I've agreed to take a friend from Leicester to Heathrow airport (Terminal 5) tomorrow morning.
Normally he'd make the journey by overnight coach but this time the trip is one way so he'll be taking as many possessions as possible and paying the consequent fees to BA. It's too late to dissuade him of the wisdom of entrusting so many of his belongings to that particular airline.
Is this a journey that anyone here regularly makes? I've been urged by one or two people to avoid the M1 and take the M40, which we'd have to join somewhere south of Coventry (M69 followed by A46). The reasoning is that, although further, this avoids the most congested part of the M1 and a section of the M25. Is this sound advice?
Given that the flight is at 10 in the morning and we'll need to arrive at least a couple of hours before this, my feeling is that whatever the answer, we'll need to set out ridiculously early.
Thanks in anticipation.
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You have received very sound advice. I drove a similar route last Friday afternoon, each way. I used the M69/A46 and then picked up the M40 south and didn't hit a snag anywhere.
Avoid the M1 like the plague, but be prepared that once you get in to the Thames Valley area, traffic can seize up any time, anywhere.
Leave plenty of time for the journey is my advice!
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The M25 should be moving at 0700, and so will the M40. I hit the M25 at about 0850 the other day going anti-clockwise and it was moving from 15 to the T5 junction at about 40-50 mph.
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Thanks for that very prompt reply Alanovich!
By way of a supplementary question, can anyone who regularly travels in the area say how early in the morning the roads in the area start to become congested?
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If you can cover M1+M25 by 06:30 AM, you should be safe. You will probably make it even at 07:00 AM. After that it's your luck :)
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By about 7:30 the M40 will be getting heavyish between J11 and J9, Banbury to Oxford North. Unless there's been an accident then it's normally not disastrous.
I'd support the others in saying that the norm is for the M40 to flow, where the norm for the M1 is to be clogged. Either way, I'd leave plenty of time.
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My usual advice.
Check www.traffic-england.co.uk/TCC/ prior to departure
Click on region(s) and tick roadside message signs.
This will give you a quick indication of any bad problems by reading signs ( Lots of signs usally means )
Route will be outlined in red or orange.
Listen to traffic reports en route.
Alternatives if required. M40 J4 take A404 to M4 J8/9 then M4 towards LHR
Closer to LHR .M4 J5 you can take the A4 to LHR.
tinyurl.com/666cmu
and click on -----Roads and car parks map (PDF format)
this will give you a good map of T5 area.
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Thanks all.
The M40 route looks favourite. You've also confirmed my view that we need to set out ludicrously early.
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2we need to set out ludicrously early"
You'll need to get up before you go to bed....
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You'll need to get up before you go to bed....
Reminds me of a daft rhyme from when I was a child:
One fine day in the middle of the night
Two dead men got up to fight
Side by side, they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other
Anyone else heard of it?
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yes ifithelps, took me back a while too... im sure monty python used a similar phrase on the "yorkshiremen " sketch too
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Better M1 to A43, then use the 43 to get to the M40.
That way you don't get stuck on the M42.
HJ
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I read the poem and thought I remembered it from a book of Spike Milligan's poetry, though I could wrong.
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krs,
I'm fairly sure it was told to me by my grandmother - this would have been in the mid 1960s.
Perhaps Spike lifted it from her, blinkin' plagiarist. :)
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i was actually refering to the line " have to get up before you go to bed" quote
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Hi,
I currently work as a lorry driver based in Leicester, and previously I drove minicabs in Bedford making frequent trips to Heathrow early in the mornings, so putting the two together I hope I'm well qualified to answer this one!
I would say that barring incidents and accidents the M1/M25 route is fine if you can be in the car and out of Leicester by 5am... The M1 starts to clog up at junction 10 (Luton Airport) between 0600-0615, and the M25 gets slow past junction 19 (Watford) between 0615-0630.
Personally I tend to steer clear of HJ's suggested route along the A43 (sorry HJ!) but only because there are several roundabouts which take my lorry an age to accelerate away from. Traffic-wise it's fine but it wouldn't save any time that early in the morning.
The M69/A46 is also a good alternative although 20-odd miles longer, again with no real traffic worries apart from accidents. Of course the M25 from the M40 to Heathrow is unavoidable whichever way you get to it.
If I were making this journey, personally I'd get on the M1 at junction 21 at 5am with Radio 2 on and the TA switched on as well, and I'd stay on the M1 unless I heard any reports advising me not to go that way. Although the traffic bulletins on R2 don't start until after 6am, Alex Lester reports any major problems in his 3am-6am show. I would expect to be at the airport by 7, allowing plenty of time for parking, coffee etc before check-in.
Edited by Webmaster on 21/09/2008 at 13:39
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Thanks especially to Dave_truck_driver. That's just the sort of detailed info I needed. There's no substitute for local knowledge.
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>>Of course the M25 from the M40 to Heathrow is unavoidable whichever way you get to it.
>>
But it is avoidable. See my earlier posting.
I have used my alternate routes for years.
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>>Anyone else heard of it?
Oh yes but decades ago. (collected from children in playgrounds since the middle of the 19th century)
The full four verses are here plus many varients
www.folklore.bc.ca/Onefineday.htm
You will love it!
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You will love it! >>
Henry,
I did - thanks.
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Given that the flight is at 10 in the morning and we'll need to arrive at least a couple of hours before this
Where is he flying to - if it's outside Europe then a couple of hours, with loads of excess baggage, may be cutting it a bit fine.
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Thanks again all who replied. There really seems little point in going to bed tonight!
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We left Oadby later than planned at 5.30 and ended up taking the M69-A46-M40-M25 route. Apart from some foul weather, the journey passed off without major incident and took a little over two hours. We used the same route for the return juorney. All the roads were busy but flowing smoothly.
For the benefit of anyone who doesn't know, short-term parking at Terminal 5 is (as expected) expensive but very conveniently situated, in a multi-storey car park alongside the new building.
Thanks again for the advice.
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