Hello,
I have to drive from Stranraer to Sheffield to get my new car tomorrow. As far as I know my best route is to go to Dunfries, Carlisle and then at Penrith take the A66 towards Darlington and then South on the A1/M1.
Is there a better way though (perhaps the A65?) and is there anything on this journey I should be aware of such as bad traffic?
I'm from Northern Ireland so not familar with driving in England at all.
Also, any recommendations for good food in or around Rotherham at lunctime and later the Stranraer area in the evening would be nice! ;)
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I'd take the A69 from Carlisle and then the A1 to the M1 personally.
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I would avoid the A66 if at all possible; its accident record is appalling and it still seems to attract more than its fair share of the mentally challenged.
The A65 is much slower than it might appear on a map so I wouldn't use that either.
If you are to use the A69, avoid joining the A1 around Newcastle at rush hour; it can sieze up very quickly for no apparent reason.
Good luck.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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M6 South to Preston
M61 to M60 - sp Leeds
M60 becomes M62 sp Leeds
M62 onto M1 south to Sheffield/Rotherham
All motorway and hopefully little traffic outside rushours.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Hmmm some interesting ideas here. I hadn't considered the M6-M62 route but I think thats my best option certainly coming back since I'm picking up a 2.0 Mondeo Ghia which should cruise the motorways very nicely!
Its either that or the A66 I think, I reckon the A69 is too much out of the way, going by the maps.
Is the A65 really that bad? It seems the most direct on the maps.
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>>M61 to M60 - sp Leeds
M60 becomes M62 sp Leeds>>
The M61 joins the M62 direct...:-)
However, I would avoid the A65, A66 etc, great roads though they are, as the journey will take at least 50 per cent longer; instead preference would be for the A69 across from Carlisle and down the (much improved A1) to join the M18, down to junction 1 and across to Rotherham.
Going via the M6, M61 and M62 could lead to being tied up in considerable congestion depending on the time of day.
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PS
Going via the M1 could lead to even more complications trying to get through/round Leeds.
I know from much personal experience and I live in the North West...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I'll just add that I estimate to be leaving Stranraer at 10:00am and assuming around 5 hours should arrive in Rotherham at about 3pm. Is 5-hours a good guess?
Perhaps an hour and a half messing around there changing the car and eating (still no tips for food in that area, or cheap petrol? ;)
So leaving Rotherham around 4:30pm on the way back and thats where I'll encounter rush hour. In that case heading north on M1 towards Darlington sounds like my best bet since the Manchester area (on the map at least) looks like a quagmire. And taking the much-maligned A66 to avoid major built-up areas like Newcastle.
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5 hours Rotherham to Stranraer is optimistic. Last time I went to Stranraer it took me over two hours from there to Gretna (it's about 100 miles of predominantly single carriageway), then almost 3 hours from Gretna to Leeds. Leeds to Rotherham is 45-60 minutes.
Tips to eat is difficult as Rotherham is quite a big place. If you can get to junction 31 of the M1 and go towards Sheffield on the A57 turning right to Aston there is a pub called the Yellow Lion on the right which does food. Alternatively go towards Worksop on the A57 and after a couple of miles in Todwick there is a pub called the Red Lion.
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I've a pal who owns a freight business half way between Liverpool and Preston - one driver regularly does the Stranraer truck run and back in 11 hours or just over to keep within the law.
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A second laternative, particularly for the exhilarating drive which results:
Take M6 J44 onto A689. Continue on A689 (apart from a brief spell on the A69 Brampton Bypass) to Alston.
At Alston, take B6277 through Middleton in Teesdale to the A66, then follow A66 to A1 Scotch Corner.
Then continue on your journey via A1/M1.
I used to be able to do Brampton to Scotch Corner in 1 hour (whistles innocently) via that route, however do be careful through the village of Slaggyford, where I made intimate contact with someone's cottage in 1993......ahem.....
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Just put this into my Tomtom navigator to see what it came up with.
It recommends the Carlisle, M6, A66, A1 route.
264 miles, estimated at 4 hrs 26 mins.
Personally though, I don't like the A66 much.
Best of luck - enjoy the new car.
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Much of the A66 has been considerably upgraded over the years.
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It might be worth going that way in a few years when they've finished it then...
It certainly isn't good at present.
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>>A66 upgraded
Yes, but it's still an _awful_ road in places. They need to dual the whole lot from Penrith to Scotch Corner.
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Lee
Having a Fabialous time.
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Slaggyford! 30-odd of us once had a very, very good weekend there. Excellent pub, good walking and a rubbish name.
I would've thought it was the supertight railway bridge bend that would catch people out there though.
Good recommendation of a road though, I agree that's a good drive.
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Lee
Having a Fabialous time.
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Keep your speed up on the bends on the A75 or else wait untill all the trucks have left the port, or else be prepared to slow down to let them overtake
www.trucknetuk.com
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I once went on the A75 comin from the Stranraer ferry port towards Dumfries a couple ov years ago and i can honestly tell u its possibly the best road iv ever driven in terms ov scenery, lowish traffic levels and also the number ov crawler lanes for those HGVs over the gradients. I was only 18 at the time and was driving pug 205 1.1 at the time which givin by an elderly relative from Armagh.
Talkin about the A66 iv heard its a bit ov a devils road so i think thats best avoided being that it has 1 ov the highest death rates for such a stretch of road in the uk.
Never a less i hope u enjoy your new car whatever make it is and happy driving!!!!!!
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Living in Dumfries, I know the A75 like the back of my hand. If you aren't one of the first off the boat, it'll take you at least 2 hours to get to Carlisle! After that its your calll as to the route. Personally, I'd go down the the motorway.
I have to agree about the A75. Its a cracking road. The scenery is excellent. Beware the twisty bit between Glenluce and Newton Stewart, but other than that, it is a fast flowing A road. Yes its mostly single carriageway, and there's not that many crawler lanes, but other than boat traffic, its pretty quiet. Try and avoid the Dumfries bypass around rush hour as it becomes a big car park.
And watch out for police. Dumfries & Galloway only have 2 camera vans, but they have loads of patrol cars and they are constantly on the A75. If you get caught, you will get a hefty fine! I know - trust me!
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>>Talkin about the A66 iv heard its a bit ov a devils road so i think thats best avoided being that it has 1 ov the highest death rates for such a stretch of road in the uk.>>
The A66 is a wonderful road if you have the right car - it's not the most dangerous, as you infer, thant's one somewhere in Scotland that was featured on TV a year or so ago.
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OK thanks for all the advice!
I got off the boat at about 940am on Friday and drove towards Dumfries/Carlisle still not sure which route I would take!
I then decided to avoid the first option (Scotch Corner?) and headed down the M6. The motorways over there are much better than ours in Northern Ireland (we only have 2 lanes), although the volume of lorries is MUCH higher there too. Anyway I decided to stick to the M6 to Preston then across the M62 (I think?) to Leeds and south on the M1. Including 2 toilet breaks the journey there took about 4.5 hours. Didn't go over 80mph at all in my 206 1.6. No major queues or hold-ups.
Stopped in Rotherham for about an hour then made my way back in my new Mondeo Ghia 2.0 Petrol, took about the same time despite a few queues on the M62 towards Manchester on the way back. Arrived in Stranraer at about 9pm.
A very enjoyable drive though and I wish I had an excuse to do something like that more often. In hindsight I perhaps wish I had taken the A66 or A69 for a more scenic route on the way down. It was dark on the way back anyway.
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