Norwich to Brecon Beacons...

[tomj_]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster here...

Quick question for you all - I'm attending Green Man Festival in a few days time from Norwich and I was wondering what the best route to get there would be? I'm aiming to get there for about 7.30PM, so I'm likely going to hit rush hour somewhere whichever route I end up taking. Google is suggesting that I take the A11, M11, M25, M4 into the south of Wales, or take A11, A14, M6, M42, M5, M50 into the area, both with a similar time of around 5 hours, 45 minutes.

Just curious as to whether anyone had any suggestions as to what my best options here might be and whether Google's estimated driving time was accurate (not including stops) for someone who will exceed the speed by a few MPH, but not into the range of prosecution? I can't imagine the M25 being amazing at any time of the day, but I can see it likely that I'll end up hitting south of Birmingham on the M42 right as rush hour is starting to set in. Also curious as to whether anyone on here knows any alternative, but far more scenic/interesting routes that might be good to try.

Cheers

Edited by tomj_ on Thursday 8th August 16:54

[tomj_]

Red Devil said:

Google timings are usually fairly generous IME even with a fuel/comfort break stop - https://goo.gl/maps/vCPWHWJSAPYdK5vQ6
I'm definitely not a fan of the M25! That said the A14 from Cambridge to Huntingdon is currently a PITA due to the improvements.
Between the A1 and the M1 there will be the usual outbreaks of elephant racing HGVs.
Here's a cross-country route avoiding the M42. - https://goo.gl/maps/TDSLnR5C7mVL4f5U7

Thanks for that. An alternative I've just found would be taking the A46 past Coventry and all the way down to the M5 which looks like it could be a possibility to avoid Birmingham at rush hour whilst still keeping on a reasonable standard of road... Might be a bit of a ball ache around Coventry, but past that I can't imagine it getting too clogged up at that time.