Central London to Gatwick airport in rush hour?
Discussion
Would appreciate a bit of help from Londoners.
I've got to pick up a relative from Oxford Street on Thursday afternoon and drive them to Gatwick airport, we are picking up a family at 19.00.
Could anyone tell me what the best route is during rush hour? Google maps is (optimistically) saying it will take 1 hour and gives three routes:
1. A23 through Croydon and then M23
2. A3 through Fulham , M25 then M23
3. M4, M25 then M23
Could anyone advise which of these 3 routes would be better to drive during rush hour and what time we should leave central London to make it on time for the pickup?
I've got to pick up a relative from Oxford Street on Thursday afternoon and drive them to Gatwick airport, we are picking up a family at 19.00.
Could anyone tell me what the best route is during rush hour? Google maps is (optimistically) saying it will take 1 hour and gives three routes:
1. A23 through Croydon and then M23
2. A3 through Fulham , M25 then M23
3. M4, M25 then M23
Could anyone advise which of these 3 routes would be better to drive during rush hour and what time we should leave central London to make it on time for the pickup?
Edited by ATV on Tuesday 29th January 20:35
Crikey - you'd need to leave by 4.30 to be semi-certain of being at LGW by 7pm.
Out of the three routes you suggest, I'd take the A3 then M25/M23. The A23 south from central London (through Brixton, Streatham etc.) is numbingly slow in the middle of the night, and I'd dread to think how it is in the evening peak. M4 then M25 is a long, long way around for the nearest and the Heathrow-Leatherhead stretch is always slow in the rush hour.
I would personally head to Hammersmith, then cross the Thames over Barnes Bridge and cut down Roehampton Lane to the A3.
Then I would either:
a) take the A3 all the way to J10 on the M25 and head around to the M23;
b) cut off the A3 at Hook and take the A243 through Chessington down to the M25 J9;
c) come off the A3 at New Malden and take the A2043 Cheam Common Road through to Cheam and pick up the A217. This is my usual evening route from Croydon to the M25 and flows fairly smoothly.
Either way I'd leave myself at least 1 hr 15 to get from Oxford Street to the A3 at Roehampton.
Hope this helps.
Out of the three routes you suggest, I'd take the A3 then M25/M23. The A23 south from central London (through Brixton, Streatham etc.) is numbingly slow in the middle of the night, and I'd dread to think how it is in the evening peak. M4 then M25 is a long, long way around for the nearest and the Heathrow-Leatherhead stretch is always slow in the rush hour.
I would personally head to Hammersmith, then cross the Thames over Barnes Bridge and cut down Roehampton Lane to the A3.
Then I would either:
a) take the A3 all the way to J10 on the M25 and head around to the M23;
b) cut off the A3 at Hook and take the A243 through Chessington down to the M25 J9;
c) come off the A3 at New Malden and take the A2043 Cheam Common Road through to Cheam and pick up the A217. This is my usual evening route from Croydon to the M25 and flows fairly smoothly.
Either way I'd leave myself at least 1 hr 15 to get from Oxford Street to the A3 at Roehampton.
Hope this helps.
mcgandalf said:
Crikey - you'd need to leave by 4.30 to be semi-certain of being at LGW by 7pm.
c) come off the A3 at New Malden and take the A2043 Cheam Common Road through to Cheam and pick up the A217. This is my usual evening route from Croydon to the M25 and flows fairly smoothly.
Either way I'd leave myself at least 1 hr 15 to get from Oxford Street to the A3 at Roehampton.
Hope this helps.
Thanks very much mate. We took the A217 to join onto the M25 as you recommended. The sat nav was next to useless as it kept trying to re-divert to the A23 so I had to strategically force it into 3 destinations along your route before it finally got the hint and recalculated. We ended up driving through Knightsbridge and over Putney Bridge which was extremely congested but the rest was ok: busy but moving. I'll try Barnes bridge next time, do you think it's quicker?c) come off the A3 at New Malden and take the A2043 Cheam Common Road through to Cheam and pick up the A217. This is my usual evening route from Croydon to the M25 and flows fairly smoothly.
Either way I'd leave myself at least 1 hr 15 to get from Oxford Street to the A3 at Roehampton.
Hope this helps.
And you were right about leaving at 4.30, I arrived at 6.50. What do you Londoners get for putting up with this type of traffic every day? Free council tax?
Interestingly, I read another forum before I left (http://londonbikers.com/forums/printtopic437974.aspx) and the vast majority of them also said to avoid the A23, I suppose you can only get this type from being a local, I'm glad I avoided it.
By the way, if you don't mind mate, could you have a look at another topic I've started, this time me trying to get INTO central London from up North. http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
No problem - glad I could be of some help, and you made it there on time (just!).
Putney Bridge can get pretty rammed as all the traffic from Fulham attempts to join the South Circular, and the school run brigade just adds to the mayhem. Barnes Bridge is generally much quieter, and if you don't turn off you'll eventually hit the A3 at Roehampton.
I have the pleasure of doing mid-Hampshire to Croydon every day, and from the M25 always head up the A23 and cut through Carshalton and Wallington to avoid the worst of the traffic. Generally speaking (Greater) London driving is fine if you have your wits about you and have a vast retinue of rat runs in your head in case you find yourself on a sticky wicket. Knowing Boris, I'm sure he's got his act together and absolved London motorists from their obligation to pay council tax. Unfortunately, as a bumpkin I don't get to see this!
Will have a look at your other thread.
Putney Bridge can get pretty rammed as all the traffic from Fulham attempts to join the South Circular, and the school run brigade just adds to the mayhem. Barnes Bridge is generally much quieter, and if you don't turn off you'll eventually hit the A3 at Roehampton.
I have the pleasure of doing mid-Hampshire to Croydon every day, and from the M25 always head up the A23 and cut through Carshalton and Wallington to avoid the worst of the traffic. Generally speaking (Greater) London driving is fine if you have your wits about you and have a vast retinue of rat runs in your head in case you find yourself on a sticky wicket. Knowing Boris, I'm sure he's got his act together and absolved London motorists from their obligation to pay council tax. Unfortunately, as a bumpkin I don't get to see this!
Will have a look at your other thread.
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