Commute via Blackwall Tunnel?

CatfordCat

I've recently started a new job on the Bedfordshire / Hertfordshire border sort of patch.

It's mostly work from home, but will mean a day up there every couple of weeks in the longer term.  (at the moment i'm doing a couple of days together and doing an overnight stay most weeks)

there's no real reason for me to stay living in berkshire (I came here for work some years back) and I want to move back to SE London - partly just because and also ageing parent in SE London - I'm potentially going to need to visit mum-cat as often if not more often than I'll go to the office, and possibly more urgently as well.

Is there a time of morning that you can get through the blackwall tunnel (or maybe even dartford) without it being a huge traffic jam?  Or is the choice going to be either set off at oh dark hundred hours or go up the evening before and b+b somewhere? 

Alternative is move to somewhere nearer work (would be cheaper / more house for the same sort of money) or somewhere between the two, but that means that north london.  there are limits...

I'm aware that there might be SIlvertown tunnel as well some time - which will probably cause more grief while it's being built, and will either clear all the traffic or make it much worse depending on who you believe...

carly burn

My rule of thumb for driving through London is get in and through before 6AM

Super_Eddie_Youds

Takes me just under two hours from Beckenham to Letchworth. Dartford in the morning is fine, generally. I Wouldn’t want to do it daily, but once a week is no issue. 

O-Randy-Hunt

carly burn said:

My rule of thumb for driving through London is get in and through before 6AM

This. Not long after 6am and it starts to build up.

_MrDick

I work at Albert Dock once a week. Live in Bexley and for me to be in the office by 8am, I have to be on the road by 6.45am at the latest

Carter

There is no nice way of dressing up either river crossing. If I have to deal with either I do it as early as is practical and thats always before 6am or leave it until after 9.30 if that's an option 

CatfordCat

Thanks for the thoughts.

Not going to do anything that quick about moving house, but certainly food for thought. 

Job is fairly flexible about hours, but sounds as though if I ever need to be there for anything in the morning, going up the evening before might be the answer (an overnight stay somewhere's about half the cost of a weekly season ticket to central london from here was in my last job...)

Elthamaddick

get through the blackwall tunnel before 6am and you are normally fine, going against most of the traffic the other side

Stig

If you leave it until 11.59am you can make your journey without it ruining your morning. It does tend to put a bloody big hole in your afternoon though.

usetobunkin

If the ferry is running, arrive at 6 am front of the queue,A406 , M11, M25, A1M , use to do SE9 to Cardington in about 2hrs

Covered End

Train not an option?

CatfordCat

Thanks, all

Ugh at the thought of getting up that early.

Covered End said:

Train not an option?

not really - I will need to be out and about some of the time when i'm up there, and work base is a bus journey from the nearest station, although stations are on a line that has some thameslink trains.

going to be a few months before I do anything (if i do move back to SE London, I'm going to have to raise a chunk of finance, and that will be easier once i'm out of the 6 month probation period)

and while job / organisation is secure enough, they are moving towards much more work from home long term (i'm one of the first to start on the basis of that being standard), so they are probably going to close one of their two places and centralise at the other (they are not all that far apart, so not as if they are going to move to the other end of the country.)

and the base that the betting is on is in the middle of nowhere (there is a bus from the nearest station, but bus runs about every 2 hours.)