Down on the Farm on Thursday 21st August 19:24

Ok good shout on the fill up.

It will be a pricey trip all in but still less than the £1500 quote for delivery.

While the car is an A8, it does at least put out 335bhp courtesy of a 3.0 v6 burning the correct type of fuel. Will certainly get to know it on the drive. Channeling my inner Ronin.

[manmaths]

samoht said:

If you do take the A66 there are a couple of niceish places to stop to eat, eg Cross Lanes Farm Shop, right by the road, if their opening times align.

Yes I’m mapping out this route as we speak. I’ve been around Bham with work and would rather avoid the traffic hot spots if possible.

Farm shops are always a welcome stop! Noted

N

[sherman]

manmaths said:

samoht said:

If you do take the A66 there are a couple of niceish places to stop to eat, eg Cross Lanes Farm Shop, right by the road, if their opening times align.

Yes I’m mapping out this route as we speak. I’ve been around Bham with work and would rather avoid the traffic hot spots if possible.

Farm shops are always a welcome stop! Noted

N

Mainsgill Farm shop at the Scotch corner end of the A66 is better farm shop and restaurant than Tebay.

[Mr Tidy]

I lived in Sandhurst for over 10 years and always used the M40 to go North, using the M42/A42 or A43 to get to the M1/A1 if heading towards the East.

But I slipped up earlier this year heading towards the West of Scotland and got my photo taken on the M6 in Cumbria by a van on a bridge.

[manmaths]

Mr Tidy said:

I lived in Sandhurst for over 10 years and always used the M40 to go North, using the M42/A42 or A43 to get to the M1/A1 if heading towards the East.

But I slipped up earlier this year heading towards the West of Scotland and got my photo taken on the M6 in Cumbria by a van on a bridge.

Ah yes - the old man is due to complete the speed awareness course shortly, so I'll need to keep an eye on him on this trip.

[manmaths]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7FRZ2rcHuNHihsNe9

Based on advice, this is my proposed route at the minute. We will definitely stop off at the British Motor Museum.

I see Donington is also on the way.

Hotel stop will probably be in Penrith, which leaves 2h 20m to the lunch time ferry on Saturday.

Time for a couple of other stops on the way up on Friday.

Looking forward to it

[Ry.Clarke]

I live round the corner from Scuderia Prestige.

My honest advice is to get out of the area as quickly as you can, the roads are shocking, the M3 is all but guaranteed to be backed up and honestly, it’s not true what they say - Surrey is a sthole.

I’m also not that keen on the dealer as I’ve heard they like to slip out of warranty claims, so have a good nosey round it before driving off.

I personally like the A75, but the M40 is the usual route. Quite a nice stretch to be honest. The M6 is the devil, if you go on it watch for camera’s.

If you are going to take the M40, pull off at Banbury and hit up caffeine and machine - well worth the stop for any car enthusiast.

Edited by Ry.Clarke on Friday 22 August 08:42

[plfrench]

manmaths said:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7FRZ2rcHuNHihsNe9

Based on advice, this is my proposed route at the minute. We will definitely stop off at the British Motor Museum.

I see Donington is also on the way.

Hotel stop will probably be in Penrith, which leaves 2h 20m to the lunch time ferry on Saturday.

Time for a couple of other stops on the way up on Friday.

Looking forward to it

If you’ve not already booked somewhere, I can vouch for the North Lakes hotel in Penrith. Decent parking, )unlike the George in the centre of the town). Clean and modern enough with good facilities and a nice enough restaurant.

[Buster73]

manmaths said:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7FRZ2rcHuNHihsNe9

Based on advice, this is my proposed route at the minute. We will definitely stop off at the British Motor Museum.

I see Donington is also on the way.

Hotel stop will probably be in Penrith, which leaves 2h 20m to the lunch time ferry on Saturday.

Time for a couple of other stops on the way up on Friday.

Looking forward to it

I’d be allowing 3 hours travelling from Penrith if it was me.

[Alickadoo]

manmaths said:

Hi,

I’m flying to Heathrow to pick up a car with my old man (his new car) from a dealer in Camberley, then driving to Cairnryan to catch a ferry back to Northern Ireland.

Planning to arrive Friday 1030 at Heathrow, but will catch ferry Saturday. So without mad time pressure, are there any suggestions of a good route to take, or any good points of interest along the way / hotel suggestions around the Lake District area?

Google maps is suggesting motorways skirting Birmingham and then Liverpool.

Any suggestions welcome - I don’t know the area at all.


Nathan

Why are you doing this?

[Skodillac]

Ry.Clarke said:

Surrey is a sthole.

The M6 is the devil, if you go on it watch for camera’s.

This. And this. I had to use the M6 last weekend to get to Keele University and back. Picked up a windscreen stone chip from a truck big enough to require a replacement screen, which is going in the car today. Sigh. I also hate the M42 (M40 - M6 section) with something approaching pathological loathing. Especially at the moment as most of it is under roadworks for all the new HS2 infrastructure going over it. Probably the most hateful place on the entire British motorway network right now.

[manmaths]

Ry.Clarke said:

I live round the corner from Scuderia Prestige.

My honest advice is to get out of the area as quickly as you can, the roads are shocking, the M3 is all but guaranteed to be backed up and honestly, it’s not true what they say - Surrey is a sthole.

I’m also not that keen on the dealer as I’ve heard they like to slip out of warranty claims, so have a good nosey round it before driving off.

I personally like the A75, but the M40 is the usual route. Quite a nice stretch to be honest. The M6 is the devil, if you go on it watch for camera’s.

If you are going to take the M40, pull off at Banbury and hit up caffeine and machine - well worth the stop for any car enthusiast.

Edited by Ry.Clarke on Friday 22 August 08:42

OK - interesting feedback on the dealer! So far we have just seen a walk around video, so will definitely be taking some time to look over it properly. It's under Audi warranty until Aug 26. Good shout on Banbury - noted

plfrench said:

If you’ve not already booked somewhere, I can vouch for the North Lakes hotel in Penrith. Decent parking, )unlike the George in the centre of the town). Clean and modern enough with good facilities and a nice enough restaurant.

No hotel booked yet - so thanks for that!

Buster73 said:

I’d be allowing 3 hours travelling from Penrith if it was me.

Yes - we agreed today to leave Penrith at 8am Saturday for a 1130am ferry just to be safe

Alickadoo said:

Why are you doing this?

Because there are no A8 55TFSI's for sale locally in the right spec, and I like driving.

Skodillac said:

This. And this. I had to use the M6 last weekend to get to Keele University and back. Picked up a windscreen stone chip from a truck big enough to require a replacement screen, which is going in the car today. Sigh. I also hate the M42 (M40 - M6 section) with something approaching pathological loathing. Especially at the moment as most of it is under roadworks for all the new HS2 infrastructure going over it. Probably the most hateful place on the entire British motorway network right now.

Yes hopefully avoiding most of these issues with the route I've plotted based on advice (like the M42 M40-M6 section which I'll avoid by heading past Coventry)