The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

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M4 Cardiff
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by M4 Cardiff »

A quick look at google maps suggests some queuing on routes away from the coast, particularly bad getting wrom Weston Super Mare to the M5 and out of Blackpool onto the M6, eastbound on the A40 in soutl Wales and Eastbound on the A55, southbound from Hunstanton to Kings Lynn, London-bound from Clacton and Southend, Northbound from Brighton and Hayling Island. Yes, it looks everyone's been to the beach!
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DavidBrown
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by DavidBrown »

But looking at the way things have been throughout the day, it definitely appears to be quieter on the routes away from the resorts than you'd usually expect on a Bank Holiday Monday. There's quite a few day trippers, yes, but very few long weekenders. I think the vast majority of people are staying for the full week, so Friday and Saturday could be chaos once again as people swap over.
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Norfolktolancashire
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

The A30 over Bodmin Moor was running well, but at 55mph due to the amount of traffic westbound on Saturday afternoon. There were many caravans still travelling that way later that evening.

A nice run along the south to north moorland roads avoided that. After many years it's nice to be local!

The beaches on the north coast of Cornwall have been packed this weekend and so far this half term week.
Herned
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Herned »

I had to drive from Taunton to Minehead this morning. Took over an hour. Incredibly busy, and such a terrible road with no prospect of improvements. I can remember a Williton bypass being seriously proposed pre 2000, but nothing is ever said about it now
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Norfolktolancashire
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

Herned wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 14:37 I had to drive from Taunton to Minehead this morning. Took over an hour. Incredibly busy, and such a terrible road with no prospect of improvements. I can remember a Williton bypass being seriously proposed pre 2000, but nothing is ever said about it now
I drove along that route a couple of times in September 2019, and the traffic congestion was terrible. The road itself is of poor quality and alignment, and the other issue is that there is no reasonable alternative route either.

With all that money involved in Hinkley C power station, there must be some for some road improvements along the A39?
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Herned »

Norfolktolancashire wrote: Thu Jun 03, 2021 18:16 With all that money involved in Hinkley C power station, there must be some for some road improvements along the A39?
They paid for roundabout here, and for a further section of road bypassing Cannington. There are other minor transport improvements here and there, but nothing very significant. The county council were hoping to get a northern bypass for Bridgwater out of EDF but they didn't
SteveA30
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by SteveA30 »

Naturellement. Friday certainly was a jam beater. starting about 7am and still slow on the A303 at 11pm eastbound and M5 n/bnd. S/bnd was stop-start from early on as well. Switched operations to Devon this week, with a quick sortie around Somerset later. Arrived west of Exeter in plenty of time, breakfast at the Woodleigh Coach House Cafe near Cheriton Bishop, around 10.00, another good off-the-road on the old road stop. Arrived at Wheatley bend to witness the start of the overspill queue at precisely 11.40. It was still in place at 15.00 hrs when I headed for the A38, after hearing on Radio Somerset and Devon of queues from J27 Tiverton to Clevedon. A38 was busy but flowing well, being an unspoiled mix of S2/1, WS2 and D2, with no lights, except at J27.
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How new A30 spills over onto old A30, from the M5. Map from today Sat. yesterday, it was red back off the map on both roads.
How new A30 spills over onto old A30, from the M5. Map from today Sat. yesterday, it was red back off the map on both roads.
Near Pathfinder Village, about 6 miles from the M5
Near Pathfinder Village, about 6 miles from the M5
Wheatley bend, at Pocombe. Tea mugs for sale, 50p
Wheatley bend, at Pocombe. Tea mugs for sale, 50p
Last edited by SteveA30 on Sat Jun 05, 2021 23:01, edited 3 times in total.
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SteveA30
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by SteveA30 »

A pleasant few hours in Devon, then a recce to Somerset for A38 overspill. Had to go right through Exeter, as in the old days, as both bypasses were choked. Slow due to loads of lights but, made it out to Pinhoe for the old A38 north.
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Enjoy the tranquil Devon countryside at the Travellers Rest
Enjoy the tranquil Devon countryside at the Travellers Rest
Exeter bound
Exeter bound
A38, M5 bridge by the front vehicle
A38, M5 bridge by the front vehicle
Last edited by SteveA30 on Sun Jun 06, 2021 22:53, edited 1 time in total.
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multiraider2
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by multiraider2 »

Well, not the bank holiday this weekend but the end of the Whitsun half-term for most and a return to many from the coast etc. Was in Norfolk/Suffolk for a couple of days and haven't been that way for many years. Observations from the trip: A fairly stress-free trip up leaving South London at 6.30 am on Friday. Some traffic inevitably at the Blackwall Tunnel but then a very good run to the North Norfolk coast using M11, A11, A134, A1065, B1355. The rain came in the afternoon there and I guess everyone decided to leave the coast or go home early at the end of their week away. The A149 was ghastly from before the Heacham turn (I don't think the lights there are designed to help traffic on he main road) to the A47. Many people, including me, bailed and tried to go through central King's Lynn. Perhaps a bigger mistake as the traffic in the centre was equally bad. I guess the chief issue here is geography. Heading West, North or South from the North Norfolk coast and this seems to be the only main road. If I had studied maps in detail beforehand and pre-warned, I guess I could have used the B1153.

Today. Went from King's Lynn to Suffolk. All good except for the roadworks on the A47 south of Norwich. One lane for three and a half miles but the chief issue is the bottlenecks of traffic caused by vehicles entering the road at the A11 an A140 junctions. If I had studied the route and the delays beforehand, I would certainly have avoided this area. I swore I would never have a sat-nav but my new car came with one. In normal operating mode it just shows the little red arrow on the section of road you are on and, if you have programmed a route, what to do a the junctions ahead. Given that the road was shown as red coloured very-slow traffic for four miles in this section, I would thought that a useful system could alter this to you beforehand or suggest an alternative route as you go based on timings. Perhaps this is down to the user, me, not understanding it properly.

The route back from Southwold was uneventful except for a collision on the A12 east of Ipswich. A car had rear-ended a motorcycle on the entrance to one of the roundabouts and was actually embedded in the back of the bike. Speculation, but it looked like the car decided to proceed at the roundabout without looking forward. Unusual I would have thought given the usual relative speeds and maneuverability of the two vehicles concerned. I have never, in many years of driving, seen a car stuck in the back of a bike. I hope the rider is ok, an ambulance was arriving at the time I was passing. This did no cause more than five minutes delay. I haven't been on the A12 north of Chelmsford for some years now and it was not as crowded as I was expecting.
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Norfolktolancashire
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

SteveA30 wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 22:29 A pleasant few hours in Devon, then a recce to Somerset for A38 overspill. Had to go right through Exeter, as in the old days, as both bypasses were choked. Slow due to loads of lights but, made it out to Pinhoe for the old A38 north.
Love that first image, HGV sandwich anyone?!

It is scary to see so many pub outside seating areas so close to main roads, the mix of potentially drunken persons and faster traffic at night, including "boy racers" is not good.

There was two sets of blockages on the A30 in North Cornwall on Sunday afternoon with much of the eastbound traffic diverted along the A38 via Plymouth, however the new long term roadworks on the Tamar Bridge now causes congestion.
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multiraider2
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by multiraider2 »

Back from the west country and it seemed busier than ever. I guess with Covid and foreign holiday unavailability, nearly every available accommodation had been taken up and that every year more and more housing is turned into second homes. So guilty as charged in adding to that problem. Left SE25 at 5.30 am on the first Saturday of the school holidays and that was via my usual route via the A3, A31, A325, A3016, A287, M3, A303, A30, A354, A35. A30. Hampered slightly by the thunderstorms and floods in Hampshire but I should have paid attention to the works on the A31 bridge at the A331 interchange of which more later. M5 junction 29 and onto the M5 was rubbish and my satnav suggested slow traffic for several miles on the A30 after the split for the A38. It's the first time I've seen the time to Bodmin on the VMS suggested as longer via the A30. So I went on the A38 and then the B3357 over the moor to Tavistock and the ex-A386/B3362 to the Chipshop junction and back roads to Lifton for a farm shop break at Strawberry Fields. With stops there and previously at Stockbridge and West Bay a total of 6 and a half hours to Boscastle. Rubbish if I'd have been going in April 1991 as I did, but not bad for these times.

Leaving Trebarwith Strand at 8.30 am and it was fine all through to Honiton. I avoided the M5 exit queues onto the A30 as usual by taking advantage here of all London bound drivers sticking to the first lane even when it opens up into two lanes and I can just switch from the Exeter route just before the lights. Took the A35 to Axminster and it was ok. I noted the traffic was horrible ahead through Chideock, Bridport and seemingly all along past Dorchester, so I bypassed via the B3165, B3164, B3163, A356, A37 and Charminster. Me and the two cars in front of me were let in quickly from the farm lane which joins right at the end of the queue into Dorchester bypass terminal roundabout. Then fine to the A31 but I should have looked up the roadworks on the A31 before the Hogs Back. Instead of what looked like an overnighter, it's actually 35 weeks of bridge expansion joint repairs. Surrey County Council: "A full closure at this location adds very little time to a journey, and because it separates road users and workers completely, it is safer for all." No problem with the second part of the sentence and I'm sure that's true, but the first part is a blatant lie, not helped by closing one of the off slip lanes. I guess for safety, to avoid two lanes round the roundabout trying to get up the onslip again on the roundabout. I could have carried on up the M3 to the M25 but that is always rubbish in the SW quadrant. Still, with even that and awful weather, turning all drivers in Surrey and SouthWest London into Great Aunt Hilda, it still was about the same time as the downward trip.

I see in my absence the Stonehenge solution has been kicked back again. I'm definitely going to be dead or retired and moved nearer before that is solved and by the time it is, traffic on the M5/A30 in west Devon won't be coping at all.
Last edited by multiraider2 on Sun Aug 01, 2021 23:00, edited 1 time in total.
SteveA30
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by SteveA30 »

Yes, it has been busier but, spread over more days rather than only Friday and Saturday. Monday has become a second Saturday, as the end of restrictions occur on that day.
A303 July 16 and old A30 overspill into Exeter, July 30. Cathedral visible
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A303 Upottery.jpg
Old A30 Exeter.jpg
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multiraider2
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by multiraider2 »

Another trip back from Cornwall on Friday and I had no intention of trying to take the main roads after Honiton. From Falmouth I went to Carland Cross via Truro and the A39, that was fine. After that to Tolworth was this, excuse the error in Beaminster

I know that some of the roads are so small that I might have taken as long as going on the main road, I just prefer keeping moving, some lovely driving. I see that some people were stuck for up to 12 hours on the M6 on Frinday and Google Maps is now suggesting 3 crashes on the Okehampton bypass. Steve are you there?
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Re: The bank holiday weekend. Staying off the main roads

Post by SteveA30 »

Steve are you there?
Only in spirit, as myself and Tamsin had to went to ******* Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle on a day ticket and saw ******* Sophie Ellis- Bextor and ******* Kool and the Gang amongst others. I would normally be in the triangle of Exeter/Sparkford/Bristol ready to leap into action so, I was hoping nothing would happen, then it did.... :hissy: The image below illustrates the intensity of the diversion, caused by an overturned caravan. Westbound was only closed for a short while to allow the Air Ambulance to land but, the heavy flows soon overspilled onto the old A30, meeting the eastbound lot in Sticklepath, where the locals have parked since being bypassed, narrowing the road. That caused the huge tailbacks. Once w/bnd was reopened, e/bnd flowed through fairly easily, the conflict having gone. Note also the overspill into Okehampton. Their cunning plan was foiled when they found that they couldn't re-join the A30 at the other end.

So, while Sophie was singing Murder On The Dancefloor, my mind was in glorious Devon. Good in its own way but, Primal Scream playing the whole of Screamadelica at a previous Bestival was much better. Good fun though and after the music had stopped, we tried the silent disco, which was hilarious and then a marquee full of thumping techno which was even better. Home by 02.30, hence this rather late reply. By way of compensation (for me) here are 2 I made earlier in Sticklepath, showing the parking conflicts.

We have an outing next Saturday. If something happens again, there may be murder away from the dancefloor..... :wink:
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Sat July 30 2022 - 2.40pm
Sat July 30 2022 - 2.40pm
Sticklepath - May 2008
Sticklepath - May 2008
2008
2008
Roads and holidays in the west, before motorways.
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