Birmingham Toll Road

GlasgowGal

Hi We are travelling from Aberdeen to Plymouth tomorrow and some people have advised us to use the Birmingham Toll Road. Hubby is not convinced as he thinks it will take us off in the wrong direction. Just wondered what the general opinion was. Will the roads be really busy tomorrow due to the Bank Holiday? Many thanks.

Hammyman

It won't take you off in the wrong direction. It starts north of Birmingham on the M6 and joins south of Birmingham on the M6. You have to pass both the entry and exit points if you were to avoid the toll road. FWIW, its only really worth using from 6.30am-10.30am and 3pm-6.30pm and if there's an incident between M6 J11 and M6 J7. Listen to Radio 2 on your way down as they do traffic reports twice an hour (20-25 past and 10 to the hour)

mikey72

I won't use it on principal, and the normal motorways aren't bad now anyway.

citykid5

i wouldnt bother useing the toll,,you'l be getting off at junction 8 for the m5 i take it? so your hubbys right not worth it for 3 junctions of stop start traffick and i think it's about £6

Paradigm

It costs £5 for a car & it does send you a little out of you way but follow the signs & you're soon back on the M5.

The M6 is pretty much roadworks all the way from J11, that + bank holiday= not nice

If it were me I'd go toll but it depends how much you like sitting in traffic

GlasgowGal

Many thanks to all who replied and will defo tune into Radio 2 for the traffic report. Fingers crossed it may not be too bad and we can decide when we approach it whether we should take it or not.

Billy-no-Money

I hope you're doing that trip with at least two drivers - if there's only one of you driving then think again - you wouldn't want truck drivers to go over their hours, but a tired car driver can just as easily cause havoc. Sorry if that sounds like I'm preaching - but you're doing one of the longest journeys it's possible to do in the UK, on one of the busiest days of the year, on some of the most congested motorways in the UK (pretty much anywhere from Preston south, and particularly from the M62, could be nose-to-tail - and it's highly likely there'll be at least one accident on your route).

I think choice of the M6 Toll or otherwise will be the least of your worries!

Sorry to be so negative, you could be lucky and have a clear run, but it's a rare thing I'm afraid.

GlasgowGal

Bill thanks for the advice, yes there will be two drivers, hubby and I plus a three year old - yikes. We are stopping for 2 hours in Perth (hubbys work) an hour or so at Carlisle and again around Birmingham and any other stops we need. We are leaving at 7am and if we get to Plymouth by 9pm then we will be well please and exhausted. We need to drive south to get the lovely sunny weather as its been pretty dull and damp up north

mikey72

Billy-no-Money wrote: »

I hope you're doing that trip with at least two drivers - if there's only one of you driving then think again - you wouldn't want truck drivers to go over their hours, but a tired car driver can just as easily cause havoc. Sorry if that sounds like I'm preaching - but you're doing one of the longest journeys it's possible to do in the UK, on one of the busiest days of the year, on some of the most congested motorways in the UK (pretty much anywhere from Preston south, and particularly from the M62, could be nose-to-tail - and it's highly likely there'll be at least one accident on your route).

I think choice of the M6 Toll or otherwise will be the least of your worries!

Sorry to be so negative, you could be lucky and have a clear run, but it's a rare thing I'm afraid.

You can do it in 10 hours, plus stops.

Paradigm

GlasgowGal wrote: »

Bill thanks for the advice, yes there will be two drivers, hubby and I plus a three year old - yikes. We are stopping for 2 hours in Perth (hubbys work) an hour or so at Carlisle and again around Birmingham and any other stops we need. We are leaving at 7am and if we get to Plymouth by 9pm then we will be well please and exhausted. We need to drive south to get the lovely sunny weather as its been pretty dull and damp up north

Wish I was going Keep an eye on the matrix signs, they'll start warning you of any delays at B/ham around J20 M6.

If you decide to use the toll road then Norton Canes services are pretty much empty most of the time.

Have a nice break.

mikey72

Paradigm wrote: »

Wish I was going Keep an eye on the matrix signs, they'll start warning you of any delays at B/ham around J20 M6.

If you decide to use the toll road then Norton Canes services are pretty much empty most of the time.

Have a nice break.

I use this road reguarly.
The signs always warn of delays. I ignore them now, as I have never been caught in traffic.
It's the same with local signs, I may be cynical, but it all seems staged to get as many drivers as possible on the toll road.