Originally Posted by
rcspeirs
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.
Unfortunately yes I have to drive as I'm taking my car to a specialist garage in Dorking (I've hunted all over the South East to find somewhere that can do what I need for a sensible price) so the whole trip is pointless if I don't have my car with me. It's a pain in the neck but no real way out of it.
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.
