Driving to Dorking from E1 in rush hour
Apr 19, 2015, 8:50 am
#1
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Driving to Dorking from E1 in rush hour
I need to drive to Dorking this Wed morning and be there by 10am. I'll be leaving from east London (E1) and will be taking the southbound Blackwall tunnel / A2 / M25 west route. Does anyone travel this route by car on a regular enough basis to have an idea how bad the traffic will be, and how long it might take during rush hour?
I'm currently thinking of leaving around 7.30am so giving myself 2.5 hours to get there (without traffic it should take 1.5 hours). My biggest concerns are the snarl up around the Blackwall tunnel entrance and the M25 - I should be going against most of the traffic on the A2 so thinking that should be alright.
Really appreciate your input so thanks in advance!
I'm currently thinking of leaving around 7.30am so giving myself 2.5 hours to get there (without traffic it should take 1.5 hours). My biggest concerns are the snarl up around the Blackwall tunnel entrance and the M25 - I should be going against most of the traffic on the A2 so thinking that should be alright.
Really appreciate your input so thanks in advance!
Apr 20, 2015, 11:57 pm
#2
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One and a half hours should be fine. But if you live in E1, you'll know that if there is a problem at the Blackwall tunnel, then the whole area will descend into gridlock in nano seconds, and you can easily sit for an hour and not move. It's unusual to be that bad, but there simply is no predicting.
Do you have to drive? Train would be much quicker and less stress.
Do you have to drive? Train would be much quicker and less stress.
Apr 21, 2015, 3:12 am
#3
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One and a half hours should be fine. But if you live in E1, you'll know that if there is a problem at the Blackwall tunnel, then the whole area will descend into gridlock in nano seconds, and you can easily sit for an hour and not move. It's unusual to be that bad, but there simply is no predicting.
Do you have to drive? Train would be much quicker and less stress.
Do you have to drive? Train would be much quicker and less stress.
Yes I know anywhere and everywhere between E1 and E14 can turn into utter madness at the hint of a problem with the Blackwall tunnel. I often used to do the drive between E1 and Canary Wharf in rush hour but I was going against the traffic (like I will be tomorrow) so that's usually pretty okay. But I know how gridlocked North Greenwich gets for the northbound tunnel entrance in the morning (some of my team frequently get stuck and send me photos to prove it) so I'm just a bit apprehensive in case it impacts on the north side of the tunnel as well. Oh well, I should be used to it living where I do but there are only so many options when you need to get across the river in a car.
I'm actually more concerned about the M25 as I have no idea how busy that stretch will be in rush hour. I guess there's only one way to find out.
At one point I was considering booking a room at the Sofitel at Gatwick for tonight and then just driving over to Dorking in the morning but 1) it seems a waste of money and 2) it'll be too depressing being surrounded by people flying off to exotic destinations while I'm off to, ahem, Dorking. No TPs for driving to Dorking unfortunately.
Apr 21, 2015, 4:18 am
#4
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I don't know that stretch of the M25 (I used to live in SW London, so the route I know down towards Dorking is A3/A24). However, Google Maps will let you set a specific day of the week and time to see average traffic conditions, if that helps...
Apr 21, 2015, 9:33 am
#5
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I so love English town names! I read that headline and the first thought through my mind was, "Why would it take a whole hour to go from driving to Dorking?"
Apr 21, 2015, 9:43 am
#6
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You do have to go through Leatherhead to get to Dorking.
And if people behave badly locally, the police are sent to Fetcham and Bookham. This results in a fair bit of Effingham.
And if people behave badly locally, the police are sent to Fetcham and Bookham. This results in a fair bit of Effingham.
Apr 22, 2015, 2:17 pm
#7
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Just reporting back.....it took me 2 hours to drive there this morning. It would have been 1.25 hours but there was a problem on the M25 (J9-10 was closed for some reason) which caused total gridlock so that took an extra 45 mins grrr.
Apr 22, 2015, 4:29 pm
#8
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Apr 23, 2015, 2:07 pm
#9
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Indeed And almost an hour of gridlock queuing to get to the Blackwall Tunnel coming home this afternoon. 
On a positive note, the garage did a splendid job on my car and it's all fixed. It just may take a few days before I can face hitting the roads again.
And almost an hour of gridlock queuing to get to the Blackwall Tunnel coming home this afternoon. On a positive note, the garage did a splendid job on my car and it's all fixed. It just may take a few days before I can face hitting the roads again.