I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

train?

most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....

ps what happens on sat?

JimK

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Dave


No, but have considered getting her to travel back by train to save the
double road journey in potentially difficult conditions?
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

JimK wrote:
On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

train?

most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....

ps what happens on sat?

JimK
Don't try it wednesday. There is currently about 3 ins in the Portsmouth
area with more further north and it's still snowing. The snow is 'wet'
on the ground so unless the roads are cleared it will be very slippery.

Malcolm, living in Fareham but brought up and taught to drive in Co. Durham

Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?


Frankly Sally Traffic on Radio2.

BUT you are in deep ****.

Whole Northwest is ****ed. Already.

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
news
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have to
prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite
quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions
please?

Dave

Might be easier to get a replacement missus.

mark

In article ,
JimK writes:
On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

I would change your plans.
In my bit of Hampshire, we had 5 inches in 3 hours this evening.
It's slowed down now, but I suspect nothing is going to move for days.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

train?

most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....

ps what happens on sat?

Full moon not until Sat 30th, apparently...

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

JimK wrote:
On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

train?

When was the last time you booked a train ticket at the last moment? It
would cost her an arm and a leg to get home.

most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....

ps what happens on sat?

It's her younger sisters birthday. And she desperately wants to be
there. Neither of us expected this weather for the North west. We
usually get a mild winter.

Dave

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:51:59 +0000, Dave wrote:

can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite quickly,
on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions please?

http://www.trafficengland.com/

Does the motorways and major A rodas reasonably well. For some
strange reason it's overloaded tonight and the mapping side is
disabled.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Malcolm wrote:
JimK wrote:
On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

train?

most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....

ps what happens on sat?

JimK
Don't try it wednesday. There is currently about 3 ins in the Portsmouth
area with more further north and it's still snowing. The snow is 'wet'
on the ground so unless the roads are cleared it will be very slippery.

Thanks for that. Daughter lives on the border between Southsea and
Eastney, on the coast.

Malcolm, living in Fareham but brought up and taught to drive in Co. Durham

Ah! So you know about snow? Not many do these days. :-)
Locals are clueless, they think the faster they can spin the driving
wheels, the faster they can get up the hill. It makes it very difficult
for any decent driver to follow them.

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
news
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have to
prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite
quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions
please?

To be honest, with the weather the way it is, you would be well advised to
consider other methods.

A train leaves Portsmouth & Southsea on Thursday morning (10:52), due to
arrive Preston at 15:38 (via London Waterloo and Euston) with a single
ticket costing £91.60.

To avoid your having to drive 500+ miles there and back it sounds like a
bloody bargain.

If you insist on driving (you have been warned!), Jamspy is good.
(www.jamspy.co.uk) It takes feeds from the BBC database of reported traffic
delays, and presents them on a map.

If you have a portable device with web browsing capability, Moto service
stations have free wifi, which will allow you to check on motorway closures
as you head towards them.

"OG" wrote in message
...

"Dave" wrote in message
news
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

To be honest, with the weather the way it is, you would be well advised to
consider other methods.

A train leaves Portsmouth & Southsea on Thursday morning (10:52), due to
arrive Preston at 15:38 (via London Waterloo and Euston) with a single
ticket costing £91.60.


If your wife is going in the other direction; same day; the 10:17 from
Preston arrives P&S at 15.28 for the same price.

de-lurk

Oh come on guys

Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I have
in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get about-ever!

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible without recourse
to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...

neil

re-lurk


mark wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
news
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have to
prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite
quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions
please?

Dave

Might be easier to get a replacement missus.

mark

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
JimK writes:
On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

I would change your plans.
In my bit of Hampshire, we had 5 inches in 3 hours this evening.

We had that much this morning. I nearly didn't get out for my real ale pint.

I found out one thing about my old Rover 45, it could cope far better
than a BMW due to my front wheel drive :-))

It's slowed down now, but I suspect nothing is going to move for days.

You worry me. What roads are you talking about?

My route will be Preston M6 to the M42 to the M40 to the A34 to the M3
to the M27 to the M275 and then through Portsmouth main roads to Southsea.

Can you expand a bit please? Or am I now getting too worried?

Dave

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:49:28 +0000, Dave wrote:

When was the last time you booked a train ticket at the last moment? It
would cost her an arm and a leg to get home.

The train for the lower bit seems sensible. Say Portsmouth to Bristol
or Oxford(*) then get picked up from there. The motorways generally
stay open, if slow in bad weather and getting from Portsmouth to the
M4 line will be the A34 rather than motorway.

The OP doesn't say what he is driving and what sort of tyres he has.
Not that makes a lot of difference if there is no space to trundle
past stuck or low traction vehicles. 4WD and snow tyres I only have
problems when the snow depth is an inch or two up the front valence
ie approaching 18" deep and even then its a stall rather than loss of
grip.

(*) Donno if that is feasable on a decent train mind.

--
Cheers
Dave.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?


Frankly Sally Traffic on Radio2.

BUT you are in deep ****.

Whole Northwest is ****ed. Already.

That is what I thought, but how do you tell a woman that thinks that you
can sit in a car and drive anywhere?

Might teach her a lesson if I can't though :-)

Dave

mark wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
news
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have to
prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite
quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions
please?

Dave

Might be easier to get a replacement missus.

Mmmm, I considered this for a few moments, but how long would it take me
to train her in sexual education?

Dave

Neil wrote:

Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I have
in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get about-ever!

Hmm when I lived in Swissland the Golf Syncro was the most popular car
in the area, despite having a really, really, tiny boot. Put M&S tyres
on it and it would belt up the Jura.

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible without recourse
to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...

OTOH the nice big cosy 4x4 will keep going when the **** cars are
stacked up at the side of the road. What's guilt?

mark wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
news
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have to
prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date, quite
quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather conditions
please?

Dave

Might be easier to get a replacement missus.

Saw a great one at lunchtime.

Very young, hung on my every word, very attractive, Very good figure.

In my younger days...
Why have I got so old?

Dave

Dave wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
JimK wrote:
On 5 Jan, 20:51, Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

train?

most "proper" such websites I checked today were bust or text only....

ps what happens on sat?

JimK
Don't try it wednesday. There is currently about 3 ins in the
Portsmouth area with more further north and it's still snowing. The
snow is 'wet' on the ground so unless the roads are cleared it will be
very slippery.

Thanks for that. Daughter lives on the border between Southsea and
Eastney, on the coast.

Malcolm, living in Fareham but brought up and taught to drive in Co.
Durham

Ah! So you know about snow? Not many do these days. :-)
Locals are clueless, they think the faster they can spin the driving
wheels, the faster they can get up the hill. It makes it very difficult
for any decent driver to follow them.

Dave
Fareham/Gosport has been gridlocked since about 4pm. I guess that once
the gritters can get through the main roads will be OK but as for the
minor roads... The one positive thing is that the south of Portsea
Island is very much influenced by the sea so there may be very little
snow there, and if there is it should disappear relatively quickly.
Surely you can get reports on the last part of the journey from SWMBO.
CEEFAX can give you an overall view of the main routes

Malcolm (not intending to drive tomorrow)

Dave wrote:

how long would it take me
to train her in sexual education?

About five minutes if you leave her around Portsmouth.

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:11:49 +0100, Neil wrote:

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places,

Agreed, provided the drivers know how to drive on snow. Most UK
drivers don't, last decent winters were in the early 80's, drivers
younger than about 40 won't have had any really the opportunity to
drive on snow.

add snow chains

Most of UK roads are not allowed to develop a good snow pack, we
rarely get enough snow for a start and it thaws then freezes and
turns into ice.
You shouldn't really drive on tarmac with chains fitted as they'll
damage the tyre and the road so chains would have to put on and taken
off all the time.

If we got decent amounts of snow and the temp stayed below freezing
it would be a different matter. Despite the moans about uncleared
roads and no salting most important roads are cleared and salted
pretty quickly and efficiently.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Tue, 5 Jan 2010 23:03:29 -0000, OG wrote:

A train leaves Portsmouth & Southsea on Thursday morning (10:52), due to
arrive Preston at 15:38 (via London Waterloo and Euston) with a single
ticket costing £91.60.

To avoid your having to drive 500+ miles there and back it sounds like a
bloody bargain.

Aye, cost about £60 in fuel alone, assuming 40 mpg. You'd also be
hard pressed to drive it sensibly, coffee and pee breaks, in the
4h46m of the train. My TomTom gave 4h12m fastest
(M6,M42,M40,A34,M27).

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 05/01/2010 20:51 Dave wrote:

can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Try http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic/traffic.aspx

--
F

Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave
there was a woman on the news who went to inverness on xmas eve to buy a
turkey,
and hasnt got home to her husband yet.
[g]
(thats what she told him and he believed it!)

Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/10209

makes a good guess at where the snow isnt

Malcolm wrote:

Fareham/Gosport has been gridlocked since about 4pm.

I drove out at 5pm without any real problems. I had to take a circuitous
route down country lanes to avoid the gridlocked A32. Mostly the
gridlock was caused by clueless (and often selfish) clowns. Points go to
the Merc driver who blocked the road because he wasn't looking ahead and
failed to see the queue of traffic on the hill that he was approaching,
he slammed on the brakes too hard and too late and wedged the car
sideways.

More point to the van driver ascending another hill who decided to
swerve around the vehicle that was struggling to climb the hill - no use
of indicators of course - causing the car descending the hill to have to
slam on the brakes. Then both car and van slid into each other and the
stranded vehicle. Blocking yet another route.

More point to all the people who flagged me down and earnestly told me I
would "never get that big thing up/down that hill" every one of them was
wrong.

Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

Go he

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hi/default.stm

Pick a region that you'll be travelling through, e.g.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/

Click on the Live Jam Cams link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/travel/jamcams/

Click on a camera. This one in the Portsmouth area looks grim:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/webca...=bbc_new_south

Get some mobile broadband so you can check the road ahead when you
stop for a break.

Are you sure you need to travel? Even the trains are giving up.

HTH

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:14:05 +0000, Dave wrote:

My route will be Preston M6 to the M42 to the M40 to the A34 to the M3
to the M27 to the M275 and then through Portsmouth main roads to
Southsea.

Thats what TomTom said, personally I'd not use the M6 across the
north of Birmingham. It's better since the toll road but can still be
nose to tail 20mph stuff. I'd drop down the M5 then the M42. TomTom
says 4h14m 265 miles around the SW of B'ham v 4h12m 263 miles over
the north.

If I could I also avoid the M6 south of Manchester but you can't.
B-(

--
Cheers
Dave.

george [dicegeorge] wrote:
Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Dave
there was a woman on the news who went to inverness on xmas eve to buy a
turkey,
and hasnt got home to her husband yet.
[g]
(thats what she told him and he believed it!)

I know the area - and I believe her!

In message , Dave
writes
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Motorways - frixo

will give you real time speeds for the m6, m1 m25 etc

lets start with the m6

http://www.frixo.com/m6-south.asp


--
geoff

In message , Neil
writes
de-lurk

Oh come on guys

Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I have
in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get about-ever!

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres)

Winter tyres are for foreign girlies ...


will get an ordinary car most places, add snow chains and everywhere is
possible without recourse
to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...

Lesson learned a long time ago

chains are not much use sitting on top of your wardrobe in Milan when
you're stuck 100 metres from the top of the St Bernadino pass



--
geoff

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:11:49 +0100, Neil wrote:

de-lurk

Oh come on guys

Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I have
in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get about-ever!

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible without recourse
to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...

neil

re-lurk

Yes, but with the cost of another set of wheels and tyres for the winter
and somewhere to store them for the summer (for each car in the household).
In 25 years of driving, I've never encountered weather where I've actually
needed snow tyres to get through before - I'm in Manchester BTW. Even today
I got to work okay (nine inches of snow), but ended up coming home again as
other people got stuck on the access roads and although I managed to get
into the carpark, I didn't know whether the road would be completely
blocked with abandoned cars by the time I came to leave otherwise.

For the rare occasions that we get weather that makes driving difficult for
more than a couple of days, it's just not worth the whole country being
geared up to the kind of weather that many other countries have to cope
with either frequently or for long periods. Yes it makes the news from one
part of the country or another every year, but most of the country doesn't
see anything like it for decades at a time.

SteveW

Terry Fields wrote:


Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

Go he

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hi/default.stm

Pick a region that you'll be travelling through, e.g.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/

Click on the Live Jam Cams link:

Apologies, they're called Live Traffic Cams but they bring up a Jam
Cam page.

This is the current scene from the camera nearest your daughter:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/webca...=bbc_new_south

Nobody's about....sure you want to travel?

HTH

Dave wrote:
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

I've found metcheck.com very good. It was down for a while today though,
due to sheer volume.

Seems accurate - I use it when planning decking jobs.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:52:50 +0000, "george [dicegeorge]"
wrote:

there was a woman on the news who went to inverness on xmas eve to buy a
turkey,
and hasnt got home to her husband yet.
[g]
(thats what she told him and he believed it!)

Ah but you missed out the important points ..wehere she lives and what
sort of transport she has to take .

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:09:47 +0000, Terry Fields
wrote:


Terry Fields wrote:


Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Someone on BBC News travelling from Poole to Lee on Solent and he is
on a m/way ( missed which one ) but it's taking him forever to
complete his journey because ,in his words ,he hit a wall of snow.

Steve Walker wrote:
SNIP
Yes it makes the news from one part of the country or another every
year, but most of the country doesn't see anything like it for
decades at a time.

Watching the London news tonight made me laugh. Reports from journo's all
over the UK all basically saying "its snowing". A few claimed "the area is
cut off" which makes one wonder how they got there.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Dave wrote:

can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/loca...onal-map.shtml

geoff wrote:

chains are not much use sitting on top of your wardrobe in Milan when
you're stuck 100 metres from the top of the St Bernadino pass

Ancient Italian philosophers say, anyone taking San Bernardino pass in
winter deserves everything that comes to him.