To think the reason UK holidays can be shit is not the weather but the traffic?

[MrsBede]

....and it's much worse this year?

I went from the Midlands to North Wales a couple of weeks ago and it took twice as long as it should have both there and back. Just got back from London and it took about 90 minutes longer than it should have. For both these trips it wasn't just one delay, but several unrelated ones - for the former every step of the journey pretty much had long delays. For London it's just the M1 - that was slow going there for a long stretch and on the way back my SAtnav recommended a detour and that had delays too.

As well as this, my city is being dug up here there and everywhere - I can think of about 5 different local routes that all have roadworks on them and ensuing delays - one was the bloody slip road when I finally got off the motorway today!

It just spoils everything - we're going to Hampshire for a few days next week and the thought that the 3.5 hour trip is likely to be more like 6 is really putting me off and I half feel like cancelling, which is very unlike me indeed. I certainly expect some delays when going longish distances but AIBU to think this year has been worse than ever, and it's not fair! (Yes, I'm tired and very pissed off...)

@Lemonsyellow

We have never owned a car and generally always travel by train, even with babies and toddlers. Yes, it can be expensive, but we did work out it was cheaper than owning a car, once you’d paid for resident parking, congestion charge, mot, insurance, etc etc.

I guess it depends how you value your time too. I work full time as does DH. We could take public transport but wouldn’t be able to afford the travel time. Outside London and central Birmingham it’s almost always easter to travel by car

I like to live somewhere I can do my basic errands (top up food shops, post office, bank, pharmacy, drs) without the car). I pretty well always do this unless I need to buy something bulky or heavy!

I like to do that too, but I can't afford to move somewhere with that level of convenience unfortunately.

Our town used to have a bank - they all shut years ago and the nearest one (of any type) is 25 miles away. I can't get in to the local GP surgery or dentist - again, the nearest one which will accept me is 25 miles away.

I can't afford to live in the town 25 miles away - the housing costs are almost triple what we paid for our house. So if I want to access basic services, I need a car.

@purplesequins I wouldn’t let my children walk the 3 miles to school as it along winding single track road with farmers fields and tractors thundering along. When I used to live in the village where their school is it was just along the road with a pavement and my eldest used to walk when old enough. A lot of villages don’t have schools in them and never did

Agreed. Been in Cornwall this week and it takes ages to get anywhere. Won't be going back. Our party left at 3am or the night before to miss traffic going home which is miserable. Now stuck on the M6 because we stayed over with family to break up the journey.

I would love to have a short break in my county but can’t afford it or beat the traffic because everyone else is in my county. So there you go.

@icedcoffees

That's the issue really. We're lucky enough to afford to live in a small town with all the basics, but we have consistently lived in the least desirable bit of the towns we've lived in, with the "weaker" primary schools (which have been great as it happens). But again we're privileged that we know we can tutor ourselves (both degree educated) or pay for tutors.

We do run 2 cars as a family - and DH does a lot of miles for work (vet treating large animals at farms), but we do no unnecessary journeys by car. When the kids were babies it was quicker to put them in a sling at home and walk into town than it was to wrestle car seats and park somewhere! Early toddler phase saw more car use but at 3 and 6 we mostly walk. I'm hoping to start walking to one of the after school sports things now the turnaround is less tight but that will depend on weather (and my ability to keep them going past a playpark 🏃🙈)

@SpiderinaWingMirror

I think it's always been much the same, lockdown has made us forget. We moved in 2017 and the the drive from East Sussex to my mums in Somerset never took less than 6 hours. The record was 8 hours. Poor roads our end, poor roads her end and the m25, m4 and m5 in-between. We are in whitby at the moment on hols but managed to book a Tuesday to Tuesday break. Makes such a difference.

I used to travel from East Sussex to Somerset fairly regularly, and always went via A27/M27, up through Salisbury and picked up the A303.

I found it significantly quicker, and once managed to get all the way to Castle Cary in 2hrs 15.

I'm the Brighton side of E Sx, I concede that it may be a bit different if you are up in the Weald or over on the marshes.

@Ricepops

Just got back from our UK cottage holiday, and agree that the traffic was awful. It took pretty much all day there and back.

It was lovely and quiet in Northumberland though. I'm not sure I appreciated it enough at the time, but I definitely do after having read this thread!

We've stayed in the UK for our summer holidays for the past 6 years or so, and never had terrible weather. Sometimes it's been on the cool side, but usually pleasant. Maybe we've been lucky.

Yes I enjoyed going there but traffic was so awful near Sheffield due to closing lanes on the M1 on a Saturday.

Car means you can take more especially when self catering

Trains are awful, ds went to Birmingham last weekend and the underground was terrible and unreliable getting him to the mainline station in the first place

@Livelovebehappy

Too many people on our small island, and not enough infrastructure to accommodate us all.

Yep and getting worse and worse

That's the issue really. We're lucky enough to afford to live in a small town with all the basics, but we have consistently lived in the least desirable bit of the towns we've lived in, with the "weaker" primary schools (which have been great as it happens). But again we're privileged that we know we can tutor ourselves (both degree educated) or pay for tutors.

Yes, I think the issue is that (unlike you!) many people don't realise how privileged they are to be able to live in places with excellent public transport, good cycling routes, schools within walking distance, GP's and dentists with space etc.

If you're lucky enough to be able to afford to live somewhere like that, you probably don't need a car, but many people don't have that luxury unfortunately - they live in places with no banks, no Post Offices, no supermarkets - the school is in the next town which is often 10-15 miles away etc.

As always, money buys choice.

I completely agree.

We went to Wales in May, should have taken 2.5 hours actually took 5.5.

We travelled back from a family wedding in Guildford Ystd, should have taken 2.5 hours actually took 6 😩

It puts me off going anywhere in this country.

If the trains were affordable I'd happily go by train....

@beigebrownblue

THANK YOU!!! The information you've posted is really helpful, and I am now in the throes of researching a sleeper train for my youngest son's birthday which he will LOVE! Where will you be going when you do book? (Not that I'm going to copy you because you're such an awesome travel guide or anything... )

[quote lannistunut]@Badbadbunny

I don't live in a major city, although I live in a small city, and there are multiple swimming lessons all across the built up area.

When I lived in a small market town there were three choices.

When I lived in a rural village, there were none locally obviously.

Nearly 80% of people live in urban areas.[/quote]
The definition of "Urban" areas is surprising. Our village is defined as "urban", but it's still basically a village, just a very large one with a number of satellite villages literally within sight.

It certainly doesn't mean large towns!

So lots of that 80% are living in small towns and large villages!

I’m sure this has been said already but it’s not really fair to judge the usual traffic based on this very unusual year. So many more people holidaying in the UK than normal.

LOL at 'a short break in your own county'!

I was talking to the owner of the local caravan site and he said that he has quite a few regulars that come from less than five miles away.

I suppose it’s a different view out of the window.

Last Friday it took us 6 hours to do a 2.5 hour journey. The M5 is like the seventh circle of hell.

I'm more than happy to holiday in my county, and have done. Yorkshire is huge

God I love the north 💚 We have none of this

On the topic of the main thread, though, I think @FatAnkles has nailed it: if you need a car for work, as so many do, you then compare the cost of public transport with the cost of driving, and it's often unfavourable. When you factor in the convenience of travelling by car, choosing the option that is both more expensive and much harder work seems like madness.

If you don't have a car, then you can view the cost of public transport like anything - do I want to go to this place enough to spend that or not? With no alternative, the cost of public transport isn't just 'the most expensive (and often least convenient) option'

I do also think that those who live in cities don't realise how lucky they are to be able to access decent public transport, not just around the city, but to other places as well. I lived in London for most of my life, and only learned to drive when I moved away. I hadn't really appreciated that it wasn't just commuting across the city, it was being able to get to other places really quickly and easily as well.

You can get trains and coaches to almost anywhere in the country, not to mention the continent, and you don't even need to book or plan in advance for many of them as there are so many options.

I now live near Cambridge and was planning to go to Oxford - a 1.5 - 2 hour drive that would cost £40 in petrol max. To get the coach, I would have to drive into Cambridge (25 mins and extortionate parking costs) or park and ride (probably 40 mins, costs a pound, but you have to be back by the last bus at 8.30pm), to catch a coach (£30 ish), spend more than 5 hours on said coach only to have to wait until 2.30am the next day for the next coach back, which takes 6 hours and 45 minutes.

Getting the train only takes 3.5 hours each way but costs nearly £100. I have never really appreciated how easy it was to get around until I moved somewhere where it's not an option!

Spot on @DysmalRadius.
That said, if I couldn't drive I wouldn't have chosen to live where I do.

I don't understand why councils didn't get a load of roadworks done between march and June last year when there was virtually no traffic on the roads. They seemed to wait until business reopened before starting their roadwork schedules

@happydays2345

God I love the north 💚 We have none of this

Have you tried to drive into the Lake District recently?!

@HalzTangz

I don't understand why councils didn't get a load of roadworks done between march and June last year when there was virtually no traffic on the roads. They seemed to wait until business reopened before starting their roadwork schedules

Because they won't have had the budget to do so.

Also because we were on lockdown and couldn’t work.