Loads of people will no doubt have had significantly worse days than mine in yesterday’s severe gales as they ravaged across the country. My day was a bit of an Epic, though.
I had a meeting in Peterborough and, having had some bad journeys there in the past on the trains, I’d decided to go down by car. What a day to have chosen that.
Although the journey over there (on the M62 and A1) was no more than a little congested, the journey back was utter mayhem. On the A1, heading north, I had to queue several times for uprooted trees lying strewn across the carriageway, and saw four blown-over high sided lorries (one ‘freshly’ blown over, with its driver climbing out of the cab window!).
Diverted from the closed A1 near Melton Mowbray, I had the luck of seeing someone with Sat Nav taking a country lane, so followed him. Some great ducking and diving around the lanes brought us back onto the A1 further up, but after several more long queues for debris / vehicles, I took a break in some services at Blythe. I had a look in an atlas (didn’t have one in the hire car!), and then decided to head cross country across some lanes to Rotherham and onwards to the M1. By the time I reached it, things had eased a bit (but not on the A1 according to the radio – wise move!). Journey took six hours – could have been worse. At one point, I was seriously thinking travelodge, but I think I got lucky with my move across country. Epic day!