Be Excellent To Each Other

I'll keep it short:

Tom Tom would like me to drive up the M5 and then down the M50.

Google says take the A40.

The A40 is alot short but I am assuming the Tom Tom might know better than Google as it appears to show that road as being some kind of speed camera hell with lots of 50 limits.

Can any locals fill me in before I set off tomorrow.

Cheers.


[Edit] I say between these places, obviously they are just part of a journey up from Chinny HQ. I will not be going into Gloucester itself. I'm going past Ross On Wye as well.

That stretch of the M5 can be a cunt at certain times of the day, but the M50 in clear conditions is a lovely little motorway to drive down. You can SEE STUFF either side unlike many of our fast roads. Once it was closed due to an accident when we were returning to South Wales and we turned off at J2, up to Ledbury and down to Ross. Cracking road. Brilliant diversion. Some cameras though, which even some one like me who tries to stick to the limit finds unpleasant to deal with.

If you are going on past Ross and ending up anywhere near Usk and are bored let me know, we can have an pint.

/edit haven't actually got a bloody clue about the A40...

Am staying firmly on the English side of the border I'm afraid. Going to the middle of nowhere a few miles the other side of Ross.

Yeah. Dude, that's called Wales, that bit.

I'm going to not quite Wales.

I may drive to the border and make V signs at Gaywood however.

He'll see you on the Welsh Border CCTV uplink - all the 'pure-bloods' have them over here now. We live in fear, I hope to god this is a secure channel. If anyone gets this, it's been the worst St. David's Day ever for the English - They were rabid! I saw one poor chap from Frinton-on-Sea get fucked with a leek. Life hasn't been the same since the day they told us England had sealed off the borders, consigning her children stranded over Offah's Dyke to a life of servitude and second-class citizenship. I can't - won't believe it. I know the opposite is true.

We have a safe house in Chepstow - we're tunnelling under the river - any chance if we PM you the co-ordinates you could meet us halfway?

Please - the enforced Katherine Jenkins concert is in three weeks. I fear the worst if we are forced within earshot.

That's some pretty good noise right there.
'Fraid I can't help with the road info except to say that we drove from Scotland to Manchester at the weekend and there were loads of different sections with 50mph limits and minimum speed cameras. That was pretty annoying.

Chinster - Oi am An Local. Arrrr.

The A40 route is a fuck of a lot quicker, and a lot prettier, than M5/M50. Trick is not to break the speed limit, but the handy speed-measure-o-tron on your dashboard can help with that.

Your alternative to the A40 is up the B4215 via Newent, then down the last stretch of the M50. Newent smells, though.

Another alternative, come to think of it, is the A417 up to the M50, then follow the M50 down. The A417's got a fair few 60 limits (although they've dropped some to 50 recently) and I don't recall any speed cameras up there. Plus you can swear at Richard Hammond as you drive past Redmarley. The M50's ok, as long as it hasn't been raining heavily.

That said, when going to Ross from the in-laws' near Hartpury I always used to take the A417 then the A449, but then I'm never in a hurry and I like country roads.

Thank you. Have 910 bananas for the most useful reply on the forum today.

Am about to set out!

The M50 is excellent, not much traffic and you can just cruise along at ("legal speeds of course" -Ed.)

Have returned. Did a very rewarding 59MPG on the way home which was nice.

Used the A40. Found out why the Tom Tom was routing oddly. My client told me that part of the A40 had been closed with a diversion a while back. The Tom Tom has "map corrections" which allows people to upload if a road is closed. So it thought there was a problem because I hadn't updated it.

Fastest road in Britain on a good day.

Ha - yeah, that was until about a year ago. A huge stretch was being repaired.