OT Directions

Got to be in Farnborough tomorrow for 8am (from Solihull). Natural
instinct is to go M40->M25->M3, but my experience of Heathrow M25 is
limited to about 8-8:30ish when it's not actually that bad. Is it
significantly worse an hour earlier?

I wouldn't normally be looking at alternatives but I know that
M40->A34->M4 etc is going to be a pretty easy (if slightly longer) run,
apart from Bracknell to M3 which I know nothing of.

Any advice?

 

M40, A34, M4, A329M, M3

 

Thanks, wasn't sure what the A329 was like. It'll be nice hurtling past
Oxford before the queues on the A34 start, it was shite at 8 this
morning, despite half term.

 

You could also go down the M40 as far as Jct 4, whizz down the A404 to
M4 Jct 8/9, off at 10 and then A329M-Bracknell-M3.

 

Colleague commutes using that and says whizzing is the last thing you do
down the A404.

 

IKWHM, but it's only bad after about 7.30 usually. You'll be fine as
you'll be early enough to miss the worst of it.

 

The A329M route does take you through the middle of Bracknell, but it's
almost all dual-carriageway. You can often save a bit of time cutting
through the industrial estate but YMMV.

Getting on to the A404 at High Wycombe can be a bit shitty and there
are usually jams at the Bisham roundabout and M4 J8/9.

But the main reason I didn't suggest taking the A404 is it means
overshooting then doubling back and going 18 miles the wrong way on the
M4 to J10. Pointless.

 

I used this route a lot in the past. no idea about current traffic
levels though.

 

Thats my prefered route

 

They have completely revamped the roundabout at J4 on the M40. Much better
now.

 

Compared to the jam to get on the A34 fropm the M40 ? and how bad the A34
can be going past Oxford ?

 

Better, in that you can now cut through the middle to turn right, but
still not great. And the jams at Bisham and Maidenhead remain.

 

It can be pretty shitty as I hit it around 8am when I go into the
office, it was grim this morning. I reckon at an hour or more earlier
I'll be past it pretty quickly though.

I'm a bit twitchy of the M40 south of Oxford having just squeaked out of
a speeding ticket when I luckily spotted an unmarked camera van on a
bridge just around Oxford services, so if I do the same time on the A34
that suits me.

 

Not on the bike they don't

 

And they *never* have camera vans any where else, so thats fine then ....

 

Pah whatever. I did M40->A34->M4->M329 this morning and did 118 miles in
around 2hours, so that worked.

Took M404 on the way back which would have worked beautifully apart from
the totally unexpected (by me, it was sunny in Farnborough) snow around
Banbury and around the M42. Still only 2.5 hours back.

6:27am train tomorrow to London for a morning event in Threadneedle St.
Working at home Thu/Fri, thank ****, I'm knackered. I miss my 30
minutes commute to Warwick.

In the midst of all this trying to negotiate offers on our house and on
a prospective new one in Nott.

 

This is one of the main reasons I'm stil in 'the pit of despair'[tm]
hardly any commuting, ever. I'm not sure how well I'd adjust to
spending an average of 3 hours a day in a car on top of a working day
again.