Goodwood Festival of Traffic on the A27... how to avoid

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FairweatherDave

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I need to get to my boat at Emsworth from Brighton tomorrow. I am guessing that the secret to avoiding the traffic is to avoid passing Chichester as people arrive for Goodwood and when they disgorge...... I have discovered the northern route to Fishbourne. Will that work combined with avoiding the start and finish times (whenever they might be)? Fortunately with HW around 3.30pm no point in setting off too early. Concerned about the return trip Sunday evening though. How I love the A27! (Yes the train is great but with a car load of family and dinghy and outboard no way). Anyone else anticipate the problem and got any good ideas ( can't go tonight).
 
Easy. Get the train.

Last year we had to abandon the weekend because we got gridlocked on the A27 for a couple of hours. Turned round and arrived home about 4 hrs after setting off. Believe me it will be bad and it will last all weekend.

There's a station at Emsworth I think. It will take about an hour from Brighton.
 
FairweatherDave said:
I need to get to my boat at Emsworth from Brighton tomorrow. I am guessing that the secret to avoiding the traffic is to avoid passing Chichester as people arrive for Goodwood and when they disgorge...... I have discovered the northern route to Fishbourne. Will that work combined with avoiding the start and finish times (whenever they might be)? Fortunately with HW around 3.30pm no point in setting off too early. Concerned about the return trip Sunday evening though. How I love the A27! (Yes the train is great but with a car load of family and dinghy and outboard no way). Anyone else anticipate the problem and got any good ideas ( can't go tonight).
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The route to avoid the Chichester bypass ( only recently leaned after all these years) is to to turn up towards Lidl and Sainsburys at the start of the bypass.

turn left by Lidl and after short ditance take a right to go past St Richards Hospital in Spitalfields lane. keep going along Oaklands way and Nothgate then head away from the town on the B2178 St Pauls road and Old Broyle road.

Through West Broyle, East Ashling and Funtington. I turn south again down Cheesemans Lane to the old Fishbourne to Emsworth road opposite the old Aerodrome.

You could carry on further and go through Westbourne to Emsworth.

I recommend you try it ( i was told the route by a local) to avoid the Chi bypass when it's busy but it may not be any use to avoid the Goodwood traffic. ( although I've never had problems from that)


You could take an earlier turn off the A27 into Tangmere and go south of the bypass eventually joining the Witterings road at Birdham. Then double back towards the bypass but take the Dell Quay turn and immediately right to Fishbourne via Apuldram . Then the old road to Emsworth, via Nutbourne and Southbourne

I have done it several times but its not an easy route to figure out or follow. Avoids the traffic though!
 
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Your choices are:

1, do battle with it with it, bearing in mind its not only goodwood, but a lovely weekend to go to the seaside
2, don't go the boat this weekend (I've chosen this one :()
3, Go Brighton Steyning - Storrington, Petworth, Pick up the A3 (Bit of a big detour from Brighton) and avoid Chi completely
4, Go south - Fontwell to Oving Road, but from experience you still end up caught trying to get back on track.

Good luck!
 
And for those of you heading on to Hayling Island tomorrow be advised that the Langstone Raft Racing is taking place by The Ship at the north end of the bridge so, with that, Goodwood and the fine weather travelling could be interesting to say the least.
 
VicS said:
You could take an earlier turn off the A27 into Tangmere and go south of the bypass eventually joining the Witterings road at Birdham. Then double back towards the bypass but take the Dell Quay turn and immediately right to Fishbourne via Apuldram . Then the old road to Emsworth, via Nutbourne and Southbourne

I have done it several times but its not an easy route to figure out or follow. Avoids the traffic though!
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I have remembered it finally .

Off the A27 to Tangmere, through Tangmere. Turn left into Drayton Lane at Shopwycke park. Breifly join the A259 then take Mash Lane through Merston to join the
B2166 at Runction. Go via North Mundham to joint the B2145 to Hunston.

About a mile south of Hunston turn right into Green lane. Join the B2201 briefly then straight on at a right hand bend into Wophams lane . At the end turn right, past the entrance to Chi Marina and take Dell Quay Road and Apuldram Lane to Fishboune

It sounds a bit of a detour but it sure beats sitting in traffic on the bypass.

If you need a chandlers, Force4 is not far beyond the Dell Quay turning
 
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Thanks all, particularly VicS with all the detail. I have done both detours in the past and do like the north route. The crunch is how Goodwood feeds into it all? It is the Sunday evening I worry about.
I am now considering the train and leaving the outboard behind. I roll up the Avon Redcrest, stick it on an old golf trolley with the oars sticking out the top. And use Sid around high water (+/- 2hrs) to ferry the family (the dink is if Sid's gone to Goodwood :)). PS Might happily accept a tow if anyone sees me rowing out towards the Visitors Pontoon ;)

What an effort when we could just sit on the beach in Hove!!, (since my goal is floating/drying caravan at that well kept secret anchorage near the harbour exit)
 
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FairweatherDave said:
I need to get to my boat at Emsworth from Brighton tomorrow. I am guessing that the secret to avoiding the traffic is to avoid passing Chichester as people arrive for Goodwood and when they disgorge...... I have discovered the northern route to Fishbourne. Will that work combined with avoiding the start and finish times (whenever they might be)? Fortunately with HW around 3.30pm no point in setting off too early. Concerned about the return trip Sunday evening though. How I love the A27! (Yes the train is great but with a car load of family and dinghy and outboard no way). Anyone else anticipate the problem and got any good ideas ( can't go tonight).
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Is the boat too small to sleep on? I drove down on Friday night and had no problems :)
 
lustyd said:
Is the boat too small to sleep on? I drove down on Friday night and had no problems :)
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He said he could not go Friday so he probably means he could not go Friday
10 mile queues were predicted on the A27 for today
Even if it was not so bad midday/early pm today if he has to go back through the thick of it on Sunday he is probably right to be concerned.
 
Sorry folks, the route from Tangmere, alongside Goodwood Airfield then quick right then left to Salthill Road is the way I normally avoid traffic, BUT for Goodwood Festivals this road is closed off which always seems a major cheek.

The traffic on Chichester bypass will probably be terrible and any other route is a long diversion; all I can think of is making the journey on the bypass very early in the mornings, remembering this will include the return trip too for those who have to be at the office on Monday morning.
 
VicS said:
He said he could not go Friday so he probably means he could not go Friday
10 mile queues were predicted on the A27 for today
Even if it was not so bad midday/early pm today if he has to go back through the thick of it on Sunday he is probably right to be concerned.
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Sorry missed that bit :)
 
There are a number of alternative routes which avoid the Goodwood traffic, coming from east to Chichester use the A259 through Worthing Rustington and Littlehampton, Bognor then up to Chichester its longer but you miss the traffic jams and then drive normally towards Portsmouth.
Coming from West towards Chichester either; northern route via Westbourne, Funtington to Chichester or dropping down into Fishbourne - and turn to Dell quay if south of Chichester.
We always plan to be away from Chichester afloat every Goodwood event - but if not we plan to travel in the opposite direction to Goodwood traffic flows on event days and plan to travel either before event starts, or middle of day ( After 1pm when volume of traffic has subsided). On Friday morning 11.00 am this year 14 miles of solid traffic from Sainsburys roundabout to Emsworth !.
Best advice is leave early to be through Chichester either way before 6.30am on event days and even then it will be busy !
Wish the Duke would invest in large scale park and rides either side of Chichester.
 
Team Spirit,

that route from the East A259 & Chichester doesn't miss the usual jams on the Chi bypass which will be even worse with this weather.

One way might be off the A27 at Tangmere, up to Petworth, left just before onto A272 to Petersfield, M3 to Portsmouth then to Chi area from the East, but it's a helluva detour !
 
Not sure Goodwood was on:o!! Caught the train and did not notice a thing. (Bit smug sorry). Yes it cost £45 for five of us (3 adults 2 kids) instead of perhaps £15 in fuel but the train worked really well. I'd have a tender on the hard ideally rather than put the Redcrest on the golf trolley but it worked and gratefully got a tow back to the hard this evening. East Head was as predicted (at least 45 boats overnight) but we've had a great 24 hours (and even managed a bit of a sail). Nice to meet Mwanda John too.
 
Seajet your right but going away from Chichester the only traffic heading that way during festival weekends is usually limited to the Witterings stuff and that filters out at the Stockbridge roundabout. Any delay is very short and limited normally between the Hunston and Stockbridge roundabouts, if really impatient you can always nip up from Hunston Roundabout take a left into Kingsham Ave towards the police station and either turn left towards Chichester gate and drop back down to A27 or, turn right and go towards Westgate but by the time you've done that the traffic will have moved and you'll be heading to Pompey. Take your pick I guess.
After locking up TS tonight the Witterings traffic heading north to Chichester was still nose to tail at 20.45pm tonight ! some very frustrated looking drivers :(
 
Team Spirit,

I come along from Horsham usually, have been doing the trip for 30+ years as a driver and of course it gets worse, even though traffic in general has reduced; I've travelled the Chi bypass at all times of day and never cease to be amazed how nose to tail some bits are when one would think it'd be a quiet time.

There was a suggestion of having a Forums Burgee car sticker so we could all spot each other and wave or have a chat !
 
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