Motorists warned of huge traffic delays this weekend: Here are the roads and times to avoid

With the school holidays beginning this week, nearly nine million vehicles are set to take to the roads in the big summer getaway.

However, with a predicted 37 million leisure trips in the first two weeks alone, the RAC are expecting the roads to be heavily congested.

Certain days, roads and times are expected to be a lot worse than others so if you are planning a trip of your own, you should take note.

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Saturday will be the busiest day of the weekend for UK getaway traffic with a staggering 3.4 million journeys being made.

But congestion could reach a peak on Friday as 2.5 million cars making an early dash for a break vie for space with regular commuters.

On Sunday 2.8 million vehicles are expected to be en route to their holiday destinations or making a day trip.

The worst times to travel are expected to be:

Friday between 1pm and 8pm
Saturday between 11am and 4pm
Sunday between 11am and 4pm

And the RAC are predicting that the congestion hotspots will include:

M5 Almondsbury Interchange and from Bristol to Taunton
A30 and A38 Exeter to Cornwall
A303 Andover to Ilminster
M4 between Cardiff and Swansea
M25 between Gatwick and M1
A23/M23 to Brighton
A34 and M3 south and south-west to the south coast
A47 Swaffham to Great Yarmouth
A11 Thetford to Norwich
M55 between Preston and Blackpool
A14 between the Midlands and the east coast
A590/A591 between the M6 and the Lake District
A66 between the M6 and the coast
M53 between Liverpool and Chester

RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis advised drivers to travel very early in the morning or late in the evening, but accepted this will not be possible for many people.

He said: “If you are one vehicle in the 3.4 million making a leisure journey on Saturday, a healthy dose of patience is going to be required.”

More than 200 sets of roadworks expected to cause delays of at least half an hour are planned by Highways England on motorways and major A-roads, although much of the work will take place overnight to minimise disruption.

Top pic: PA