What is the furthest you would travel in a day?

[PeanutPies]

It could be my travel anxiety speaking but we need to go to Manchester tomorrow, driving from St Albans. We need to travel back as have other plans for the day after- for some reason I feel this is too far and not sensible to drive back the same day. Is it my anxiety speaking?

I used to do Somerset to half way to the Highlands in Scotland in a day stopping overnight and then go on the next day. It was about 7 hours drive depending on traffic conditions because I only have a small Peugeot.
When I do long drives I don't stop unless I need petrol. I just get in the car and drive.

11hr round trips several times for gigs, I do it on my own too.

Did 6 hours to Devon the other day, was there for an hour and half and then drove same home.

The longest drive I ever did in one day was Inverness to Reading. Nine hours including two stops, but that was a "one-off special".

I have done Reading to Manchester Airport (not Manchester, I know) and back in one day. That wasn't too bad. Generally, 3 hours driving each way is about my maximum now.

Depends why you are going and how long you need to be there. I've done 10 hours driving in one go (with rest breaks) in the past.

I drove from Durham to Colchester and back in a day, about 2010 I think?

We share the drive to Mull. Sometimes we do it overnight so one of us sleeps while the other drives. If we do it during the day we always plan to miss Birmingham-Manchester during the rush hour.

You say “we” so does that mean two of you could split the drive? It’ll be tiring but doable if needs must. Even better if two of you so you can swap when one gets tired.

How old are you and why do you think it’s too much? Wouldn’t have thought twice about it in my 20s or 30s but now would think about it: I am physically uncomfortable sat in the same position for any length of time and get tired after 9pm.

I drove from St Albans to Hull and back in one day … I love driving but found it too much , I was physically tired and had to stop more times than I usually would ( maybe that was because of the nature of the visit … delivering bad news face to face ) .

it’s doable but not ideal .

My heroine!

(Although do I do S, Oxfordshire to Devon tomorrow, or to Shropshire? Or both.) Gah!

We’ve driven from Glasgow to Cornwall and Glasgow to Normandy in France via Dover several times. It’s very long but would do your journey if I had to, but I’d prefer not to

😂😂😂

It depends on lots of things.
If you know the route.
What the weather is like.
If you like driving.
How realistic it is going to be do-able in the predicted time (traffic / accidents / roadworks / 'police incidents' / etc

Then, what you are doing whilst you are there.
Going for an important interview is different from meeting friends for a long lunch.

Personally, I don't particularly enjoy driving so wouldn't plan to drive more than 2.5 hours each way in a day. But my dh - who really enjoys driving - is happy to do a 10 or 12 hour drive to get where he needs to be.

Four times no less 😅

I've done Sussex to Manchester and back a few times. With a few hours break in the middle, it's fine, but best to head back well after rush hour so roads are easier. I always have Red Bull in the car for emergency sleepiness.

I wouldn’t think twice about doing it.

We do Aberdeen to Swindon once a year which is around 9 hrs 30 driving. When we're holidaying by car, we usually break up the driving into chunks of between 6 and 8 hours so two stints of 3 hours with a gap between seems absolutely fine.

The distance is fine but those particular motorways that you would want can be very variable.

the m6 in particular if there is an accident or blockage can add hours and hours onto the journey time.

Without children I’d do it. Not with restless kids in the back though.

I'd do it if I had to, and I wouldn't mind doing it if I could split the driving, but it really wouldn't be my idea of a good day and it would depend what I had to do in the middle. I'd much rather do 7 hours on a train if I had the choice but they're often very expensive.

I some respects, it doesn't matter how far others would drive. You need to ask yourself how far you can do in a day.
I had to drive for 20 mins on a dual carriageway today. I have been too anxious to do that for about 4 months (thanks peri menopause). I can mostly drive on regular A roads but I have a mental block with dual carriageway. There are, thankfully, no motorways near me.
The most I would be willing to do in 1 day is a 2hr drive each way, depending on what we were doing when we arrived at the location before coming home again.

I wouldn’t think twice about it.

We drove to Bruges & back in the same day! The ferry is 2.5 hours from home, then Bruges was an hour the other side. 2 hour ferry journey... x2.
We've also visited Disneyland for the day too! We love a day trip - 3 hours wouldn't even register with us as being far at all.

Thank you all for your responses- helps pa lot. To answer a few queries- both husband and I can drive.
It’s my anxiety which is making it seem impossible. @WhoWouldBeAWoman im going through perimenopause too- which makes my anxiety worse. I think I need to see this as something loads of people do without thinking twice-