South London and the M25 - Anybody live there or experienced it?

[Turbodave]

Bit of a random one...

I'm off to Laaaaaaandon next week. Flying into Gatwick next Saturday at the crack of dawn then getting the train north into East Croydon then disappearing somewhere into the maze of streets. I'm picking up a car then making for Birmingham so I'd planned on heading due south and joining the M25 at junction 6 or 7 then heading clockwise round to the M40 junction and then head north from there. Chances are this will be around mid-day (ish)

Now, being a country boy and having only been to London once when I was 8 and since then, only been on a tiny section of the M25... I could do with a little local knowledge if anybody can help as I'd rather not pile straight into traffic and end up taking hours to get to Birmingham. I know it's probably the worst day and the worst time to hit that section of M25 but not sure if I have any other options?

Cheers in advance folks!

[8valve-craig]

Just watch out for the speed cameras in the gantrie's. They work

[Nemesis]

Mid day it's not too bad, roadworks and accidents aside.

Rush hours are a ****ing joke, literally you're sat for hours moving a few hundred meters per hour. Last 2 times I went round I got stuck near Dartford and Heathrow for literally hours, surrounded by sunburned cockney tosser stockbrokers in their 4x4's

The bit near Heathrow will probably be the busiest for you, but thats also the widest.

[Turbodave]

Cheers chaps. Was debating heading further south and going cross country... sort of Guildford > Reading > Oxford in order to avoid the M25 but I suppose that could be as bad/time consuming so will just head into battle on the motorways and hope for the best. Should be down there for just after 9am so fingers crossed can do what I need to do and get on the road north as soon as possible.

Appreciated

[Ed]

I live in South Croydon and join the M25 at J7 when travelling clockwise, on a regular basis!

Getting from J7 to the M40 (J16) at midday would be fine and by far the quickest route to Birmingham. Don't f*ck about trying to go cross country.

On the other hand, J7 - J16 during the rush hour would be packed;expect a lot of stop/start traffic. Still the quickest route though, as going cross country at that time of day is just as bad and you'll only get lost if you don't know the area.

[Ed]

Just watch out for the speed cameras in the gantrie's. They work

Only when they are lit and displaying a speed. If they are blank then they are not on.

[hellonpluto]

accidentally the whole peak district

[Violet]

Last time I went down there in rush hour (2005) it took me 6 hours to get out of central London and onto the M40. Horrible.
London at night on the weekend is pretty good though, I'd never venture down there in the day.

^ Also ended up in the Peak District when I didn't take the M6.

[Ed]

Rush hour will be bad yes! But getting from Croydon to the M40 via the M25 during midday will not be bad - trust me.

[Nemesis]

accidentally the whole peak district