To think DD can't drive to Wales yet (18 and passed her test last month)?

[HaHaItsRosa]

We live in London. DD, has randomly booked this little cabin thing in Wales!? It's for tomorrow. Plans on leaving tonight and staying in a Travelodge or similar and then arriving tomorrow. This is her first ever trip away on her own... she also only drives to work. She starts uni extremely soon and "wanted a peaceful getaway before it starts". I'm a bit hmm. I know she's 18 and she can go on her own and she's obviously no longer my daughter so I shouldn't worry about her no but seriously, I'm really worried. She's a sensible girl, she really is, but Wales!!!! Tell me I'm too involved and she'll be fine.

I live in Gloucestershire OP and to be honest, once you're past Reading on the M4 it's fairly quiet down into Wales. The only likely places she'll hit traffic is Bristol and Cardiff.

I'd also be equally worried..... I was like a cat on hot bricks for the first few months after all 3 of mine had passed their tests. Perfectly normal.

She is still your daughter, that never stops!

Your daughter will be fine, if she was not confident she wouldn't have contemplated the journey.

Sounds like you have a very sensible daughter, what a marvellous idea to have a bit of peace on her own before she starts uni.

I was going to say what waterrat said. It's a long way and a lot of motorway driving for a new driver. However, I'm sure she'll be fine - maybe a steep learning curve though.

You could drive to Wales from Cheshire but just driving a few feet.

OP, I'd be worried too - it's natural to worry about something like this. How about taking her for an hour on the M way to give her a bit of practice? Give her some experience of joining and leaving the motorway? It's good that she's confident enough to do this trip herself!

Make sure she plans her breaks and that her car is ready - tyres at right pressure, check oil, water etc. Make her take a torch/blanket/water with her.

It's going to take her about 4 hours I'd think from Dagenham - Membury should be around half way.

it's a cabin thing with a little hot tub, in some woodlands

No way that's a hot tub for one, she's on a promise!

@TomHardysNextWife I'm so jealous, we went to Gloucestershire this summer and it was so beautiful and everyone was so friendly and I wanted to stay forever.

I would have done something like this too at 18. I loved exploring new places and I am an introvert so being alone would have been no issue for me. A weekend reading and drawing is still my idea of heaven.

I think just briefly discuss any driving tips you think would be useful. Make sure she has a few useful things in the boot like a torch, a first aid kit, maybe something high vis if you have it too. She will have her phone so can call if she needs to.

It is natural to be nervous given the circumstances, but she has decided she is going so I would just tell her she can call anytime she is safe to and needs to ask anything, even if it seems silly and that if anything goes wrong, you will be there for her.

She has booked a premier inn at Birmingham for tonight? Is that a good place? She asked me and I didn't have a clue. We have had a bit of a chat, she says she wants to do it for experience and build up driving confidence too. I really don't think this is a good way about going about it. Yes, she's going to a uni that is in a different city, so maybe it will be good for her. I'm still very nervous.

As a Welsh person I have to say this is hilarious 😂 oh no not "Wales"!!!! Hahaha

But in all seriousness she's chosen to drive at a quieter time on a motorway. It's literally a straight line for 4 maybe 5 hours. She could sit in the driving lane at 65mph all the way and she will be fine dark or not.

Powys is a massive county that encoporates most of the Brecon beacons national park, so once she gets off the motorway that's where the fun is going to begin as large dual carriage ways merge to single track 60mph roads. But nobody in their right mind goes hammering round the Brecon beacons at night where there are no street lights!

She will be fine, however she needs to bare in mind she may loose signal now and again on her way through rural counties, there are no street lighting so she needs to know how to put her full beam on.

But she will be fine. Honestly, Wales isn't Helmand province.

My DD 17 passed her test end of May. She drove around town, to school etc for a month before having a further two lessons with her instructor on the motorway. This week we have been to Gatwick and back and a couple of other longer journeys practicing navigating and motorways together.

I wouldn't have let her go on a long trip without extra supervised learning and practicing.

@Iused2BanOptimist the thing is I can't "not let her" - she's 18. I don't really have any kind of say in what she does. As much as I wish I could stop her. I can't.

When she gets back please could you let us know the place that she went? It sounds amazing.

OP are you sure about Birmingham, why not go straight down the M4?

Yes, Birmingham sounds a rather circuitous route. Surely M25, M4, with an overnight stop in Wiltshire would have been better.

OP, you are absolutely right to be concerned about her travelling to Wales. You get huge gangs of tough, sinewy men roaming the Valleys, terrorising people with their close-harmony singing. You need half a pint of phlegm in your throat just to pronounce the place names.

Birmingham is a large area with a number of Premier Inns so you’ll need to be a bit more specific!

Wiltshire? I will let her know. Hopefully she can change it.

OP dont listen to these people telling you Wales isnt scary, I once had a knife pulled on me in London and I was more scared when walking home, whilst living in Wales, 1 night after I admit a little bit too much drink, a sheep coughed in a field next to me, I have never and nor shall I ever run that fast again, Wales can be terrifying

Birmingham seems a bit odd to me, if she's going M4 Bristol might be a better first stop.

She'll be fine, my DD1's first big trip was midlands to Kent, I just said something along the lines of 'look I know you'll be fine, I know you think I'm stressing unnecessarily and I know that I am, but I'm your mum its what I do so please just humour me and stop regularly for breaks and text to let me know how its going.'

I've done this with all of mine and they all just roll their eyes but happily give me regular updates.

Tell her to make sure that she has the change for the bridge and good luck.

You’re allowed to worry OP but I a, sure DD will be fine. I was bombing up and down the M3 between Home and uni within a couple of months of passing my test, as lots of PP have said motorways are, if anything, safer than normal roads.
Make sure she has breakdown cover before she goes and try to send her off with a smile. Sounds like a great break for her (I’m planning something similar for autumn!)

Has she bought her own car then if you can't stop her?
She needs to sit down with a map and have a written route plan for a start. It's really important to know which motorway junctions you are getting on and off and which number road you will be taking when you get off. As it can be confusing if you are not sure and relying on signposts.
Stopping for a rest at a travel lodge seems a good idea but Birmingham is a nightmare to navigate.
Also having satnav on the mobile phone is a good backup for getting lost but hopefully she knows not to use her phone or fiddle with it when driving - I think the law on this is slightly murky on use of phone as a satnav as you should not use mobile phone when driving. I made my dd set her phone with automatic driving mode when she passed so she can't receive calls or use it when driving. (Drawback, you can't track the phone either when driving mode is engaged, so when there was a crash just when she should have been on the road at the location of the crash I couldn't check her whereabouts until she had got to her destination and answered my texts).

Had to laugh when I read this! My daughter at the same age booked a solo trip to Barcelona...no idea why she doesn't speak Spanish!!! Worst thing she did was get a haircut, she always had long hair...very long and never a fringe but since then she will always know the Spanish for..."would you like a fringe"!!! It really didn't suit her and was very funny at the time...

What part of Powys is your daughter travelling to?
Birmingham is miles out of her way.

She will be fine! The day after my 17 year old passed her test she drove herself from East Sussex to Shrewsbury. I was scared, she was fine.