...or driving to visit someone and back home afterwards.
So what rarely undertaken journeys are forum members going on this festive season?
Is that drive half-way across the county, or country, to visit friends or relations something to look forward to or dread?
For my part, it will be down the A1(M) through County Durham to my caravan in leafy North Yorkshire on Christmas Eve.
Christmas lunch is at a restaurant in Pontefract, West Yorks - about equidistant for others who are coming from places such Oxford and Wolverhampton.
So more A1(M) action for me on Christmas morning and back up to the caravan in the afternoon.
First drink of the day - which I will need after lunch with my lot - will be a large G&T in the van at about 5pm.
That's my Christmas programme, what's yours?
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i wish..who pulled the short straw, 8 straight nights starting next monday. only place i will be driving is to work....a very merry christmas.
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At home with the wife n kid's for the big day then down the M11, M25, M3 to leafy Bagshot for a few days at the outlaws.
Mind you did the same journey last year and passed a horrendous accident on the M25. BMW in an upsidedown heap with spare parts strewn all around. Very sobering.
Safe driving where ever you might be going.
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Me, celebrates Yule (21st/22nd) not Chrimbo! so I start my celebations earlier than most, that means Sunday down the local, festively taking of a Firkin, Monday relaxing in my favorite armchair, then another Firkin or two in the evening at the olde Tavern. 24th 5th 6th, usual lurkin, loiterin, an potterin down the allotment, then a further Firkin or two (just to be social with the "believers" tho!) otherwise. it's Bah! Humbug to the whole thing!!
Billy
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Christmas driving.....not good. Fewer HGVs make it a pleasure but lots more drivers probably driving whilst having a traditional Christmas family row and being distracted.
And don't get me started on all those "let's try out the new satnav" drivers gazing in wonder at this box of tricks as it tells them how to drive on a journey they probably make a few times a year to their relatives.
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Christmas driving.....not good. Fewer HGVs make it a pleasure but lots more drivers probably driving whilst having a traditional Christmas family row and being distracted.
On the other side of the coin, us HGV drivers get a break from the "weekend drivers" too! ;-)
Four days off for me, daughter & family coming up from Gosport and I shall be doing as little driving as possible. They will be using the satnav but this is West Wales, graveyard of many Tomtom addicts!
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I'm the nominated driver for Xmas - including the 25th.
I won't be drinking, but I don't envy the people who will be doing a great deal of work over Xmas - mainly the mums.
Being the driver also means that I need some means of escaping the after-dinner boredom - either washing up or a long walk. Being sober with a pile of drinkers is no fun.
I'm also hoping for some quality time on two wheels ....
Happy Xmas All / Bah Humbug ! (delete as applicable)
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North Wales (again) - close to friends and relatives in a nice little cottage. Working as "duty" Friday evening then off on Saturday.....rather looking forward now. Handel's Messiah will make the journey with us. Safe to say probably the most inspiring of Christmas music. May try and catch a Welsh language "Plygain" if we can find one. Primitive but joyous music regardless of your beliefs.
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Ah! the stronghold of the Pagans! - as we speak the Druids will be collecting thier evergreens and Holy Mistletoe (not the apple-trre kind, must be from "The Noble Oak"!),
As for inspiring music, try a collection of Hans Zimmer classics - fantastic!!
Billy
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It starts this weekend with a trip from Teesside to Tyneside to visit her parents. Monday takes us to Utoxetter for a wedding, tuesday back to Teesside. Wednesday back to work after then car will be parked up until Friday when we will visit my parents in Lincoln. Return Saturday, relax sunday and thats about it for this year - only about 800 miles :-(
We seem to do this little routine every year (weddding excepted) - maybe next year someone else can do the visiting!!
Edited by bbroomlea{P} on 17/12/2008 at 18:17
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Christmas Eve I will get the V8 out of its garage and drive from Milton Keynes up to Liverpool and onto Manchester to see my Dad. Very early Christmas Day I'll do the return journey to get back in time for Christmas Dinner with my children.
An opportunity not to be missed - 160 miles of empty (ish) motorways behind the wheel of the V8! I can't wait....
That's my Christmas treat :)
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One of my aunties is doing a very hard journey from where she lives to where my grandma lives. It will really put them out because there are a set of traffic lights in the way and you even have to join a big bad motorway for an entire distance of 1.3 miles. Total distance is around 3 miles, I feel for them I really do.
Personaly I won't be driving anywhere for obvious reasons :(.
I have family all over the country but I will only be seeing my immediate family so stuck in Manchester christmas which is probably a good thing! Unless I get a new car for christmas day but knowing my luck it will be an FSO Polenez.
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Sublime to ridiculous for me.
For a number of years my Christmas return journey went like this.....
Drive from Novo Hamburgo to Porto Allegre in the south of Brazil
Fly to Rio De Janiero
Fly to Heathrow
Chauffeur driven from Heathrow to Bath in a Jag ( those were the days )
Spend the night at my house in Bath with the first Mrs B.
Drive next day with Mrs B mk1 to our family in Edinburgh.
Eat turkey etc for a few days
Reverse procedure.
Now.....
Walk from home office to kitchen
Cook/eat turkey and so on
Reverse procedure
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We are 'home' :-) Only advantage of us both being 'orphans' is that we no longer have to go to London and Devon/Perthshire to visit parents.
Daughter drives down from London on Monday, son + g/f are staying here at the moment rather unexpectedly and indefinitely (arghhhh!)
Daughter and I will share driving when going to lunch with relative in Gloucestershire on the 28th.
Will be the odd trip out to take the dogs for a good run on the beach.
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Scotland for Christmas with friends, quick breather in England (one day!) before journeying south for New Year in Wales with siter in law. Over 1,000 miles to be covered, but driving over Christmas is almost pleasureable.
Spending Christmas at home is something I can't see us ever doing by choice. Too many Christmases spent on faraway beaches has probably spoilt us and once our daughter is older enough we'll be going to the sun.
Edited by daveyjp on 17/12/2008 at 20:17
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Already done it once - back to Devon from Oxford, then to Manchester and then Leeds. Unfortunately was called back to Oxford at short notice so the true journey home will be Friday or Saturday.
Can recommend the Total garages in Manchester, got 55mpg out of the Passat and their diesel on the motorway.
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Will be in Israel for the holidays. Christmas Day is not a public holiday there (for obvious reasons!) but will be spent relaxing with my family or visiting friends with a family birthday party in the evening.
Sunday after will be driving from north of Tel Aviv to Eilat; a journey of about 235 miles on mostly single carriageway roads, much of them narrow, twisting and in mountains, identical to those that coach carrying those Russians came off. Likely driving time is a minimum of 4.5 hours although there is lots to see on the way so will take it slowly and carefully.
All the best to you all. Lets hope 2009 brings a little more joy than 2008.
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Hey Espada - hoping to come across to Israel on the bike next summer - do you know of a passenger/vehicle ferry from Europe or Cyprus ?
Edited by Pugugly on 17/12/2008 at 21:03
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There used to be quite a few ferries into Haifa and I know of people who 'drove to Israel' usually getting to Pireaus and then getting on a boat. I have always wanted to do this, but the second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) caused demand to drop off so the ferries stopped. I will keep looking (as I still hanker after crossing Europe in the Outback and Subaru are popular in Israel) and if I find anything, will let you know.
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For PU
From www.seat61.com
"As of summer 2008, a passenger cruise ferry sails at least weekly from Rhodes (and on some dates Crete) to Limassol in Cyprus between June & October taking 1 night, then weekly between April & October from Limassol to Haifa in Israel taking 1 night. Hopefully these ferries will operate again in 2009. For sailing dates and prices see www.varianostravel.com/Cruises/ferry_service.htm. "
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Great Espada - I Googled a few months ago in vain.
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Thanks - one of the plans is to travel to Cyprus and cross over as a foot passenger and hire a bike in Israel, I have no good reason for going there other than it has a strange magnetism to me.
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I am not an especially religious person. Clearly though, an individual is always at least mildly influenced by their cultural background.
I have had occasion to visit Israel from time to time through work. I have to say that I would find it hard to see how anyone could fail to be moved by the sights sounds and feel of the place. How grounding it is to actually be in some of the very places where much of the worlds history was founded and such significant events have taken place in both ancient and modern times.
Whatever political or religious views one may or may not hold, it is indeed a very special and complex little corner of our planet. I would encourage anyone who has the time to go and experience it. It will change you. In what way is very much a case of where you start from and what you want to understand or not. What I can promise is that on your return you will have more knowledge, which is much more than can be said of many holiday destinations.
Do it PU.
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Im working until 4pm Christmas Eve, glad to be aswell, I like to get xmas outta the way and get back to work ( ive managed to get a great earner booked for the Saturday after xmas too ). I will prob get the cars cleaned up Boxing day.
Driving will be happening on Christmas Day - dinner at 1pm then off from Northampton to Norwich which will be about 2 1/2 hours, stay there till about 9pm, then driving back home again. Looking forward to the drive so we can stretch the legs on the Sirion ( and use up the misses petrol, not mine for once ).
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Christmas day, we usually travel up to my late brothers place of rest near Hunstanton to spread some flowers, tidy up etc and then we usually have a stroll along one of the more deserted beaches. So big boots and warm coats for me, swmbo will amaze/amuse the locals by doing her burlesque version of boots and stuff.
This year that may be transferred to Boxing or even New Years day, due to the youngsters ever changing their plans, we normally have Christmas day to ouselves, kind of like it that way...humbug...;)
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It's something of a coincidence that it's at Christmas, but the only longish journey I will be doing will be on Boxing day.
An hour up the M6, to collect these little uns:
tinyurl.com/3maly6
tinyurl.com/4zbvkb
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Isn't it tradition to have goose or turkey?
Kevin...
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We usually drive up to Yorkshire to stay with family but I'm on-call for the next three weeks so it's just me and my little nest of vipers at home.
Dad is rejoicing because his malt collection won't take a hit even though I always take him a bottle of Whisky Mac to make up for it.
The plan is to veg out in front of the TV with a stack of Peter Sellers movies on Christmas day and then go to a shoot on Boxing day.
Back to work on 27th probably.
Kevin...
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>>a bottle of Whisky Mac
It doesn't come in bottles ready mixed these days, does it? I guess if G&T comes in a can, perhaps it does.
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>It doesn't come in bottles ready mixed these days, does it?
Yes, ready mixed in a bottle with a gaudy tartan label. It is spectacularly horrible.
Kevin...
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Well for me, its 3 miles up the road on Xmas Eve to visit my dad.
Xmas day is 1.5 miles down to the in-laws for the stereotypical "Peter Kay" Xmas dinner.
Two tables pushed together at different heights, an assortment of chairs, stools all at different heights to sit on.
M-I-L spends the time in the kitchen serving up and rarely actually sits down to meal
Then after meal, getting off chair/stool whatever, slumping on the couch and having a nap!
Motoring related - for the first time ever I am getting SWMBO a motoring present - chrome "eyelids" for her Beetle!
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Excellent Bobby! Although a word of caution......
Christmas 1989 I got the first Mrs B a new set of hubcaps for her Fiat Panda. I thought this was a splendid gift as it needed some. I took great care to get matching ones and even went to the trouble and expense of sourcing brand new ones instead of going to the scrappy. How could a girl fail to be impressed? I even fitted them for her.
We were divorced by June 1990
Not sure if the two events were connected but.......
;-)
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Humph, now if it came with that guarantee I would get her hubcaps as well........ :)
Seriously, she actually WANTS the eyelids!
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not quite as exciting as all the above but
Spend Xmas eve with the Girlfriend and do our Christmas then at her house, next morning on Xmas day drive 15 miles to my parents and spend the day with them
Then on the evening of Christmas day drive 20 miles to spend the evening with my Girlfriend and her Sister and parents at her Sisters house
Drive back to my Girlfriends house (5 miles)
Then drive back to my Parents house on Boxing day (15 miles) to go and see my parents and Grandparents and then drive back again to home
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Driving Home For Christmas? Sounds like the Road To Hell to me. I think I would rather be Down On The Beach with Josephine. (I think that's enough Chris Rea songs for now)
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Christmas from Hell for me.
Parents here for ten days which is bad enough. On Christmas Eve we all have to leave my beautiful home and drive 100 miles to stay in an old socialist high-rise flat with the blubber-in-law where me, wifey and two kids will sleep in one sofa bed in the living room. The bathroom has a cardboard door with a glass window in it so I won't be able "to go" for two days.
Evening spent with wife's Aunt eating awful peasants' food with two dozen other obese, smelly oldies. The sole topic of conversation will be "why isn't Dave eating his food" and the answer is a turnip and a carrot swilling around in a tin pan of grubby warm water isn't my idea of soup. I'm the only driver so I can't even obliterate it with alcohol.
This has been the routine for the last five years and I hate, hate, hate every lingering last second of it.
Best part is the drive back on Boxing Day when I probably won't see a single other car.
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Get her some hubcaps Dave. Worked for me. Failing that, turkey sandwiches and a cool box I guess.
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On Christmas Day we're not moving from the house, apart from church in the morning.
Boxing Day on the other hand we're driving down to my mother's in Torbay - four kids and two dogs in the back after a day of festivity should guarantee 100 miles of squabbling. The missus and I already have a bet on who's going to be the first to say "Daaaaaad, she / he 'it me".
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24/25/26/27 December, I'll be driving up the M5/M6/M42/M54 and back again. Then repeating the process for 12 hours a day. Fingers crossed for a quiet period.
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I'll drive to friends in South Wales on Christmas eve and back to Luton early Boxing day morning.
Depending on how much luggage the passenger wants to take will determine if its the Mondeo or the Porsche that gets to spread its legs.
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"spread its legs?"
You love that car a little too much
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Depending on how much luggage the passenger wants to take will determine if its the Mondeo or the Porsche that gets to spread its legs.
I think (hope) that you meant stretch its legs!
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24/25/26/27 December ..for 12 hours a day. Fingers crossed for a quiet period.
My fingers are crossed for you too. Thanks for all your efforts in sorting out joe public and thanks for all your responses to joe public on this form.
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im going to my parents for xmas day but they live next door to me so im going to get there by driving round the block just for the heck of it so i can say i 'went' somewhere for xmas :-)
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Sign of the times ? Luck of the draw ? Not sure.
Yesterday I had to make a longish trip. for reasons too boring to go into here I had to drive from my home in Cheshire to Brighton for a 9.00 am meeting and return last night. A short 500 miles round trip on the last Friday before Christmas was filling me with dread at the potential problems. Clearly the early start didn't hurt in terms of dealing with the potental bottlenecks around Birmingham and I didn't even need to use the toll road. Surprisingly though, the M25 also flowed well and I arrived early enough to treat myself to a coffee, bacon buttie and a glance a newspaper in a wee cafe in The Lanes.
Leaving Brighton about 4.45pm I was resigned to a long haul back north. Strangely, although busy, the motorway network actually worked as intended last night and I was not delayed at all. Back in the house before 9.00. With petrol at less than 90p and free flowing roads it was almost enjoyable.
A pleasant enough drive in fact. I had forgotten about those.
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 20/12/2008 at 10:46
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Well I'm off in a while - Didn't get home until after 4.00am........knew it would be like this. Tired now, Mrs P can drive as a special favour.
Edited by Pugugly on 20/12/2008 at 10:48
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mlc, hoping it is a peaceful and safe time for you and that you draw a better straw next year!
I raise my glass to you :-)
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never enough! My sister's a Stainsby Girl.
JH
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Well, a very pleasant surprise. Thanks to those who gave best wishes and safe journeys to everyone on the forum.
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Finished about a couple of hours ago.
Last Sunday was my parents - 300 mile round trip
Today - 350 mile round trip to collect MIL - nothing to do now until I take her back after New Year
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Scottish trip of the holiday break over. 500 miles of pleasurable driving (except for the "40mph all the time" Fiesta driver on the A65 yesterday).
Dumfries and Galloway has some excellent roads, it's not a well visited part of Scotland either so the roads are always quiet. Even the A75 which can be a pain with HGVs as it's the route to Stranraer seems to have had lots of upgrading work to introduce overtaking lanes at regular intervals. Boys in blue were out in strength. Every time we went out we saw at least one police car and we saw the unmarked car twice having a word with drivers.
The A3 did almost 50mpg over the whole trip.
Cardiff tomorrow!
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The traffic crews near Castle Douglas are particularly keen. I remember in the dead of one night having come off the Belfast ferry and heading for the M6 I followed a Sierra Cosworth for a good while on the A75. Quite impressed really given that I was in a fully laden Mondeo diesel estate.
Eventually I decided to get sensible and concede that he had the legs on me. A few miles further up the road he was in a lay by chatting to the occupants of a jam sandwich.
Same route, different occasion. Coming off the ship, a bloke in one of those R32 Golfs was clearly in something of a hurry. Later on, same lay by, there he was......
Castle Douglas is about 70 miles from Stranraer. I don't know this to be the case but I wouldn't be surprised if the traffic cars take up position about a hour or so after a big ferry has docked. Be like shooting ducks in a barrel I should think.
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I picked my daughter up on xmas eve from Epsom town centre and was amazed to stooped at what can only be described as a road block on the way back manned by what seemed like a force of 25 policemen
Every single vehicle was checked very OTT IMHO
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We were 6 miles from Castle Douglas and only went as far as Wigtown on Saturday, so this stretch is still popular for the BiB - unmarked car is now a grey Volvo!
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