Sibton to Home

Lunch was booked for 12.15pm in the inn. Claire's sister and her husband don't live that far away and were due at noon.

It's earlier than we normally would eat, but with around a four hour drive home, we didn't want to be too late.

The meal was excellent and we even had a dessert.  Claire and I both had the fish pie. Loaded with cod, salmon and prawns.  

We'd already packed up the van except the hook-up and so once lunch was over we could get going.

It was just about now things went a bit awry. In fact very wrong.

We decided rather than the country roads on the A1120 and A140, we'd take the shorter road to Yoxford and the A12 all the way to London. 

Nope!

Firstly at Yoxford as we joined the A12 a police car with blue lights came along. Fast.

A few miles later on the A12 there was a long tailback for roadworks.  We knew about it and TomTom said one minute delay.

Hardly any distance along the way we came across the police car across the road. Accident ahead.

We were diverted into Saxmundham. As the accident was recent there were no diversions set up.

We followed the other cars and a truck back to the A12.  But. Instead of blocking that access road we were about 400 yards from the sky filled with blue lights.

We turned around and headed back across country to Framlingham and... you guessed it, the A1120 and A140!!!!

Except, this time it was jam packed with trucks. They obviously got the message of the road closure.

Many of the villages though aren't suitable for 40 foot long trucks. Too narrow. Turns they have difficulty getting around.

By now it was pitch dark. Eventually we got to the A140 and it started to rain again.  The 75 miles on the A12 from Ipswich was in heavy traffic and rain.

Not as bad as the M25 though. With TomTom showing 7.5 miles on the distance to next change of direction, we were in stop start traffic. Eventually we got to the QE2 bridge some 30 minutes later. The TomTom showed 1.5 miles.

From there we kept on going onto the M20 and home. 

Arriving some 4¼ hours after setting off.