How bad will the traffic in London actually be?

[Champagneforeveryone]

We have to travel to East London on Friday to drop DS at uni, first year and drop offs completely non negotiable. It's a three hour journey at the best of times.

We live in the country and although I grew up in London I haven't driven there for at least twenty years. I drive a 4x4 and while I'm a confident driver, city driving just isn't something I do very often at all.

On top of that, Google Maps shows me a route that seems to take me down roads that will be closed. I've searched the TFL site but I'm still slightly perplexed by how we're supposed to get there.

We're coming from the Southwest and will be approaching up the M3. How awful is it actually likely to be?

Where in East London are you headed?

It might be worth going round the m25 or north circular and coming in from the other side, avoiding the centre

He's going to Queen Mary's and we're heading to halls nearby - I think it's Bethnal Green.

I have a reasonable knowledge of London but always from public transport - sadly not an option with all DS's detritus!

Go round the South circular or M25 , I'd avoid West and Central London like the plague!
Use Waze for directions driving around and to London, it is usually up to date with diversions etc.I find it better than GoogleMaps as it is updated by users.
Have the Halls given you parking/drop off arrangements? Parking in Bethnal Green is a nightmare ( almost impossible) so I would hope they've got something lined up- check the paperwork/website.

DS is in charge of drop off arrangements - I may come to regret this decision on the day!

I'll chase up arrangements with him. Originally his license wasn't due to start until Saturday, I suspect the funeral has caused arrangements to be tweaked so that arrivals are staggered.

DS has booked a drop off slot for Sunday PM. Halls are at Gt Dover St, SE1. This was done 2 weeks ago. Half expected email to delay but no 'arrive as planned'. Not sure how.

Do not drive all the way up the
M3/A3 and through west London. That’s a horrible way to get to east London at the best of times. Otherwise I don’t think it’ll be too bad if you stay clear of the west, surely people won’t be daft enough to drive in for the lying in state.

It will probably take longer than usual but, as you say, it's non-negotiable so what can you do except make sure you've got snacks, water, etc. Can you take turns driving? Make sure your DS has sorted everything out with parking, drop off time etc. And do download Waze (or at least Google maps) and actually follow it. Whenever my dad drives in London he always thinks he knows better than the app and takes his own route and it adds on so much time 🤦🏼‍♀️

Alternatively you could go on public transport with the minimum he needs and then make a car journey at a later date when everything has calmed down. My now DH had to make his own way to university and rocked up carrying all his stuff by himself...it can be done...

My thoughts too
under normal circumstances I’d not go that route. Is it the M25 you need to go round? I’d do that. West London is being used for international VIPs for the funeral so that’s another reason to avoid it. Could be closures for all kinds of reasons.

You will need to use the M25 to go round. Tbh I'd do this anyway. I'd probably either go round the top to the M11 or round the bottom and up the A2.

<snort> DS would love to drive but I've yet to find insurance that will cover him on my car (not that I looked terribly hard!) In any case, my nerves are shot enough at the idea of leaving my PFB alone on the mean streets without being subjected to him driving in London 😆

We've decided that DH will stay behind as we have dogs at home. We have somebody who will pop in during the day, but should we get horribly stuck they would be left alone overnight. I'll take a change of clothes and if the worst comes to the worst I'll bunk down in a Premier Inn or something and finish the drive home on Saturday.