I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.
Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions please?
Dave
train?
most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....
ps what happens on sat?
JimK
No, but have considered getting her to travel back by train to save the double road journey in potentially difficult conditions?
Don't try it wednesday. There is currently about 3 ins in the Portsmouth area with more further north and it's still snowing. The snow is 'wet' on the ground so unless the roads are cleared it will be very slippery.
Malcolm, living in Fareham but brought up and taught to drive in Co. Durham
Might be easier to get a replacement missus.
mark
I would change your plans. In my bit of Hampshire, we had 5 inches in 3 hours this evening. It's slowed down now, but I suspect nothing is going to move for days.
Full moon not until Sat 30th, apparently...
When was the last time you booked a train ticket at the last moment? It would cost her an arm and a leg to get home.
It's her younger sisters birthday. And she desperately wants to be there. Neither of us expected this weather for the North west. We usually get a mild winter.
Dave
Thanks for that. Daughter lives on the border between Southsea and Eastney, on the coast.
Ah! So you know about snow? Not many do these days. :-) Locals are clueless, they think the faster they can spin the driving wheels, the faster they can get up the hill. It makes it very difficult for any decent driver to follow them.
Dave
To be honest, with the weather the way it is, you would be well advised to consider other methods.
A train leaves Portsmouth & Southsea on Thursday morning (10:52), due to arrive Preston at 15:38 (via London Waterloo and Euston) with a single ticket costing £91.60.
To avoid your having to drive 500+ miles there and back it sounds like a bloody bargain.
If you insist on driving (you have been warned!), Jamspy is good.
If you have a portable device with web browsing capability, Moto service stations have free wifi, which will allow you to check on motorway closures as you head towards them.
If your wife is going in the other direction; same day; the 10:17 from Preston arrives P&S at 15.28 for the same price.
Oh come on guys
Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I have in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get about-ever!
M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible without recourse to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...
neil
mark wrote:
We had that much this morning. I nearly didn't get out for my real ale pint.
I found out one thing about my old Rover 45, it could cope far better than a BMW due to my front wheel drive :-))
You worry me. What roads are you talking about?
My route will be Preston M6 to the M42 to the M40 to the A34 to the M3 to the M27 to the M275 and then through Portsmouth main roads to Southsea.
Can you expand a bit please? Or am I now getting too worried?
Dave
The train for the lower bit seems sensible. Say Portsmouth to Bristol or Oxford(*) then get picked up from there. The motorways generally stay open, if slow in bad weather and getting from Portsmouth to the M4 line will be the A34 rather than motorway.
The OP doesn't say what he is driving and what sort of tyres he has. Not that makes a lot of difference if there is no space to trundle past stuck or low traction vehicles. 4WD and snow tyres I only have problems when the snow depth is an inch or two up the front valence ie approaching 18" deep and even then its a stall rather than loss of grip.
(*) Donno if that is feasable on a decent train mind.
Mmmm, I considered this for a few moments, but how long would it take me to train her in sexual education?
Dave
Odd, we had the same in my bit of Hampshire.
Well that's how the roads were looking to me on my back home. Oddly enough, I didn't have any problems with the drive home.
Saw a great one at lunchtime.
Very young, hung on my every word, very attractive, Very good figure.
In my younger days... Why have I got so old?
Dave
Fareham/Gosport has been gridlocked since about 4pm. I guess that once the gritters can get through the main roads will be OK but as for the minor roads... The one positive thing is that the south of Portsea Island is very much influenced by the sea so there may be very little snow there, and if there is it should disappear relatively quickly. Surely you can get reports on the last part of the journey from SWMBO. CEEFAX can give you an overall view of the main routes
Malcolm (not intending to drive tomorrow)
About five minutes if you leave her around Portsmouth.
Agreed, provided the drivers know how to drive on snow. Most UK drivers don't, last decent winters were in the early 80's, drivers younger than about 40 won't have had any really the opportunity to drive on snow.
Most of UK roads are not allowed to develop a good snow pack, we rarely get enough snow for a start and it thaws then freezes and turns into ice. You shouldn't really drive on tarmac with chains fitted as they'll damage the tyre and the road so chains would have to put on and taken off all the time.
If we got decent amounts of snow and the temp stayed below freezing it would be a different matter. Despite the moans about uncleared roads and no salting most important roads are cleared and salted pretty quickly and efficiently.
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