Travel to St Ives at half term

[stevesey]

We are regular summer visitors to St Ives, so are used to the 5am start from Bristol to get to St Ives by 8am, grab a parking space, breakfast and hit the beach. Gaining and extra days holiday and avoiding the horrendous daytime traffic on the A30.

Due to family circumstances we weren't able to make it this year, but have now booked for half term (last week in October). So the question is what's travelling like on October half term Saturdays? Is an early start still necessary, or is travel later in the day OK?

 

[coshell]

Saturday half term is always a night mare, and with the roadworks on the bridge at bristol at the moment you can add an extra hour aswell. I would start early! better early and an afternoon in st ives than not and an afternoon on the M5.

 

[cpw1958]

Hi, did St Ives earlier this year through the summer hols.Only for the day but the traffic was not a problem.Left from just outside Yeovil which is an hour closer than you i know and the traffic moved well for a weekend.Couldn't believe how much it's changed in the last few years.
Have a safe trip.

 

[Kernow]

The traffic will be virtually the same as 'Summer' traffic. I would apply your usual early start routine and enjoy the break in St Ives. Have a great time.

 

[Benzowner]

Steve,
I also live in the Bristol area and when driving down to Cornwall, I ignore the M5 untill Highbridge. I drive down the A38 and join the motorway there. Even when I am towing the caravan the time difference is usually no more than 10 minutes. If the Avonmouth bridge does have roadworks on, maybe be best to bypass this.

 

[davidjpowell]

I think you will struggle to avoid the queue. When I lived in Bristol on one of the summer saturdays I left for cornwall at 5AM as I could not sleep. The M5 was heaving. Never have seen anything like it.

Now I look I see you are in Bristol. A38 can also get pretty busy in places. I would look at going out through past Ashton Park and Failand, to Clevedon and joining the motorway there.

The Clevedon to Weston stretch will look bad on first glance, but it is usually just the downhill traffic sorting itself out. After a couple of minutes the traffic usually sorts itself out to move steadily.

 

[johnsco]

We go to St Ives (from South Yorkshire) at least once a year.
M5 and A30 are always a pain.
However, the Indian Queens section of the A30 is much-improved in the last couple of years.
St Ives to Yorkshire in one hop with a couple of short breaks takes us between 8 hours at best to 12 hours at worst.
And really ... We don't hammer it

Lovely place ... St Ives.
Suffers from serious over-crowding during July and August and parking is always a pain there.
Still a lovely place !!

Cheers
Johnsco

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I don't think the traffic will be quite like the main weeks in August, and assuming you can use your local knowledge to avoid snarl ups on the M5 in Bristol, all that's left is the A30. Just get through the single carriageway stretch by 0800 or 0900, I reckon.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Hi guys, I live in Devon and use the M5 M4 about 3 times a week, there are roadworks at Bristol now, but no real queues, there is no way around the M5 and M4 snarl ups, it never worth getting off the M'way in my experience, at this time of year you'll have no problems unless there are accidents etc.

 

[stevesey]

Steve,
I also live in the Bristol area and when driving down to Cornwall, I ignore the M5 untill Highbridge. I drive down the A38 and join the motorway there. Even when I am towing the caravan the time difference is usually no more than 10 minutes. If the Avonmouth bridge does have roadworks on, maybe be best to bypass this.

Thanks Geoff - Personally I gave up on the A38 after they de-trunked it and put the silly speed limits in place (some now lifted) - this sort of conincided with the completion of the ring road. So I normally go around the ring road, M32, M4, M5 from home at the eastern edge Bristol, much longer, but I can be a Brent Knoll in 45mins, when it takes a (much more frustrating) hour via Chew Magna and the A38 (and that's assuming no silly caravans ).

I think you will struggle to avoid the queue. When I lived in Bristol on one of the summer saturdays I left for cornwall at 5AM as I could not sleep. The M5 was heaving. Never have seen anything like it.

Yes was is always suprising how much traffic there was on the M5 around Bristol at 5am - some years it was almost at Saturday daytime levels around Cribbs Causeway.

Mixed opinons in the responses (to be expected) the M5 doesn't worry me too much it the single carriageway section on the A30 by the fisheries and then the section after the Truro turn (and the tailback to the A390 roundabout at the end of this).

Sounds like an early start may still be in order - perhaps 6am, should have not trouble hitting the fisheries by 8am.

P.S. Just counted, 16 years since we had a year without a trip to St Ives (nearly all of those in the Summer though).

 

[stevesey]

Just got back - really good week, on the beach a few times and only one wet day. :bannana:

Left at 6:15 last Saturday, go to St Ives just after 9:30, bit slower than normal becuase of the long 50 limits on the M5, plus a comfort stop and slightly lighter right foot (75). Roads were much quieter than summer weekdays.

St Ives was much quieter than the summer - still v.busy in the middle of the day, but early mornings and evenings where much quieter (although still paid to book resteruants a couple of days in advance if you wanted a choice of time other than 6pm - normally we book 6 months in advance for the summer).

Joined the masses on the return journey - 4.5 hours - one accident on the A30, tailbacks at the fisheries and then came cross country from Bridgewater as the M5 traffic reports were bad.

 

[IanT]

Glad you had a good week, I was last there at least 16 years ago with my family. The main things I remember were a funny rifle shooting thing in the harbour area where you could shoot target and wet other people that were passing by, dropping the boat off on it's mooring after my step-dad had been diving and a (Japanese?) freighter that was stuck on its side on the rocks a very short way around the coast.

I'd like to go back sometime.

Ian.

 

[Mondorich]

I had a nice time earlier this year - actually went for my honeymoon with the new Mrs Mondo and the young 'un. We went in the week before the May half term week and missed most of the traffic problems, mainly by travelling to Exeter from Northants on the Friday, staying ovenight and then having a shortish run to St Ives on the Saturday.

One thing to bear in mind is that if you don't want to park in St Ives, there is a park and ride train that we used a couple of times to get in. It runs along past Carbis Bay and is fairly spectacular for views, plus it's fairly regular.

Coming back on the next Saturday I noticed a traffic jam in the opposite direction on the A38 that must have been 20 miles long and whilst I was glad that we set off a week before the rush, I did feel sorry for those poor souls who had to make the journey that day. We took as long to get to Exeter as we did to get from there back home, so things weren't that good for us either, but that was not helped by the Devon County Show being held that week.

Anyway stevesey, glad you enjoyed the week and that the weather was kind to you.

 

[stevesey]

...The main things I remember were a funny rifle shooting thing in the harbour area where you could shoot target and wet other people that were passing by...

It's still there - we've been going there for so long that I automatically take a wide birth when passing the door.