microsoft autoroute is a great tool for showing various ideas for routes, and backs up my 2 ideas for how to get where I’m going but no matter how much I fiddle with the average speeds the estimated time of the run is always way out - typically by half an hour per hundred miles I reckon (for example, it says the A1 route from Scunny to Peterboro services is 1hr 50 but it’s 2hrs15).
so, I have this dilema…
scunny, to flixton in norfolk (near bungay).
do I take the 150 mile route down through Lincoln, Kings Lynn and past Norwich and average about 41mph (I don’t speed) - or do I go the M18, A1m, A1, A14 to Bury st edmunds, and across, which is 202 miles but should average about 50mph due to a good hour on motorway speeds to off-set the limited time on 40s?
setting off at about 0515 (0500 start) so either a boston to norwich rush period, or a peterborough to newmarket rush period route dependant…
what would you do?
ps it’s agency work so I’m not fussed about a mad dash to minimise the shift, I want relaxed, safe, reliable, legal mentality.
I’d do one way going, the other back, it’s loads more interesting than going the same route both ways. Ive allways done this if possible, makes the job interesting!
paul b:
used to do a regular run to bungay years ago from dony, i went A1, A17, A47,A146, A143, don’t think i’d go through lincoln unless i had to!
You can use that route or you could take the A10 at Kings Lynn then the A134 to Thetford then A1066 to Diss then A143 to get to Flixton.
I think your problem is you average speeds. If you obey the limits on the Single carriageways you averge is not going to be 40mph try 35mph and maybe 45mph for motorways and Dual carriageways, to allow for slowing down and speeding up time on junctions and roundabouts. You’ll be surprise how it effects you average speeds. I used to work on a average of 40mph for a route and was never to far out.
Bear in mind you can’t go through Bungay in anything over 7.5t, but the diversion is clearly signed and if you’re actually going to Flixton it’s on the diversion anyway.
Pain in the arse if you need to get on the A144 though.
had set off for work by 0450 so didn’t get to ready any, but cheers all the same
ended up going A1/14 and across from bury st edmunds.
followed the ickle tiny map I was given through flixton and told to go through the 7.5tn except for access on the bend, and wowser, I can see why it got that rating! single track, no passing places for 100 yards and when it does widen it’s tight as a very tight thing. vertical banking my side so couldn’t climb up to widen the gap, and numpty biddy seemed alergic to reversing and elected instead to crack her bumper on similarly harsh verging her side.
going back I’d used so much fuel on the way down despite an empty trailer (over half a tank) and over 5 hours to get there thanks to cambridge I elected to go back the twisty route (reverse of muckle’s suggestion) and got back with about 4 minutes to spare out of my 10 allowed hours. Couldn’t risk going up to newark and up the A1 since I’d heard of the M1 chaos and people diverting any which way so tackled rush-hour lincoln. nice!
fortunately due to a right royal [zb]-up there was no trailer for me to bring back so I had a nice rapid run slowing down a touch later and quicker and zipping away from r/a’s and junctions. no good on fuel but any slower I’d have been stuck. still it reduced my consumption by half
