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M25 advice
Allo! I have to drive to Braintree on Friday afternoon/evening from Wiltshire. I know the M25 can be a nightmare at rush hour. Googling is offering a VERY varied range of advice!
What time is the best time to leave Wilts to avoid too much traffic? I can leave any time from 4pm and ideally I'd like to get to Braintree before midnight.
What time is the best time to leave Wilts to avoid too much traffic? I can leave any time from 4pm and ideally I'd like to get to Braintree before midnight.
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Leave at 4pm. I'm fairly sure you'll make it by midnight.
Yep, after sitting for 5 hours in a traffic jam! I'd rather stay at home, leave later and have smooth driving.
Thanks for that, Radiodad....that's sort of the time I was thinking, really.
That sounds about right, you could leave it later but if you want to be sure to get there for Midnight then 7.30 to 8 is a good time to leave.
After around 7PM the traffic will calm a lot, by the time you hit the M25 it will be pretty quiet. Just give a check on BBC Travel for any accidents before you leave as obviously if theres been a large smash it may take you longer.
Maybe it's because I was involved in helping to build it.
Why did you build too many junctions and too few services? It would be OK if it had been designed as a motorway instead of a ring road.
If I were you I would set out around 5pm, you'll be hitting the 25 around 6pm I would imagine from Wiltshire, I reckon it will take about another hour and a half to two hours to get to Braintree from getting on the M25.
Useful tip - go on google maps, enter your town as the start place, press get directions, enter Braintree as your destination, then it will tell you projected times under current traffic conditions. Try at 4pm tonight, then around 5pm and 6pm. That gives you a rough indicator.
Also take a look at the traffic before you leave to make sure that there are no closures on the motorways (you could then go round the bottom of the M25 if the top is closed).
You have two options in the essex section, either M11/A120 or M25 to A12.
It tens to get sticky going on the A12, especially around Chelmsford to Braintree between 5pm and 7pm. So I would suggest M11/A120. The A120 is now dual carriageway all the way from M11 to Braintree and it rarely gets that busy.
As somebody suggested leaving around 5:30 to 6pm and aim to be on M25 around 6:30 to 7pm, most of the traffic will be heading from M25 to south west so it should be pretty clear heading the other way. But I really would not get too worried about it. If you want to stop then there are services at South Mims (J23 A1).
From an M25 builders point of view...Where there was a pub in went a junction, who needs service areas when there's a pub on every junction.
And YES we were sober when we were working on it..........sometimes.