We are heading off to Brixham from Essex around 9am next Friday (bank holiday weekend). After a stop would probably reach Stonehenge around noon.
Returning on bank holiday Monday
Any ideas on the best way to avoid the A303 at Stonehenge.
M4 is not an option.
TIA for any ideas
A30? That used to be my favourite route but have not used it for years. Another option might be to change your time of travel. Middle of the night I would expect those roads to be clear.
e around noon.
Used to travel from Devon to spend a weekend in Essex every other weekend so here is my advice:
M5/M4 would be fastest (usually faster that the A303, despite the extra distance, not much difference in time in fact), but you've made that not an option.
Sticking to the A303 is the next quickest and much less boring drive.
M3/M27/A36 would be the next best, with long delays in Salisbury, going past stonehenge would be much quicker.
M3/M27/A31/A35/A30 is the only other route, but isn't really an option as it would take FOREVER (and you would sit in traffic jams for most of the journey).
Philip
Fly?
Rail?
Thanks Philip
We will be in a 2-seater convertible and prefer the pretty way. Don't like sitting in traffic jams but find it soooo boring racing down motorways - and the M5/M4 on a bank holiday Monday can be carnage (sadly sometimes literally).
In going from Hampshire to Somerset I'd take the A303 and take the right fork at Stonehenge, turn left just after Shrewton and belt across Salisbury Plain, ending up at Knook Camp on the A36. The Stonehenge junction is just as the dual carriageway finishes and would often slow down just there generally. Since you're trying to get to Devon, I'd look at going that way and joining the M5 Taunton way; it fits the criterion of being scenic.
However, if there's going to be BH traffic then I'd modify it slightly.
Just before Stonehenge the A303 drops sharply & climbs sharply with a roundabout at the lowest point. If the traffic's bad it backs down this up slope and generally only just runs back as far as the roundabout. The worst I've seen it is slow to the top of the 'down' slope but that's rare.
Anyway, as you come down the hill there's a sliproad off which can be used to head North to Bulford and then West, cross country to Shrewton and avoid the Stonehenge junction/car park/tourists completely. Good roads if minor. Again, a nice route.
That'd be what I'd do.
OP wants to stop off at Stonehenge on the way down, so neither is sensible considering that.
If the OP skipped that then:
Flying isn't really an option. Nearest airports are Exeter and Plymouth. Neither of which have services to any london airport any more I believe. Even if they did it wouldn't be any quicker and would be very expensive when you consider the very expensive flights, airport parking, hire car, time for checking in / passing through security etc.
The rail journey however could be very nice, barring engineering work and with seats booked so that you actually get one. The Paddington to Exeter leg is very fast, the trains are nice too. The Exeter to Newton Abbot leg is so scenic, you won't be at all bothered that the train crawls along. There are connecting services at Newton Abbot to Paignton. A bit costly though as the tube is bound to be a disaster area at the weekend with closures, so two taxis, one to get across London and one to get from Paignton to Brixham.
Philip
Thanks Scott, sounds good.
I am the OP.
Just to put the record straight I did not say I wanted to visit Stonehenge. Sorry if OP was not clear.
Want the car down there to move about. In any event as usual there are no trains into London from here all over the bank holiday weekend.
I suspect that you will be in the minority leaving Friday Morning, so outbound you will probably not experience a problem.
As there's an event at Thruxton next weekend on the Monday you not only want to avoid Stonehenge but that whole section of the 303 West of Andover.
tim
Thanks Tim
Will try and got through while everyone is in and engrossed. Years ago I used to pass Snetterton regularly. Things on trailers in front of me didn't go as fast as when they were on the track!
Broadband. Video cameras (3D if possible). Cans of drink.
Just greet each other, marvel how tall the kids have grown, open the tins and share the video experience of getting drunk. If food is necessary to be sampled from the other party, have it sent the day before by post.
On 20/05/2011 11:14, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: ...
Who said anything about using scheduled flights? A friend with a light aircraft would probably enjoy having a definite destination and private pilots cannot charge, although they can expect each passenger to bear a proportionate amount of the actual cost.
Colin Bignell
What a sterile experience that would be, even if he had said he was going to see someone.
Colin Bignell
Nah, won't be that sterile ..
Plenty of clues on where virtual reality will eventually take us, moving on from video conferencing and virtual visiting it might be possible to transmit cooking smells leading on to pheromones and other distractions. Ye'd have a robot looking thing to hug and transducers on a similar looking robot would replay that intimate contact at a distance. I suppose it could get quite mucky really....
Whoops, where am i going? Could someone quickly pass me the mind bleach?
Sorry, probably not a lot of use to the OP...
:-)
I view video conferencing in the same light as breakfast meetings - a prop for the egos of people who think they are far too important to the running of their business to be away from their desks for a few hours, or maybe for those who fear leaving their desks in case others find out what fiddles they have been up to. Where video conferencing can be justified on the basis that it would be more than a few hours away from the desk, it still strikes me as a poor substitute for a face to face meeting.
Colin Bignell
We may meet up with some family one day but we are there for three nights to:
Relax, just the 2 of us, phones off (we have 6 children and 8 grandchildren)
Sample the various Brixham pubs (again) (regularly)
Pop over to Miss Marples in Looe for a cream tea
Search for the best pasty
Eat clotted cream ice cream
Enjoy the moors and coastline
In message , Invisible Man writes
You really think it will be so much of a problem?
A slight inconvenience, at best.
I'm sure you'll experience much wore holdups along the way
You don't say why M4 is not an option although you may be thinking of avoiding the Slough part. If so, I live where the M3 starts and for that journey I would (and do) take M3 to junction 3 (Lightwater) and then A322 towards Bracknell picking up and following signs to the M4 which you join at junction 10 and eventually onto M5.. It is quite a few miles less than joining the M4 from M25.
A329(M) ? I do that quite a bit.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.