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The M25

Due to long-term planned improvements on the capital's 117 mile ring road and the country's most talked about motorway, road-works and road widening are an ever present feature for the next year at least. Often referred to as "The Road to Nowhere" the M25 is now famous for delays, hold ups and full scale traffic jams.

Many of the attractions featured on this site which are outside Bedfordshire involve using the M25 so it may be worth while checking the state of the traffic before you set out. AA Road watch can help, and can be accessed via the main AA web site, and if you use the RAC route planner it also gives you traffic updates. As you travel towards the M25 make sure you're tuned into local radio and have the Traffic Alerts feature, available on most modern in-car radios, activated. BBC Local Radio and BBC Local Websites are invaluable sources of traffic updates before you travel or once you're on your way.

Other good sites for information and updates are The Highways Agency, who have a section dedicated to the M25, or Transport Direct, whose homepage is a gateway to a host of travel news, advice and information.

Keeping going...

Do not forget to take some snacks and drinks for the passengers and the driver and something to keep them occupied if you do get stuck in a jam. We assume that if we're hungry or thirsty we'll just stop at the next service station. Make that assumption on the M25 and you could find yourselves in difficulty. The western section from the A1/M1 round to past the M3 turning is notorious for delays and once you're on the motorway and past South Mimms at J23 there is no motorway stop on the M25 until Clacket Lane between J5 & J6. If you're going on the M40, M4 or M3 then you've still got a long way to go before a service station. The eastern section towards the Thames crossing is little better. Accidents or breakdowns affecting either of the Dartford Tunnels or the QE2 Bridge can quickly lead to gridlock on the motorway on either side of the river.

So take bottles of water to avoid dehydration and some fruit and sandwiches (sweets and chocolate aren't always the best idea when in a car!) to stave off the hunger. Bank Holiday weekends on the M25, or any motorway for that matter, can be an endurance test. Travel well prepared!

Motorway Travel

The above section talks about the M25 in particular, but the advice holds true for any longish journey by car. Ours is a crowded island and travelling around it can often prove a trial. Use the plentiful resources available to assist you in planning where to go, how best to get there and what you can look forward to once you arrive.