Easter road trip survival guide: top 5 travel tips for the bank holiday - from smart packing to busiest roads

Over the Easter period, roads are expected to be at their busiest this weekend April 11 to April 13. We’ve compiled a survival guide for travelling over Easter, including how to prepare for a road trip, information on disruption to train services, what the busiest roads may be and how the weather is looking.

How to prepare for a road trip

The RAC says, when going on a long trip, it’s worth considering whether you could share the drive with anyone else. Rotating between drivers means you can take a break, ensuring your concentration levels remain high and you stay alert. All drivers must be insured to drive the vehicle. Think!, the government’s road safety campaign, advises taking a 15-minute break from driving every two to three hours.

The RAC also advises drivers to conduct maintenance checks on their vehicle before taking a long drive.

Maintenance checks you can do yourself include:

• Oil (dipstick test)
• Coolant
• Tyre pressure and tread depth
• Lights
• Washer fluid

You should also make sure your car’s MOT is valid for the whole of your trip and organise breakdown cover before you set off.

The RAC also recommends planning your route before you go, including picking out where you could stop along the way, and checking for road works. This means you won’t have to make rushed decisions while on the road. Checking the weather before you go, can also help you avoid a potentially unsafe journey.

Items to pack for your road trip

The RAC lists the following as essentials for a road trip:

Important documents (driving licence, car insurance details, travel insurance documents and the number for breakdown services)

• Sat-nav and a road atlas
• Loose change
• First-aid kit
• Torch and spare batteries

EU registration plate or UK sticker (UK-registered cars without a blue EU registration plate also need to display a UK sticker when driving in EU countries. A sticker should be displayed no matter what is on your number plate in Cyprus, Malta and Spain.

Items to pack for comfort

• Sunglasses
• Toiletries (tissues, hand gel and wet wipes, sun cream, prescription medicines)
• Warm clothes, anorak and wellies
• Drinks and snacks
• Music and games

Easter bank holiday trains disruption

Network Rail are advising passengers travelling between London Euston and Scotland over the Easter bank holiday to travel either side of the long weekend while railway upgrades take place on the West Coast Main Line. No trains will run between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central on April 19, April 20, and April 21, with Euston station closed on these days. A reduced timetable will operate on April 18.

The busiest roads over the Easter period

According to Cuvva, traffic could be heavy on the M25, particularly at its junctions near Heathrow (J14-15) and the Dartford Crossing (J1A-3 and 31). There could be delays on the M6 north of Birmingham as drivers head to the Lake District and Scotland. Queues may also form on the A303 southwest through Wiltshire and the M5 as people make their way to Devon and Cornwall.

Good Friday (April 18) and Easter Monday (April 21) are expected to be the busiest days to travel over the Easter weekend.

Easter weather

The Met Office are forecasting further warmth this week, but there will be a shift in where the highest temperatures will be. Watch the latest 10-day trend below.

Andy Page, Met Office Chief Meteorologist, said: “Warm and dry weather continues for much of the UK this week, but we’ll see a shift in where the highest temperatures will be over the next few days.

“Those living along North Sea coasts, who have so far had generally lower temperatures and more cloud at times, will start to see the higher temperatures on Thursday, possibly reaching as high as 23°C in eastern Scotland and northeast England. This is due to a shift in the dominant wind direction from the east to the west.”

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