On Jun 10, 8:18*pm, "neverwas" wrote:

Thanks for all the advice. I think setting off at 7am, or slightly
before, and go by the A12, M11, M25. It does over double the distance
(start N1 3DS), but it ought to be more dependable.

Thanks chaps - if it were just me going, I'd be on the train with hand
luggage... damn the wife!

Some belated comments.

Yes, rather too late now! Nevermind, should there be a next time, or
another similar query.


Starting from there, the M11 and Dartford crossing seem somewhat
bizarre.

Agreed - though to be fair Roland's basic rationale seems sound (he
explains it in his own reply to your post).


I live near the Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach and, if I had noticed
your thread sooner, *would have suggested you monitor that this morning
with the web cams ( eg
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravel...d/default.asp). As
others have said, it is nothing like as bad as it used to be in the days
of tidal flow. *And you have the option of bailing out to the M25 via
the [A13] if you were to find Blackwall closed. *As it is, if you arrive
to find an accident on the QE2 bridge your options are rather limited
(unless scuba gear allows you to snorkel the car).

The ability to bail out onto the A13 is a crucial advantage - the A13
these days is entirely grade separated dual-carriageway to somewhere
past Basildon.

(By the by, if there *is* an accident on the QE2 bridge at the
Dartford crossing, then how quickly do they turn one of the tunnels
from a northbound into a southbound tunnel I wonder?)


I would also have supported the suggestion of switching to the A20 from
the A2 (in my experience best done by going via Kidbrooke so as to avoid
the South Circular).

Thanks for the advice, yes that sounds very wise to avoid getting
caught up in the South Circular traffic too much. I think that signs
at the Kidbrooke interchange only direct local-ish traffic via this
Kidbrooke route, not entirely sure about that though but I suspect one
needs to properly acquaint oneself with a map beforehand in order to
pull off this little 'short-cut' correctly. Nonetheless it's no great
disaster if one were to miss this and one can just carry on and come
via the South Circular and the Yorkshire Grey roundabout instead.


Finally, it's some years since I drove to work daily from Hackney to
Westminster but there was then a massive difference in traffic between
6:00 and 7:00. *I don't know if the same true is now but in your shoes
(flippers???) I'd leave at 06:00, count it as a bonus if I arrived at
Gatwick by 08:00 and then treat myself to a good breakfast/brunch.