How long to drive before stopping?

[bananajelly]

So we have booked a family holiday to Scotland. It's very far north (think John O'Groats way) and it is going to take us (traffic dependent) between 8-9 hours to get there.

I was thinking about doing half the journey, heading to a hotel, refreshing overnight and setting off again the next morning. But just can't make my mind up! If we didn't end up stopping at a hotel, we would obviously be having lots of toilet breaks, stretching legs, lunch etc at motorway services.

For context I have 3 DC. At the time of the journey they will be 12, 9 & 3.

WWYD?

Get a room somewhere north of the Scottish central belt - say around Perth/Pitlochry. It’s motorway Pretty much all the way to there. That will let you do the scenic bit in a more leisurely fashion. The A9 Is not a road that you want to be tired or frustrated on, it’s fairly notorious for accidents

I think it depends on the driver. I know that I can in most circumstances drive safely for 4 hours without a break. 7-8 hours in a day with a decent break in the middle wouldn’t be an issue for me. What does your DH think?

My dad used to live near Preston and it took us about 4 hours' driving time from there to Loch Lomond or Edinburgh. So the suggestion of just north of the Central Belt sounds like a good one. Pitlochry might be a bit too far, maybe around Stirling?

There is plenty of choice for premier inns in that general area: www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/scotland/central/stirling.html

every 2 hours you need to give the driver a rest (or swap drivers if possible).
if you do it in one go or with a stopover is up to preference. personally I preferred one go (with breaks).
however getting rid of the car and taking trains everywhere is even better.

I think the kids would hate doing it all in one go, take your time and have an overnight stay

well, what an interesting mix of responses!

We drive to south of france every year, 15 hours door to door, we leave at 5 am and stop every 2.5 hours.
Have done it since kids were 18 months, 4 and 6. They used to sleep a lot, and then we had a dvd player, and at every stop we had a running game we played on the grass so they ran round for about minutes.

But we had 2 drivers, we both like and are confident drivers, and our kids we really good at it.
We also do regularly 2-3 hour trips to see people and our kids are good in the car.

so
you have one driver, so I would say about 6 hours total would be enough in a day. Plan for 2/3 of the journey on the first day and 1/3 on the second
you need to plan to stop about every 2-3 hours, loo stops, snacks, run round etc
A lot depends on your dc, how car happy they are, what entertainment you have etc.
We found audio books to be amazing, even better than dvds

I'd take a break, personally. Stop somewhere nice (Cotswolds or
north Somerset, maybe) and make that part of your holiday.

Then you'll arrive refreshed, well in time for lunch and able to enjoy the first day of your stay.

From Manchester I would do it in one go - I drove Liverpool - Tongue in about 10 hours and it was alright. Leave really early and stop for a good breakfast at Tebay (Penrith) then stop again before you hit the A roads north of Inverness (this might be a good place to stop for the night if you're really tired). There are some glamping type cabin things which might be fun for the kids.

Cotswolds or north Somerset, maybe

how on earth are either of these half way or more to Scotland? The op says the whole journey is 8-9 hours
I can't see where the OP says she is, but it is a 9 hour + drive to Inverness from the Cotswolds!

just found it - Manchester.

You do know Cotswolds and Somerset are in the South of England and Manchester in the north?

OP, the A9 has massive roadworks north of Perth, as part of a plan to make it dual carriageway. There are average speed cameras for miles on the rest of it, so you can’t even make up the time you lose in the roadworks. It’s the only major route north and is full of lorries, caravans and tractors. Whatever time you estimate your journey will take - double it.
I live near Perth, and avoid the A9 unless I have no choice!
I’d definitely recommend either stopping overnight en route, or planning a proper two hour lunch break at a nice restaurant, with a good walk to refresh your driver, so the trip is split into two very separate halves.