Hi please could anyone give me any advise, we are traveling to Cornwall in 2 stages starting tomorow at around 4pm from East Yorkshrie as we dont know what the traffic will be like and how far we will get before we have to stop with the caravan we are a bit unsure what to do. its been suggested that we stay at a motorway services is this a good idea??? i would be veryt gratefull for any advise we are very new to caravanning.
Hi, we live in East Yorkshire as well and have always set off at around midnight and travelling overnight we've always tried to get past Bristol before 7am to try and miss the rush hour and have usually have got to Mawgan Porth by 11am. This has included a number of rest stops on the way too (including a snooze for me)
------------- -x- Diane -x-
May 13 - Cala Gogo, St Cyprien (didn't go, hubby too ill to travel)
May 14 Ranc Davaine
August 14 Les Sablons
August 13 - Camping Playa Brava, Pals
Thanks for the reply ,,,,,, my husband dosent want to drive all the way in one go and not happy setting off at midnight either (we have discusssed this already) really just need to know if its safe to stay at motor way services and if anyone knows of a good one to stop at
You can park up overnight with caravan on motorway services but you have to pay & its usually around £20. If theres no caravan parking area you will have to park with the trucks. You should get down as far as Taunton Deane services on the M5 & theres plenty of space there, stop in the truck park before the main building, don't go past it. Its shouldn't be too crowded with trucks on a Friday night.
Hi we lived in S yorks & alway stopped in Bristol on friday night, we are now in Wales& is accepted locally that we need ensure we pass through Bristol by 9.30am on a Sat. When I was younger my Dad would leave Derby at 3 am on Sat to travel South
Thank you.... im thinking Taunton might be a little far but who knows we might get that far so have taken a note on my phone if we do. Gratefull for your advise
On Friday night generally motorway services won't be so packed with trucks stopped for the night so you should be ok at whichever one you want to stop at. The traffic can queue for miles along the M5 around Bristol on bank hol Saturdays so I suggest you at least try to reach Gordano Services which is at the south end of Bristol on M5.
We used to set off around 7-8pm from Tyne and Wear and our first stop would be Woodall Services for loo and tea break I guess somewhere around midnight. We'd then carry on to Michael Wood and stop there for sleep. When my dad was driving he'd have as much sleep as needed and then we would carry on and be at our destination before 10am (we were only heading to Devon). We used to do Cornwall, but I was much younger then and as others have said, we travelled starting in the early hours. Never could see the point in wasting a day of holiday stuck in traffic, but then we never travelled on a bank holiday either. We looked on the overnight drive as part of our holiday and it did seem to pass much quicker through the night.
If you don't want to get as far as Taunton, Try Strensham, just past Worcester or Micheal Wood (Gloucestershire/Bristol Border), What ever you do, try NOT to stop at Exeter services, it will be jammed full of Caravans
Jon
------------- Are you sure you couldn't squeeze anything else in love ?
All the motorway services on the M5 should be okay on a Friday - as has been said, not too many trucks. Even so, be prepared for a noisy break (ear plugs?) as just one refrigerated unit kicks up a hell of a racket.
Don't leave the van unattended either. Vans have been known to disappear in minutes from service stations.
We have used Taunton Deane and Gordano services in the past but now prefer to pull off the motorway to a site and use this for an overnight stop. Costs about the same and is much quieter, with better facilities.