"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

On 29/05/2012 22:43, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Tue, 29 May 2012 22:09:29 +0100, Marco
wrote:

Hi All,

I’m moving from Birmingham to a new flat in the London Bridge area. Due
to the contract and when my new job starts, I need to move down either
this Friday 1st June or Saturday 2nd. Unfortunately, because of the
Jubilee weekend, I know the traffic getting to London Bridge is probably
going to be horrific.

Driving down on the Friday means hitting the congestion charge and
possibly rush hour, but going on the Saturday one risks all the traffic
from the tens of thousands of tourists making their way into London for
the Jubilee. In your opinion, which day do you think would be best to
drive from Birmingham to London Bridge?

Thanks for any advice.

I think I'd opt for the Saturday if you are driving because the City
area is far quieter than on a weekday. Fridays are ridiculously busy
and with it being a long bank holiday weekend I don't think I would
want to be travelling then or encountering the drunken hordes in and
around the City.

While some people will be travelling on Saturday I doubt there will be
the tens of thousands you are predicting but then I am not
particularly enthused about the Diamond Jubillee.

You need to consider that you will be marooned on one side of the
River on the Sunday due to the very extensive diversions and closures
because of the river pageant. There are also road closures on the
following two days. More info from TfL at
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/23610.aspx


The crucial point being that the big river pageant thing is on Sunday, as
opposed to Saturday. I'd agree with opting for Saturday too, though I'd
prefer to arrive earlier rather than later in the evening given the
potential for river pageant preparation disruption (does somewhat depend
on where the flat is - the closer to the riverside, the more the
potential).

Well, I'm going to go against the grain and say Friday. However, it will
only work if you're prepared to go late. I used to regularly drive from
Maidenhead to Castle Cary (bear with me!) down the A303 past Stonehenge on a
Friday. You'd think that would be horrendous particularly in Summer or on
Bank Holidays. However, I discovered that if I didn't leave until about
1930/2000 I would sail through. I would suggest that if you leave
Birmingham about 1930 and come down the M40 and don't expect to rush you
should be on the outskirts of London about 2130/2200 and any "day" traffic
will be coming out of London and the congestion charge won't apply by that
time.