First Night Out on Monday night - Advice please?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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Hi - I’ve got three drops inside the M25, around Wembley, Enfield, Cheshuntthen my last in Thetford, before heading back to Yorks. I am hoping to get the three London area drops done then head outside the M25 to park up for the night before the last drop.
I can use the fuelcard, or pay and hand in my receipt.
Can anyone recommend a good place to overnight?
Anything I should consider bringing other than bedding and wash/shave kit?

(semi) sensible answers appreciated, but not anticipated!
Shandy

[EDIT] actually, thinking about it, I might get all the drops done then have an hour or so to head north a bit?

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Jcn 26 truckstop

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Agree Junc 26 on M25 or if you’ve got time M11 Bishops Stortford. Neither are perfect but OK. If possible, get your 45 min break before going inside M25, as not easy to find stopping places without prior knowledge of where they are.

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trucken:
Agree Junc 26 on M25 or if you’ve got time M11 Bishops Stortford. Neither are perfect but OK. If possible, get your 45 min break before going inside M25, as not easy to find stopping places without prior knowledge of where they are.

OK, thanks - I’ve ID’d them on Google maps.

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Baldock on the A1?

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Shandy123:
Hi - I’ve got three drops inside the M25, around Wembley, Enfield, Cheshuntthen my last in Thetford, before heading back to Yorks. I am hoping to get the three London area drops done then head outside the M25 to park up for the night before the last drop.

As said above, blast down the M1, stop at London Gateway for 45 minutes then head in.

Don’t think smart. It is not going to be quicker to hop on the M25 to get around to Enfield. Despite the rumors the North Circular is not the devils invention and you can make it quite safely and quickly from Wembley to Enfield without problems.

Shandy123:
I can use the fuelcard, or pay and hand in my receipt.

Depends on both the site and the fuelcard. Take about £30 in cash just in case the place doesn’t take cards, there are some out there.

Shandy123:
Can anyone recommend a good place to overnight?

Yes, next question!

If you are stopping on the way out you have Birchanger Green MSA which is the Bishops Stortford on the M11, the one mentioned above, IIRC its £26 for the night with a £9 food voucher but will be full of trucks with the steering wheel on the wrong side. On the A14 just past the junction you want there is another truckstop but I cant remember the name off the top of my head nor its pricing but the food is good.

There is nothing more until Thetford but once you get on the A11 heading north there is a big layby off the second exit of the first roundabout you come to with McDonalds and Little Chef with in easy walking distance.

Shandy123:
Anything I should consider bringing other than bedding and wash/shave kit?

Something to keep you entertained, a book, a laptop, something! Because you probably wont drop straight off to sleep, even on a nine.

Shandy123:
(semi) sensible answers appreciated, but not anticipated!

Nice to see a driver with a firm grasp of the realities.

Shandy123:
[EDIT] actually, thinking about it, I might get all the drops done then have an hour or so to head north a bit?

I wouldn’t, if you only have an hour you might make it to Norwich but there is little parking around there or if you go back to the A1 and up you have very little hope of making Alconbury which is your next stop up and the absolute pits

Not meaning to shoot Radar19 clean in the foot but Baldock is the worst idea in the world. Its in the wrong direction, horrendously expensive, horribly insecure and massively busy all night. You would have a safer and more restful night parking at Broadmoor.

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Some packet and canned food plus some thing to cook it with just incase
Torch

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If you do get all your drops off, there are a couple of BP garages on thetford bypass with free parking.

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Never had a problem parking at Baldock, been doing for over a year now. Aside from the odd fridge its never noisy. Its also not out of the way, take the A505 from Letchworth which will dump you out on the A11 straight towards Thetford. Since he’s coming from Yorkshire, he’s not going to have that much time left especially if its busy in London. One more thing, come straight down the A1, don’t use the M1. Too many roadworks and traffic in the mornings, you’d lose a ton of time.

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I.d have thought with an early start from yorks you could have all those off and be heading north again

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Red lodge,on the a11,if you’ve got time…or j26 if you hav’nt.

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Junc26 you can pay with fuel card and that will include a shower and a meal,decent food there as well in my opinion

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Wow! lots of great advice there chaps!
Thanks muchly!

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If you get the three London drops done, the M11 services would be on your way, so Birchanger should be a good choice, or possibly even Cambridge. There are plenty of lay-bys on the A11, but that would depend on the time, the best ones get snarled-up by the foreigners if you’re too late. J26 will be fine, it’s just if it’s chocker.

Personally, I’d get under a bridge on the M25, like our Waberer friends! :grimacing:

If it’s your first night-out, it’s not a bad idea to use a service station or a truck stop. I only use lay-bys when I have no other option, such as when I’m picking-up from a rural location early in the morning, and I’m empty. You can have a hot meal and buy a magazine to take your mind off it.

I know this myself, but if you find a dead-cert of somewhere decent to park, within reasonable distance of your next drop, take it! There’s nothing worse than rushing around trying to find somewhere to park when your time’s running-out. If it means parking-up 20 minutes before you intended to, it doesn’t matter, you could go by that perfect lay-by, thinking you’ll get somewhere closer, and every other parking space up ahead could be full of foreigners for miles. Prior preparation prevents ■■■■-poor parking! :grimacing:

If you’re going to be tramping regular, you might want to have a look at getting a gas stove. The one I have was £15 from Go Outdoors, and it’s brilliant. I’m not being tight, but a tin of stew and half a loaf of bread works-out about £1.50 for a full meal, and I’d rate it as miles better than an £8 services Burger King!

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As it’s your first night out, you won’t know a good spot from a bad one, and trust me, you can’t judge them by appearances alone. The last thing you want to do is have diesel nicked or curtains slashed on your first night. Either go for Birchanger services, or the red lodge just past Newmarket. Both close to Thetford although not the best places for a night out, but if anything happens to the truck you’ve done all you can.

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One question not asked ! are you a chiller lorry ?

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Radar19:
Never had a problem parking at Baldock, been doing for over a year now. Aside from the odd fridge its never noisy. Its also not out of the way, take the A505 from Letchworth which will dump you out on the A11 straight towards Thetford. Since he’s coming from Yorkshire, he’s not going to have that much time left especially if its busy in London. One more thing, come straight down the A1, don’t use the M1. Too many roadworks and traffic in the mornings, you’d lose a ton of time.

But then you have to fight your way around the north circular to Wembley, and the stopping and clearing tacho place, after all the traffic past Stevenage, is Mimms which is quite a bit further out.

blue estate:
One question not asked ! are you a chiller lorry ?

Good point, truckstops don’t like running fridges at night. In a services its just the other drivers who dont.

weeto:
If you do get all your drops off, there are a couple of BP garages on thetford bypass with free parking.

Both of which are load theft hotspots.

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If I’m near Thetford I go to Brandon industrial estate nice and quiet there

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For anyone on night’s out (and days) take a large empty coffee jar with you, including the screw top lid . Absolutely reccommended in case of an unexpected bladder function and much easier to utilize than lemonade bottles.

Been caught short on many occassion over the years, especially when parked in a customer’s yard or in a “decent” area.

And discretion can be excercised when disposing of contents. Easy to rinse out and keep using.

Buy a portable cooker and a cheap saucepan and a few tins of easily cooked goods. It’s amazing what simple meals you can knock up in a cab.

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I always view it that the more important decision is whether I can get to somewhere sensible to park up rather than if I can get another drop off tonight. That means taking a very pessimistic view of how long it is likely to take to get tipped. I have one over-riding rule - no toilet facilities means no parking so pulling out of the gates after a delivery with only 15 minutes left ain’t happening. That decision needs to be taken probably three hours or so before your time would be up. You do not have to do 13 hrs or whatever. The temptation on your first journey will be to chase around - DON’T - be sensible, take the worry about running over your driving time out of the equation by having a full 45 at London Gateway as suggested. What is on the back of the lorry is some old tat, it is not human organs for transplant or blood, the world won’t end if it doesn’t get there today.