Driving to Cornwall tomorrow, any tips?

[flowery]

We are travelling from Cambridgeshire. I realise the traffic will be an utter nightmare so looking for tips on routes to take, what time to leave (have been advised 3am, 4am, 7am and overnight so far), good places to stop etc
We have two DC 6 and 3 if that helps.

Am hoping the journey doesn't make me regret booking it!

Thanks in advance :)

Good tips here. We're leaving from Surrey on Tuesday, will the roads be as bad do you think?

We left London at 4.30 with a 3 and 8 year old. M3 and A303 then A30. Stopped once and arrived in North Cornwall at 10.30. Only way to do it.

No, anything other than Friday-Sunday is normally much better. I too have family in 'pasty land' . Saturdays being cottage change over days are worst. Then the rest of the weekend with campers and people visiting family who can be more flexible, but still need to get back to work.

Generally, mid week is better. Of course, better is a relative term on British motorways. As someone is always digging something up!

We set off in the very early hours and then stop for a huge nosh up breakfast at a Brewers Fayre restaurant because the kids eat free. Its £8.50 per adult for breakfast which is unlimited and lovely. They do cooked to order, just eggs anyway you like them,toast, porridge cereals, pastries, fruit, yogurts, costa coffees, tea, hot choc, herbal teas, juices etc etc all help yourself as much or as little as you like.

So for a family of 4 to really fill up including drinks for £16.50 is a bargain. It also is actually very nice (nicer than the Toby breakfast).

We have stopped here just off the M5 before www.brewersfayre.co.uk/brewersfayre/our-pubs/bristol/king-sedgemoor-inn/find-us.html and we have used this one further down just off the A30 in Cornwall www.brewersfayre.co.uk/brewersfayre/our-pubs/plymouth/penhale-round/find-us.html

Thanks for the Tescos, pub and Brewers Fayre recommendations, that's all really helpful.

Will be printing this thread off and have it with me in the car - isn't MN fab?!

There is a fab cafe on the A303 just before Yeovil. Doesn't sell itself on its name, Wayne's Bistro , but does really good reasonable food. Can have a proper meal or just sandwiches etc.

We live in Devon and normally aim to stop off there on the way back on long journeys. So much better than services or Little Chef

we've done London to Falmouth.

Leave at about 3/4 am. With luck you'll be at Exeter services for about 8am, where you can all have a wash and brush up and breakkie (along with a trillion other people). Then potter your way down to Cornwall (potter is the word. That road, can't remember which, the A road which does all the way down through Cornwall, across Bodmin Moor - it's full of people who don't understand about every lane bar the slow lane being overtaking lanes.).

Good luck!

I live in Cornwall and we use the A303 to get up to London. Go as early as you can bear, pack up a picnic and stop somewhere.

We tend to stop at the Cartgate picnic area which is in Somerset and is a welcome relief from the road. Lots of green, good seating, nice little caff etc. The postcode for satnav is apparently TA14 6RA. I just googled "cartgate picnic area" and it came up.

Agree set off early, the earlier the better. We set off at 8 (late for us) a few weeks back and it took us 6.5 hours from North London. Which was too long, the A30/39 was snared up with caravans and traffic generally. So I would be tempted to leave at 4/5am. Coming back it took us 8.5 hours!! 3 hours leaving Cornwall because we left at 10am which is kick out of Cornwall/Devon time, so again go early or stay for the day and go later. I should have known better having grown up in devon.

We left London at 11am took the A40, M25, M3 and A303 and the A30. We arrived near Fowey at 5.30ish having stopped twice for lunch and a break for DD (10 months). It was fine.

I'd avoid the motorways as the M4 is horrible and so is the M5. A least with the A roads there are more places to stop so you aren't compelled to use Membury services etc.

Keep away from the A30 as long as possible. the A38 through Plymouth and Bodmin is never as bad as the dreaded A30. the signs try and send you onto the A30 buy keep right when the motorway ends and take the A38 instead. we try and stay in places with Friday rather than Saturday changeovers now as it is much easier driving down then. you can get trains from Paddington into Plymouth and on into cornwall and quite a few places give you money off if you arrive by train.

We are going to Cornwall next week Saturday. Since the school holidays will have finished by then do you reckon that traffic will still be really bad? (sorry about thread hijack)

I agree that it is better to leave as early as you possibly can!

vez123 The traffic will still be busier then than it normally is, but it will not be nearly as bad as it is going to be this bank holiday weekend. We normally have the older couples/families with young children holidaying in Sept & then everything gets back to 'normal' in Oct! It has been particularly busy in Cornwall this year as the weather has been so good.

Audio CDs are brilliant. Harry potter is going down well with my 8 and 6yo. We are doing falmouth to Torquay tomorrow and aiming to be well out of cornwall by 9. From what we saw coming down, the return journey is worse than the one down here!

We just stopped at Exeter to get the boys dressed and get petrol etc and I would like to say a HUGE thank you to those who recommended Tescos and directed us there. Absolute GENIUS! In and out v quickly, virtually empty.

You'll have passed us already. Did you wave?!

Wow, when did you leave??

We left at 4.20 and arrived in Newquay at 9.30!

No traffic problems at all, which was brilliant. We took mummymeister's advice and ignored the satnav telling us to go on the A30 and took the A38 instead.

Thanks so much to everyone, you undoubtedly made our journey much quicker and more bearable, and thanks to the tip about return journey, we will be making sure we leave early on Saturday as well!

:)

Oh, and can I just say, I LOVE IT here!

Cornwall is definitely worth the trudge to get there! In previous years we have set off no later than 6 am from SW London, and had a reasonable journey - this year lulled by our previous experience we set off at 8 - never again! But apart from the bottlenecks near Bodmin, actual driving not too bad, but the service stations - aaargh!
Will definitely be following advice on here re pubs and Sainsbo's next year.

flowery - I drove back from cornwall 2 weeks ago to london and it took 9 hours! I got stuck on the m5 - the traffic just literally stopped moving and I took thekeys out of the ignition. AFter it started again we crawled 1 juntion in 2 hours! Then I had a bright idea to come off the motoroway at bridgewater I think and take the A3 all the way to south london so avoiding the rest of the M5 and M4. This was a terible mistake. Delayed over 4 hours on motorwsay. Ws so bad I had to do a poo at the side of the road!!! the culprit is app[arently stonehenge where traffic is back ed up and delayed for hours. So my advice is avoid weekend travela nd try to travel late at night or v early monring

If you're going back on the A38 flowery Stover at Newton Abbott is a lovely stop off (country park with toilets) (No shop tho').

That's brilliant flowery!

Flowery try the Plume of Feathers at Mitchell.

Agree with pp about exeter services - hell on earth. Have just done Cornwall with 5 yr old, left 4am and she slept until 7, found it all great fun.

Once there Eden project great but v little kid food. Lunch box with ham or cheese sandwich, cookie, juice, apple was it. Take yr own snacks. But we loved it. ( much cheaper to book tickets in advance too)

Enjoy