Tips for driving from London to Holyhead

selfbuilder1

Hi folks,

I am heading to London on Friday to pick up my new car . I am getting the ferry on Friday night from Holyhead and would appreciate any tips for the journey from London to Holyhead. If I have time I will do a bit of shopping on the way to the ferry but dont know the best place to stop.

Thanks.

Berty

Use the M6 North and do your shopping in Chester.

Joey the lips

Congratualtions. Bring a sat nav. I would have loan you mine for a security deposit

Let us know how it went with the car. Try give us feedback along the way inc how it goes with customs.

i love fly on the wall stories.

Best of luck

alias no.9

Friday traffic in the UK can be a nightmare. What time are you travelling? Some routeplanners will send you cross country from Crewe to Chester but you're better off sticking to the M6/M56. There's always a temptation to get as close to your destination as possible as early as possible but don't get too close to Holyhead if you have time to kill, there's nothing there. Next nearest town Bangor is a ****hole too.
If you want to shop for clothes etc... you could do worse than stopping at Cheshire Oaks just off the M56, there's also a large Sainsburys there. If you still have time to kill, there's a CineWorld just off the A55 at Llandudno Junction.

Victor

Make sure you plan your route with stops and plenty of time.

Make sure the vehicle is up to the journey.

sneem-man

I'd head into Birmingham...
Its 2 hours from London and 3 hours from Holyhead.Get off at junction 6 on the M6 and go along Aston expressway into Brum (10 min journey) Head into the Bullring shopping centre,There's also a German Xmas market up at the townhall which is well worth a look.
Safe journey...

rohatch

sneem-man wrote: »

I'd head into Birmingham...
Its 2 hours from London and 3 hours from Holyhead.Get off at junction 6 on the M6 and go along Aston expressway into Brum (10 min journey) Head into the Bullring shopping centre,There's also a German Xmas market up at the townhall which is well worth a look.
Safe journey...

What time you landing in London? Which airport, where you picking up the car.

Fastest way out M1or M40 then M6 with 2 choice of roads at chester. If you have time and you fancy a spectular drive come back up through telford and get onto the A5. Its up to a 5-6 hour drive M40 M42 M6 M54 A6.

homer90

alias no.9 wrote: »

There's always a temptation to get as close to your destination as possible as early as possible but don't get too close to Holyhead if you have time to kill, there's nothing there. Next nearest town Bangor is a ****hole too.

Good advice !

Had to kill 10 or so hours in holyhead, a few months back...

Horrible place !

greendom

Always plan for junctions 4 - 10 of the M6 to take much longer than they should

rabbitinlights

Forget shopping, see what you new car is really like!

Take the A5 and have a few "laps" of the EVO triangle



Much nicer scenery and a good few places to stop apart from the bloody service stations.

Maverick88

Take the M6 toll road, it'll cost you about 4 quid but could save you a load of time.

Depending on where in London you're picking up the car and what time beware of the M25. Can very quickly and easily turn into Europes largest car park. Even as I type this now part of the M25 is shut due to an accident

If you're on the M25 beware of variable speed limits and stick to the limit as they have camera's that will take your average speed between junctions.

If its Friday evening you can be sure to hit heavy traffic between Birmingham and Stoke and again around Thelwall viaduct.

positron

satnav ftw!

This time last year, I left CarGiant with my new girl around 6pm and just followed the satnav right to the ferry. I think I had set it to avoid tolls. It was a Friday night and there was some traffic around Birmingham, but otherwise it excellent roads and it was just a great drive..!

Cookie_Monster

Quicker to go Fishguard rosslare and up N11 to Dublin?

Last time this was asked in C&T that was suggested several times iirc

neil_purdy

Friend of mine did same.. said traffic was a nightmare once the evening rush hour picked up.. ended up missing his ferry that evening.. think he took the M6..

atomicent

Berty wrote: »

Use the M6 North and do your shopping in Chester.

I agree with berty, use m6 then m56, youll pass chester on way to holyhead, probably safest bet because traffic around bermingham on a friday can be chaotic!!
Where in London are you coming from?
If your coming from close to the city youll be best take m25, then onto m40, m42 then m6 onto m56 ( it'll be sign posted for North Wales), then stop at Chester.
Let us know how you get on.

spadder

I got caught out on a Friday before with traffic ,left london at 10.30am, missed the fast ferry and to wait 'till 3am for the slow ferry,Holyhead is a kip. I'd suggest the 10pm P+O freight ferry out of Liverpool, cheaper and you get dinner and a berth. it's not a fast ferry, but it gets into dublin about 5 am

atomicent

you could use m25, m1 then m6 depending where in london you are.

selfbuilder1

Thanks for all the replies so far. I am flying into Stansted at 10.30am, being picked up at airport by dealer. Driving from Southend to Holyhead. I hope to get out of London asap and get most of the journey done before rush hour. I am not sailing until 2.40am on Saturday morning so have loads of time I hope. If I stop in Chester whats the traffic like from there to Holyhead and how long would it take. Thanks again.

antomorro-sei

What car are you getting?

amacachi

selfbuilder1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies so far. I am flying into Stansted at 10.30am, being picked up at airport by dealer. Driving from Southend to Holyhead. I hope to get out of London asap and get most of the journey done before rush hour. I am not sailing until 2.40am on Saturday morning so have loads of time I hope. If I stop in Chester whats the traffic like from there to Holyhead and how long would it take. Thanks again.

Sounds like you'll have loads of time so. :pac: Holyhead-Chester is free-flowing pretty much the whole way, motorway standard with not very high levels of traffic. Plan a route for getting in and out of Chester if you are hitting there, we got totally lost when we were trying to pass through about 6 years ago.

JCDUB

Hahahha deadly, from reading this thread at least I know I'm not the only one to get stuck in Holyhead after missing a ferry:D

I did the journey up the M6 and M56 last year, stopped off in Chester for a bit of shopping, and got fooked in traffic between Chester and Holyhead.

Had to wait around 6 hours in what reminded me of Chatsworth estate off Shameless...
Holyhead is a shitehole, avoid at all costs, seriously..

I walked into a pub to see if I could watch a bit of footy and maybe get a bite to eat, big mistake.Big Deliverance style turning of heads of all the locals when I walked in, no barman to be seen, I turned on my heels and bolted out the door before I got stabbed or worse...

I could feel the eyes burning into the back of my head:eek:

rohatch

selfbuilder1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies so far. I am flying into Stansted at 10.30am, being picked up at airport by dealer. Driving from Southend to Holyhead. I hope to get out of London asap and get most of the journey done before rush hour. I am not sailing until 2.40am on Saturday morning so have loads of time I hope. If I stop in Chester whats the traffic like from there to Holyhead and how long would it take. Thanks again.

Ok, you will get out of stansted by 11:30 all going well, and arrive down to southend before 1pm. You could go shopping at lakeside in thurrock and bluewater, (A13 M25 junction) and spend a few hours there. If you leave before 8pm you will make the 2:30am and have a great drive.
http://www.lakeside.uk.com/
http://www.bluewater.co.uk/

If you cannot find what you want here than it does not exist.

Thats a 6 hour drive if you do not stop or get held up. From southend the A127 is an ok road, but you could take A13 to M25 its faster no roundabouts or lights, then M1 and straight up.

Chester to holyhead is a lovely drive, the A55 is a dualer now and will take about 90 mins. They do have lanes closed quite often on it so check traffic news before hand. It is very easy to take the wrong exit from the M56 M53 to A55, but you can also stay on the M56 and go A5117, A550, A494, you will have one set of traffic lights to go through this way, if its busy trucks would slow you down.

rohatch

JCDUB wrote: »

Hahahha deadly, from reading this thread at least I know I'm not the only one to get stuck in Holyhead after missing a ferry:D

I have missed the last xmas eve ferry home on a motorbike (no sailings for 3 days after) where after drving lon holyhead, i then had to drive back to friends in telford and stay with them for xmas.

I have done the trip at least 30 times on bikes cars n trucks.

bigar

I always take the M40 from London then onto the M5 extending into the M6. I stop off at Oxford if any where, I mostly just do the whole trip in one go.

The M40 is much nicer and calmer than the M1.

If you have the late 2.30 ferry, I would stay in London and then head up leaving at 8.00. Getting to Holyhead from London at that time of the evening takes a good 4-4.5 hours (from M40 exit on the M25) without stopping - or speeding .