The "motorway" to east and west of Essex is also appalling. Be warned.

I am sorry but I got lectured a couple of years agol by Janisj and Flanner about how a certain motorway from the Gatwick area north was always a "parking lot" and how I was ignorant to even think of not listening to them because they know.

Well, I did not listen and no they did not "know" at least on the day I drove it. Not trying to demean your advice in any way Bilbo but elaborations sometimes help reinforce a sense of belief.

None taken, everytime I have to drive past the place I end up sitting in a queue. Not sure why but I find it frustrating when a 6 hour drive becomes a 11 hour drive most of it spent outside Exeter. This only seems to happen in July and August and to be fair I've stopped going to the area in July and August because... see above.

Now THAT is real information and thank you.

Back when I was a kid (many years ago) we always wound up stuck in a no/slow moving queue round Exeter. Sorry to hear it still hasn't improved. Last trip I didn't get that far west, but there was a long, slow, queue both sides of Bridport.

For long distance use National Express. I find google maps great for local buses, although you can start at Rome2Rio but always check the actual schedules.

Thanks for the tip about National Express; I will check that out.

BTW: In London National Express is based at the Victoria Coach Station, round the corner from the Victoria train station. However, there are lots of direct coaches from LHR, so you can head west the morning you arrive without going up to town or needing to drive with jet lag.

Thanks again, everyone, for these additional comments, esp about Exeter. It is sometimes hard for me to relate to "appalling" traffic since my "appalling" is probably different from some others BUT I will remember that it would perhaps be an issue>>

By appalling I mean its taking at least 30 minutes, sometimes 45 to get from the end of slipway off the motorway at Exeter to the centre of the city, [less than 2 miles] and the same to leave. As the rest of my journey [100 miles] would only have take 90 minutes I was generally not a happy bunny.

As for the M25 [that being what I infer is the road to the north of Gatwick] not always being a "parking lot", that may be true but the holdups I encountered on Friday afternoon meant that I missed the funeral I was going to. It was just as bad on Saturday morning. It has definitely got worse since we lived in that area and used it regularly 20 years ago.

Sorry I am late to this thread, but I am familiar with the Devon / Dorset area having visited numerous times, including four days in July just gone, where we stayed in Seaton.

There are lots of great places to visit all along the coast which varies considerably. A car will be essential to get the most out of the trip which I guess you have already decided. Exeter, as a small city (the county town of Devon) and is pretty much central and with roads radiating from it for good access in all directions. As with any city the roads can get snarled up Monday to Friday when people are going to/from work but also on Friday / Sunday nights when in high summer most roads are clogged and the M5 motorway to Bristol has delays. If you can avoid these times then great, if you had two bases then you could avoid Exeter completely, say one in East Devon / Dorset - someone mentioned Dorchester, though for me Weymouth is also a favorite place (direct rail link to both from London Waterloo) with its sandy beach and nice harbour. The other base could be in Devon, but say west of Exeter so you could access South or North Devon coasts. As with Cornwall there is loads of accommodation, but a good base for touring might be close to either the A30 or A38 main roads, unless you wanted to concentrate more on one particular coast. Exeter does have good rail links with London either via London Paddington or London Waterloo stations, though be warned the train fares if not booked way in advance can be expensive!

You mentioned heritage steam railways in your posts above, if you want the low down on these please ask.

Regarding the M23 from London Gatwick towards London, Highways England have just started upgrading this to a "Smart" motorway and so there are speed restrictions and narrow lanes to add to the usual heavy traffic - link below. These works will continue until 2019/2020, I tend to avoid this road if possible and use local roads using a SatNav / GPS, though if you hit it late at night it will be empty - did the 78 miles from Gatwick airport to Oxford in 1 hour 20 just over a week ago admittedly at 1am! Basically the M25 and all roads radiating into London will be busy during peak times Monday to Sunday and journeys will be longer. The further from London the better the traffic.

https://highwaysengland.co.uk/projec...mart-motorway/

Hope that helps. Sorry for rambling on!