The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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Alderpoint
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the motorway and getting stuck on the old road

Post by Alderpoint »

Norfolktolancashire wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 18:24 I really cannot find a clear route southwest from Gloucester to Taunton during these bank holiday and summer weekends. I have tried many permutations, including using the A38 through Bristol to Highbridge, and the M5, M4, M49 loop, with limited success.
Leaving earlier up here in Lancashire doesn't work, leave at 6am we hi queues on the M5 near Bristol by 9am!
Probably the best option is to leave around 3pm to travel on Saturday evening however most holiday accommodation options do not allow this.
Hence the queues!
Friends who live in Birmingham but whose home town is Torpoint always reckon leaving between 10pm and midnight on a Friday night give a clear run. Not that I've tested the theory.
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Berk
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Berk »

You might ( :roll: ) get away with... four hours then?? Or five or something.

Trouble is, a lot of major roads have roadworks at night. So you’d need some sort of backup plan.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by SteveA30 »

Amesbury is queuing by 10am or earlier so leaving Solstice by 8 - 8.30 would be better, although going through the town to join the A303 near Stonehenge would cut out most of it. Last Friday, the congestion started later but finished later, about 10pm, due to being the last school day. Saturday, Bristol was slow by 8 and the A38 by 9 as the tailback reached back to Falfield. Solid down to Highbridge until about 4pm, although it started around Cribbs by that time. When I was transferring from Glos to Somerset, the M5 was flowing well at Almondsbury, about 1pm. I was hoping to get to the A369 into Bristol or at least the A4 but, the brake lights came on as I was approaching Cribbs so, off there and down the A4018, which was quieter than previous years. Clifton Down was quiet and Cumberland Basin free flowing as usual. Fine piece of road design.

The new link is invaluable but, within 1/2 a mile of joining the A38, it was jammed, all the way to the Airport lights. Fine after that until Churchill lights then freeflow until Sidcot lights. Flowing again down to Axbridge, then a queue all the way to Edithmead, especially after the A370 joined. Congresbury also solid, according to BBC Bristol.
The A46 from Stroud is an alternative but then Bath is a problem. Perhaps A420 and A4 to A39 would work. These are the same problems faced by drivers in the 60's, without the M5 and the Avonmouth Bridge.

I also found a new overspill at Sparkford. A Friday queue w/bnd of over a mile from the rbt, caused a steady stream to take the old road through Sparkford, straight to the rbt without any delays.

A38 Thornbury - Saturday morning May 25
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Willoughby Hedge east of Mere
Willoughby Hedge east of Mere
Last edited by SteveA30 on Fri May 31, 2019 10:43, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by brummie_rob »

Perhaps holiday accommodation needs to be more 24/7 in terms of when you can check in to help avoid these queues all the time. In this day and age, no need to have to be 'checked in by 8pm' or something.
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Norfolktolancashire
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

brummie_rob wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 21:57 Perhaps holiday accommodation needs to be more 24/7 in terms of when you can check in to help avoid these queues all the time. In this day and age, no need to have to be 'checked in by 8pm' or something.
That's the problem, lots of the accommodation we have booked in the South West over the years requires us to book in before 8pm. That goes for caravans, cottages and chalets. Fair enough, it's due to staff not being available after that time. The main reason why people arrive at, say Exeter, around 12pm, is that the journey is pretty long, even from the Midlands, to the SW, therefore they leave early. But so does everyone else!

We are fortunate in that the holiday cottage we have used for several years allows us to turn up at any time of the day or night.

Now the return journey is a different matter, as we have said previously, with the 10am curfew on having to leave by then on the final day, along with everyone else in the south west!
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

SteveA30 wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 21:50 Amesbury is queuing by 10am or earlier so leaving Solstice by 8 - 8.30 would be better, although going through the town to join the A303 near Stonehenge would cut out most of it. Last Friday, the congestion started later but finished later, about 10pm, due to being the last school day. Saturday, Bristol was slow by 8 and the A38 by 9 as the tailback reached back to Falfield. Solid down to Highbridge until about 4pm, although it started around Cribbs by that time. When I was transferring from Glos to Somerset, the M5 was flowing well at Almondsbury, about 1pm. I was hoping to get to the A369 into Bristol or at least the A4 but, the brake lights came on as I was approaching Cribbs so, off there and down the A4018, which was quieter than previous years. Clifton Down was quiet and Cumberland Basin free flowing as usual. Fine piece of road design.

The new link is invaluable but, within 1/2 a mile of joining the A38, it was jammed, all the way to the Airport lights. Fine after that until Churchill lights then freeflow until Sidcot lights. Flowing again down to Axbridge, then a queue all the way to Edithmead, especially after the A370 joined. Congresbury also solid, according to BBC Bristol.
The A46 from Stroud is an alternative but then Bath is a problem. Perhaps A420 and A4 to A39 would work. These are the same problems faced by drivers in the 60's, without the M5 and the Avonmouth Bridge.

I also found a new overspill at Sparkford. A Friday queue w/bnd of over a mile from the rbt, caused a steady stream to take the old road through Sparkford, straight to the rbt without any delays.
I have looked at using the route from the M5 near Stroud past Bath (through it without cheating using the u/c toll route) then across the Levels to Taunton.

The main congestion on the M5 is five miles north east of Bristol all the way down to Taunton, so around forty miles!

On the way back north west I have deviated several times to Glastonbury, had a walk around there and up the Tor for a few hours, then after 5pm and when most of the traffic has gone returned to the M5 near Weston Super Mare. That worked a treat (and the car boot had a certain amount of Somerset scrumpy cider added!)
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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Norfolktolancashire wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 22:15
SteveA30 wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 21:50 Amesbury is queuing by 10am or earlier so leaving Solstice by 8 - 8.30 would be better, although going through the town to join the A303 near Stonehenge would cut out most of it. Last Friday, the congestion started later but finished later, about 10pm, due to being the last school day. Saturday, Bristol was slow by 8 and the A38 by 9 as the tailback reached back to Falfield. Solid down to Highbridge until about 4pm, although it started around Cribbs by that time. When I was transferring from Glos to Somerset, the M5 was flowing well at Almondsbury, about 1pm. I was hoping to get to the A369 into Bristol or at least the A4 but, the brake lights came on as I was approaching Cribbs so, off there and down the A4018, which was quieter than previous years. Clifton Down was quiet and Cumberland Basin free flowing as usual. Fine piece of road design.

The new link is invaluable but, within 1/2 a mile of joining the A38, it was jammed, all the way to the Airport lights. Fine after that until Churchill lights then freeflow until Sidcot lights. Flowing again down to Axbridge, then a queue all the way to Edithmead, especially after the A370 joined. Congresbury also solid, according to BBC Bristol.
The A46 from Stroud is an alternative but then Bath is a problem. Perhaps A420 and A4 to A39 would work. These are the same problems faced by drivers in the 60's, without the M5 and the Avonmouth Bridge.

I also found a new overspill at Sparkford. A Friday queue w/bnd of over a mile from the rbt, caused a steady stream to take the old road through Sparkford, straight to the rbt without any delays.
I have looked at using the route from the M5 near Stroud past Bath (through it without cheating using the u/c toll route) then across the Levels to Taunton.

The main congestion on the M5 is five miles north east of Bristol all the way down to Taunton, so around forty miles!

On the way back north west I have deviated several times to Glastonbury, had a walk around there and up the Tor for a few hours, then after 5pm and when most of the traffic has gone returned to the M5 near Weston Super Mare. That worked a treat (and the car boot had a certain amount of Somerset scrumpy cider added!)
The A46 from Stroud is a joy as far as the M4. Beyond that, I would recommend sticking with it as far as the A420, where you should bear west before taking the unclassified Freezinghall Lane and Lansdown Road into Bath. This avoids the grind down the A46 to Batheaston, and the hell that is Bath's London Road.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by stu531 »

Only just seen this thread.

Down in Cornwall at the moment - but got stuck in the queues on said M5 at around 11am on Saturday. Nightmare south of Michaelwood, so came off at 14, and headed south-east to Iron Acton and picked up the A432, before going on the east side of Bristol on the A4174, Keynsham, B3116, then picked up the A39 all the way to the M5.

Pretty pleasant trip past Glastonbury, but I'm really not sure if it was slower or quicker. The overheads said 90 min delay on the M5. Still, a better drive than being stuck on the M5.

Not particularly looking forward to the trip back up north on Saturday!


Couldn't help but think it was down to volume of traffic, but when the A303/A358 is complete to the M5, will it remove some of it?
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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stu531 wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 00:21...Couldn't help but think it was down to volume of traffic, but when the A303/A358 is complete to the M5, will it remove some of it?
Unlikely to have a major effect as it will probably not deal with any traffic from the north. Would someone from, say, Leeds travel M1-M25-A303 in preference to M1-M42-M5 or M1-A43-A34-A303 planning on an extra 70 or 40 miles but also 1-2 hours extra?
The volume of traffic is only an issue on specific holidays and weekends - off peak it manages reasonably well - recent daytime lane closures on the section south of J21 attest to this - but it would be uneconomic to provide infrastructure to be queue free 100% of the time.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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RichardA35 wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 07:57 ]Unlikely to have a major effect as it will probably not deal with any traffic from the north. Would someone from, say, Leeds travel M1-M25-A303 in preference to M1-M42-M5 or M1-A43-A34-A303 planning on an extra 70 or 40 miles but also 1-2 hours extra?
The volume of traffic is only an issue on specific holidays and weekends - off peak it manages reasonably well - recent daytime lane closures on the section south of J21 attest to this - but it would be uneconomic to provide infrastructure to be queue free 100% of the time.
You dont have to be in Leeds to make that decision, From Edgware in North London to Taunton the A303 was shorter in distance (just) but the M4/M5 was considerably faster and offered more resilience in case of problems on planned route.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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RichardA35 wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 07:57 Would someone from, say, Leeds travel M1-M25-A303 in preference to M1-M42-M5 or M1-A43-A34-A303 planning on an extra 70 or 40 miles but also 1-2 hours extra?
Well, no - given I'm from very near Leeds, I wouldn't ever use that route. But I was hoping someone from the south-east would use the A303 as an alternative when it's finished to free up some capacity on the M5 :D
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

At the end of May I used the A31 towards Poole from Southampton on a warm Thursday and found it to be chocked around the Wimborne Minster bypass. By chance I used the sat nav to go on the old road and therefore did not miss the ferry out of Poole.
I very rarely travel in that area, is that road usually congested?
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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It is busy every rush hour and at holiday times. The hamburger has improved flows there but, the lane drop at Ferndown bypass often jams up at the rbt. Likewise from Poole A349 onto the Wimborne bypass. In the next few weeks, queues from A350 rbt eastwards. Can be stop/start all the way to M3 Twyford Down, as I often see when heading home in the opposite direction on a summer Sunday evening.

Dualling the rest of Ferndown bp, with an A380 style S2 flyover at the hamburger would help.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

I know its not a Bank Holiday here in England, but the queues shown on Traffic England from Bristol southwest along the M5 looked horrendous today.

For once I am not tied to a Friday or Saturday to travel down to Cornwall so have decided to travel on a Sunday in August both ways so apart from the local hotspot traffic between Bristol and Weston (Super Mare) I should have a clear run?
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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Sundays are better. Yesterday, the M5 was slow s/bnd from nearly back to J13 at 9am. On Friday, it was slow from Wellington to Bristol n/bnd most of the day. S/bnd similar as far as Bridgwater. The A30 was heavy e/bnd to the M5 merge. A roadtrip for any overspill on Friday, hit the spot when a crash blocked e/bnd east of Pathfinder Village, causing diverting back as far as Whiddon Down all the way to Exeter. When that was over, it was on to Okehampton for the evening show.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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I don't know what the problem was, but the A30 was queuing all along the Okehampton bypass yesterday. The red on my sat-nav (yes I know I said I would never have one, and I know I said I was done with main roads but I ended up getting a new car with one and I guess I'm not really a man of conviction) ended just at the eastern end of it and the queue with stationary traffic started just as I got to the western end of it. So I went on a bit of a historical trip through Okehampton. Enough people had the same idea for the queue for the town centre lights to go back for about four or five cycles. By the time I got to the other end of the bypass whatever problem there had been, had simply vanished. No sign of accident or any other kind of emergency and traffic was racing along at normal speed. Not a long enough a problem for SteveA30 to come out for some photos.

With that, two stops at Strawberry Fields Farm Shop, Litton and the Tesco at Blandford for fuel and lunch which probably took an hour between them, my: A3074, A30, A35, A354, A30, unclassified, A303, M3, A287, A3016, A325, A31, A3, A240, A24, A232, Banstead Road, A2022, back roads, A236, A232, A222, B243 route home took from 07.50 to 15.31. That also included dropping the keys off at the holiday company office which is in the Marsh Lane Industrial Park off the Loggans Moor roundabout. Not at all bad considering just how many people were in St Ives. The only other slight issues were a small queue and slowness at Bridport and on the Dorchester bypass. I've got my daughter now agreeing that the driving on the A354 and A30 in Dorset/Hampshire/Wiltshire is great.

Because the start point and the end point of the A30 were near the start and end point of my route, I was seriously considering doing the whole A30 in one go. My family had actually cleared it. But I wanted the early start and in the end ducked out. If staying in Sennen next time, I will do so.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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Not a long enough a problem for SteveA30 to come out for some photos.
It was long enough if you knew in advance. This was/is the problem....

Location : The A30 eastbound between the junctions with the A386 and the A382
Reason : Emergency bridge repairs
Status : Currently Active
Period : from 21:34 on 30 July 2020 to 23:00 on 4 August 2020
Delay : There are currently delays of 10 minutes against expected traffic
Lanes Closed :
Lane 1 Closed Lane 2 Running


Expansion joints, according to the useful Devon & Cornwall Police Traffic page. The bridge over the East Okement River. May end tomorrow or Tuesday or later I hope.

Anyway, that's the boring technical bit. Far more interesting was the overspill effect. Monitoring on Friday showed a red line to well west of Sourton. So, off early Saturday. Dorch and Brid clear but building. A30 from Honiton really busy but flowing. M5 busier and moving but, the first signs of a slowdown across the Exe viaduct. Warnings on BBC Devon of an accident and breakdown on the A30, so went via Ide to the old road, where on the parallel section, the A30 west was already down to about 20. Others must have been guided off by Satnav and there was a convoy on the old A30 to Pathfinder Village Junction. The queue to turn right across a nasty at grade, with heavy homeward bound traffic piling past was scary to behold so, I stayed on old faithful to Woodleigh, where w/bnd was slowing again. Onwards through Cheriton to Whiddon Down. Same problem below so, ever onwards through Sticklepath, where I was pleased to see my bend chevron sign rescued from the undergrowth was still in place and brighter and shinier due to rain washing off the mulch. On to Okehampton East services, which was choked and queueing back on to the road to get in. The A30 off slip was blocked off by this Q. W/bnd from the bridge was slow again so, into Okehampton where caravans galore were pouring up the hill out of town. Good omen. Through all 3 sets (yes 3) of lights and park at the west end of town. Start walking and shooting....photos. Only 92 pics and 2 videos so, quite modest really.
Attachments
The wooded approach to Okehampton 10.50am Shrewsbury/Deeside plates on the cycle vehicle.
The wooded approach to Okehampton 10.50am Shrewsbury/Deeside plates on the cycle vehicle.
10.52am Kent registered car and caravan
10.52am Kent registered car and caravan
11.11am Yes, that is the same Kent caravan. I arrived here 10 minutes before it. As I passed them, they were arguing through the open window. Oxford area plates for the Range Rover.
11.11am Yes, that is the same Kent caravan. I arrived here 10 minutes before it. As I passed them, they were arguing through the open window. Oxford area plates for the Range Rover.
Last edited by SteveA30 on Mon Aug 03, 2020 08:14, edited 9 times in total.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by SteveA30 »

12 miles of tailback from Oke back to Broadwoodwidger, according to BBC Devon. This gave a bonus overspill on the old A30 through Lewdown, which flowed fine until the Sourton junction, where there was a 1 mile queue to join the A30. A mile or more long queue on the A386 from Tavistock as well. Never seen that before.

A few lorries broke the 7.5 ton ruling in Okehampton, as in the last pic.
Attachments
11.27 Looking east from the Meldon bridge.
11.27 Looking east from the Meldon bridge.
11.28 Looking west. Some overspillers bale out.
11.28 Looking west. Some overspillers bale out.
13.18 A layby about 1.5 miles from Okehampton. Preston and Exeter area plates visible.
13.18 A layby about 1.5 miles from Okehampton. Preston and Exeter area plates visible.
Last edited by SteveA30 on Wed Aug 05, 2020 21:38, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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I could see the bypass at Sourton hill from this layby and it started flowing about 3pm. Soon after, it all went quiet.
A camper van broke down and had to roll back into the layby in the distance.
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13.54 Packed layby. Reg plates from Yorkshire, Preston area and Scotland
13.54 Packed layby. Reg plates from Yorkshire, Preston area and Scotland
14.58 The mirage fades away. A Yorkshire reg plate camper van is about to resume its journey.
14.58 The mirage fades away. A Yorkshire reg plate camper van is about to resume its journey.
15.22 All quiet again. The only one left is the van that broke down and awaits rescue.
15.22 All quiet again. The only one left is the van that broke down and awaits rescue.
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by multiraider2 »

Ah, me of little faith. Thanks for the explanation of the delay.
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