On 08/05/2016 17:08, polygonum wrote:

Many years ago I used to drive more or less the length of the A34 - call
it Winchester to Preston - on a regular basis. OK - M6 for a bit! Wasn't
too bad. After a gap of years, I tried it again. Horrible with loads and
loads of reduced speed limits - many seemingly for reasons other than
safety, like "go another way, you idiot".

I do a journey like that regularly - motorway from Preston to Oxford,
dual carriageway to Winchester, I think the only permanent 50 limit is
Oxford for a couple of miles, the rest is standard 70 unless you hit the
variable limits on the busier sections of motorways. One roundabout at
Oxford, slip roads for the rest - I think that counts as a pretty easy
drive :-)