The great Christmas getaway - when, where and how is best to travel?

The great festive getaway is already underway, with motorists, rail passengers battling traffic jams and delays to get to their planned destination in time for Christmas.

An estimated 1.3 million drivers on leisure trips will fight for road space with regular commuters on the last working day before Christmas.

Dr Graham Cookson, chief economist at transportation analysts Inrix, said Friday is expected to be one of the worst days of the year on the road and has given a few tips on how to avoid the severe jams.

When should I travel to avoid getting stuck in huge queues?

According to Dr Cookson, drivers embarking on the Christmas getaway have until lunchtime on Friday to avoid severe jams on many roads.

From Friday afternoon onwards, many motorists will find themselves stuck in long queues.

He told the Press Association: “After lunch most of the roads will get busier and stay busy into the evening.

“What we see is roads in congestion for most of the time, average speeds very slow, people crawling along.

“The pure weight of traffic means a lot of motorways will be much slower than normal so your total journey takes so much longer.”

Where are the worst places for traffic jams?

According to Inrix data, the worst non-accident traffic blackspot on the Friday before Christmas last year was the A303 at Stonehenge. And on December 23, 2016, there were seven-mile tailbacks at the peak time just after 6pm.

And if you’re trying to work out which areas to avoid this year, it’s not good news.

Asked which routes will see the longest queues this year, Dr Cookson replied: “Unfortunately any of the major motorways. It’s tricky to avoid.”

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The M25 is “right at the top of the list”, warning that “it doesn’t matter which way you’re going round it”.

He also predicted that the M6 between Merseyside and Staffordshire, the M1 and the M4 will all be “incredibly busy as well”.

So how should I travel home?

The RAC is referring to the day as “Frantic Friday” and strongly urged drivers to avoid long journeys “if they possibly can”.

It estimates that 11.5 million leisure trips will be made by car between December 17 and Christmas Eve, but this will be eclipsed by the 17.5 million taking place between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day as people take advantage of post-Christmas sales at shops.

Can’t the authorities do anything to make it better?

Highways England has issued a “roadworks embargo” on motorways and major A roads from 6am on Friday until January 2.

By lifting almost 400 miles of roadworks, it is hoped journeys will be eased to some extent.

Should I take the train for my Christmas getaway journey?

Many of Britain’s mainline routes will be partially shut as Network Rail carries out its biggest ever Christmas investment programme – some 260 engineering projects on the railway are expected to disrupt journeys.

Great Western Railway is urging passengers to complete journeys by Saturday “at the latest” as London Paddington will be closed between Christmas Eve and December 27.

The West Coast main line will be halted between Preston and Lancaster from Christmas Eve to December 27, with buses replacing trains.

Passengers travelling between London and Glasgow during this time are advised to go via Edinburgh, adding around an hour to journeys.

Okay, how about the coach? Or air?

Coach operator National Express is running its largest ever Christmas schedule to meet increased demand from places including Bournemouth, Cardiff, Leeds, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester.

Would it be easier to just go abroad for Christmas?

You’re not the only one with that idea – more than 4.5 million people are heading abroad over Christmas and the new year, making airports, ports and international train stations exceptionally busy.

Heathrow airport, the UK’s busiest airport, will welcome almost 130,000 departing passengers on Friday.

Travel trade organisation Abta has advised people to leave extra time to catch their flight, boat or train.