Potters Bar to Gatwick - time and best route?

[Chris71]

Which route do people recommend and how long do you reckon I should allow - with some time in hand - on a Sunday morning (aiming to arrive 11am)? Also, with the road works as they are do you reckon it's better to go east (i.e Dartford) or west?

[OwenK]

I run a similar route quite frequently to visit family (Hatfield-Gatwick).

In my experience the time difference between east or west routes is minimal as they both have large stretches of roadworks and congestion points etc these days. So essentially it comes down to whether you want to pay for the Dartford crossing or not

I have done it in as little as 90 mins Hatfield-Gatwick (once upon a time the run was possible in 70... not since the roadworks have gone in, though) however these days I always give it 2hrs just to be on the safe side. Average about 100-110 mins, so add on however long it takes you to get from Potters Bar to Hatfield (last junction on the A1M before the M25).

Sunday morning traffic normally isn't too bad but check the various traffic websites before you leave as an accident in the roadworks sections can slow traffic to a crawl and may make one direction better than the other.

[Chris71]

Thanks. If I'm up early I'll take a look, otherwise I'll just ippy-dippy it!