M4 into London (islington), 7pm tomorrow?

Hxc

Hxc

Hxc

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Hi all.

Am driving from Bristol to the O2 Acadamy Islington for a friends gig at 7pm tomorrow and I'm curious as to what the traffic conditions are going to be.

By the looks of the route I manage to skirt the very edge of the congestion zone, but I'm still as to how much time to allow getting there. An estimate for now, is 2 and a half hours, but I expect that'll be longer over peak traffic times.

Anyone drive that route regularly and would be able to give me a heads up? Trains and buses are not good time wise, and I need to be back in Bristol for a doctors appointment the next morning, so a hotel is out of the question

Cheers
 
M4 junction 3-1 will be busy but flowing. A406 will get busy around traffic lights. It can be very busy after the M1 junction around 7pm.

Congestion charging ends at 6pm. Avoid venturing into central London, you will get stuck in awful traffic. Stick to the A406 until you get close to Islington. Consider coming down the A1.

I think it will take around 4/5 hours.
 
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I do a similar journey at the same time every week and I'm afraid it's usually awful. Sometimes takes over 3 hours to get from uxbridge to greenwich.
 
I'm confused, I don't plan to head through uxbridge, greenwich, or the a406.

I was going to go M4 - A4 - A40 - A501.

It's the simplest route by far?
 
Venturing into zone 2 is brave, you are going through zone 1 too. It is risky and will be packed with traffic.
 
Hxc said:
I'm confused, I don't plan to head through uxbridge, greenwich, or the a406.

I was going to go M4 - A4 - A40 - A501.

It's the simplest route by far?
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I realise that, I'm just saying my route uses the M4 and goes through central london so a lot of it is similar to yours.
 
invoke said:
:confused: Islington is central? I'd either go very early or park somewhere further out and tube in personally
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This is not a bad idea, tube from somewhere you can park. Once you cross the A406 it gets messy in a car. That is basically zone 2 at that point.
 
The M4 from Heathrow will be a nightmare, the A4 from Chiswick and Hammersmith can take ages to get through and i doubt the Westway or Euston Road will be any better. That can be a standstill. Put it like this, i live in Leytonstone and it's taken me 2hours to get to Hammersmith through Euston Road before on a Sunday...

I'd plan for 4 hours and if it takes less then you have more time to take in the clean North London air...
 
invoke said:
:confused: Islington is central? I'd either go very early or park somewhere further out and tube in personally
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My london knowledge is very, very limited, apologies. I was under the impression that it wasn't so unbelievably bad outside of the congestion zone.

What would you reccomend doing? I can probably leave at about 3:30pm at the earliest, which would give 3 and a half hours to get there. The actual band we want to see arn't on till ten so can easily be a bit later.

Cheers folks!

Train to paddington is NOT an option because I have no way of getting home.
 
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The A501 for example is as central as it gets. Not in the congestion zone (it's the outer limit of it, so everyone uses it) but you're driving past Baker Street, Regents Park, Euston, Kings Cross etc.

You might get lucky, but i find it's often best to plan for the worst ;)
 
Drive to Hayes and Harlington station (just off the M4), train to Ealing Broadway (10min), central line to Oxford Circus and then Victoria line to Highbury & Islington? Just a thought.
 
Have worked out I can actually take a godamn bus for much cheaper than the car, provided it is possible to get from Angel to Victoria in under an hour by tube or taxi at 11pm
Reckon this would be a much better idea?
 
Hxc said:
Have worked out I can actually take a godamn bus for much cheaper than the car, provided it is possible to get from Angel to Victoria in under an hour by tube or taxi at 11pm
Reckon this would be a much better idea?
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea at all! Angel to Victoria takes 25 min on the tube with one change at Euston station.
 
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