Travelling to Norfolk via M42 or Coventry?

[michaelmorris]

Every year we camp at a star party (rally for amater astronomers) at Kelling Heath in north Norfolk. For the last 5 or 6 years, every trip for Worcester to Kelling Heath has entailed at least one, if not more, horrendous traffic jams somewhere on the M5, M42 or M6 (between the junction with the M42  and junction 3).  The delays usually total 1 to 1.5 hours, sometimes more.  The trouble is that if I want to be all set up all my astronomy gear in plenty of time for an evening's observing, I really need to arrive at the site no later than lunchtime.  This means I have to leave the house early in the morning,  usually around 7:30am. Any earlier than this and I risk being way too tired to do any observing that night.

 

So,I was thinking, might I be better off going cross country from Worcester, through Alcester then on to the Stratford bypass, up the A46 and on to the M6 at junction 2 via the Coventry eastern bypass? How bad is the traffic around Stratford, Warwick and eastern Coventry at around 8:00 to 9:00 on a Monday morning?

 

Thanks

 

PS - We can't leave until Monday morning because of a prior engagement on Sunday evening.

 

 

[Tracker]

I don't have much experience of using those roads in peak hours, mainly because we avoid using those roads at peak times!!

 

As with most of the UK, traffic is unpredictable and the least excuse is taken to cause long delays without seemingly any concern by those with the power for those caught up.

 

Around Evesham just lately there is very heavy congestion due in no small part to the higher traffic levels being caused as people come off the M5 at Tewkesbury to head North to the M40 and M42 via the A46 and A435. This is in no small part due to the almighty cock up of road works on the M5 South of Birmingham causing long delays and huge tailbacks at most times of the day.

 

On the bright side, the road works on the A46 at Coventry are ended and traffic ususally flows well now most of the time.

 

I have not been there of late but I am told that the road works at Catthorpe where the M6 joins the A14 are now complete and that bottleneck has been removed.

 

The A14 around Kettering still gets very congested and slow moving at times and the volume of trucks and 'elephant racing' as one lorry tries and often fails to pass another does not help.

 

That apart it is not a bad route if you time it right and I doubt you would save any time if you went cross country as that can be hard work at times, particularly in a Motorhome??

[Keithl]

If you prefer to keep moving on A roads as opposed to sitting in a traffic jam on the Motorway then your route round Stratford and Coventry would certainly be my preferable route.

 

As an example Google currently shows bad traffic on the M5 before J4A for the M42 and this makes your A road route 5 miles shorter and 2 minutes faster!

 

Link to Google Maps

 

At the end of the day you pick your route and have to keep your fingers crossed on the traffic.

 

Keith.

[michaelmorris]

Tracker - 2017-09-16 12:16 PM

 

I don't have much experience of using those roads in peak hours, mainly because we avoid using those roads at peak times!!

 

As with most of the UK, traffic is unpredictable and the least excuse is taken to cause long delays without seemingly any concern by those with the power for those caught up.

 

Around Evesham just lately there is very heavy congestion due in no small part to the higher traffic levels being caused as people come off the M5 at Tewkesbury to head North to the M40 and M42 via the A46 and A435. This is in no small part due to the almighty cock up of road works on the M5 South of Birmingham causing long delays and huge tailbacks at most times of the day.

 

On the bright side, the road works on the A46 at Coventry are ended and traffic ususally flows well now most of the time.

 

I have not been there of late but I am told that the road works at Catthorpe where the M6 joins the A14 are now complete and that bottleneck has been removed.

 

The A14 around Kettering still gets very congested and slow moving at times and the volume of trucks and 'elephant racing' as one lorry tries and often fails to pass another does not help.

 

That apart it is not a bad route if you time it right and I doubt you would save any time if you went cross country as that can be hard work at times, particularly in a Motorhome??

 

Thanks, that's all very useful info. I think we'll give the Stratford>Coventry route a go as I doubt it can be much worse the last two journeys, both of which took over 51/2 hours thanks to problems on the motorways. We've always found that once you get beyond Junction 3 of the M6, the journey is pretty good- long, but good. Over the last 5 or 6 years it's been the first 40/50 miles that have been the killer.

 

I think we may also try to leave before 7:00 am.