Holidaymakers in Britain are bracing for significant travel disruption this August bank holiday weekend, with nearly 18 million car journeys expected and widespread rail engineering works. The RAC has urged drivers to set off as early as possible to avoid heavy traffic, particularly on major routes to airports and coastal areas.
Heavy congestion is predicted on the M5 between Bristol and Devon, with delays of over 40 minutes on Friday and Saturday between junction 15 north of Bristol and junction 23 for Bridgwater. Channel crossings via Dover or Folkestone may see delays exceeding 30 minutes on the M20 in Kent on Friday. The best times to travel are after 7pm on Friday, before 9am on Saturday, and before 11am on Monday.
Rail passengers face their own challenges as Network Rail carries out 261 engineering projects over the weekend. Long-distance services between London King’s Cross and Peterborough will be suspended on Sunday, affecting Anglo-Scottish routes run by LNER and Lumo. Avanti West Coast will run a reduced service from London Euston from Saturday to Monday, with diversions adding extra time to journeys.
Helen Hamlin, chief network operator at Network Rail, said: “While the vast majority of the railway will be running, works on some parts of the network are unfortunately unavoidable... we’re asking passengers to check their journeys in advance to ensure their route isn’t affected.”
