Alton Towers Pick-Up Point help please!!

artichoke

what about going across country? across the peaks? the A515 is a good road ...

which side of leeds do you need to be on?

if you go across the peaks - even if you joined the motorway at sheffield - you would cut out a lot of the roadwork sections although there is more up towards leeds as well....


art

Echo23

Hi, we need to be North Leeds on Chapeltown Road to be exact. From home (near S!!!!horpe) we normally take M180, M18, M62 and then the A1(m) and A64 into the top of Leeds to avoid the city centre traffic. I will look at alternative routes to the M1 but aren't particularly confident breaking away from the sat nav! lol

artichoke

what about going the other way round?


alton towers to leek, wilmslow, around the m60 and onto m62

have a play on google maps....

it gives you a variety of routes and you can say avoid motorways etc..

art

allybee101

The pick up/drop off point is almost straight after the entrance so make sure you're ready to turn right into it - it's slightly elevated from the road so you should spot it easily. The park entrance is the other side of the hedge (there is a big gap at the left end of the layby) and past the monorail building. You'll see the ticket offices and gates. No parking or entry tickets required.

I do echo the concerns of others that 3 hours to get from Alton Towers to Leeds might be optimistic on a Friday afternoon esp with the M1. It'll take an hour to get to the M1 from AT (I regularly travel that way between home and family).
Try Art's suggestion of Leek, Macclesfield, M60, M62. I don't know what traffic on the M62 is like on a Friday - it might be one long traffic jam?

This may be your daughter's first experience having to make a tough decision and pick one or the other activity. Can't always have your cake and eat it - and it would be hard on you driving from Home to Staffordshire to Leeds and Home in a day.
I think that you need to sit down with her and discuss what would happen if you got stuck in a traffic jam and didn't make it to the ballet performance on time. How would she feel? How does she think her ballet friends and teacher might feel if she wasn't able to make it? Would it affect her chances to perform again (I don't know if attendance affects this)? Perhaps a good opportunity to discuss making difficult decisions, reliability and responsibility.

Could you arrange a family trip to Alton Towers another day?

millerose

Yep I totally agree with the travel times. I live by Jct 34 on the M1 and not only will you have the fallout from Meadowhell but also Sheffield Arena traffic should there by a concert on. Then there is the usual traffic bottleneck from the M18 as there has been an accident on the A1 . Friday nights are impossible without the speed restrictions. My friend got caught by a camera on that section last week doing 55!, so they do work and no, not a single workman in sight.


I am a dance mum too and I'm afraid I would choose the Ballet. Put the saved petrol money and time into a kitty and go as a family. School trips are fun but your daughter will be restricted as to what rides to go on etc, whereas as a family it will be more enjoyable. There are plenty of 2 for 1 vouchers available.