The correct answer is probably: there is no way.... But I have to try.
I have skipped my plan to visit Normandy on my way to this years meeting (I didn't care much for france before and after their stupid alchometer/reflective tape/speed camera sat nav notification ban-laws that country's off my future travel plans. Also I can only say "the horse is smoking a pipe" in french and that's not going to get me far :no: )
So I will arrive to Harwich (from Hoek van Holland) on tuesday morning 7 am in the beginning of june. Want to end up in Bournemouth in the evening. If possible visit Royal air force museum in Hendon on the way (+ ace cafe) but thats not the primary goal for the day.
Being a total novice to the London morning rush. How shall I act?
- If I start from Harwich immediately, will I be sitting in monster traffic jams for the next 2-3 hours?
- Shall I sit down and eat breakfast for 3 hours and then try to go?
- Best route: Go counter clockwise/counte clockwise in a BIIIG loop. or take a more direct route south?
M1, M2, MI6, M25, M3.14 ???
Any help/suggestion is appreciated.
Quote from: bacaruda on February 11, 2014, 09:28:06 AM
So I will arrive to Harwich (from Hoek van Holland) on tuesday morning 7 am in the beginning of june. Want to end up in Bournemouth in the evening. If possible visit Royal air force museum in Hendon on the way (+ ace cafe) but thats not the primary goal for the day.
Being a total novice to the London morning rush. How shall I act?
- If I start from Harwich immediately, will I be sitting in monster traffic jams for the next 2-3 hours?
- Shall I sit down and eat breakfast for 3 hours and then try to go?
Yes, Stay in Harwich until about 08:30. The A120 from A133 onwards will be busy and the A12 is very busy.
Avoid the London rush at all costs, unless you enjoy adrenaline, crashes and scary traffic.
Way easier than Paris/Rome but still pretty intense.
Quote
- Best route: Go counter clockwise/counte clockwise in a BIIIG loop. or take a more direct route south?
M1, M2, MI6, M25, M3.14 ???
From Harwich, A120, A12, then M25 (a)
For Bournemouth you can use M25 clockwise or anti-clockwise. From the A12 to the M3 it makes no difference.
Clockwise you cross the Dartford Bridge which has a toll (£2 for a car) but is free for a motorcycle.
Make certain that you use the middle or left toll booths as the right ones you MUST pay £2 even on a motorcycle.
Anti-clockwise you go past Heathrow and the traffic can be bad even during the day.
Then M3, M27 and A31.
You need to be on the M3 before 16:00 as after that the traffic gets heavy on M25/M3.
If you want to go to Hendon and/or the Ace Cafe then at (a) take the M25 anti-clockwise (towards Heathrow) and then the A1 towards London.
After the Ace Cafe take the A40 back to the M25 and south to the M3.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Harwich,+Essex,+UK/Royal+Air+Force+Museum,+Grahame+Park+Way,+London+NW9+5LL,+United+Kingdom/Ace+Cafe+London,+Ace+Corner,+N+Circular+Rd,+Stonebridge,+London+NW10+7UD,+United+Kingdom/Bournemouth,+UK/@51.3286535,-0.8643315,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m25!4m24!1m5!1m1!1s0x47d90cc35bfd1141:0xc86cc046709a193e!2m2!1d1.260297!2d51.934731!1m5!1m1!1s0x4876112ae971edb1:0x7e6551322ab7cf3!2m2!1d-0.238091!2d51.597844!1m5!1m1!1s0x4876118bdb095b3f:0x1507945ee436bdb9!2m2!1d-0.277926!2d51.541261!1m5!1m1!1s0x487398a0b1a067fd:0x3b2ee0156ba92c94!2m2!1d-1.880769!2d50.719164 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Harwich,+Essex,+UK/Royal+Air+Force+Museum,+Grahame+Park+Way,+London+NW9+5LL,+United+Kingdom/Ace+Cafe+London,+Ace+Corner,+N+Circular+Rd,+Stonebridge,+London+NW10+7UD,+United+Kingdom/Bournemouth,+UK/@51.3286535,-0.8643315,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m25!4m24!1m5!1m1!1s0x47d90cc35bfd1141:0xc86cc046709a193e!2m2!1d1.260297!2d51.934731!1m5!1m1!1s0x4876112ae971edb1:0x7e6551322ab7cf3!2m2!1d-0.238091!2d51.597844!1m5!1m1!1s0x4876118bdb095b3f:0x1507945ee436bdb9!2m2!1d-0.277926!2d51.541261!1m5!1m1!1s0x487398a0b1a067fd:0x3b2ee0156ba92c94!2m2!1d-1.880769!2d50.719164)
Be warned that London traffic is intense. If you are used to cities, no problem, but if not then be very careful.
Most people are not aggressive but there is a lot happening all the time and it can be overwhelming.
Well Google maps show the same distance to within 1 mile either clockwise over the Dartford crossing, or anti-clockwise via Heathrow Airport.
Hendon museum would be a fairly short diversion from the M25 anti-clockwise, the Ace Cafe more of a distance.
Traffic wise, the Dartford crossing will be very busy at the sort of time you would get there, and my personal choice would be anti-clockwise [ north of the river Thames] However I originate from north London, and like all others, we have a built in biological aversion to going south of the river.
The A.12 south of Colchester can get very busy at morning rush hour, you could consider using the A.120 from Colchester to Stansted airport, then travelling south on the M.11 to the M.25
Harwich to Hendon is about 2 hours, so would make a good stop point. Getting out of London could be a pain in the butt, but depending on what time you need to be in Bournemouth, you could avoid it by leaving London later.
Hopefully you will not be stuck in traffic as we are allowed to filter/lane split over here. I assume you are coming by bike ?
I see Boomer and I broadly agree.
For your info, France dropped the alcootest and reflective tapes regulations... As for satnav speed trap warning, how can they check? When you do update make sure you manually unselect France and all your speed camera warnings will stay in, otherwise they are gone...
thanks for the good advice. exactly what I was looking for. And yes Doebag, Traveling on GTR to summer meet at Littledean 13th june :smiley:
Quote from: frenchbiker on February 11, 2014, 01:38:23 PM
For your info, France dropped the alcootest and reflective tapes regulations... As for satnav speed trap warning, how can they check? When you do update make sure you manually unselect France and all your speed camera warnings will stay in, otherwise they are gone...
Thats good that the french covernment can back down from utterly stupid lawsuggestions. hats (or reflective taped helmets) off!
Allthough I can't find any information that confirms that the reflective tape on helmet regulation has ben dropped (brethalyzer and reflective tape on upper body was abandoned, but not the helmet as far as I can see). maybe I was a little bit to harsh in my remarks on France. (actually I very much like the french countryside, the food and wine. especially the wine even if I have a hard time making myself understood) But when i read about those crazy laws I snapped. Anyway, ferry from netherlands is allready booked and normandy will still be there next year.
I live next to Amsterdam, and I never take the ferry from Hoek van Holland, which means corner from Holland.
We are in Calais in less than 4 hours, and I could cross right away with the shuttle, but always opt to spend the night and have great food before boarding the next day...
I will be arriving to Kiel 9.am, and have a good 370-390 miles through Germany and Netherlands. The overnight ferry to Harwich seems like a realy good alternative. Leaving at 22.30 it gives me plenty of time to deal with traffic jams etc.
An alternative to visit RAF museum on the way south would be to go to a major motorcycle store with a large collection of driving gear. Anybody have suggestions?
Hi Baracuda as doebag has said if you take A120 to Stansted to the M11 and travelled North for 20mins you could go to the imperial war museum at Duxford www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford/exhibitions
Quote from: bacaruda on February 13, 2014, 12:37:23 PM
An alternative to visit RAF museum on the way south would be to go to a major motorcycle store with a large collection of driving gear. Anybody have suggestions?
There is Colchester Kawasaki
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Colchester+Kawasaki+Ltd/@51.886115,0.9036472,13z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1scolchester+kawasaki!3m1!1s0x47d905118b705541:0x302d819ae970b771 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Colchester+Kawasaki+Ltd/@51.886115,0.9036472,13z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1scolchester+kawasaki!3m1!1s0x47d905118b705541:0x302d819ae970b771)
J&S in Watford
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/J%26S+Watford,+Otterspool+Way,+Bushey/@51.6670227,-0.3654448,18z (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/J%26S+Watford,+Otterspool+Way,+Bushey/@51.6670227,-0.3654448,18z)
and plenty of others.