Bongo Fury

We have been warned to expect serious traffic holdups from around April this year going right through the summer.
Due to Dorset county council and whoever else is involved regarding getting the traffic through to the Olympic sailing in Weymouth in 2012 they are in their wisdom going to dismantle the major six exit Roundabout at Canford bottom Wimborne, the one at the end of the bypass just before Merley.
We have been warned that work starts in April just in time for the holiday rush so that they can cause major disruption right through the summer. They are intending to replace the six exit roundabout with traffic lights on every junction, doesnt bear thinking about does it. Normal summers queued up on the A31 in our area, especially on fridays and saturdays and to a lesser extent every other day must bring horrible memories back to people who love to come to dorset for weekends and holidays. We have to live and work and negotiate all this so we have no choice, Im dreading it.
Still they have to ensure that the Olympics two weeks goes off without problems, stuff the natives.

Do yourselves a favour if your travelling from the smoke or indeed anywhere up north this summer approach Bournemouth and Poole from a different angle and forget the M3, M27, A31. There are lots of ways to do it by just studying the map of a quiet evening it will save you bundles of bad temperedness on the day.

From the London area hit out across the A303 or A30 and head for Andover and Salisbury and then on to say Shaftesbury and then head south using Blandford. Lovely countryside on the way and you'll end up crossing over the A31 and into Poole the back way away from everybody else.

If your coming down from up north come down the M5 after Brum and head off towards Warminster or Bath and then down through Sherborne or Yeovil and in the back way once again. Easy peasy and you'll see countryside you never knew existed plus you wont tick off the locals who have to work through it all. Enjoy your holidays

Do you mean the roundabout that you turn off down to the campsite itself, or a different one? Would appreciate knowing which one you mean.

B**ger. Thanks for the heads up. My parents live not far from there, and that area is bad enough traffic-wise at the best of times. We can use the Blandford route, it's actually less mileage for us, but adds about an hour to the journey (Salisbury area can be bad too, which add to the misery). Wish they'd given the Olympics to the French. (Mind you, that's where we will be heading while the Olympics are on).

Its the next roundabout back from Merley if your coming from London. The whole of that area will be chocca every day while they are doing it because theres no real way round it locally. Salisbury is a doddle at any time if you investigate the little routes around the north of the city. I travel that way a lot delivering plants from the nursery during the summer and never go through the city.
Coming south, get off the A303 at Amesbury, turn right at Old sarum just before salisbury and head through the winterbournes to wilton then on down past salisbury racecourse to join up with the Blandford road. Beautiful scenery and stress free. Throw away the tom toms that only know the motorway routes and enjoy driving again, lol. so what if it takes an extra hour, getting round wimborne this summer is going to add at least two.

Tony Hunt wrote:Its the next roundabout back from Merley if your coming from London.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Canford ... m&t=h&z=16

Tony Hunt wrote:...Salisbury is a doddle at any time if you investigate the little routes around the north of the city. I travel that way a lot delivering plants from the nursery during the summer and never go through the city. Coming south, get off the A303 at Amesbury, turn right at Old sarum just before salisbury and head through the winterbournes to wilton ...

Amesbury is normally where we get the problem. During the height of summer, we've spent well over an hour travelling just a handful of miles on the A303 heading West toward Amesbury (around Solstice Park, I think its called). I'll have to peruse a map and find some route around that.


Aren't the Winterbournes left of Old Sarum as you're heading South? I could be wrong. I think I know the route you mean, though. We'll give it a go next time.

Yeah your right was having a senior moment, turning right just before old sarum is right, you dont actually go through a village till you get to wilton then head for coombe bissett just after salisbury racecourse (great campsite there).
If your coming down the A30 towards Salisbury and you suspect traffic in the city cut through the lane that goes past Boscombe down to Porton then turn left and follow the road to old sarum. I hate Salisbury and traffic, lol.

Clicking on your google map dvisor, yes thats the one and if you look to the right just up wimborne rd you can see our nursery, first four polytunnels on the right So you can see what a pig this summer is going to be. We're going to have to get up in the middle of the night if we want to go anywhere. Its a crying shame the Council hadnt built a flyover instead of that roundabout when they had the chance and also built the dual carriageway ( possibly M27 ext) that they once intended all the way from Ringwood to Dorchester. They got as far as Bere Regis with the dual section only to run out of money. All the Poole, Dorchester and Wemouth traffic converges at wimborne suddenly up one carriageway.
Dic-heads.

Tony Hunt wrote:Yeah your right was having a senior moment, turning right just before old sarum is right, you dont actually go through a village till you get to wilton then head for coombe bissett just after salisbury racecourse (great campsite there).
If your coming down the A30 towards Salisbury and you suspect traffic in the city cut through the lane that goes past Boscombe down to Porton then turn left and follow the road to old sarum. I hate Salisbury and traffic, lol.

Any idea what the traffic's like on the A338 between Cholderton and the Winterbournes? That could be a route for us avoiding the A303.

dvisor wrote:B**ger. ... Wish they'd given the Olympics to the French..

After they held them in Greece they should have kept them there for ever in honour of their origin. Not so good for lining pockets elsewhere, though.


The idea of traffic lights at that Junction doesn't bear thinking about unless they keep it as a roundabout.

The light controlled roundabout at the M25/M20/A20 works fairly well, probably better than a free for all with everyone belting into it.


Frank

Tony Hunt wrote:Its the next roundabout back from Merley if your coming from London. The whole of that area will be chocca every day while they are doing it because theres no real way round it locally. Salisbury is a doddle at any time if you investigate the little routes around the north of the city. I travel that way a lot delivering plants from the nursery during the summer and never go through the city.
Coming south, get off the A303 at Amesbury, turn right at Old sarum just before salisbury and head through the winterbournes to wilton then on down past salisbury racecourse to join up with the Blandford road. Beautiful scenery and stress free. Throw away the tom toms that only know the motorway routes and enjoy driving again, lol. so what if it takes an extra hour, getting round wimborne this summer is going to add at least two.

I used to travel down from Swindon to Merley quite regularly and my courier husband told me a brilliant and pretty route.

From Swindon, travel to Wroughton and Avebury. At Avebury turn left down The Avenue. At A4 turn left then first right to Kennet (can't remember if East or West). At end of road turn right. Follow road past The Barge Inn ( all the way down as far as Woodhenge. It joins on to the road just north of the Amesbury roundabout with the A303. Turn right onto A303. Turn right as if you're going to the Stones (Devizes) and then left past them to get back to the roundabout with the A303 again (misses out a lot of the single carriageway traffic). Go straight over the roundabout towards Salisbury & Wilton, turning right when signposted for Wilton. At Wilton roundabout, turn left and then right towards the Salisbury Racecourse. At junction turn left and at end of road right onto the Blandford Road. At roundabout after the dual-carriageway turn left towards ? Oh this is getting too complicated. I know the route like the back of my hand. Lovely B roads and not too much traffic except when you hit the A roads, mainly the A303. You come in to Wimborne Minster from the north. If you follow the road into Wimborne, rather than following the signs around the edge of the town) and use the flyover you should be able to come back down to the Merley roundabout without touching the A31.

Gonna go and have a look on a map now.

Contact me if anyone does want the names of the roads and places to aim for - but it's a lovely drive!

Lol thats almost what I said innit. well the bit from Wilton anyways. The top end depends where your coming from.

Well as for the return journey that can be worse.
Sunday afternoons after any sort of reasonable weekend weatherwise we laugh at all the Lemmings stacked up the other way right across the new forest from Ringwood and on up the M27, M3 well past winchester. Why do they all leave Our area at 4 oclock and expect to get home to the smoke early evening, its never going to happen. Why dont they stay till much later or try a different route back or make a long weekend of it and go back monday or tuesday. It must be a horrendous journey with a car full of overtired and hungry kids.

We live in a beautiful part of the country but because of the stupidity of past governments and civil servants it just cant handle the volumes of traffic thrown at it. Rant over now.

Half term week this week and the roads were starting to get a nightmare down here, specially friday again and the roadworks havent even started. am dreading April. They'll probably start it all just before Easter which is late this year I think.

Is this the area for the Southern Softies bash week before Easter ? Might be worth flagging it up so people allow extra extra travel time !!

It certainly is. Its the roundabout before Merley on the A31 coming from the Southampton M27 direction. Several routes have been indicated on this thread to miss possible holdups. Use a map to get here instead of your tom tom and avoid the M27 /A31 totally. Aim to arrive in Wimborne from the north via Blandford and you'll sail through.

P.S. anybody coming to the Merley meet or indeed any time this summer from the Aberdeen area by any chance I have a set of wheels for my Bongo Im trying to get down here from a mates in Banchory.

Anybody know if the roadworks and traffic jams have started yet, or are we safe for the Southern Softies?