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...)

Financially having a car is well worth it for weekend trips. Especially if you cost your time.

You're speaking from a position of privilege at best. Come and live somewhere with rubbish transport links (like 90% of the country) and then tell people to get rid of their car.

I'm a zero waste environmentally friendly person. But I will die on the hill that public transport is not a realistic option for most people.

@eekbumbler

Have a short break in your own county.

Mmm I love the Midlands in summer. We are as far from the coast as is possible. No seaside this year kids, it's ruining the planet. Who fancies popping to Coventry?

But Coventry is city of culture!!

We also live in the Midlands and have had 2 holidays there in the last 2 months. The 1st was a canal boat holiday - Gailey to Nantwich and back. The 2nd was 5 days camping in the Shropshire hills at a music festival. Both were fantastic and required less than 40 mins travelling time.

I miss the seaside - I was brought up at the coast - but it is definitely possible to have a holiday without going to the coast (even in the Midlands). Paddling pools and streams are available in lots if locations and you don't have the disadvantage of getting sand in everything!

The irony of someone complaining about traffic when they are driving themselves. YOU are the problem, OP.

@lannistunut that’s fair enough I have a small 1.2 car and wouldn’t get a bit gas guzzler because I couldn’t afford to run one. I hope I wouldn’t be penalised for choosing to live rurally though I have done all my life and I won’t be changing that.

My parents told me they came home yesterday from their holiday. Should have been a 3 hour trip. They left at 1 sat in traffic the whole way and got home at 6...

[quote Lockheart]@icedcoffees I refer you to the part of my post where I acknowledge that some people do actually need a car.

If you're comfortable with your choices you don't need to justify them to me.[/quote]
I'm not justifying anything to you - I'm explaining my situation - like many others have done.

Personally I'm sick of the car bashing posts on threads like this. Me driving less than 20 miles a day in order to run my business isn't the reason the planet is going to shit.

@Hercisback

Financially having a car is well worth it for weekend trips. Especially if you cost your time.

You're speaking from a position of privilege at best. Come and live somewhere with rubbish transport links (like 90% of the country) and then tell people to get rid of their car.

I'm a zero waste environmentally friendly person. But I will die on the hill that public transport is not a realistic option for most people.

If you've read my posts, you'd see I'm from a very rural area with no public transport. I know how difficult that is.

Having a car is not worth it just for weekend trips. How much do you pay in insurance, MOT, servicing, parking, and VED just to keep something which you're only going to get out a handful of times a year?

Having a car just for weekend trips and holidays isn't worth it.

Me driving less than 20 miles a day in order to run my business isn't the reason the planet is going to shit.

Millions of people thinking the exact same thing are the reason it is though.

[quote AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]@icedcoffees I’ve just read an article on bbc about how the government are making greener travel a priority. More cycling lanes, more safe spaces for pedestrians to walk, better public transport running 7 days a week etc which all sounds fine and doable in towns and cities but not rural areas. No one asks the questions about those of us in rural areas. The village I live in has fairly good bus service, fairly regular buses running early till late 7 days a week but they only run to 3 places which is no good if you don’t work in one of those 3 places etc and it takes a long time to get there due to the number of stops as it’s rural roads[/quote]
Yep - people don't take into account rural issues.

I live in a town with a train station but no bus services. The trains only go maybe 20 miles up and down the coast in each direction. If you want to go inland, the only choice is to drive - unless you have five hours spare to sit on three trains and a bus

Public transport/walking isn’t exactly feasible when you are time/money poor (unless you live in London).

For the majority of the country it is just a fantasy, no one is going to choose to spend that precious little leisure time they get to themselves on using public transport.

I could give up my car. IF I wanted to spend twice as much as my car/insurance/petrol/road tax costs on commuting by train.

I could also instead commute by bus if I wanted to not have the time to go to the gym anymore at the end of the day, as my commute time would also nearly double.

And if I wanted to never do anything but work/sleep again I guess I could walk it?

I live somewhere with ordinary (and v pricey) public transport links, low income and public transport/walking is fine for us

Our choices have evolved in different ways, e.g. we picked swimming lessons a over swimming lessons b due to travel time, but these are choices people with cars also make - can I park there, how bad is the traffic getting to this place vs that place.

Some of the peripheral benefits have been good too, my kids are moving all the time, I am definitely healthier than when I was in my car.

It was daunting to give it up, but it has been a good decision for us.

Insurance £500
Service/MOT £100

Only other cost is petrol.

There's 52 weeks in a year. That's 104 daily weekend trips. Hardly a handful of times.
Last time I checked, a weekend on public transport to Edinburgh from my front door was about £400. That's only one weekend. The car is winning.

You have very rural experience and experience in a city with very good links. What you don't have is experience of suburbia where you'd expect transport links to be good but they aren't. Most of the country live in that sort of place. You're telling those people how easy it is to give up their cars.

@MinesAMassiveSalad

Yes flying is usually cheaper than the train long distance. It's mad.

its mad isnt it? 3years ago I was flying from Southhampton to Newcastle. It was £50cheaper than train. plus no train changing at London King Cross and much quicker.

It really annoys me when people who live in London declare everyone could easily give up their car and if you think otherwise you don't care about the environment and are selfish. There is no comparison between London's transport infrastructure/geography and most other places in the UK.

Whether due to practicality, illness or disability, many people can't simply hop on a bike or walk 30 mins to a train station. It would seem 'convenience' is now a swear word. How dare we want to get to work on time, see our children for more than 10 mins a day or ever leave our county.

Just looked at Caledonian Sleeper website and if you choose the right time, even last minute overnight first class sleeper with rail card can be as little as eighty pounds from London for two adults.

Kids go free in many of the offers.
How exciting is that as a break for kids.

Breakfast in the morning with fresh local produce.

@Hercisback

Insurance £500 Service/MOT £100

Only other cost is petrol.

There's 52 weeks in a year. That's 104 daily weekend trips. Hardly a handful of times.
Last time I checked, a weekend on public transport to Edinburgh from my front door was about £400. That's only one weekend. The car is winning.

You have very rural experience and experience in a city with very good links. What you don't have is experience of suburbia where you'd expect transport links to be good but they aren't. Most of the country live in that sort of place. You're telling those people how easy it is to give up their cars.

Who goes on weekend trips every weekend?

If you can afford to do that, you can certainly afford to take the train.

@Lockheart

Me driving less than 20 miles a day in order to run my business isn't the reason the planet is going to shit.

Millions of people thinking the exact same thing are the reason it is though.

Broadly speaking, I agree.

But if you can't do your job or pick your kids up from school without a car, what's the alternative? Moving isn't exactly cheap, switching jobs isn't practical, and you can't just walk your primary aged kids to school on 60mph country lanes.

There's a difference between people using their cars for short distances because they have to, and people doing it out of laziness and convenience.

Unfortunately on these threads they all get lumped into one category which is why some people get defensive.

The answer is to improve access and public transport before bashing Jane from TinyTown who has to drive her kids to her local school as there's no other option.

80 pounds.

I'm sick of the car bashing posts on threads like this

Cars are a real problem though, but drivers need to not take it personally - I am not bashing YOU, but I do genuinely consider cars and the volume of traffic to be a negative overall, they choke cities, impact health, damage the environment, use a lot of resources.

Your car is not you, it is an object. There are too many cars, too much traffic. I think almost all of our neighbourhoods would be nicer if we could halve the number of cars overnight.

Yes @icedcoffees, and I literally said in my post that there will be some people for whom cars are, in the absence of proper infrastructure, necessary, so I'm not sure why you're arguing with me when I agree with you.

And access to first class lounges with baths and showers. As well as shower in the cabin. You could put the kids to bed and have a late night glass of wine in the restaurant car....

Wish I'd found it earlier.

And of course you save on a hotel room on the first and last nights...

I can't believe we are being lectured about having a car by someone who lives in London! Of course I wouldn't keep a car if I lived there, but I don't and most other places have utterly shit public transport links.

I rarely drive in my city and use park and ride or just the bus but I have a 16 mile commute which would take just under 3 hours and involve 2 buses so it's not doable. I did apply for a job in the school in the next town from me a few years ago - it would have been a 20 minute bus ride from the end of my road which would hae been great. Didn't get it though...

As I said, I didn't expect clear roads all the way - just for some of it to have not had a queue would have been super.

As for the time of travelling, it's not always as simple as people say, especially with leaving. I admit we did leave London at 4.30 pm, but with older kids (14 and 12) it's not always as easy to cajole them into doing more. We had done everything we planned and walked miles - they were done! In fact, the North Circular was fine (we'd used a Just Park slot in zone 4), it was the earlyish bit of the M1 that was the problem and then the slip road where we live - it was bloody 8.30pm by then!

We're not going to the New Forest thankfully, but, yes, we'll set off super early I think. Kids will NOT think it's exciting though .