M6 Toll....worth it?

PepnKook

PepnKook

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Off to Scotland in a couple of weeks, Loch Lomond via Gretna, is the £11.30 charge worth it to jump on the M6 for the 27'ish miles? Prob be there around midday on a Wednesday, not sure if the time saved will be worth the money.
 
Are they still doing the CMC discount? If so probably yes.
 
Don’t forget the Caravanand MotorhomeClub discount if you’re a member.
 
Sooo....27 miles for £11.30, or do I save the cash and get an extra couple of pints of heavy when we arrive?
 
I guess it depends on time of day to how long the hold ups are if you want to pay or sit in traffic.
 
Thought the C&MC discount was back on?
 
It is very irritating that the signs approaching the Toll say ‘ toll clear’ and don’t mention the main m way conditions ( especially as the signs are- I assume- paid for by the m way not the private toll) I used to go that way for work, worth paying toll in rush hour not at other times imo
 
Yep, didn't want to take the normal road then hit traffic two miles in! Guess I'll just wait and see on the day....midday, midweek should be OK, will keep an ear on the radio for anything nasty! Thanks, all.

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How well does your vehicle cope with the interminable expansion joints. IMHO the toll is worth it to avoid the BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM, BUDDUM-BUDDUM .... and any associated rattles ...

As it happens I was northbound thro' there one afternoon last week and didn't take the toll road; regretted it. Slow, heavy traffic and BUDDUM-BUDDUM ....
 
Only been tempted ( time issues ) twice.
Both times the signs read toll clear
The first time miles of road works ( so a blatant and obvious lie )
Second time solid jam which we sat in for an hour caused by an accident ( arguably unexpected but we sat a good three miles back from where the accident happened so probably just another blatant lie )
I will never be tempted again no matter what
 
1... Be aware the caravan club discount has finished.. A few people caught out on that one and motorhomes are charged as vans. Think is about £11 in the daytime..

2. If going North, Roadworks are in place from Jn 13 and can often slow up. So traffic races up the toll and then gets frustrated by hitting the traffic. Also roadworks further north will slow the journey anyway.

I live at the end of the toll by Jn12. Never use it. Unless you hit the area at morning or tea time rush hour then usually the M6 is not to much of a problem. The "Smart motorway" is in operation almost all the time..
 
The BUDDUM-BUDDUM could be a decider.....tyres up at 79psi from factory and TPMS set by Peugeot...not sure we'd have any fillings or crockery left! May have to drop them down and put up with the little dash light!

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We used it recently, trouble free in terms of traffic and ease of bypassing M6/M5 junction.
BUT
We had planned a lunchtime break at the services which were packed. The Moho/caravan parking section was full of cars or commercials and there was no suitable parking space even for our short van. We ended up buying coffe and sandwiches in the garage and driving on. A little peeving!
(Yes I’ve just realised Little Peeving sounds like a village in the North Cotswolds)
 
We used to use it with the C&MC discount - quite a useful break from normal motorway conditions on the long journey from the tunnel back up to Cumbria. But I certainly don't intend to use it at the full rate.
 
Kirsten said:
It is very irritating that the signs approaching the Toll say ‘ toll clear’ and don’t mention the main m way conditions ( especially as the signs are- I assume- paid for by the m way not the private toll) I used to go that way for work, worth paying toll in rush hour not at other times imo
Click to expand...

Not surprisingly, perhaps, they didn't display anything when it was blocked by an accident!
 
Can you speed with impunity on the toll? If not it’s pointless :D

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PepnKook said:
Off to Scotland in a couple of weeks, Loch Lomond via Gretna, is the £11.30 charge worth it to jump on the M6 for the 27'ish miles? Prob be there around midday on a Wednesday, not sure if the time saved will be worth the money.
Click to expand...

It will boil down to how valuable your time is or how quickly yo want to reach Scotland.
The toll may save you a few minutes and would be much less stressful.

It's a shame they don't use their expensive signs to advise the current time-saving as you approach. They probably don't because the time saved is not significant.

EDIT:
Just tried gogglemap, using current conditions (2:00pm, Wed), and the time saving is only three minutes. I'd keep the fee in my sporran.
 
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£11 each way up & down is significant I suppose, I wonder how many CMC members will now vote with their feet, as this was a major consideration for many members to renew membership that use it regularly.
So apart from the old elevated M6 bit, which none of us like using, whats the best alternative in leaving and rejoining the M6 before the tolls?
I am asking those with more "Local Knowledge" than myself of course. I am not concerned that much about additional journey time, more about keeping up momentum albeit at a lower but steady speed.
Many Thanks
Les
 
I've just driven south from Travelworld, so included Junction 12 M6 down to the NEC at J6 M42, most of the time I found myself muttering about losing the discount the CMC used to offer. Both north and southbound slow with heavy traffic. Neither the sat nav or the radio was advising any issues, it was just congested, the M5 split both ways was stop - start.

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I can never understand why they bothered with the services on the toll. If people are paying to use the faster road, why would they then lose time by taking a break?

And yes you can get done for speeding on the toll road.

I'd suggest decision is made as you approach the toll, either to stay on standard road, or to go toll. If you have a decent sat nav that is traffic condition aware, it should be possible to predict if there is a worthwhile time saving. There are "free" systems that work with smartphones if your built in system don't work, including google maps and the Waze app.
 
The services are probably there in case you were thinking of stopping at the next ones on the M6, which you'd miss.
Being quieter, the Toll ones might be quicker to use.
 
two said:
The services are probably there in case you were thinking of stopping at the next ones on the M6, which you'd miss.
Being quieter, the Toll ones might be quicker to use.
Click to expand...
Or maybe you've just noised up @Rockcrawler :whistle::whistle:
Broken Link Removed
 
It's always possible to completely bypass Brum - but doubtful if you'd actually save any time and certainly you'd be most unlikely to save miles. You pays your money and makes your choice - ie entirely up to you!

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