London to Cornwall - Overnight stop or go all thway in one day?

[imme]

We're off to Cornwall in July and will stay near Bodmin. We have done the journey in the past in one day but I am now thinking about breaking up the journey into two days. We have a baby girl who hates going in the car so I thought we should keep travelling time to a minimum.
If we did the journey in one day we would leave very early on Saturday. If we did it in two days we would leave on Friday lunchtime, stay somewhere on route and then take it a bit easier on the Saturday in order to arrive at the cottage early afternoon.
What do people recommend? And if we stay somewhere en route, where would be a nice place?
Cheers

[neffi]

From SW London we leave at 5 am ish and stop for breakfast somewhere along the A303. You really do beat the worst of the traffic leaving earlier.

Two weeks this year. Yippee!

[Hjthorne]

We live near the M5-Weston s mare,Somerset and the M5 is always clogged up,from 8am onwards,Southbound,for the 7 week school holidays... I suggest you either leave very early-4am .or travel later-in the late afternoon or evening.

[Pooka]

The problem with the eagle is that it's on the other carriageway on way down to cornwall. You can turn across into it, but it would be big hassle trying to find a gap in traffic to cross the London hound traffic to rejoin the west bound carriageway. Is ok for a pit stop on the way back to London though.

[Doristhecamel]

Saturday travel to tge southwest in July and August is awful. I would go Friday evening. Say leave 7pmish. Drive all the way. You could be there in a lot less than 6 hours.
Either book a travel lodge well past Exeter or add the Friday onto your accommodation and just plan to get there late like 1am or something.

Leaving on the Friday evening will get you there the quickest which is what you are after if baby hates the car.
Leaving Friday lunchtime will take longer.

[worldgonecrazy]

Leave at 3.00 a.m. in the morning - breakfast in Cornwall. Sorted.

[Auriga]

Oops, sorry, looks as though Farmer Giles not open except for school trips

[Auriga]

We used to leave early on Saturday morning with a long stop at Farmer Giles for a play and a picnic (they do good food but sometimes there are long queues). It was part of the holiday, we'd meet friends there and have a good play. Then finish the journey with them all sparked out.

[eatyourveg]

In that case, come back slowly stopping for a picnic lunch at Burgh Island, tea and overnight in Lyme Regis, stroll along the cob before breakfast and spend the day exploring the Jurassic coast before heading up to Salisbury or Winchester for dinner and a look around the following day. From there you can head straight up the M3 and be home for tea.

If you don't want to head inland then I'd go for Purbeck and spend the day on Brownsea Island. Its easy to get onto the M27/M3 from there.

[imme]

Thanks for all your input. I am slowly coming around to the idea of leaving at 4 am on Saturday morning and then do it all in one day.
But would love to add a couple of days somewhere at the end, because otherwise 1 week of holidays is just not enough...

[Mothergothel1111]

We drive through the night on long journeys. Lift the babies at 1 am and drive. ( so dh can have a few hours in bed)

Pack your car the day before.

Children wake up on holiday!!

[Pooka]

I do the journey a LOT. SE London to 40 mjns from Bodmin.

We never travel on a Saturday. Unless leaving at 7pm for midnight arrival. Not early risers so haven't left super early.

I would, if had dcs who hated the car, stop en route. Exeter services is only 2hrs max from Bodmin. So somewhere earlier on would make more sense. We do m25/m3/A30/A303/A30.

[eatyourveg]

I'd go M4, stay the night in Bath and head down the M5 the next day

[GoblinMarket]

go for it in one - we did similar with NO stops and a car full of kids last week

[CointreauVersial]

For me, a week in Cornwall isn't long enough, so I love extending the holiday by a couple of days at either end, and stopping at places we'd otherwise miss.

We did do it in one go a few years ago, and it took about 7 hours (all the way to Penzance). Unfortunately, sitting in one position for so long put my back out, so I spent the first half of the holiday in agony.

[eurochick]

SE London makes a big difference. You've got to go through or round. I generally favour going out and round and it takes me about an hour and a half on average just to get to the M25/M3 interchange. It took me over 2 hours on Saturday.

[Damnautocorrect]

Coming home I'd get up early and stop somewhere for the day on the way back, (Bristol? Longleat? Western super mare) have fun and then carry on the journey late afternoon /evening.

[Damnautocorrect]

For us (London) 4-5 hours doable in one go, stop at Exeter makes it easier though.
I've left at 5/6ish in the morning and we were there for a delicious breakfast. Ds slept through. We've also left at 7pm and got there late. Again ds slept through.

[CharlesRyder]

I do the M4/M5 trip to Cornwall every year in August btw- but not from inside the M25.

We do Slough -> M25 ->M3 ->A303 to Lyme Regis as a there and back day trip regularly.

[CharlesRyder]

No- and clearly I do not wish to!!

It is my idea of hell to break a journey over days and stay in a bunch of different places. It would break into my pottering time! Horses for courses I guess.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

I would just do it in one day. Evening travel is fine if you can do it in one hit, but travelling late, then stopping you will get the bad traffic and then possibly children who won't sleep in the hotel because they've been asleep in the car for too long. Then you are all knackered and grumpy when it comes to carrying on the following day.

I would be ready to go the night before, then get on the road at 7am and you'll be in Cornwall by 2pm even with a couple of stops because you'll be ahead of most of the traffic.

[Ragwort]

We travelled regularly to Cornwall from way beyond London and wouldn't have dreamed of stopping half way (and Bodmin isn't even that far into Cornwall is it). However you must be mad to leave London at 9.30am - that is bound to be the worst possible time for driving.

We used to set off around 4/5am so DS slept most of the time anyway.

[CointreauVersial]

Ha ha, Charlesryder - did you ever try that journey on a Friday evening? Or pretty much any time in the summer holidays?

We take two or three days to do the journey from Surrey - it is do-able in one go but much more fun to stop at a couple of places on the way, so the journey becomes part of the holiday.

Last year we stopped at Exeter and Truro, the year before was Lyme Regis, Bath and Dartmoor. We are off again in July, and I'm thinking south coast, maybe Salcombe? Or Weymouth?

[OddFodd]

I'd leave London about 8pm on the Friday and do what CMOT said. You can get to Exeter by about 11

[allmycats]

I would set off around 4.00am on the Saturday morning - OR try and book the Friday night as an 'extra' where you are staying.
By splitting into 2 short journey you are making yourself an awful lot of work.