Portree to Gloucestershire stopover
 

We are driving from our rental cottage in Portree to a farm stay in Gloucestershire in July with our three kids. Yes, these will be long driving days (with some crazy traffic) but after lots of investigating, it was the most appealing option for us.
We are looking for a good spot for a one night stopover on the way. Any suggestions of towns and specific hotels/inns? Our budget is no more than 250GBP/nt.

No way I would do that drive w/ just one stop over w/ a family . . . Where in Gloucestershire?

But just say it is near Cirencester . . . the drive down from Portree would be about 14 or 15 hours without a single stop. So w/ just minimal rest breaks and petrol/meal stops it would take two 8 or 9 hour trips back to back.

You won't have any time to get very far off the Motorway so I'd just plan on a motel at a motorway service area like Tebay south of Penrith on the M6 in Cumbria.

Wow, Well the lake district is roughly half way there or Hadrian's wall.

Portree down to Cirencester (?) is about 560 miles and half way is still north of the border. The roads in the first half of the trip between Skye and Glasgow will be slow going and could well take more than half of the total trip time, so I think I'd stop somewhere around Lockerbie. there 3/4 OK overnight hotel options there and I'd recommend Ravenshill House just on the edge of town.

http://ravenshillhotellockerbie.co.uk/

The remainder of the trip should take about 5/6 hours, traffic permitting. It does make a difference to travel time depending on what day of the week you're travelling. Weekends are better, avoid Mondays and Fridays.

Tebay is a motorway service area. But its hotel's got some of the nicest views anywhere, a terrific cafe, access to some proper country footpaths and its location's been landscaped so you don't feel you're sharing with thousands of trucks.

The road south of Tebay is far more liable to unpredictable congestion than the road north, so I'd aim to do more than half on day 1 and stay there.

The westerly route round Birmingham can be exceptionally hellish, so for some east Gloucestershire locations, it might be quicker to take the M6 (toll), then the M42/M40.

janisj We are going to just do it in two days and hope things go ok. We really don't want to take our time and meander through England so this seems to be the best solution. We have driven lots of Italy (including the Amalfi Coast!) and France so we are hoping we can survive Scotland and England ;)) We are always up for a good road trip!

Rubicund The Ravenshill looks perfect for us and I love the fmaily room that can accomodate us all for a good price. Have you stayed there?

flanneruk thanks for the tips. We will be doing the drive over a weekend so hoping we can avoid some of the nastier weekday traffic.

France, I drove from Stirling to Weston super Mare/Bristol/Ludlow for various family things on Saturdays last summer/autumn and hit appalling traffic south of Manchester each time. For my trip to Ludlow last June I even missed a wedding, after being stuck in traffic. We left Manchester at 9am and the wedding was at 2pm (and the SatNav said it would take 2.5 hours). If you could stop for dinner at somewhere like Tebay then soldier on along the M6 then M60 for another hour, you can get pretty good deals at the Mercure in Bolton and it's right at the exit for the Macron Stadium so really easy to find, with loads of parking.

Here's the link: http://www.mercurebolton.co.uk/

The breakfast is standard issue chain hotel breakfast and there's a nice pool which might perk the kids up a bit before the next leg. I've stayed there a few times when space has been tight at relatives in the local area and it's always been a decent price and good service. Then if you do hit miserable traffic the next day, at least you're a bit closer to your destination.

>>janisj We are going to just do it in two days and hope things go ok. We really don't want to take our time and meander through England so this seems to be the best solution<<

I didn't say you couldn't nor did I suggest you should 'meander' -- just that I wouldn't do it in two days myself. I gave you a suggestion for IMO the best place to stop to break the journey . . . Slower roads north and heavier traffic south so in drive times about half way.

Good luck -- I think you <i>seriously</i> underestimate the HEAVY traffic you'll have through that slice of western England.

janisj As always, your input is appreciated. This has been the toughest portion of our three weeks to plan. If airfare and switching rental cars wasn't so expensive, we would just fly from Inverness to Bristol and be done with the driving. But with five of us, the costs add up.Any other ideas to make it quicker but not too expensive?

NewDriver, thanks for the ideas. I will take a peek at your link.

newdriver, I used to swim in that pool at lunch time, a nice place and easy to find

Quick update:
I took all of your advice to heart and really considered the long drives and traffic we might face.
I looked again and my sleuthing paid off!!! I found great flights from Inverness to Bristol on Easyjet as well as a really good rate on the two car rentals (one for the Scotland portion, one for England).
So...we are FLYING!!!
Thanks so much. Feeling much better about this plan.
Now we need a good overnight near Inverness. 2 adults, 3 kids. No more than 250GBP per nt. Any ideas?

That's great.

Your kids will thank you :)

janisj We are going to just do it in two days and hope things go ok.>>


So...we are FLYING!!!>>

a MUCH better idea and just what I was going to suggest! [honest, I was!]

i think that all of us who drive round the UK from time to time have horror stories [mine is our journey from Cornwall to Shrewsbury on a Friday last August, closely followed by the one the year before from Cornwall to somewhere near Reading, again on a Friday] that those who aren't used to our traffic find it hard to comprehend.

What I was also going to say is that if you were determined to do a journey like that, the only really safe way to do it is with two drivers.

janisj and annhig This is exactly the reason I use this forum. Honest, well informed opinions. This is our third major trip planned with help from Fodors. Such an invaluable resource. Thank you!!
I may be back asking for some restaurant and activity ideas soon!