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M6 northbound Stoke area Friday morning
Need to be in Manchester on Friday by around 10 am (coming from the Oxford area). Prev experience of the M6 round Stoke at peak times is that it grinds to a halt in numerous places due to the volume of traffic. Does anyone have real-world experience of that stretch of motorway these days, and is it viable to rely on getting through without a serious delay? Alternative is M1 / M62 which is further & full of 50 limits and the 62 is also a big bottleneck, but is less likely to come to a standstill.
Opinions welcome.
Opinions welcome.
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National Express bus could be a bargain the night before.
If you get up the motorway, you still have to make it into Manchester and park.
Sorry to be pessimistic. You may choose to drive and sail stright through!
I'd still stick with the M6 rather than M1/M62 - the M62 heading into Greater Manchester can be absolutely hellish at peak time.
Don't believe anyone who tells you that if the M6 is busy, it's quicker to come off and go parallel to it using country roads. They get totally gridlocked at those times because every other bugger does it too.
I'd still trust the M6 more than the M62 though. M62 is always a living hell.
Agreed. If i'm coming from the east/south-east and it's snarled up around the West Midlands, I tend to go to up the M1 and across the A50 to pick up the M6 at Stoke, rather than trying to skirt around it around Birmingham.
The M6 is just too unpredictable. (And the M1/M62 sounds a very long detour with even more chance of accidents and delays.)
Really would find an alternative if it is important you are there on time.
I always use the A34 to go to Manchester as if something happens there are ways around.
Not sure what iqoniq was getting at tho...
For 10am to Manchester on a Friday from Oxford is pushing it all the way I'd say heading north.
It's a 3hour CLEAN run but you will hitting the M6 at peak rush hour around stoke/Sandbach/Northwich etc then just getting into Manchester either over Thelwell or past Tatton Park around the south.
Go up the night before and stay somewhere would be my suggestion especially if you *have* to be there at 10am.
This can be a complete bottleneck when going through Stoke, Congleton, Wilmslow etc. No faster than the M6 in my experience.
If you’re driving to Manchester from Oxford there is no way you can accurately time your journey to arrive at 10.00am to be honest.
If you must be there for a 10.00am deadline then you really should set off VERY early and be prepared to hang around in the city for a good few hours;..... at least you’ll be there.
It really is a lottery and being Friday just adds to the potential mayhem. You may have a smooth run but it’s by no means certain.
It just takes one small shunt on either M62/M60/M6/M56/M61 and the entire system suffers.
The worst part of stoke - the sign saying welcome to stoke
The best part of stoke - the sign saying you're now leaving stoke
Cheers. Will report back after.
This took me along some fast, but deserted roads through nice countryside, and I came into Manchester from the east.
I must admit that this must have been over 20 years ago.
Different world now...different world to what it was 10years ago.
That'll have been the A623, which joins the A6 at Chaple-en-le-Frith.
I do quite enjoy the Pennine passes, and use the Woodhead Pass fairly regularly, as a nice change from motorway driving. They're busier than they were, and you can get held up at either end, but still good roads. Much nicer is decent weather though, it must be said!
I'd expected problems as it was the first week back after the peak of the August holiday period into a bank holiday weekend.