Drive time to M25 on Friday afternoon/evening?

[alieh]

Not a Family Room topic strictly, but we have 3 children (including a 3 month old that won't take a dummy and isn't used to sleeping in the car) so you will understand my acute need to suss out the traffic situation!

We are going to Devon this weekend and trying to decide whether to leave Friday straight from school or early Saturday AM.

Does anyone have any sense of how long it will take to get to the M25 if we leave on Friday around 3:30/4:00 pm? And would you imagine it will be worse this weekend with the start of the holidays, or just standard Friday hellishness?

[BeccaL]

It usually takes about 1.5 hours from ED to the beginning of the M4 on a Friday after school - not sure if this weekend will be much worse as people off for Easter might be more likely to be off second week to take advantage of the bank holidays? Depending on where in Devon you're going - if you're going South I'd probably try and suck it up and go Friday evening - we did to Exeter a couple of times last year and going v early on a Saturday morning (leaving by 6.30am) we still got stuck in tonnes of traffic on the M5 southbound from Bristol for about 40 miles - not much fun, and that wasn't with any kids in the car!

Hope the roads are good for you...

[alieh]

Many thanks! We might bite the bullet and go Friday evening, hoping the kids will sleep (ha ha).

[crystal7]

Friday evening, otherwise your weekend gets eaten into. We usually bath the kids, into pjs and leave around 6.00. It's about 1.5 hours to the M4 though we go through town. You might be able to transfer kids to bed without them waking up, except for the little one! Good luck!

[etta166]

We tend to go for a 5/5:30 am departure on Saturday when getting to the M1 or M4. We've got stuck in 3+ hours traffic through London on a number of occasions and are now put off Friday afternoon driving for ever! That way you don't loose too much weekend (e.g. North Wales by the time the grandparents are finishing breakfast) and also don't spend foverever in the car. We don't actually lose that much sleep either beause you can get an early night and our kids are generally up by 6 anyway.

[bee74]

Alieh, bear in mind you don't need to go all the way to Bristol to come here like Becca suggests. She drove to Exeter, but we are not that far. Take the A303 after the M3 and keep going towards Exeter till the turning for Crewkerne (not Axminster! Not matter what sat nav says). At Crewkerne follow for Lyme Regis... Then call me.

Unless anyone has a better route in which case I would also like to know!

[snowboarder]

Yes - we go that way often and do A3/M25/M3/A303

I'd avoid friday afternoon certainly - evening or early start best.

It's lovely down there - have fun :-)

[SE22mum]

Friday afternoon at 4pm is exactly when EVERYONE is trying to nip away early!