M6 or M40 - which is better?

[twain]

not sure what my life has come to for me to ask this kind of question buuuuuuuut:

travelling from Brighton to Coventry on a weekday (peak hours!) need to be there between 8:30-9am.

M6 or M40 (after M25)

which way should i go...???? both show similar times on G-maps (2.5 - 3hrs).
last time i went up that way it took me 5 hours (was a mixture of heavy traffic and about 3 breakdowns amidst lots of diversions....)
and i think it involved the M40...

anyone 'traveled' enough to advise on this?

 

[RadNomad]

Re:

That sounds quite stressful. How about cruising up the night before to avoid arrival deadlines and stay overnight somewhere?

 

[kingbling]

better off on M40 the delays on the M1 to M6 can be just as bad and you need to be on the road before 6 you will get there earlier but you can avoid most of the traffic at that time of the day

 

[BerthaPog]

Re:

Er, M6 doesn't connect to the M25, and would only make sense if you're going to the north side of Cov.

Ignoring that you have two choice's
M25 - M40 - A46
Or
M25 - M1 - M45 - A45

Personally I'd choose the former, less M25 first thing, depending on which bit of Coventry, you should be able to avoid the carnage that is the Tollbar island (A45/A46 meeting point after M45 on outskirts of Cov). You'll also avoid the long run of roadworks on the M1 leading up to the M45 exit.

I'm currently living in Warwick, so not far from the M40/A46 junction, but did a Kent to Coventry commute on a Monday morning and the reverse on a Friday evening back in 2012, before the Tollbar island work started.

HTH

 

[twain]

Re:

Thanks for the advice, going the night before isn't an option unfortunately, I would have stopped off at the parents house via Milton Keynes but I don't talk to them anymore and would be awkward popping in with a work colleague to stop over...
We'll be heading out at 5/5:30 latest which hurts but I'm being paid for it. It's a full journey and with a full days work inbetween!
It's north Cov, near toys r us where I'm heading....

 

[twain]

Re:

Having said that, we finish at 5, so is it worth waiting till gone 6 to head back?

 

[godders]

Re:

M40 for me, spent 15 months traveling too and fro to Birmingham, left Solihull one Thursday evening at 7 and was home indoors 1.59 mins later..... 151 miles

 

[xerxes]

Re:

151 miles in under 2 minutes? Wow!, that's nearly mach 12. What where you driving?

 

[The History Man]

It ran on isopropyl alcohol..........................

M40.

 

[legrandefromage]

Durin' the whoar...

When I was in Telecoms, the M6 was full at any time of day. Traffic jams at 4am etc etc.

During the morning, the M40 is a car park going toward London but not so bad away, same as the M1.

The M25 is shite either way especially around Heathrow even at 6am.