Long drive to Newquay From Up North

[pugwash4x4]

Maty said:

I can see the point of leaving at night, quiet roads, general hoonage etc, but your fked by the time you get there = first day ruined! I'd rather leave at 5 ish, get stuck in the odd traffic jam, there for dinner time and at least you've had some sort of sleep!

You won't leave wigan at 5 and get to Newquay for diner time though!

its a good 3 hours from bristol to Newquay- everyone forget how far down Newquay is! its' a good 2 hours past Taunton on the M5 and thats in the winter!

i used to have to bank on 4 hours from Taunton to Chester- and at least 2 hours from Taunton to Newqauy (both journeys i travel frequently). Expect it to take a minimum of 7 hours with a few stops and baring bad traffic past exeter, bristol and Brom then you should be ok. Personally i'd leave home at 9am just after rush hour and try and clear all the way past bristol by 2pm.

[The Black Flash]

Be a bit longer than 5 hours from wigan I'd have thought?
We used to do this, but we'd stay the night with some mates at Leamington. Then leave at 4:30am and get to newquay for breakfast. We'd just be picking up the traffic over the last hour or so.
Leaving early is definately the way to do it - I'd give it an extra hour to be on the safe side though.

[mechsympathy]

pugwash4x4 said:

Personally i'd leave home at 9am just after rush hour and try and clear all the way past bristol by 2pm.

It's the first Saturday of the school hols, it'll be a rush day...

[pugwash4x4]

mechsympathy said:

pugwash4x4 said:

Personally i'd leave home at 9am just after rush hour and try and clear all the way past bristol by 2pm.

It's the first Saturday of the school hols, it'll be a rush day...

oops- sorry didn't read the post properly

in that case leave as early as possible or late as possible- frankly getting down the duel carriageways after the end of the M5 is going to be hell whatever you do. unless you hit them after 7pm or before 6am

Family live nr Newquay and the difference between summer and winter on the roads is amazing

[F i F]

pugwash4x4 said:

frankly getting down the duel carriageways after the end of the M5 is going to be hell

Excellent Freudian slip, I see what you did there.

[pugwash4x4]

F i F said:

pugwash4x4 said:

frankly getting down the duel carriageways after the end of the M5 is going to be hell

Excellent Freudian slip, I see what you did there.

Pun intended- its a good description for driving down with the punters!

[ad551]

Drove up from Cornwall to Lancashire last Saturday.

Left Cornwall at about 8.30am - traffic was already queuing on the A30 past Bodmin, then the M5 around Bristol, Gloucester and Worcester was basically a car park...you might be OK setting off at 5, but try not to stop for too long anywhere!

Edited by ad551 on Monday 27th July 16:41

[CarlT]

Newquay is 2 hours from Exeter on a good day

I would leave home about 3.00am ish and enjoy the drive as the sun is coming up. This should get you into Newquay mid morning - in time for a beer and some lunch.

[softtop]

CarlT said:

Newquay is 2 hours from Exeter on a good day

I would leave home about 3.00am ish and enjoy the drive as the sun is coming up. This should get you into Newquay mid morning - in time for a beer and some lunch.

I do this journey on a monthly basis and in the summer you need to leave at 3am.

[darrenw]

I do Widnes to Helston at least once a month, setting off at 5pm on a Friday evening. I usually sit at about 65-70 where the traffic allows, quick 15 minute break halfway-ish, and I'm normally there before midnight - usually about half eleven. Newquay is a bit closer so should take a bit less time!

[Spideypowers]

I live in Newquay so I can't comment on the first bit of your stretch but it should be 3 hours from Bristol and 1.5 from Exeter. However, you can hit some serious traffic in Cornwall if you plan to arrive pretty much any time in normal daylight hours. Bizarrely it won't always happen and they did dual some more sections of road a little while back. So

1. You can risk it
2. Plan to arrive at breakfast time as most have suggested
3. Bale off the motorway at Launceston and go through Wadebridge. Will defo take a bit longer but you should keep moving.

[JamesM]

bazh said:

Right chaps, im driving from Wigan to Newquay this Saturday.

What time do you recomend leaving in order to miss the majority of traffic, there are 9 of us in 3 cars and the others think around 5am.

any suggestions or any tips of where to stop off ?

thanks

Baz

I did it from Lincoln and thanks to traffic from BHam to Worcester it took me 9 hrs, It was all worth it though. I saw a Veyron

[anonymous-user]

Don't go A30, go A38. Much better driving roads if there's no traffic. Both bring you out at the same place, if you head towards Newquay.

And be careful in the sea. I've never felt rips like the ones down there 2 weeks ago.

[bazh]

Thanks for the advice guys, a few of you seem to know the place well so any recomendation for breakfast in the mornings for 10 hungover lads?

Also how much is petrol down there, if its alot more am i better off filling up say around bristol and refilling there on the way back?

[Dan_1981]

This won't be much use i don't think.....

But on the road that leads down to the beach (i think it sactually called beach road) there used to be a cafe on the left hand side in the row of shops there (last of the shops before you hit the beach)

It used to do fabulous fry ups.

Few years ago now though so i have no idea if its still there.

[Streetrod]

When you get there, avoid Newquay beach, drive ten mins down the coast to Watergate Bay, grab a hot chocolate in the "Beach Hut" then go for a walk on the massive two mile beach. Spend a few mins watching the kite surfers then pop back to the "Fithteen" restaurant for lunch. Much more chilled than Newquay, but then maybe I am just getting old... have fun

[anonymous-user]

Streetrod said:

When you get there, avoid Newquay beach, drive ten mins down the coast to Watergate Bay, grab a hot chocolate in the "Beach Hut" then go for a walk on the massive two mile beach. Spend a few mins watching the kite surfers then pop back to the "Fithteen" restaurant for lunch. Much more chilled than Newquay, but then maybe I am just getting old... have fun

I swear, drive 5 miles south of Newquay, and go to the Tin Fin cafe in Perranporth. Get one of their hot chocolates and a bit o' breakie. Slightly pricey but my new favourite cafe in the country. The way you make the hot choc is unlike anything I've ever seen, and the taste is, well, you get the idea. I'm starting to sound a little gay. Their cream teas are sexual too.

Crantock is good for beaches too (none of the "I'm in Newquay so I MUST be cool" kids) and the surf there is great. Good dunes too. You can walk there across the ehadland and across the river (at low tide, if you don't mind going in to waist deep).
(But please, please, watch the currents. I saw the helicopter land for the guy from Chelmsford who went in without a suit and drowned. That was half an hour after we'd given up surfing because the currents were so strong and dangerous. No lifeguards = no swimming)

And Rick Stein's fish and chip place in Padstow is well worth the journey. £8 for the best F+C you've eaten.

ETA the petrol was 1p/litre MORE than the diesel when I was there. But fill up at Morrison's in Newquay and that'll be as cheap as any.

Can you tell I really like life down there?

Edited by Opulent on Tuesday 28th July 11:34

[pugwash4x4]

Spideypowers said:

3. Bale off the motorway at Launceston and go through Wadebridge. Will defo take a bit longer but you should keep moving.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo don't recommend that- it just crunches up all the roads around wadebridge, which are bad enough in the summer as it is! i end up driving through all the little country lanes just to avoid the traffic jams and i invariably end up meeting a grockel coming the other way!

[bazh]

Cheers for the advice guys, im stopping at a place called escape with a bar open until 4am so all should be good.

Edited by bazh on Wednesday 29th July 10:28

[mywifeshusband]

For cheapest petrol get off the M5 at Cribbs Causeway shopping at Bristol and go to Asda. They'll do a fry up breakfast much better and cheaper than going the few extra miles to Gordano services.
This all depends on what time you travel of course. I regulary do York to Devon and the last trip was set off just before midnight and arrive at 4am. Driving as dawn approaches is quite nice really.
Whatever time you go try to avoid any rush hour around Birmingham.