Sue and I went to Bristol on Friday morning and came back last night.
We stayed in a very nice hotel in Victoria Square, Clifton, Bristol, which has its own car park (car parking is problematic in Bristol) and which is only a few minutes walk from the area known as Clifton Village. It is also only about fifteen minutes walk to the Bristol Masonic Centre, where I attended a meeting of the Matthew Lodge on Saturday morning. Sue joined me at 12.45pm, and we both attended the after-meeting dinner hosted by the Lodge. As it was the last Lodge meeting before Christmas, the meal was a festive one ... and the food was excellent as usual.
The only downside to our visit was getting to and from Bristol. We reached the outskirts of Bristol at 1.00pm on Friday ... but did not reach our hotel until after 2.00pm thanks to the heavy traffic, the uniquely awful one-way traffic system, and numerous roadworks. Our journey home was almost as long due to the M4 being close by an accident between junctions 11 and 10. We were diverted across country to outside Basingstoke, where we joined the M3 towards London. When we reached the M25 to go south around London, we were advised not to use it due to long delays, and eventually ended up reaching home via Richmond and the South Circular Road. Sue and I finally got home just before 9.00pm, feeling more than a little weary.
We stayed in a very nice hotel in Victoria Square, Clifton, Bristol, which has its own car park (car parking is problematic in Bristol) and which is only a few minutes walk from the area known as Clifton Village. It is also only about fifteen minutes walk to the Bristol Masonic Centre, where I attended a meeting of the Matthew Lodge on Saturday morning. Sue joined me at 12.45pm, and we both attended the after-meeting dinner hosted by the Lodge. As it was the last Lodge meeting before Christmas, the meal was a festive one ... and the food was excellent as usual.
The only downside to our visit was getting to and from Bristol. We reached the outskirts of Bristol at 1.00pm on Friday ... but did not reach our hotel until after 2.00pm thanks to the heavy traffic, the uniquely awful one-way traffic system, and numerous roadworks. Our journey home was almost as long due to the M4 being close by an accident between junctions 11 and 10. We were diverted across country to outside Basingstoke, where we joined the M3 towards London. When we reached the M25 to go south around London, we were advised not to use it due to long delays, and eventually ended up reaching home via Richmond and the South Circular Road. Sue and I finally got home just before 9.00pm, feeling more than a little weary.
Sorry to hear of your travel problems. I've done that M4 to M3 diversion in the past and would prefer not to repeat it. I hope the weather was not too bad for your drive: we had to go to Maidstone and back yesterday (M25-M26-M20) and the rain made for a vile trip, though st least the roads, even the M25, were not too crowded.
ReplyDeleteMike Hall,
DeleteThe diversion was a pain ... but it was better than having to sit in a traffic jam waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting.
The rain was bad on our journey to Bristol - as was the sheer weight of traffic - but other than the odd shower, we had very little rain on the way back. The number of vehicles on the road also seemed to be less than I had expected.
I travel on the M25 quite a lot (I also use the M20 and M26 frequently) and over the past few years I've seen the traffic levels rise consistently. It has done so not just during the normal 'rush hour' period, but also well into the evening and early night. If there was a viable alternative, I'd use it ... but when public transport is overcrowded. expensive, slow, and often late, driving my car seems to be the only realistic way to travel.
All the best,
Bob
My one experience of driving through Bristol (pre-satnav) is getting stuck in the one way system and being unable to leave in the desired direction. I think we spent more than an hour getting out.
ReplyDeleteJim Duncan,
DeleteI suspect that the one-way system has not got any better since you visited Bristol. The lack of signage does not help, and even the locals tell me that they get lost regularly.
All the best,
Bob
We drove to Bristol a couple of times but we've always gone by train since and found it much easier.
ReplyDeleteNigel Drury,
DeleteWe've looked at going by train, but even allowing for the traffic, the journey time door-to-door was not very different. Bearing in mind the amount of luggage we take, taking it by car is easier than carrying it on and off a train.
All the best,
Bob