Best route from Essex to Hampshire over Easter Weekend

[tacticalx86]

Need to be in Winchester on Sunday evening coming down from south Essex. What's the best route given there's often quite a fair bit of traffic on the M25?

I need to be in winchester by around 7pm, thinking of travelling via London.

Either using the A12, the most direct route, or the A13, then through the Blackwall Tunnel, down onto the A2 and then M25 to potentially cut out any traffic around the dartford crossing.

Or is it better to go further south/southwest, take the A3, A31?

Usually for me it would be A12, M25 North, then M3.

Looking for the route which avoids sitting in the most traffic.

 

[SoliD]

Whatever way Google says is best when you leave.

 

[adam cool dude]

Need to be in Winchester on Sunday evening coming down from south Essex. What's the best route given there's often quite a fair bit of traffic on the M25?

I need to be in winchester by around 7pm, thinking of travelling via London.

Either using the A12, the most direct route, or the A13, then through the Blackwall Tunnel, down onto the A2 and then M25 to potentially cut out any traffic around the dartford crossing.

Or is it better to go further south/southwest, take the A3, A31?

Usually for me it would be A12, M25 North, then M3.

Looking for the route which avoids sitting in the most traffic.

Just go on Dartford? The roads will be dead on Easter Sunday. M25 then M3. Pretty simple and relaxing journey. Northbound is normally where all the traffic is on Dartford. Southbound flows quite nicely normally.

Last thing I would want to do is go down the A12/A13 etc. All those drunks crashing into each other and closing the road.

 

[ci_newman]

Whatever way Google says is best when you leave.

This tbh, whichever route Google tells you is quickest 5minutes before you plan to leave. Keep an eye on journey times through the day and adjust your departure time as needed.

 

[Yaayuh!]

Whatever way Google says is best when you leave.

This.

 

[adam cool dude]

This tbh, whichever route Google tells you is quickest 5minutes before you plan to leave. Keep an eye on journey times through the day and adjust your departure time as needed.

Google might tell you the quickest but not always the best. Id rather have 5 minutes extra journey time being predominately on motorways than chopping and changing between A and B roads which ends up with the same end time anyway due to traffic.

He said Essex so going M25 then M3 is literally two roads and the M3 takes you directly to Winchester pretty much.

 

[Mr Jack]

As the thread says, just set your satnav and let its live traffic rerouting handle it. Whether that's Google Maps or TomTom or whatever.

Google might tell you the quickest but not always the best. Id rather have 5 minutes extra journey time being predominately on motorways than chopping and changing between A and B roads which ends up with the same end time anyway due to traffic.

Weird. I'd rather take 15 minute longers chopping and changing to avoid the tedium of traffic jams. Motorways are usually fastest but, man, are they dull.

 

[200sols]

Unless there is major disruption its literally a 2 road journey. M25 > M3.

 

[Siliconslave]

This.

totally, the days of men showing off about their knowledge of obscure A & B roads is thankfully long gone

 

[adam cool dude]

totally, the days of men showing off about their knowledge of obscure A & B roads is thankfully long gone

Google maps will give you the "fastest" route but it is still an algorithm and will get things wrong all the time. Road knowledge is always king.

A sat nav might give you the fastest route at point/time of entry but it doesn't know times of rush hour or points you know can get quite choppy at certain points of the day. It is always reactionary whereas the brain with road knowledge will know what is best over time.

Say if I am going to Southampton docks from Lincolnshire. Sat nav will route me on the M25 because it is "quicker" at point of entry but by the time I get to the M25 I end up in rush hour traffic and lose a load of time. The faster option always is to go through Oxford way and down the A34. The sat nav will always say the M25/M3 route is fastest when it is in fact 30 minutes slower due to rush hour and general traffic on the M25.

 

[Mr Jack]

A sat nav might give you the fastest route at point/time of entry but it doesn't know times of rush hour or points you know can get quite choppy at certain points of the day. It is always reactionary whereas the brain with road knowledge will know what is best over time.

Google definitely knows when Rush Hour is (put in your leaving time and it'll give you different time estimates and routes), so I expect it will take that into account when planning a route. TomTom definitely does. I presume others do. Although, to be fair, I'm not sure whether they understand things like a bank holiday weekend which will diverge from the normal traffic patterns.

 

[adam cool dude]

Google definitely knows when Rush Hour is (put in your leaving time and it'll give you different time estimates and routes), so I expect it will take that into account when planning a route. TomTom definitely does. I presume others do. Although, to be fair, I'm not sure whether they understand things like a bank holiday weekend which will diverge from the normal traffic patterns.

Oh yeah it does try but fails miserably most of the time.

 

[Janesy B]

There is no best route

 

[Feek]

A12. M25. M3.

That’s it.

 

[Quartz]

I need to be in winchester by around 7pm, thinking of travelling via London.

If you're travelling alone, is the train an option?

 

[Bald-Eagle22]

Where in Essex ? I live in a village outside of Cogglesahw and regularly drive to Waterlooville just north of Portsmouth. 3 times a month to look after my dad.

If your North of Chelmsford I wouldn’t dream of using the A12 or the Dartford crossing on any day over Easter and avoid the A3 junction 10 on the M25 at all costs. Or even the A414 Chelmsford to Harlow .

A120 across to Stansted M11 and M3 . Oh you can PayPal me the Dartford crossing fee over .

 

[adam cool dude]

Where in Essex ? I live in a village outside of Cogglesahw and regularly drive to Waterlooville just north of Portsmouth. 3 times a month to look after my dad.

If your North of Chelmsford I wouldn’t dream of using the A12 or the Dartford crossing on any day over Easter and avoid the A3 junction 10 on the M25 at all costs. Or even the A414 Chelmsford to Harlow .

A120 across to Stansted M11 and M3 . Oh you can PayPal me the Dartford crossing fee over .

How are you getting from the M11 to M3 as the M11 finishes at the North Circular

 

[sidimmu]

A13/12/127 to M25 round to A3 and then drive down is the most sensible option and will always be quicker than coming off at the M23 or Leatherhead and going through those routes.
Yes the A3 junction is ruined at the moment, but as for someone who has drove from Southend to Godalming 3 days this week to arrive for 9am, its not as bad as everyone is saying.

Also, dont bother with the blackwall tunnel unless you literally have a spare 2 hours to waste and wish to utilise them sat in traffic.

 

[Bald-Eagle22]

How are you getting from the M11 to M3 as the M11 finishes at the North Circular

Err M25 maybe , it's not rocket science.

 

[tacticalx86]

A13/12/127 to M25 round to A3 and then drive down is the most sensible option and will always be quicker than coming off at the M23 or Leatherhead and going through those routes.
Yes the A3 junction is ruined at the moment, but as for someone who has drove from Southend to Godalming 3 days this week to arrive for 9am, its not as bad as everyone is saying.

Also, dont bother with the blackwall tunnel unless you literally have a spare 2 hours to waste and wish to utilise them sat in traffic.

I'm actually having to go via guildford now so I'll have to go down the a3 anyway, then shoot across the a31.

take it even with the works its quicker to go via wisley rather than get on the a3 in southwest london?