Quote: Originally posted by Christine08 on 19/6/2014
Hi,
Similar to other members on this thread, we travel from North/West Yorks border to Newquay, and have now 2 small children. We have found out the following over the years:
1) Try to avoid leaving/arriving Cornwall on a Saturday - it is generally change-over day and everybody else is also trying to arrive/leave too. A38/A30 and M5 are a complete nightmare.
2) Pack the trailer the day before, go to bed early and depart Yorkshire at 1am, lifting the sleeping children into the back of the car. Take coffee in travel mugs.
3) Aim to stop only for a wee, get another coffee from service station, and swap over driving duties, keep the engine running if you need to, to keep kiddies asleep... ;)
4) Aim to have cleared Bristol and the M5 and be on the A30 by 7am (8am at the latest). Arrive at Newquay in time for a hearty breakfast and a first paddle in the sea :)
For packing up to come home, we generally, pack, spend the remainder of the day somewhere in North Corwall, have tea out, and set off around 7pm to travel home. We generally have a clear run and get home around midnight/1am and lift the children from car back into bed.
Yes, you are tired on the first day of holidays, but we try to have a continental "siesta" that day to get through until bedtime. It works for us!
Lol, The amount of times I`ve fallen asleep on one of the benches either under the Island or overlooking Porthmeor beach at St Ives on the first day there
That sounds like something I could definitely cope with. I may have to go to bed at 5pm to du it but it probably seems the easiest way. Thank you for the advice :)
Something we have experienced and I noticed someone else has also mentioned it on these boards, is that beware overight road/motorway closures on bank holiday weekends! If you plan to drive through the night on these weekends, the highways agencies also think that it is a good time to shut major motorways for maintenance. We got caught out with that once when most of the M5 was shut coming home from Cornwall. It was certainly an experience driving round/through major towns and cities on "A" roads following badly placed "diversion signs" in the wee small hours! I think we managed to finally get home about 3.30am on that particular trip!
Couple of tips I read elsewhere was to avoid Exeter services as it gets really busy. Apparently if you come off the slip road, go past the services and there is a Tesco superstore just a little bit further on. Toilets, food and probably less queues and cheaper prices......
And there is a large Sainsburys just off the motorway at Taunton.
4 weeks today we set off for St Ives. I don't know about everyone else but just considering the jouney gets me excited!!! I know it's a pain but it's part of the experience.
I am booking the friday off to get all packed up and really want to leave about 3-4 AM. Ipads/Tablets/Kindles to keep the kids entertained - picnic somewhere (was exeter services last year, but yes it can be a pain getting in)
We are staying on St Ives Bay Holiday Park on the "free for all" field - just want to be there early so we get a good pitch!
------------- August 2012 - Solway Holiday park
July 2013 - St Ives Bay Holiday Park, Cornwall
Great post - I'm driving from North Manchester to St Austell next Saturday morning. Was planning on leaving at around 5am, but having read this I think I'm going to aim for 4am instead :-)
Can anyone recommend the best place to stop for a coffee (and perhaps a short nap) once I've passed Bristol?
I'm hoping the traffic won't be too bad as the school hold haven't started yet!!
I've been driving regularly from east Warwickshire to Cornwall (various places but often Wadebridge area) regularly for thirty years, sometimes up to half-a-dozen times in a year.
The journey time can vary enormously. On a good day off-season I have done the trip to Polzeath non-stop in just over four hours; on a bad day in summer with stops for the loo, it has taken six or even seven hours. But it only needs an accident to put an hour or two on the journey.
Unfortunately, the OP is travelling on a Saturday in August. I always considered it crucial to avoid Saturdays. My other vital factor was to be well past the Bristol area before 8am. That is easy from Warwickshire as I didn't need to set off until 5am but I can see it would mean a 3.30am start from Sheffield.
So my advice to the OP would be to leave after the rush hour on Friday evening, drive as far as the south midlands, stay overnight (either in a Travelodge or at a campsite), then set off very early on Saturday morning.
As to entertaining the kids on a long car journey, well good luck with that
Sceptical camper, do you know of any travel lodges/premier inns with secure parking? Were just worried about leaving the car full of gear unattended, what does everyone else do? Xx
I can't recommend any particular hotel - I suspect that from the carpark security point of view they are all much of a muchness. Perhaps an inner city location is more risky than a motorway services?
When I park my car with camping gear in the back, I usually cover the load with a blanket or coats. But to a thief, items like tents, sleeping bags, coolboxes and so on probably look like large, bulky, very low value items that aren't worth the effort of smashing a window - as opposed to, say, a smartphone or a laptop left in view.
We travelled from Hull to perranporth on the same weekend last year and i think we set off at about quarter past 3 in the morning and arrivede approx 11 with a stop off, pulling a trailer we were restricted to speed but just took it steady
we are going to newquay the same weekend this year and will probably be leaving around the same time
natsandjasper, as stated by gari, Exeter's Tesco is handy. A good place to stop off and fill up yourselves and the car. A good rest before you hit all the emmits and grockles on the A30. Towing a caravan took us about 9 hours to St Austell, including breaks.
------------- Some days you are the dog,
some days you are the tree.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: driving to cornwall
