Hello,
We will be leaving our hotel in Chipping in the morning and driving to York. We want to get there as fast as possible, but are travelling with our toddler, so we still need to plan a stop en route to let him strech his legs a little, maybe even for an early lunch if closer to York. We would prefer something that is not much of a detour from the main road.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
If you want to get there ASAP then plot the route with google maps - once on the M1 and A1 you'll find several service stations where you can break the journey
Which way are you considering driving?
I never buy anything at service stations - just nip in for a pee (free), out again and on my way
There are many towns in England with the word Chipping in the name - it is an ancient word meaning that there is or was a market there. For the avoidance of confusion is better not to abbreviate town names or other names because there are so many similar ones.
I'll assume that you mean the Chipping Campden in the title. If so, be aware of what was just said above and if you ask for directions use the entire name. Not far away from Chipping Campden is Chipping Norton - not only a completely different feeling town but in a completely different county.
If you want to get there fast, not stopping to see the scenery or interesting things nearby your journey the quickest way is probably the "B" road from Chipping Campden to Stratford-upon-Avon, then the A46 past Warwick to the outskirts of Coventry, around the bottom towards Rugby and around the east side of Coventry which turns into the M69 towards Leicester and on to the M1 towards Leeds. Bear right near Sheffield onto the M18 into the A1(M) until you bear off onto the A64 east of Leeds to York. 3 hours if you don't stop, don't hit any construction ( you will, at least on the M1 - in the speed averaging areas denoted by the nasty yellow camera stanchions don't exceed the posted speed, either 50 or 40 mph ) nor any traffic. Half way is closer to the beginning because of the slower speeds on the non-motorway bits. Consider Leicester if you want to visit Richard III, or Loughborough if you want to show your child a steam railway.
Detour via M40 and M42 if the traffic is bad around Coventry or Leicester.
If you are travelling the route Nigel suggests, and you should as it's probably the quickest, then you could call in at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at West Bretton, south of Leeds and just a stone's throw from the M1. It has a cafe, loos and parkland to wander in as well as galleries, dotted with sculptural art, dependent on what exhibitions are on.
One other way to avoid expensive and not too fabulous motorway services is to do what our friends recommend which is looking up what National Trust or English Heritage sites are close to the route. They are generally much pleasanter, interesting and most importantly usually have a decent cafe on site. On this trip Hardwick Hall springs to mind, as a for instance.
Have a great trip!
Ian
