London to Carlisle - Friday evening or Saturday morning?

[page3]

Off on a weeks holiday near Hadrian's Wall.

Cottage is Friday to Friday.

Was hoping to be on the road by 4pm (junction 5 m40). I'm now thinking that 6am Saturday morning might be a better idea?

Anyone do this journey? Am I mad attempting it in a Friday night? I'd rather not take a day out of the holiday if I don't have too, but also don't want to spend 3 hours extra in the car, with a five year old.

[mgtony]

I'd avoid Friday afternoons on the motorways altogether. Leave early Saturday instead.

[Rammy76]

Definitely avoid the Friday and go early Saturday.

The sheer volume of traffic on the Friday means the slightest incident on the roads means miles of delays, this eases a bit the further north you go obviously.

[daveenty]

It'll be horrendous all the way to beyond Preston I'd imagine.

May as well leave it till later in the evening, though this can still be bad, or early morning.

6 is mid morning incidentally.

[sherman]

Would leaving after dinnertime on friday night not be a good idea?
If you left at 9pm you would get there for about 2am.

[surveyor]

Leave at 6.30pm instead. You will be surprised how early it begins to quieten.

[anonymous-user]

Agreed, traffic starts to quieten down very quickly on a Friday - I'd leave later and get up there really late, I'd be leaving 6.30 or 7.

Leaving at the time you suggest will lead to very heavy traffic around Birmingham and through to Manchester..

[page3]

Cannot leave earlier as son at school.

Hadn't thought about leaving later - think that could work. Say 8pm should be a better run.

[aberdeeneuan]

We did Birmingham to Penrith on a Friday, leaving at 3 (after school). Got to the cottage about 10, should have taken 3 hours. Similar thing going to Harrogate. All just stop start traffic the whole way.

Definitely either leave later or go on the Saturday!

[driver67]

I've traveled home from London / M25 / Guildford on a few occasions on the Friday rush hour, just a crawl until you get past Manchester really.

If you left around 7 you should be fine.

[barmonkey]

Used to frequently travel from South Cumbria to Hull on a Friday leaving at 6.30pm and rarely had any trouble.

Wouldn't recommend doing the m6 north on a friday afternoon - will probably be horrendous from the toll road to preston

[nagsheadwarrior]

4hrs just from the N.E.C in Brum to Preston last Friday at 3.30pm,crack of dawn saturday is best.

[hornetrider]

Take the M6 Toll. The regular M6 is roadworks with 50/40 limits from the M5 to Stafford. Nightmare.

[ecsrobin]

What ever time you leave your bound to get stuck on the M6 at least I always do!!

[Pistom]

I'd not do it on a Friday and avoid starting from London as well as not going to Carlisle.

That way you should be able to avoid delays.

[page3]

Pistom said:

I'd not do it on a Friday and avoid starting from London as well as not going to Carlisle.

That way you should be able to avoid delays.

Best idea yet

Seriously though - appreciate all the advice.

[greygoose]

Half term and Friday evening sound awful for traffic.

[littleredrooster]

Hmmm...If I was going to do this, I wouldn't want to start from London, and I wouldn't want to do it on a Friday night.

Bur seriously, my best advice would be:
1. Have dinner before you depart - passing North London at about 6pm should miss the worst of the Friday night mayhem.
2. Use the M40 rather than the M1, it's much less prone to problems.
3. Use the M6 toll; the cost is worth the lack of aggro at any time at the moment.
4. My first choice would be to do it on Thursday night and stop B&B in somewhere delightful like Settle or Kirby Stephen overnight. Keep the bairn off school for a day and extend the holiday rather than talking about shortening it.

[page3]

Our son is ASD and we've fought for 12 months to get him in to a special unit, so there is no way we would take him out early.

He travels well though, so I think dinner plus bedtime routine then pop him in car and off we go.

Ps b&b's don't always work as we need photos in advance to build a social story so he knows what to expect.

We're off to a lovely remote barn literally right on Hadrian's Wall, so it'll be worth the journey.

Edited by page3 on Thursday 24th October 21:16

[stubbsy996]

Saturday morning!
Travelling north Friday after lunch time is always horrendous!!