Doing my first long journey (548m) on Monday - advice?

TheVoice

TheVoice

TheVoice

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Hi all, looking for a bit of advice. I'm driving from High Wycombe to Scotland on Monday, about 548 miles in total taking about 9-10 hours. I've never driven that far or for that long before, the closest is probably 2-3 hours to Weymouth.

Aside from the obvious things like don't drive tired, any advice? Specifically in making sure my car will be up to the task during this cold weather? I had been hoping to take it in for a winter healthcheck/service this week but time has been my enemy and I simply haven't had a chance.

I've sorted out RAC cover today so that's one less thing to worry about, but if there's anything else anyone can suggest it'd be appreciated. :)
 
Get in car, drive to Scotland, stop when you fancy something to eat? You are not going to Mongolia. Check the oil, coolant and tyre pressures but then thats something best done every few weeks anyway.

You must be going very far North though, even Inverness isn't quite 540 miles from High Wycombe. Likely to be snowing I'd imagine that far up.
 
As above.

Check everything once prior to leaving, take stops for fuel/rest as needed.

I have done over double that mileage in one sitting and did not even bother checking anything before setting off, just did an oil top up on the other end. I am still alive :D
 
[TW]Fox;23358854 said:
Get in car, drive to Scotland, stop when you fancy something to eat? You are not going to Mongolia. Check the oil, coolant and tyre pressures but then thats something best done every few weeks anyway.

You must be going very far North though, even Inverness isn't quite 540 miles from High Wycombe. Likely to be snowing I'd imagine that far up.
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That was pretty much what I thought, but the stress of moving house (the reason for the long drive) is making me second-guess everything at the moment, hence this topic.

Headed to Aberdeenshire, they've had a bit of snow up there so far but nothing drastic, hopefully it'll stay that way for a few more days.

I think I'm a little more nervous about my car than anything, I've had it 4 years and it's always been almost flawless, but I had one bad breakdown earlier this year on the way to Bristol, so I'm keen to avoid any troubles I can this time.
 
when I used to drive to east Kilbride every 2 weeks in my old rover gti I just checked n topped up the fluids and the tyre pressures before the trip
in 37k(most of that going up there) it only let me down once when a driveshaft popped out the gearbox.
you drive the car so know how reliable it is although sometime long drive will show up a fault.
I also used to stop at Westmorland services for a potty break n a bite to eat.
 
Check tyre pressure, oil etc... Day before.

Make sure you have standard emergency stuff...

Basically make sure you've done all the stuff you should do anyway...

Then just stop as and when you feel the need to. Don't be worried about stopping two or three times, maybe even four. Oh, and it's worth knowing your route reasonably well, and where the main service stations are....

kd
 
Take food, coats, stuff to keep you alive. The weather is harsh and you never know how bad it can get. Check oil/tyre pressure. Make sure you have tools with you to fix anything if it goes wrong. If you have breakdown cover get the details for it. Take a phone charger with you to use in your car.
 
Vita said:
Take a phone charger with you to use in your car.
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Ah yes, good point. Knew there was something I needed.

Still debating whether to use my ageing TomTom for navigation, or to get a cheap phone mount and leave it to Google Maps navigation on my S2. The TomTom maps are a bit out-of-date now and it's caused me a bit of trouble before e.g. going to Weymouth where there's entire new road layouts that TomTom thinks are fields.
 
Just keep heading north, you don't need nav' for that ;)

Till you reach Scotland, there's not a huge amount of choice. M1 + M6 + M74 if you like a long motorway slog. The best tea & cake on the M6 is at Tebay

As above, having some extra snacks / drinks is good. You could be unlucky and get stuck in a multi-hour monster jam on the M6 (like the two so far this week alone).
 
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Defo take warm stuff and some bait for in the scotland area, you never know if you get stranded off the main roads it might make it difficult to find shelter!
 
What are you planning for entertainment? I've found that audiobooks are great for keeping me entertained and alert when driving long distances.
 
Load your phone / make CD's with good podcasts / music. Radio is fine for short trips, will drive you nuts over 550 miles :p
 
I've just driven back from Portugal over the course of 3 days. Don't stress and just have fun driving.

If you feel like you're getting tired have a drink and take sips every 10 minutes. I always find that helps me. Also, LTJ Bukem Logical Progression CDs on repeat. :)

Then again...i had this to entertain me...

HQBOR.jpg
 
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#Chri5# said:
Till you reach Scotland, there's not a huge amount of choice. M1 + M6 + M74 if you like a long motorway slog. The best tea & cake on the M6 is at Tebay
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Ah yes, my parents said that was a good place to stop too. I'll be sure to keep it in mind. :)

Del Lardo said:
What are you planning for entertainment? I've found that audiobooks are great for keeping me entertained and alert when driving long distances.
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8-10 hours of progressive house DJ sets on a USB stick. I'm going to need something nice and upbeat, I'll be saying goodbye to a girl when I leave who I won't see for quite a while (if ever).

Thanks for all the advice folks, it's fairly obvious things when you actually think about it, but it'd have been quite easy for me to just jump in the car and go, totally forgetting about having some drinks or food with me to keep me going without having to stop all the time.
 
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It sounds a bit over-dramatic but if you're going up the A9 just make sure you've got a warm jacket with in just incase as it's bloody cold if you do break down, last xmas it hit -15'c over the Cairngorms during my drive from Inverness to Stoke!
 
Did approx 1300km over two days this week, share the drive if possible, ensure you get a good sleep before the drive, monotonous motorway driving in the dark can make you tired.

Check oil, water, screen wash, tyres and bulbs perhaps, but you should do this regularly anyway.

We changed drivers every 2-3 hours, coincided with ice cream stops, which is about the amount of time you can stay in one spot for in that vehicle, not the most comfortable. Apart from hitting a bird, but missing all the roos in the morning, and getting two flat tyres after a stretch on the dirt it was fairly uneventful.
 
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If your tired, stop and have a break, walk around and crack on.

Another nod to Tebay services although I'd pick my break at Lockerbie truck stop (they serve cars too) cheaper food and imo very good. :)

It's a simple if long drive, nothing to it.

This time of year, carry spare warm clothing, a blanket and a flask of hot tea/ coffee.

Other than that, don't fret, enjoy the trip. :)
 
Jesus, when we drove to Iran in summer we didn't do half the crap in this thread.
Well other than oil top ups as the engine began burning 1L every 100 miles!
 
pepsilol said:
Jesus, when we drove to Iran in summer we didn't do half the crap in this thread.
Well other than oil top ups as the engine began burning 1L every 100 miles!
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I doubt you'd need warm clothing in Iran, granted!

What's the crap though? Advising what appears to be an inexperienced driver to take breaks? Good clothing given the time of year & where he's going? Breakdown cover? What?

I'm struggling to see the crap advice in this thread tbh.
 
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