To notice it's always a 5 hour journey?

[MarthasGinYard]

Ever noticed this??

If ever there's a 'function' thread about a party, wedding or gathering that is up for debate it's ALWAYS '5 long hours away'.

"Been invited to a child free wedding, it's 5 hours each way"

"Mil is complaining she wants us to visit more often, it's 5 hours away"

I'm going to be BOLD and say I think Posters exaggerate this for max effect

And yes I'm bored tonight

If you don’t want to go somewhere the journey is an insurmountable nightmare akin to an Everest expedition every hiccup increases your frustration. If it’s somewhere you want to go you hop in the car and think no more of it

Is there a variant to this where the journey time varies depending on what direction you are travelling?

For example I've never, in actual traffic, made the journey to my parents' house in under 4 hours (with one quick loo break only). However my parents insist it only ever takes them 3 hours (it's 170 miles and my dad does not drive quickly).

Definite journey hyperbole depending on what point you want to make.

these 5 hour journeys tend to be to child-free weddings too along with asking for money and usually colour-coordinated clothing

if a customer complained that they'd been waiting any length of time it was ALWAYS "20 minutes".

I've also experienced this - even when our watches said less tahn 5 minutes and much rarer times when it had actually been longer but we were slammed so I think they were making allowances.

I assume it's a time that seems to long - though I've certainly had jouneys last that long - and with public transport at what point do you count from - door to door or train times ignoring the rest.

As mentioned upthread, it is a Mumsnet thing along with the mysterious hobbies, and the way people are always 'fuming' not 'rather cross' and friends and relatives are toxic or narcissistic not just somewhat unpleasant.

5 hours, I wish, it's a minimum of 6 hours door to door to visit my mum in Ireland if I fly, and more like 12 hours door to door if we take the ferry! If I could do it in 5 hours without the added expense of airport parking, flights, car hire etc I'd probably be there every other weekend.

I've got a 5hr journey on Friday, do you want me to post and complain about it? 😂

Slight diversion but my fav mumsnet thing is people who always leave their homes immaculate when moving but move into a house that is a tip.
I once ventured that I had left mine reasonably clean but it looked a lot shabbier without the furniture. I was berated!

Of course the journey is 'always problematic'!

People are hardly going to start threads about unproblematic things, are they? "I've been invited to a wedding which is a fair distance away, but it'll be easy enough for me to get there and I'm sure I'll have lots of fun" isn't a very interesting thread!

Of course the journey is 'always problematic'!

I did a journey that a friend of mine does not infrequently, complaining of 8hr odysseys and nose to tail traffic.

I was door to door in 3.5hrs, stopping only to give my accelerator foot a stretch!

Most galling to have my MN posting material cruelly snatched away from me!

also i am BEGGING mumsnet posters to learn a negative adjective other than “vile”

Why don't people just post distances instead of times? Or both.

'I've got a 5hr journey on Friday, do you want me to post and complain about it? 😂'

Absolutely

But, only if it's a function preferably a wedding which you really can't be bothered to drive said amount to.

The Bride and groom sent a gift 'poem'

And they are making a profit on your 300 quid room.

Oh and it's child free and you've had to take your very expensive nanny with you

I can get quite far in five hours from home by car. From the old east anglia to Wales, down to Cornwall to Dumfries in Scotland. The possibilities are endless people must of moved quite some distance from families.

Is there a variant to this where the journey time varies depending on what direction you are travelling?

My parents live 170 miles away, we have had some truly horrendous journeys down, my sister has never had the same issue coming up to see us. We've had total road closures and all sorts, and often multiple things along the journey.

Well my family live in Yorkshire and I'm London. Takes 4 hours in bad traffic

...it can take me an hour and a half to get across Bristol...

Nope, haven't noticed this. For me it's usually a 4hr journey (if traffic is unproblematic). Because we live about 4 hrs from both sets of grandparents and from where we lived before (i.e. where friends we are most likely to visit live).

StCharlotte how did you make Devon to Gloucester take 5 hours

M5 on a bank holiday, or a Friday, or during a school holiday, or there's been an accident, or there's just a load of traffic going slow for some non specific reason........

All of the above (although no weddings were involved!).

They're rounding up. From an hour and a half!

My family are only about 150 miles away, so should only take about 3.5 hours from home - we have to get a ferry which is an hour crossing.

It always ends up being about 5 bloody hours though. One memorable occasion it took almost 10!

The ferry is always running late, we have to use the M25 which is just a car park most of the time so my Google Maps estimate of 3hrs, 25 mins is utter bollocks

I reckon it’s because anything up to a 3 hour journey can be done in one go, no stops, you can leave after breakfast and arrive in time for lunch and it only necessitates a one night stay over and you’re home the next day in time for tea, whereas a 4 hour journey will require a stop plus there’s bound to be traffic somewhere along the way and boom it’s 5 hours and you’ve lost two full days to driving there and back.

FWIW I think the kind of people who would have a wedding 5 hours away are guaranteed to be the kind to make it childfree and send a poem asking for money, more reasonable people wouldn’t want to inconvenience their guests

To fetch children for weekend. 2 hours there, 2 hours back. Eow. Same for their other parent to collect. They do 2 hours Friday and 2 hurs Sunday. Just to keep in touch. It's not far, less than 100 miles

I think the kind of people who would have a wedding 5 hours away are guaranteed to be the kind to make it childfree and send a poem asking for money, more reasonable people wouldn’t want to inconvenience their guests

or they might have friends and family that are widely dispersed and just have it locally to them?

Where we live in Scotland to Manchester is 4 hours, we can do it in 3.5hrs if the kids are sleeping and we don't need to stop, also helps if traffic is not too busy.