I need to drive to Edinburgh tomorrow, I've never driven that distance before, so am quite apprehensive. Google is telling me to go via the M1/A1 but a friend advised me to travel via the M40/M6/M74/A702. Which way is the best for a nervous driver?
I need to drive to Edinburgh tomorrow, I've never driven that distance before, so am quite apprehensive. Google is telling me to go via the M1/A1 but a friend advised me to travel via the M40/M6/M74/A702. Which way is the best for a nervous driver?
I need to drive to Edinburgh tomorrow, I've never driven that distance before, so am quite apprehensive. Google is telling me to go via the M1/A1 but a friend advised me to travel via the M40/M6/M74/A702. Which way is the best for a nervous driver?
All much of a muchness really.
Personally from London I'd take the M1/M18/A1, the M40/M6 avoids roundabouts, but is quite a long route and there could be lots of traffic.
The A1 has lots of roundabouts at the southern end and it is quite slow.
I need to drive to Edinburgh tomorrow, I've never driven that distance before, so am quite apprehensive. Google is telling me to go via the M1/A1 but a friend advised me to travel via the M40/M6/M74/A702. Which way is the best for a nervous driver?
A1 every time for me. The London end is arsey at rush hour, but so is every route at that time. Otherwise it’s quite a pleasant drive, and the change in road type for various sections means it’s a less boring drive. Nowadays there’s zero roundabouts from Huntingdon to Berwick. The section through Tyneside can be a bit hairy, but much less so than the M6 around Birmingham.
I’d avoid M1/M6 at moment as there’s masses of roadworks at the moment.
If you do choose M6 I’d definitely pay to use the toll road, it really cuts out a lot of hassle.
The single carriageway section of the A1 north of Berwick is a royal PITA. I try and avoid it.
Another option is A1, A66, M74 then cross country, but it does depend where in Edinburgh are going.
Whichever way remember its circa 400 miles. If you have never driven that far before be mindful of how long it is taking and have regular breaks. At best its about 7 hours, but can get into double figures depending on traffic.
As others have said, it depends whereabouts in London you are starting.
However (and as @bramling mentioned) there are a lot of roadworks on the M1 (about 20 miles from MK to Northampton) and M6 (about 12 miles from Coventry to the M6 toll, and 18 miles from Stafford to Stoke), plus the M6 from Stafford to Knutsford is always very busy unless you are travelling very early/late or overnight. The M6 doesn’t really get easy until Preston, but from there to Gretna it’s a pleasure to drive.
I would go A1.
The road out of Newcastle is the A696.The A1 is of course partially dual carriageway, so you may get stuck behind a combine for a while
& when you go by the A1, you can leave it at Newcastle to go by the Carter Bar. The A68 is a much grander way to enter Scotland. & I don't think there's much difference in time.
Given the last sentence, I'd say the M1/A1 is the better option.Google is telling me to go via the M1/A1 but a friend advised me to travel via the M40/M6/M74/A702. Which way is the best for a nervous driver?
I'd suggest M1-M18 and catch the A1 near Doncaster. There has been a few works on the M1 recently, but along your route you'll only find them near Northampton. They only go on for a few junctions and if you travel at the right time they aren't too bad.
The A1 out of London through Stevenage towards Peterborough has a lot of single carriageways and islands and it's a bit tedious.
In my (not inconsiderable) experience of driving north/south, I find it's better to stick to the M1 rather than going up the M18 and A1. It's approximately 7 miles further, but you will inevitably get held up for longer than 7 minutes at the A1/M18 junction and then further up the A1 around Doncaster and Selby. The M1 between Sheffield and Leeds, on the other hand, is usually pretty free flowing.
Whichever way you go, I would keep Google Maps running as it will pick up any congestion and divert you accordingly.
Good luck!
I'd take this a stage further and just let Google decide on the route
that is why people drive into the river at Stanhope in Weardale.